Franklin County, Nebraska

For Another Day

This is a second in a series of Civil War memories written by Mrs. Mary A. (Sigman, Butterfield) Hublitz. It was entitled.

Glimpses of Camp Life.

"My husband, Hugh Butterfield, enlisted on August 2, 1862 in the 102nd Regular Illinois Voluntary Infantry.

"They took the recruits to the fairgrounds at Knoxfort, Knox county, Illinois. After they had been there a few months, two neighbor boys and I started one day to go there and see how they played at soldiering. It was about twenty miles away. After we got started the boys said that every rooster that didn't crow for Lincoln, they would make go along. I tried to tell them they might get into trouble but they wouldn't stop, and when we got there we had three roosters. I had a big pail of cooked food along. Well when we got there they were getting supper. I wanted to see them eat but night was no time to stay in there if you had ears, so Mr. Butterfield got a pass and we went to an inn.

" In the morning, we hurried back to see the boys eat breakfast. Each mess had its own cook, and breakfast was ready, all but settling the coffee (that means adding a tad of cold water to the coffee pot so the grounds would go to the bottom. The cook took up what he thought was a pint of water, but was really meat fryings and slapped it into a six gallon can of coffee. Well, if he didn't stamp and swear some, but that didn't take the grease out of the coffee.

After breakfast, we went out to look around and we found that some of the boys were learning to forage already, for here was a big gobbler with his head cut off and there were some chickens and a little further on a super of honey that the boys had foraged. Oh, I would hate to be between two armies! For one would come along and take all they could find, and in a few days the other side would come and if there was an old hen or anything left they would take it.

"But the men were having their best time, then. Soon after, they had to march for the south and their fun stopped, but they did stockade duty for some time, while learning the drill. Mr. Butterfield's regiment was at Stockade No 10 in Tennessee, and he was cooking for the mess. There was a flourmill close and lots of blackberries on the side of the mountains. They would pick berries and go to the rebel mill and get flour and make pies. While the berries lasted, they lived fine. They made pancakes with water and thought they were better than hardtack. One day a sick man said, 'I'm hungry; wish you would get me some dinner.' They got it and took it to him, and he raised up on his elbow and began to eat, and just then he fell back dead."

Mrs. Hublitz tells a Fish Story.

"I saw in the Omaha Daily News a few weeks ago that they wanted fish stories. That made me want to tell a fish story: I lived in Illinois, close to a creek called Poppe Creek. I always did like to go fishing and often did and would yet if I could walk good. One day, I went about a mile and sat down and caught twelve good ones. I strung them on a willow and stuck the willow in the edge of the water and went downstream always and fished. I got about ten and then started for home.

"When I went to get my string of fish, where was no fish on the string, but there was a snake lying along side of it. I sat down and fished a few minutes and threw a fish up on the bank. I went to pick it up and a snake was just ready to grab it. I turned to look for a club and there were snakes coming from all directions, their black eyes shining and their tongues hissing. I grabbed my rod and fish and started to run, panic Stricken. I did not get very far until I struck a plum thicket and could not get along very fast. Before I got out, I felt like there were snakes all over me.

"It was the first time I ever ran from anything and, I found that after I had started to run, I was scared a great deal worse than I was before. It seemed to me that all snakes were after me and I was like those men who drink too much. I felt like I had snakes in my boots. But, I was all right when I got out of the thick brush, and it did not stop me from going fishing again. Perhaps you would call this a snake story."

As I said before, Mary was quite brave for it sure would have stopped me from fishing. I am sure her daughter Sarah, and her grandson Alva saw many snakes on Cottonwood Creek. I enjoy going for walks in the creek, but just one snake sends me to the yard in a hurry. Do you know how fast a Blue Racer can crawl? It's a good thing snakes are as afraid of me as I am of them. I have some other snake stories to tell you involving pioneers of our county all stories for another day.

We wind our life about another life
We hold it closer, dearer than our own. Elizabeth Akers

Rena Donovan, For Another Day.

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