of business was going forward) took it into our heads to divert ourselves by climbing these trees as high as they would bear us, and then swinging off our feet, the weight would bring us by a gentle flight to the ground, when the tree would resume its former position. After exercising ourselves some time at this diversion, I thought I would have one capital swing; accordingly, I climbed one of the tallest trees that stood directly on the verge of the gully, and swung off over the gully; when the tree had bent to about an horizontal position, it snapped off as short as a pipestem; I suppose I was nearly or quite forty feet from the ground, from which distance I came, feet foremost, to the ground at quick time; the ground was soft, being loamy and entirely free from stones, so that it did me but little hurt, but I held the part of the tree I had broken off firmly in my grasp, and when I struck the ground with my feet, I brought it with all the force of my weight and its own directly upon the top of my unthinking skull, which knocked me as stiff as a ringbolt. It was several minutes before I recovered recollection enough to know or remember what I had been about, but I weathered the point, although it gave me a severe headache for several days afterwards, as a memento to keep upon the ground, and not attempt to act the part of a flying squirrel.
Another affair happened soon after this which did not set very well on my stomach at the time. I had been on a detached party for four or five days and had had nothing to eat, for at least eight and forty hours of the latter part of the time. When I came to camp there was nothing there; I strolled off to where some butchers were killing cattle, as I supposed, for the General officers, (for they must have victuals, let the poor men fare as they would,) and by some means procured an old ox's liver; I then went home and soon had a quantity of it in my kettle; the more I seethed it the harder it grew, but I soon filled my empty stomach with it, and, it being night, I turned in; I had not slept long before I awoke, feeling much like Jonathan when he had the dry bellyache for want of some fourth proof Jamaica spirits; that is, I felt "dreadfully." I worried it out till morning, when, as soon as I thought I could call upon the doctors, without too much disturbing their honours, I applied to one for relief; he gave me a large
