two officers of the thirty-first Massachusetts regiment. They were both gentlemen, with whom it would have been a pleasure for me to have formed a real friendship under any other circumstances; but, as my only object in making their acquaintance was that I might be able to use them as instruments for the accomplishment of my purposes as a Confederate agent, I of course did not permit my personal liking for them to interfere with the grand objects I had in view. They, on their side, appeared to be not a little gratified to find at least one woman in New Orleans who professed a decided partiality for the stars and stripes, for such women were rare in those days, and they showed a marked inclination to continue the acquaintance. I accordingly invited them to call upon me, and soon managed to establish such friendly relations with them that, through their influence, I gained access to headquarters.
General Butler I fought shy of, for I did not like his looks, and concluded to have as little to do with him as possible. I met his brother, Colonel Butler, however, who was the power behind the throne, and who managed most of the transactions which had any money in them, which the general could not have openly touched without exciting comment, and probably getting himself into trouble. Both the general and the colonel were decidedly on the make, and were bent on improving the chances which the practically unlimited control of one of the richest cities on the continent gave them for bettering their fortunes. The colonel, however, could attend to mere pocket-filling operations to better advantage than his brother, and it soon became well understood that he was the one to apply to, if any favors from headquarters were desired.
I obtain Passes to go through the Lines.
From Colonel Butler I obtained permits to go to Mandeville, on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain, and even to visit Mobile, without being searched. With these papers in my possession, I set about preparing for a career of some activity in the way of running through the lines and communicating with the Confederate authorities. Having the same desire as the two Butlers to earn a dollar or so when I could, and, if possible, without stealing, I engaged quite extensively in the drug business, while performing the duties of a special messenger and bearer of Confederate despatches. Drugs of all
