without his assistance. I, however, did not contemplate any further difficulty in obtaining his consent, and even his assistance, in the execution of my plans, and so started out on the war-path with a light heart, and with brilliant anticipations for the future.
With my satchel, containing a change of under-clothing and a few other traps, in my hand, I crossed over to Hopefield, on the Arkansas side of the river, and took the five o'clock train, not knowing exactly where I proposed to bring up. For a time I busied myself with the study of my Manual of Tactics, with the intention of becoming sufficiently posted on certain points to get my recruits into something like military training immediately. Having been the wife of an army officer for a number of years, and having seen some hard service on the frontier, I was, in a measure, pretty well qualified for the work I had now undertaken, especially as I had paid a good deal of attention to the details of military organizations, and had seen soldiers drilled hundreds of times. I had not been in the train very long, before, finding the conductor at leisure, I entered into conversation with him, with a view of obtaining information that might be useful in the furtherance of my designs.
Explaining to this individual, who appeared to take the liveliest interest in my affairs, that I was on a recruiting expedition, I asked him if he could not suggest a good neighborhood for me to commence operations in. He said that Hurlburt Station was as likely a place as I could find to pick up a company of strong, hearty fellows, who would do some good fighting, and advised me to try my luck there. Hurlburt, he told me, was not much of a place, a saw-mill, a country store, in which the post office was located, a school-house, which was also used as a church, being pretty much all there was of it. The country around, however, was tolerably well settled, and most of the young men thereabouts would, he thought, be rather glad of a chance to have a crack at the Yankees.
Hurlburt Station
.
The train speeded through the swamps, and it was not a great while before we reached Hurlburt Station, where, in accordance with the conductor's suggestion, I alighted. With my satchel in my hand, I made for the nearest house, and inquired of a negro, who was chopping wood, whether his mas-
