The scout and ranger: being the personal adventures of Corporal Pike, of the Fourth Ohio cavalry. As a Texan ranger, in the Indian wars, delineating western adventure; afterwards a scout and spy, in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, under General Mitchell, Rosecrans, Stanley, Sheridan, Lytle, Thomas, Crook, and Sherman. Fully illustrating the secret service. Twenty-five full-page engravings

Front matter

Qass.

Book.

7 J

Preface

Whatever aids in illustrating tlie spirit of the late great struggle, through whicli the nation has so successfully passed, must be of interest to the American reader. The occurrences of the late lehellion will ever form a study for the free citizens of the Republic of far deeper interest than those of any other event m the world's history ; and few will be content with the perusal of mere outlines, or of battle descriptions, however vivid, but which are only repetitions, though of a magnified type, of what the world has witnessed at almost every decade, since the dawn of civilization; and hence they will search out details, and incidents, which will lead them into the spirit of a conflict, to which they are indebted for their national greatness, material prosperity, and civil and religious freedom; and those incidents maybe as readily learned in connection with the career of the Private Soldier, as with that of the Major General.

The simple but touching narratives of one who has survived the horrors of a rebel prison; or the little hillock which covers the remains of one of the murdered victims of rebel cruelty, are far more perfect illustrations of the civilization of the ruling classes in the South, and the malignity of their character, than the whole career of the ablest of our commanders.

Thousands of incidents in the life of every soldier, were they recorded, would be invaluable in illustrating the history of the late war ; but the mass of these will soon be forgotten, and

VI PREFACE.

the actors themselves fill unknown graves. Men ^Tho, in any other era, would be singled out, and known as heroes to a whole nation for their gallant deeds, will pass through life as but one of millions, and must rest content with a general tribute to the great mass.

We are now to have a national literature, as well as a national existence. American writers of romance and the drama, will no longer seek the antiquated regions of Europe for scenes and heroes; America has supplied all that is necessary to the most vivid of pictures ; and no pen, even though the plot be fiction, need ever exaggerate in incidents or descriptions. He who tells the simple truth, narrates more of the strange and the heroic, than could be conceived by the fertility of a Dickens, or a Dumas.

The writer of this narrative, throughout, has adhered strictly to facts, without any attempt at embellishment. The wild chases after the Comanches ; the stern duties of war ; and the hardships of prison life, have left him little time to cultivate elegant diction, and as he has an abiding conviction that unvarnished truth is ever more acceptable than high wrought fiction, he is content with the simple narrative, which is spread before the reader in the pages which follow.

The Author.

HiLLSBORO, Ohio, June 21, 1865.

Chapter I. My Fikst Effort At Seeing Life — A Trip To Texas 19

CHAPTER 11.

MY FIRST INDIAN CAMPAIGN 33

CAAPTER in.

MORE ADVENTURE — MUSTERED OUT 57

CHAPTER IV.

WITH THE RANGERS AGAIN — BUFFALO HUNT — A LONELY JOURNEY 63

CHAPTER V.

ANOTHER LONELY RIDE — FRONTIER FEUDS 82

CHAPTER VI.

MORE ADVENTURE — MEETING AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 86

(vii)

VIU CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

KICKAPOO CAMPAIGN — INCIDENTS 95

CHAPTER VIII.

INDIAN WARFARE — SCALPING — CANNIBALISM 101

CHAPTER IX.

SCOUTING — A WHITE CAPTIVE , 112

CHAPTER X.

COL. Johnston's comanche campaign — a great failure —

FRIGHTFUL SUFFERING OF THE RANGERS 118

CHAPTER XI.

KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE — SECESSION 136

CHAPTER Xn.

TYRANNY AND PERFIDY OF THE SECESSIONISTS 145

CHAPTER XIII.

OUT IN THE WILDERNESS 151

CHAPTER XIV.

FAREWELL TO DIXIE 155

CHAPTER XV.

IN THE UNION SERVICE — THE KENTUCKY CAMPAIGN 173

CONTENTS. ix

CHAPTER XVI.

AFTER JOHN MORGAN 189

CHAPTER XVH.

RECONNOITERING MIDDLE TENNESSEE — SCOUTING AS CAPTAIN EONHAM OF THE FIRST LOUISIANA CAVALRY 196

CHAPTER XVni.

TRIP TO DECATUR — LIVELY ADVENTURES 208

CHAPTER XIX.

CARRYING AN IMPORTANT DISPATCH TO GENERAL BUELL 227

CHAPTER XX.

RECONNOITERING BRIDGEPORT — TAKEN PRISONER — MY TREAT- MENT — CRUELTY OF THE REBELS 235

CHAPTER XXI.

ARRIVAL OF WOUNDED FROM FREDRICKSBURG 249

CHAPTER XXII.

OUT OF THE HOSPITAL — OFF FOR HOME 253

CHAPTER XXin.

SCOUT TO WOODBURY — PLAYING REBEL SENTINEL — NARROW

ESCAPES 260

CHAPTER XXrV.

GEN. Stanley's great raid — playing aid-de-camp — scouting AT HARPETH SHOALS 265

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXV.

AFTER JOHN MORGAN IN OHIO — WAKING UP THE WRONG PAS- SENGER 273

CHAPTER XXVI.

OFF TO THE HIAWASSEE IN SEARCH OP STEAMBOATS — A FA- MILIAR NEIGHBORHOOD — FEARFUL LEAP — AFFECTING IN- CIDENT 276

CHAPTER XXVn.

AFTER STEAMBOATS AGAIN — A MOUNTAIN NYMPH — BOB WHITE,

THE UNION BUSHWHACKER 286

CHAPTER XXVin.

BATTLES OF DUG GAP AND CHICKAMAUGA 300

CHAPTER XXIX.

PERSONAL ADVENTURES DURING THE BATTLE 311

CHAPTER XXX.

WHEELER BADLY WHIPPED — A PERILOUS TRIP OVER THE

MUSCLE SHOALS 317

CHAPTER XXXI.

RAID IN NORTH CAROLINA — REBEL COLONEL WALKER KILLED. 329

CHAPTER XXXn.

BRIDGE BURNING EXPEDITION TO AUGUSTA 336

CHAPTER XXXIII.

BLOODHOUND CHASE — TAKEN PRISONER — DRUNKEN AND EX-

CITED REBELS.

CONTENTS. XI

CHAPTER XXXrV.

THE WHIPPING POST — TORTURING NEGROES — STARVING OUR PRISONERS — THE CHARLESTON JAIL — OUR OFFICERS VIN- DICATED 361

CHAPTER XXXV.

ADIEU TO CHARLESTON — ESCAPE FROM THE REBELS — ARRIVAL

IN THE UNION LINES 370

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE NORTH CAROLINA CAMPAIGN — DOWN TRIP TO WILMING- TON — AT SEA — DISCHARGED FROM THE SERVICE 383

CHAPTER XXXVII.

PERSONAL — CONCLUSION 391

SCOUT AND RANGER.

CH A r T E E 1.

MT FIRST EFFORT AT SEEING LIFE — A TRIP TO TEXAS.

I HAVE not the vanity to suppose the details of my career in life, other than as it has been connected with the public service, would be of the slightest interest to the reader ; and, therefore, I shall not dwell upon them. But I can not but believe that my adventures in that most dangerous and romantic of all branches of the service — while acting the part of a scout — during the late long and bloody war against the most gigantic rebellion known to history, Avill be read with interest, not only by the patriotic people of the loyal states, for whom my life was risked, but by thousands in the South — violent rebels — who will, in these pages first recognize me, in my true character, as a soldier of the Union ; though oft I have partaken of iheir hospitalities, and been their familiar companion ; and many a rebel officer will, in the following narrative, for the first time learn that they have communicated much valuable information to one who was in the service of the nation against which they had arrayed the whole power, and chivalry of half a score of powerful and flourishing states, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude.

My career as a scout was commenced under Gen. 0. M. Mitchell, who, in 1862, commanded the Third Division of the 2 19

20 TEXAN CIVILIZATION.

Cumberland Army ; General ^litcliell, ^vho united in himself the qualities of a noble man, a thorough scholar, and a dashing officer, and -whose death, before the nation could well spare his services, caused a deep despondency to pervade every loyal breast. When he Avas removed from command in Tennessee, I was turned over to General Rosecrans ; who, in turn, on leaving, recommended me to General Thomas. I have also served with Gens, I). S. Stanly, George Crook, Lytle, Sheridan, Grant, and Sherman ; so that the reader will not be at a loss to imagine that my term of service has been an eventful one ; and that vanity does not inspire me to Avrite an account of those wild and almost incredible adventures, which are naturally incident to the branch of the service to which I was devoted.

But why engage in the dangerous vocation, and risk life, amid enemies who, had they known my character, would gladly have suspended me to the nearest limb ? Say, like Shylock, it was my nature, and the reader has it all. I had been well trained in such service, having left my home in Ohio, long since, and migrated to Texas, where I was schooled as a " Ranger " and hunter — the latter character being a necessary accompaniment of the former, as the ranger draws little or no subsistence from the government, but obeys the injunction of Scripture, and takes neither brass nor postal currency in his purse, nor hard tack in his haversack, relying almost entirely on his trusty rifle, for subsistence, from the first to the last of his terra of enlistment.

But why should an Ohioan, and a printer, be induced to migrate to Texas, where civilization has but begun, and w^here men still fancy that there is something diabolical in tht^ process of producing books and newspapers ? In Texas' — a land of contrarities, where all is abundance, by the mere act of nature, or sterility beyond the power of art to fertilize ; where one only looks up stream for water ; where rivers are narrow at their mouths, and wide at their fountains; where the ground is never dusty, though parched with drouth ; where grass grows green in winter ; where neither the horse nor the

OFF FOR KANSAS. 21

co^T can be tempted to eat corn ; where the widest extremes of heat and cold are often felt in a day ; and where the unfortunate immigrant, if he murmurs, or shows surprise, at all he sees and feels, is at once pronounced "green from the states," and looked upon as an object of commiseration? AVell, perhaps it is strange that I should find myself there — but it is not more strange than true.

I had been working at my trade in Jefferson City, Missouri, during the winter of 1858-9, and in the spring resolved to go to Kansas, Avhich was yet disturbed by factions, and consequently the ver}^ place for one fond of adventure ; and, as my nature prompted me to ramble, I saw no other section half so inviting ; and accordingly, having armed myself, " as the law directs," I started for the territory on foot.

I had traveled but half a day, however, when I stopped for dinner at a wayside inn, kept by a plethoric old man, the possessor of a young Avife and half a dozen worthless darkies. While at dinner, some one rode up to the gate and inquired of the landlord if there was a young man there, who was traveling on foot.

'• That's my name," I said, and Avent to the door, to ascertain; what was vranted.

" Say, young man," said the party, " don't you want to go to Texas?"

"Don't care if I do," said I.

"Well," he replied, " my name is Colonel Johnston ; I live twelve miles south of Dallas ; I am taking down a drove of horses, and want help ; I Avill furnish you wuth a horse, saddle, and bridle, and pay your way."

In an instant, all desire to visit Kansas, and participate in the partisan turmoils, which were continually agitating the territory, "vanished into thin air," and in their stead arose visions of wild horse chases, buffalo hunts, Indian fights, and a thousand other " manly sports," which I knew to be the chief sources of amusement and excitement, in that wild, celebrated region.

"But where were you going?" queried the Colonel..

22 CHANGE OF PURPOSE.

"■To Kansas," I replied.

" What were you going there for ?" he continued.

"For fun," Avas my sententious, but truthful answer.

'•Well," he responded, "if you want fun, just go to Texas; that is the place to find it ; plenty of all sorts of game, fine horses, and clever people. It 's just the spot for a young man. If ever you go there, you will like the country so well, that you will never leave it."

"Hold on, then, till I get my dinner, and I'll go," was the only reply I stopped to make, till I had satisfied my appetite.

Dinner over, I mounted the animal designated, and we proceeded to gather up the horses, Avhich had scattered about to graze, while the Colonel was waiting on me. There were in the drove an unusually fine lot of northern mares, which Johnston stated would be very valuable in Texas, besides a number of magnificent geldings.

As soon as we were fairly on our way, my employer took care to remind me that his name was Colonel Johnston, and inquired mine. He then went on to enlighten me, by saying, that, in Te.xas, every man of an}^ note had some title ; was either dubbed General, Colonel, Major, Captain, Judge, or Esquire ; that his friends had given him the title of Colonel, though he had never held any milit;iry position, the term being merely complimentary. He further informed me, that at one time ir, his life, he had been a mate on board of a river steamer, and tlicn began to relate various feats of personal prowess, which at once inspired me with a high regard for both his physical and intellectual endowments. He was really a fine looking, robust m:in, about thirty-five years of age, of a very generous, anc/ manly disposition ; and but for a superfluity of vanity and self iuqjortance, was an exceedingly agreeable companion. He had been in Illinois, settling up his Avife's estate, and had taken her share of the property in horses ; and, by the way, one of the first things he told me was, that he had married a widow,

AVe traveled fast; I thought very fast ; and as day after day caaie and went, and we were m the saddle early and late, I be-

THREATENED ASSASSINATION. 23

gan to imagine something must be wrong about the man and his horses ; but I said nothing. On the second day after we had joined fortunes, he began to deprecate the ftict that he would have to force a sale of a horse in order to raise money ; whereupon I loaned him a sufficient sum (I think about forty dollars in gold), to take him through. The reader will say that this was indescreet on such a short acquaintance, and that I ought not to have been so free with my money with a stranger. But it was always a fault of mine to confide in strangers, and in this case I did not lose anything, though at one time I believed the chances good to lose all ; for Johnston sought a quarrel with me in the Indian Nation, while near Boggy river, and I detected him in the act of drawing his six-shooter on me, at a time when he thought I did not observe him. My rifle was near at hand, and I quickly had him at my mercy, Avith my piece leveled on his breast, and my finger on the trigger. We had differed the evening before as to which side of the mountain the road went, and I Avas found to be in the right. But this was such a triflins: excuse for a quarrel, that I naturally concluded he entertained the notion of putting me out of the way, and thus get, not only all I had loaned him, but all I had on my person. My advice to young men is, not to be too free in showing money to strangers ; nor ought they to do as I have often done, make loans when there was no way of getting the money back when it is wanted. In this instance I might have lost every dollar I possessed, and my life, too, by my freedom in letting a stranger know my resources. I was green then, but am wiser now.

Our route lay through South Missouri, along a high barren ridge, for eighty miles. If I remember rightly, we passed no town till we came to Linn creek, where we crossed the Osage river, which, I believe, is the head of navigation. It is a small town but is a very business like little place. As we crossed the river a little boat steamed away from the landing, loaded, as I afterward learned, with nineteen tons of deer hides, besides other peltries and furs. The town is hemmed in by the Osnge range, which although very high and abrupt, should rather be

24 SOUTH WEST MISSOURI.

called hills than mountains. The rock of this range is a sort of lava concrete on the surface, ■while the tops of the ridges and level benches in the mountains :vere covered with bowlders, evidently of volcanic origin, as they have the appearance of having been melted in a little round-bottomed pot, from which, after cooling, they had been dumped. This portion of the country abounds in minerals, especially lead and iron; and it is, perhaps, the best watered region in the United States ; thousands of large, clear springs Jjurst out from beneath the mountain ranges; but very few issue from their sides, however, which is somewhat remarkable.

We passed through Springfield, which at that time was a beautiful and flourishing little city. A school dismissed while we were riding through the streets, and from the walls of the large seminary issued such a swarm of pretty girls, as would make any youno; man's head swim with delisrht as he viewed them. I have always had a curiosity to go back there.

From Springfield our route w"as through a good country for some distance, until we reached Barry county, in which the land is too poor and rocky to talk about. While traveling through it, we managed to tear oS" nearly every shoe from the horses' feet, and this caused some delay, in getting them re-set.

Getting on our way again, we passed through Cassville. The country was still so rocky that the geese could n't walk about to graze; at least so I concluded, from the fact that I sawone sitting on a hill-side, some distance from a house, and a wom^an carrying it food. . The goose made no effort to help itself, and the woman had to rough it over the rocks the entire distance.

Crossing the Arkansas line, we reached Bentonville, a very thrivino; village in the Ozark mountains; thence wo went to Fayctteville, a town of considerable importance, to the north, but in sight of the Boston mountain, a spur of the Ozark range. As we passed through, we met the overland mail stage, coming at full speed, or at least as fast as mule flesh could move it.

When stages were first put on this line, considerable excite-

OVERLAND MAIL. 25

ment was created in Western Arkansas ; it was a new thing — an eighth wonder of the worki ; and to the great disgust of the " natives," some "of the managers and their wives, feeling the importance of their " posish," put on considerable " style ;" and the popular disgust would manifest itself on every possible occasion, much to the annoyance, both of employees and passengers. The children readily imbibed the spirit of their seniors and would continually reiterate the slang of their parents. On this particular occasion, as the coach came down a steep hill into the town, a crowd of little wchins was standing by the roadside, waiting to see the " sights ;" when one of them, a bright looking boy, but as ragged as only Arkansas children are, elbows and knees out, with a huge rent in that part of his pants covering the spot "where mothers smite their young," from which protruded a piece of muslin very much the color of the surrounding soil, — shouted at the top of his voice: "The g-r-e-a-t 0-v-e-r-l-a-n-d M-a-i-1 C-o-m-p-a-n-y — " and was, evidently, going to add something more, when a huge, muscular, six-footer of a passenger thrust his head out of the window and yelled : " Dry up, you little reprobate, or I'll jump out and raise a crowd and clean you out in a minute." The little urchin and his party, not exactly expecting such a reception, took to their heels, each with his flag of truce flying behind him almost horizontally. The sight was immensely enjoyed by the wearied passengers, who greeted the retreating boys with roars of laughter. The lumbering of the coach and the shouts of the passengers so frightened our horses chat we had a stampede for the next five miles, but fortunately, no harm resulted.

Boston mountain was the next difiiculty we had to surmount. The road over it is fifteen miles long, and the ascent was exceedingly steep ; but there are several steppes, or benches, on the sides, and these aff'ord good resting places for travelers. Every acre on these steppes is good tillable land, and would be admirably adapted to vine growing; while upon the very summit is one of the finest farms in Arkansas. We stopped here for the night and were generously entertained, as indeed we always

26 A MOUNTAIN STORM.

were ; for tlie people of this State, before the war, were ever noted for their hospitality.

On the following morning we started down the mountain. The sky wore a threatening appearance; great banks of clouds seemed to rise from the horizon, and, as it were, to be sucked or drawn from every direction toward the mountain by some powerful current or attraction, until, finally, as we reached the first bench from the top, they met with such violence that the concussion seemed to jar the mountain itself, as if it had been shaken by an earthquake. Peal upon peal of thunder rolled through the clouds, accompanied by terrific flashes of glittering lightning, that seemed to leap from heaven to earth, and from earth again through boundless space. To add to the terrific noise of the thunder, it bellowed through the mountain gorges, reverberating from cliff to cliff, like volleys of musketry, and A\ as accompanied by the sound of creaking boughs, falling trees, and of rocks loosed by the winds, tumbling from the summit of the mountain to the abysses below. The falling rain soon accumulated into torrents, and these added to the din, as they fell over precipices, until one could scarcely do other than conclude that harmony had been broken up in the heavens and that the elements Avere engaging in one long, desperate, and terrific strife.

We did not stop — we could not; the storm came sweeping down the mountain with a fury that was irresistible; and nearly carried our animals over the cliffs. The clouds themselves seemed to be falling, for in addition to the torrents of rain which drenched us, we were closely envelo|)ed in a thick mist which shut out from our view all surrounding objects. The horses entirely bewildered, became frantic, and dashed off in all directions, but chiefly up the sides of the gorge, down which our route lay. Some were speedily lost to view, while others almost precipitated themselves down the mountain side, regardless of danger. As for ourselves, we were poAverless, and could only await the dispersion of the clouds that we might see what to do ; and fortunately we were not compelled to wait long, as the stem was brief; it however made up in fury what it lacked in duration

A FREE FIGHT. 27

One by one -we discovered our horses on the mountain side, trembling at the giddy hight to which, in their terror, and while enveloped in fog, they had clambered. To get them down was a Avork of no little difficulty and danger, but it was accomplished, however, without accident, and we sped away for Lee's creek, a mountain stream which was known to rise with great rapidity, and when up was not fordable. The prospect of being water bound in the mountains for two or three days without provisions, the reader will admit, was not very inviting ; and so we concluded, and we put on our best speed and gained the ford just in time; for five minutes later and it was a roaring torrent.

Not far from the foot of Boston mountain Ave passed through n little village of sixty or eighty houses, the inhabitants of Avhich appeared to be settling some question of vital importance to the community, as they were engaged in a free fight after the most approved style — every body being in ; and oaths, rocks, clubs, and pistol-shots were the order of the day. Not receiving any invitation to participate, and being firm adherents of the theory that every community should be alloAved to settle its domestic affairs in its OAvn way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States — even though that way was a little rough — Ave passed along on our route, through a shower of ill-aimed missiles ; and for once denied ourselves the luxury of eno;agino; in a free fight.

We crossed the Arkansas river at Van Buren, and stopped with very good Avill at a plantation OAvned by a handsome Avidow, whose husband had been an oificer in the regular service. Oar entertainment Avas superb, and at nine o'clock we retired, and, being Avearied, Avere soon enjoying a profound sleep. ToAvard midnight wc Avere aroused by a loud barking in the yard from half a score or so of dogs. On going to the door I looked out and discovered a man in the act of turning our horses out of the lot. Seizing my rifle, I aroused Johnston, and started for the scene of operations. Luckily the animals Avere tired, and moved sloAvly, so that I was on the thief in a minute ; and he, seeing that

28 INDIAN CIVILIZATION.

I was armed, loosed his hold, fired a shot, and fled. I returned his fire in haste and at random ; so the ball did not take effect. The thief ran down the lane, at the end of which an accomplice was standing, and in a moment they both mounted their horses.^ and were soon out of sight.

At Fort Smith we entered the Indian Nation — the first we met being Choctaws. They had long been on friendly terms with the whites, and traveling through their country was as safe as, and perhaps safer than, in Arkansas. But few of the Indians build their houses on public roads, the exceptions generally being half-breeds. The full Indian always seeks some secluded spot on which to build. There were some handsomely improved farms through the country, but they were mostly owned by white men who had married Indian wives.

We camped out through the Nation, and procured our food, ready cooked, from the people. The squaws make excellent bread, and they supplied us bountifully with stewed venison. One may go to the Indian's house when he will, and he will find the kettle on and boiling, filled with the choicest meat. I invariably found the natives kind and obliging, and very reasonable in their charges. I often left Johnston to wait in the woods for his rations, while I sat down with the Indians, and enjoyed a warm meal. They had milk, eggs, and butter in abundance. All eat soup, succotash, and other " spoon victuals,'' out of the same dish, and with the same spoon; not from a scarcity of either, but from their laws of etiquette. He is regarded as exceedingly rude who refuses to eat soup from the same bowl with them, though each is supplied with separate plates, knives, and forks for the eating of meat, eggs, fruit, etc.

Although I did not discover any malicious disposition among the natives, I was informed that human life was held very cheap by them; although they seldom molest white men traveling through their country, they frequently engage in deadly strife among themselves. I do not think much of their progress in civilization as a general thing. Here and there a farm and residence evinced industry and taste ; but on the next, perhaps, one

WHISKY IN DEMAND. 29

■will see a crowd of grown young men and ■women, stark naked, playing marbles.

Their police regulations were well adapted to preserve order. In every township of six miles square there was a mounted force of ten men, one relief of whom was almost constantly in the saddle, traveling the country in all directions ; and their mode of transmitting intelligence from one beat to another was only excelled by the telegraph.

The country is beautifully diversified ■nuth mountains, bold, rugged, and often isolated, rising from the surface of a level valley. They are covered with pine and cedar and other evergreens. The valleys are well adapted to grazing, and hence the principal wealth of the country is in horses, cattle, and hogs. We were often stopped at the bridges to pay toll. As the streams throughout the entire region usually have quicksand bottoms, it is a great convenience to travelers to have these bridges, although it is rather disagreeable to encounter a squaw every few miles vigorously demanding toll.

On Boggy River we were out in the rain for some time, and, being wet without, we were naturally dry within; and as the water in the Indian Nation does not possess sufficient consistency to quench thirst on such occasions, we resolved to procure some Avhisky. But how? That "was the question. The law was very strict in prohibiting its importation or manufacture, and it was not easy to evade it. However, we must procure some; and, seeing a house at a short distance from the road, we stopped the horses to graze while I set out on the questionable mission of purchasing whisky, without knowing what to call it In Choctaw.