Posted by Seamus on January 08, 2001 at 18:27:30:
To Cpl. Malcolm MacWilliam
and Pvt. Davey Gunn
77th Highlanders, Montgomery’s,
Gren Coy
Rea’sTown, Winter Quarters
Dear Cousins!
I am sending this message with MacFarlane, as he returns to the Army, to tell you about our deer hunt.
Many Flags and MacFarlane, along with an itinerant artist named Andrew, have spent several days here at my cabin with me for our annual deer hunt. We were, indeed, fortunate that we had this warm little place to hunt from, as the weather was quite cold and never rose above 27 degrees the whole time. With the snow on the ground though, we had no problems in tracking our quarry nor in moving about, since the depth was only about 4 or 5 inches.
Cousins, it was so good to spend time with Flags! I felt a bit uneasy, however, with him being away from his new bride, Magdalena, so soon after the wedding, but he assured me it was with her blessing that he come here. She said she needed the rest, and some time to fix their cabin in HER way....whatever that means.
I must tell you some about this Andrew. He is a spritely young lad, hardly 20 years of age, and has a remarkable talent for capturing a person’s image on paper. It is uncanny how he can look at someone and produce a marvelous likeness of his object of focus. He had heard MacFarlane and Flags talking about the hunting trip in a tavern near Allemangel and asked if he might accompany them. When told of the dangers of the wilderness where the cabin sits, he laughed and said he was no stranger to danger...then he laughed heartily at his own joke! Flags was smitten by this lad and said he reminded him of himself in his youth. I will say that the lad, Andrew, was no trouble at all, and in fact, it was quite enjoyable to have him here.
MacFarlane did well, also. He enjoyed the peace and solitude of my woods tremendously, particularly after the constant din and chaos of everything he has been through with the 77th this past campaign. Being one of the drummers keeps him in noise all the time, as you well know. For a lad his age he has seen much more than most men 3 times his years. I truly hope he will come back with Flags again.
Flags, himself, seemed to need the rest, too....he said he hasn’t been getting his sleep. I asked him why not and he answered, “Dear cousin, you will find out soon enough...soon enough.“ Then he just threw his head back and laughed himself silly.
Now...the hunt! We did not take as much meat as we would have liked, but it was a very successful hunt. Flags had a good chance at a very fat young buck at about 30 paces, but his rifle misfired! When he told me that I said, “It’s a good thing it wasn’t old Red Leaf or he’d have had you for sure!” He thinks he must have gotten some snow in the pan when he primed, as it was snowing hard at that time. MacFarlane jumped a large doe out of the laurel and it startled him so that he did not get off a shot. I had to laugh at the look on his face when she jumped up and took off! I went with them what I could, but I have not enough strength to shoulder a rifle yet. Soon, though, I will be ready...
I must tell you this! Young drummer MacFarlane was carrying his Brown Bess, which Capt. Croy so graciously allowed him to take on leave for the hunt. I had him shoot at a target some 75 paces from my cabin porch to see how far off it would be at that range. I never saw the snow fly so I figured he shot way high...twice! After they left to go on another hunt, I was walking out toward the orchard where I had his target, and 20 paces from where he shot was an oak tree with a big gouge out of its side and another ball dead center on its trunk. NOW...this tree...innocent as a baby...stood a good five feet off the line of sight from where MacFarlane shot! ...and became his unwitting victim!!! Better stay with drumming...and learn to like vegetables!
Late one afternoon I spotted a large woods rabbit sitting under a pine tree and called to Flags. I pointed it out to him and he shot it through the heart. We roasted it and ate it for supper. I just had to remark that, even though it was quite tasty, that venison tenderloins would have been good, too. Somehow he did no find the humor in it as I did....nor did the drummer! Andrew knew better than to say a word...
Next day, Flags was able to get his rifle to work right and dropped a very nice large doe. So while they weren’t loaded down with venison, they will take enough home to Magdalena to please her.
The artist, Andrew, is leaving with a haversack full of images he had done, and promised to return to show me when he finishes the details on them. I think Nancy will like them.
Cousins, Flags filled me in on what happened to us all. I thank God and St. Andrew for watching over us and healing us. I am going to be all right again in time, I just know it. My rifle has been lost, I guess, on the battlefield, so I have sent an order with Flags to deliver to the gunsmith, Johann Schreit, near Womelsdorf in the County of Berks for a new one. I have specified a barrel by Johann Getz, as my old rifle had, only in about 22 balls to the pound instead of 40.
I must also tell you of a mystery. While we were hunting one day, we heard a round ball whiz through the air near the edge of the big meadow and strike a tree near where I stood, followed by the distant crack of a longrifle, indicating that the shot was taken from some considerable distance from us. We attributed it to an errant shot on a deer, however, when we returned to the cabin, the closest neighbor, Richard Wagner, was on my porch pacing back and forth. He saw us coming down the path and ran towards us gibbering incoherently about something. He was wild-eyed and would not settle down long enough to talk sensibly. All we could decipher was something that sounded like...like “red bud” ...and...“kill you”...and he ran off toward his cabin, some 500 perches away. I, nor Flags, nor either of the others made nothing of it, but attributed it to Herr Wagner being into some hard cider which he is known to do.
Well, dear Cousins, I must close now. MacFarlane is all geared up and is ready to return to Rea’s Town and the Army, and I want him to deliver this to you.
I will post to you again as soon as I can, and pray that you are comfortable in this cold winter. Perhaps by Spring I will be able to journey to see you myself.
Pax Aye!
Seamus