At one point I noticed a horse-car
filled with straw bedding for the animals, and the train going here at a
snail's pace enabled me to jump off and chuck an armful of the straw
into our car; I did this with my friend of the blankets in mind. I threw
the damp straw on top of the live coals and in a few minutes or less the
car was filled with rank, reeking smoke that fairly made the eyes water.
Up jumped the blanket monopolist, rushed to the window for a breath of
air, and while inhaling the ozone I chucked his blankets out of the car
door. When he returned to his nest, which was a nest no longer, he swore
several swears, both large and small, but he was forced to fare like the
rest of us,--on the bare boards.
All this time the pain in my jaw was gradually getting worse. A
swelling had started and I was feeling a little the worse for wear.
It was morning when we reached Abbeville Station, where we were to wait
until night before being able to resume our journey. Here there was a
horrible mass of dead horses--about 500 in all--lying in the railroad
yards; they had died in the cars on the way back for treatment.
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