This was the last cooking that my fellow-corporal Burke, whom I have referred to before, ever took part in. But before relating how that happened I may as well mention that the butchers were entitled as a sort of perquisite to the bullocks' heels, which they sometimes sold. Burke bought two of these at this place for fifteenpence, and began cooking them in a somewhat peculiar manner, being either too hungry or too impatient to cook them properly by boiling. What he did was to put them on the fire to fizzle just as they came from the butcher, not even cleaning them, or taking any of the hair off; and every now and then he would gnaw the portion off that he thought was done, in order to get the underdone part closer to the fire. In this way he finished both the hocks, and for a time seemed satisfied, evidently thinking he had had a good supper.
But he had not counted on his digestion, for having eaten so much on an empty stomach, and that too almost raw and mixed with a fair amount of soot, for the fire was not altogether clear, it was not long before he felt it begin to disagree with him, and he commenced to writhe about and was in fearful agonies all night. The doctor of the regiment was sent for, but he could do nothing for the man, and in the morning he was no better. We were then ordered to follow up the enemy, so that he had either to march on in this state or be left behind. He chose the former, so I got him along by helping him for about a mile, when he suddenly without saying a word to any one fell out of the ranks, lay down on a bank by the roadside, and expired in a few minutes. I was very much hurt at this, for he was one of my best comrades, but there was no help for it, and we had to leave him and march on.
We did not come in contact with the enemy at all that day, and encamped for the night, as we thought, but it afterwards proved to be for nearly a fortnight. Towards the end of that time, our captain, who was my best friend in the whole regiment, rejoined us, having been left behind owing to a slight wound which he had received while on the march three or four weeks previously, but of which he had now quite recovered. Our company was at that time very short of sergeants, for which I shall afterwards account, so he recommended my promotion to fill one of the vacancies to the colonel, who gave him a written order for the purpose, and I was put into the place of poor Ryan. I of course was very proud of my new title, and not only that, but I received one shilling and elevenpence pay per day, being an additional sixpence on what I had formerly.