Approaching a negro sentinel he warned us back with, "Stand back, dah; don't come any furder; it's agin de awdahs; you can't pass." He would not allow us to argue the case, but brought his gun to such a threatening position that we fell back.

Going down the line a little farther, we came to a white sentinel, to whom I said: "Comrade, what are your orders:" He replied: "My orders are not to let any of you fellows pass, but my beat only extends to that out-house there." Acting on this plain hint, we walked around the house and went up-town.
The guard simply construed his orders in a liberal spirit.

He reasoned that they hardly applied to us, since we were evidently able to take care of ourselves.
Later we had another illustration of this dog like fidelity of the colored sentinel.

A number of us were quartered in a large and empty warehouse.

On the same floor, and close to us, were a couple of very fine horses belonging to some officer.