Chapter 10 Blood on the Prairie A Novel of the Sioux Uprising (continued)

Background: At this point in the story line, Chief Scout Toby Ryker is visiting the sick and wounded soldiers from the Dakota Conflict and the larger Civil War at Fort Snelling. He meets a mortally wounded young soldier named Edwin Balch from Glencoe, Minnesota, and accompanies him on his last journey home. We call him Eddy and have him as an amputee with gangrene. Balch is cited on page 333 of Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars 1861-1865 published in 1890 by the Pioneer Press Company, St Paul, Minnesota. The cite states: Enlisted Men Balch, Edwin, age 20, mustered in June 13, '62, mustered out (blank) Died November 27, '62 at Glencoe, Minn. This is our literary tribute to Edwin Balch. 

Once Ryker was settled in the wagon, Henrick clucked to the horses and the short caravan headed west from Fort Snelling. Eddy’s cheerful voice could be heard by passersby as he moved his pegs up and down the board and as he counted, “Fifteen two, fifteen four, fifteen six, and a pair is eight,” when the pegging was done. 
Ryker didn’t try to let the boy win the games easily. He played it straight, but quickly realized he was no match for the skill of this soldier when it came to playing cribbage. They covered sixteen miles that day, which took them beyond the southwest side of Minneapolis. There they made camp for the evening and helped Eddy with his slops and changed his bandages. Henrick, a quiet man, proved to be not only an able teamster but also a good orderly and cook as well. He prepared a tasty hot dish of potatoes, corn, and ground beef, and added to it some dried mushrooms. Ryker figured no Swede, not even Big Faye, could have done it better. 
That night, they built a campfire and moved Eddy’s cot out and set it next to the flames. They visited and joked and even Henrick joined in. Both Ryker and Eddy were pleasantly surprised when Henrick brought out a banjo from under the wagon seat and began to play some lively tunes. Ryker dug out his Jew’s harp and twanged along with Henrick, and Eddy laughed with glee. For a little while he was Eddy Balch, a normal twenty-one year old man from Glencoe rather than Private Edwin Balch, wounded war veteran, making the last long trip home to die. Ryker glanced at him several times and was amazed at the spirit of this fellow. 
“Hey Henrick, you know ‘Oh, Susanna?’” Eddy asked excitedly. “The boys down south sing it a lot and it sounds real good with a banjo.” 
“You mean, like this?” Henrick immediately launched into a lively version of the popular Civil War melody. Eddy picked up the beat and began to sing the words to the Stephen Foster song, but with his own twist to it. 

I came from Alabama 
With my banjo on my knee 
I’m going to Minnesota 
My true love for to see. 
It rained all night the day I left 
The weather it was dry 
The sun so hot, I froze to death 
My Becky don’t you cry. 
Oh! My Becky, 
Oh don’t you cry for me 
I’ve come from Alabama 
With my banjo on my knee 
I had a dream the other night 
When everything was still 
I thought I saw my Becky 
A-coming down the hill 
The buckwheat cake was in her mouth 
The tear was in her eye 
Says I, I’m going to the North 
My Becky don’t you cry. 
Oh! My Becky, 
Oh don’t you cry for me 
I’ve come from Alabama 
With my banjo on my knee 
I soon will be in Glencoe town 
And then I’ll look around 
And when I find my Becky 
I’ll fall upon the ground. 
But if I do not find her 
This man will surely die 
And when I’m dead and buried 
My Becky, don’t you cry. 
Oh! My Becky 
Oh, don’t you cry for me 
I’ve come from Alabama 
With my banjo on my knee 

Read the story of the Sioux Uprising in the format of your choice below as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Dakota Conflict of 1862. 
Barnes and Noble Nook 
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-on-the-prairie-a-novel-of-the-sioux-uprising-sesquicentennial-edition-steven-m-ulmen/1110322785?ean=2940014643931 
Google Books 
http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=6rU-6z03smwC#v=onepage&q&f=false 
Amazon Kindle 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007O2AMX2