The best piece of satire upon the leniency observed by the authorities, in the early part of the war, in reference to rebels found committing depredations, is contained in te following story: Some of the soldiers belonging to General Cox’s army, stationed in Kanawha, Virginia, caught a large rattlesnake, which manifested a most mischievous disposition, snapping and thrusting out its forked tongue at all who came near it. The boys at last got tired of the reptile, and as nobody wanted such a dangerous companion, the question arose, “What shall we do with him?” This question was propounded several times without an answer, when a half-drunken soldier, who was lying near, upon his back, rolled upon his side, and relieved his companions by quietly remarking: “D—n it! swear him, and let him go!”