Litchfield enquirer., 1847-01-07
. WHOLE No. 1914.
THE DESERTER.
A ROMANCE OF Rr.,rrv

siderable military force stationed at For.
Leavenworth, young officer whose tai
ents and integrity had secured the un-
bounded confidence Of the government
and his superior officers, SO az to obtain
Tor MIN the office of Comrnissary ard
Paymaster ofthot station, appeared be-
lore the Commander ofthe garrison, with
the complaint that he had been robbed,
lie declared that his pocket book had
been taken-that his chest had been bro
ken open, and large amount of his own
anu OF the government funds taken there
from When asked whom he suspected,
ne SAID that his frst Sergeant had disap.
peared' and as he had placed great conf.
dence in him and allowed him free ac-
cess 10 his room,1 he strongly suspected
that he was the thief
Tho Colonel Immediately ordered sey-
erai officers and men to take different
routes and pursue and arrest the fugitive
Sergeant. They were soon on his track
though from the start the deser.er had of
them, there was but little hope Of bis ar
rest. The lieutenant who had been
robbed also volunteered to pursue the
thief, and mounting his horse took diff.
teEent routefrom the other pursuers. Al
ter long and severe ride, the Sergean.
was at last overtaken, in the road on foot
his horse foundered. He was immediate
y arrested and searched, and on his per-
son was found the sum of two hundred
dollars, which gave strong if not conclu
slve proof Of his guilt. When he was
taken back 70 the fort, private was sen,
10 inform 1t. T--of the capture
The private met the 1t. returning a few
miles from the fort, when he informed
him that tho thief had been arrested
The Lieut. exhibited some little coufu-
sion at the announcement, but expressed
his qualification at the arrest. As he felE
greatly relieved by the information COM
municatcd, he remarked to the private,
that he would take bye-pa,h and rids
over to grocery in the neighbcrhood to
buy some presents for the men. In tbs
meantime he ordered the soldier 10 return
Immediately to the fort. Accordingly
they parted taking opposite courses. Ii.
T never returned to tho Fort, nor
was he afterwards seen in the United
States His relatives Ill believed him T.,
have been killed, either by his own hand
or by that OF some Of the desperate char
actsrs who hang upon eur frontier.
The Sergeant was brought up for exam =
ination. The damning proofs were ex-
hibited TO him--ihe money, his flight, &c ,
his only reply was, " where is my accu-
ser-bring him before me and you shalt
see which is the thief" But 1t. T
could not be round. The Sergeant thsn
confessed that he had been bribed by IT..
T to desert and take upon himself
the infamy which justly belonged to the
1t. himself, who was dsfaulter to tho
Government and wishing 10 cover his
crime BY the alledged robbery of III F..
Sergeant. That he had given him two
hundred dollars and horse, to fly fron
the fort, which after severe conflict with
conscience, he at a last consented to do
> but that before he had gone many miles
his horse broke down, and he was thus
ovsrtaken and arrested.
There were few persons who would b.
f lieve this ingenious story Of the Sergea
and the fact that no had committed u 81
) rious crime, though perhaps no. the on
he was charged With, prevented the few
who believed his story from interfering il,
his behalf He was accordingly delit
cred over TO he officers of Justice, and al
ter fair trial was found guilty aud sen !,
to the peniIen.iary for seven years, wher d
he now is. .....
On the first Of Of October last, as Il, !,
Arst division of the Mexican army was
, marching out Of the city. tho force OF
Gen. Worth was drawn up in line t.
5 salute them. One of the officers Of III.
, --infantry, who vas standing in from,
Of his company, observed as he though,
a familiar face in the Mexican ranks,
was that Of a Colonel in one ofthc Mex
lean regiments. AS the Mexican forcc
halted for the rear TO come up the Am
erican officer left his post, aud having
looked up an old brother officer, both az
nh a.
eyed him. As soon as the Mexican's eys
fell upon the Americans, he was observ-
ed to grow deadly pale, and 10 pull hi,
cap over his eyes and turn away. But
the Americans had seen enough to satis-
fy them that the Mexican Colonel was
no other than the renegade Ii. T
for whose crime poor man now suffers
the imfamy Of Imprisonment, in the psn.