Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1852-12-22
miscellaneous.
NOT A BIT OF DANGER ;
Or
A STRONG GAME OF EUCRE,


Courage, moral or physical is great gift,
but presence of mind, in moments of peril is,
in some cases, superior merit; in nine cases
out Of ten, discretion is better than valor A
man may guard against, By presence Of mind,
that which the most obdurate courage cannot
successfully combat; but GOODNESS and self
possession have their drawbacks, as our story
indicates
We have heard Of a very eccentric and sin
gulor man. who carried on business in Bayou
Sara, down in Mississippi county, some years
ago; Tufts was bis name, to which the liber.
al hearted Mississippians had gratuitously
added Captain Captain Tufts.
| Captain Tufts was born on the frontier
during the days Of Indian fights and border
warfare, aud lived amid the danger and death
| in the south TO look at the cid man, one
need not be told that he had had some pretty
hard knocks. and no boubt INDUCED in as
many "skirmishes' as most folks could boast
of out there; as his head hands, Sc, exhib-
tied as many cuts, thrusts, bumps aud bruises.
dots and discolorations, as the hero of hun .
bred fights, or score Of Peninsula campaigns
could well exhibit. Aud yet no man wore a
more peaceful barring the warlike scars we
mentioned mild and bepevolen. aspect, than
that Captain TUFTS, and indeed, bis dispo
siton and general manner was well daguer
reotyped in his plain anvarnished, though
engrayep countenanee. To fully illustrate the
character aud manners of the old captain. we
will relate few of his adventures, which i'm
part the causes aud effects of the outward
signs Of the captains well tatooed complex
! ion. aesi
Daring the Creek war; as it was called
Tufts was volunteer, serving under the com
maid of Gen. jackson, and it 30 happened
that Tufts and small party of his fellow
sogers got astray from the main body, and
went laundering and big trotting through the
swamp, in which some four or five hundred of
the enemy were encamped. and though it soon
became evident that Indians were not far of,
and the companions of Tufts were suspicious
y uneasy, he pushed forward with long ri
ae orer his shoulder, calling out to lis tardy
companions, who Jagged behind
Come along, come along, boys, there amt
no danger !"
Thus seduced, much against their wills, the
four companions Of the well satisfied Tufts
came along, and. all Of a sudden just as Tufts
bad uttered for the fftieth time, Come along
boys, there amt no danger~ shower of mr.
rows and bullets drove half the sentence down
poor Tufts throat, knocked him head over
! heels among the brush, and killed three of
his four companions.
Some how or other, Tufts crawled off. and
was picked up the next day by some friends,
quite bewildered with wounds but still insist
ing, there amt no daugerl'
The next exploit Of considerable note was
the finale of bear hunt. in which, bruin hav-
ing killed two dogs belonging to Tufts and
fellow hunter, be crawled into dense chap.
raral and disappeared, and though Tufts was
told by his companions that wounded bears in
dark jungle were better left alone, he in
sisted that there was no danger, and went
pcking around the retreat of the bear, until
the wrathful animal, gathering himself up for
one grand, desperate charge, rushed upon
Tufts Tufts fred into the monsters teeth
and received a blow from bruin that broke
his arm, and tore his scalp half off 1t was
in vain that Tufts yelled to his flying COM
rade that there was not symtom Of danger;
thu comrsds cleared himself and report cd