Litchfield enquirer., 1861-11-07

whisper among us. "Guerillas ]" Hush !'-
 We listened long and breathlessly, and wariI, : peered on every side. Not man of us visibi
 but to his fellows. Crouched, with our yer 7 hearts beating on the earth covered by tn f friendly bush, we lay for many minutes in tn hope of hearing the whistle repeated All wa as still as though the spot had never known it wild solitude broken by the foot of man, or dis 5 turoed by his passions, his schemes or his am
 bition.
 Still we listened but in vain. No furthe sound was heard. Why was there no other sign al? Was it some solitary wanderer, who sen that shril cry forth through the stiffness (ir mere wantonness) and with no other motive thai that of breaking its monotony. Notso. There was significance in that sound that breatheC war and defiance as plainly as if it had come from the blast of trumpet. up and moving, in low tones, from the lips of the sergeant il command. "Let them try it again.
 Our march was resumed as before; but we stept more stealthily, listened with painful atten ton, and glared on every side with the intensity of blood hounds. The defe took an acu turn to the right, and on the left was naked space extending for some yards devoid of all verdure but the gray moss clinsing round the gray rocks
 We began, hastily, to cross this uncovered space When there was report of many pieces Mhhsl ieu naSheS rom rocks and bushes in the lront gleamed savagely and suddenly upon us- For moment we were staggered. Then with a shout we rushed forward to unearth the anl- pushed foe. Again the fire was repeated, with the muzz!es of their rifles within few feet of our faces. gazed round for an instant, after uischarglng my piece at one fellow, and with my bay0net transtiXing another to the soft sandy rock, against which he fell. and perceived none ot my party by my side But the thick smoke aid rapidly falling darkness that now ruled, in conjunction with yells, shots and eroans, the sur rounclng glen, made all invisible beyond the l length of the arm.
 At that instant felt a sudden pang; lizzl- ] ness blackness, like death came over me I cuched wildly at the sulphureous air, reelesi and fell.
 When I recovered my senses, discovered that was laying on my side, bleeding slightly from flesh wound in the thigh. l had bled proiusely J. before recovering for I was saturated m halt congealed gore. Raising myself on my elbow, l looked round for my comrades The moon Was shining with all the softness of her beauty on the spot. counted five bodies lying within compass of almost as many yards. endeavofed to discover their uniforms, Eut could not at that distance. l arose slowly, and. with much difficulty reached the nearest. He was dead, with blue hole in the centre of his fore head. through which the bullet had passed, and the blood still slowly oczed. 1 craWled to the next one; he too was past all earthly aid. So on to the third, fourth and fifth The bullet had done is full work on ali. These had been, a few hours before, my comrades. eager to deal de- sruction upon foes. and careless of the fate that met them. l was the sixth and the last of the party.
 But where was the enemy, or what had been the enemy? heard no sound, and the moon- i light falling directly upon the dead men, and gray, weird like rocks, produced an effect that Was stckenlng and horrible. 1 remembered the man had slain. searched for his body, bu; it vas gone searched for others of the enemy, lnt ali had disappeared. There were no dead i left on the battle-ground but the five fallen scouts. ct, that others had perishcd there was obvious from the blood lying in little pools among the rocks, behind which the ambu:hed foe larked and poured upon Us his deadly fire
 My wound began to bleed afresh which brought taintness upon me, and l sank 10 the earth 4 burning thirst Was consuming me, aud l groaned in agony
 Alter a little while I made another effort to rise, but failed and then falling back, as uy as possible. yielded to my fate. l thought of past days, when, in early youth, no cry for blood had yet awakened that inherent ferocty that turks unseen in the heart of man, until the fear tul scent rouses it as it does the bloodhounds, and it springs forth with d swftness that arpals and strength that desolates.
 CAPTURE.
 My reverie was broken by the sound of voices Then came that of approaching footsteps. As It drew nearer new life seemed to culver through my veins, like the fresh gush of d virgin spring. The most savage foe to whom the tor ture of captive were an unapproachable delight, | advancing upon me with the menaces of demo- niac, would at that moment have been welcome as an angel of light in comparison to the lone- ness-the utter woe of that dismal glen. and it's bloody unburied dead
 l In few minutes dozen armed men were on the spot, leaning on their rifles and gazing round upon the dead. Some stopped and examined the bedes With careless scrutiny others merely stlrred them with the foot, or turned them over With the muzzies of their guns, with the brutal indifference bloodshed engenders in the heart
 "1hey're dead. Let them rot P said one who appeared to be the leader of the party.
 |" Not all dead" replied.
 Had voice actually issued from the tomb, as mine undoubtedly seemed to do. its effect would not have been much more startling Each man, for an instant, seemed changed into a statue Then the whole group made simultaneous move ment towards me.
 ! That's the fellow that bayoneted Ike," ex- claimed one of them, cooking his revolver and thrustlng the muzze between my teeth.
 In another instant should have been in eter- nity. but for the sudden jerking-ba of my would-be destroyers arm by one of his comrades who calmly remarked ' If he's got through the rough work he had while ago, we Il not kill the poor devil now" With muttered curse the rutfian replaced his weapon in his belt and with drew. Where are you hurt ?' inquired he whose interference had just saved me; cant you get up?' told him had been shot in the hip, and was dying of thirst. Here he called a member of the party to him, and taking from his hand canteen, poured some of Its contents brandy and water-down my throat My wound had entirely stopped bleeding, but my whole side was stiff and painful. With much difficulty I rose to my feet, and by the aid of two of my captors, for such they were. managed to move along with the rest of the band, through what appeared cleft in the mountain. pursuing new path to that had hitherto traversed in the con- pany of those who had fallen, and whom was now leaving behind me forever
 For some time we followed this road, running at the base of two declivites almost perpendicu. lar, whose dizzy summits I could not scan, and whose rugged sides of gray, at intervals, were shining coldly beneath some stray gleam of moon light, that even in the cavernous pass. found its Way and smiled amid the gloom, like the good glance of a visiting angel. ..-.-
 Suddenly we emerged from this gloomy deRle and found ourselves in what appeared almost a level country. Here-where some tents were pltched-we halted, and was prisoner in g