Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1861-11-28


and pleading; batless, my clothes torn
into fragments, painting and wcaricd.--
| had taken my bearings from the few
stars that glimmered through the clouds
in the unobscured spot Of the heavens,
and was about to start along the road in
an casterly direction, when n man leaped
from the thicket-.and the thief of the
battle field, the plunder of the dead, /,
stood by my side. "On, oh !" he ex-
claimed, in hoarse and excited tones,
pointing along the road in the direction
l was about to take; "they're following"
He shook with fear, and / pittied him.
Disgust at his presence, too, lcssened by
the sense of the common danger. Be.
fore | could speak he dashed past me
along the road. / followed and thus we
fled for more than twenty minutes--he
little ahead of me during the whole
time. We reached narrow unfinished
bridge, stretching from high banks across
q stream. We began to cross the bridge
but our progress was much inpeded aud
even endangered, as our only stepping
points were from beam to beam and plank
to plank, most of them loose and rotton
and at uneven distances. The bridge
was supported by huge piles set in the
river, whose sullen waters we were able
to distinguish rushing far beneath us
Yet the river, seemed shallow there,
for white breakers curling around the
rocks we could detect also. Onward we
went. l was now in advance some dozen
yards. All before us, beyond twenty
feet, was lost in gloom; behind, the same
darkness impenetrable at the same dis.
tance. Yet on we pressed, from one
rotten, shaking timber to another. Sud
denly loud shouts in the rear proclaimed
the pursuing foe. These were followed
by the sharp ring of rifles, and a fearful
shrek from my companion. ! stopped
and turned. He called on me, for the
Glove of heaven to help him." returned
some little distance and found him cling
ing, about couple of feet above the cross
pieces, to narrow iron bar that ran from
from one Of the piles to another He
was struggling wildly. "How is this"
l asked, as l stopped to aid him. But
discovered my assistance to be valueless,
unless | could place my feet on the bar,
and leaning with my breast upon one OF
the timbers, and reached over both hands
and grasped him by the collar. AS
was making this easy, the moon broke
fully upon us, and | met his upturned
pallid face His teeth were set; his
bloodless lips drawn from them with q
rigity that left them clear bare. His
eyes were starting from their sockets, and
his form trembled so as to shake the last
hold to which he clung
zone OF the bullets" he hissed between
his teeth, ''has smashed my ankle; i an
going!" His hold relaxed, another ter
rible shrek ran through the night air
and he fell crushing among the iuttinl
rocks below; his blood mingled with tn
pure element that eddied round them,
| again pursued my way along tn
bridge alone. Many bullet whistleC
past me from my inveterate but bewil
dered foes, and nanny a narrow escape
ran of being hurled into the dark river
or of implement upon its half concealed
rocks. But one such death sufficed TO
that night. AT length reached the othe
side, thankful but exhausted. Still, will
unabated speed, pursued my way, unit
the challenge of sentinel stopped fur
ther progress. | had reached one of tb
pickets OF the detachment for which
was bound-our gallant Northerners.
was safe, and free man again.
MoRRIsANIA, September, 1861. "