The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1861-11-07

J
I told him I was shot in the hip, and was
dying of thirst. Here he called mem
Der of the party to him, and taking from
his hand a canteen, poured some OF its
contents-brandy and water-down my
throat. My wound had entirely stopped
bleeeTng, but my whole side was stiff and
painful With much difficulty l rose to
my feet, and by the aid of two of nay cap
tors, tor such they were, managed to move
along with the rest Of the band, through
what appeared cleft in the mountain,
pursuing a new path to that l had hith-
erto trayersed in the company of those
who had fallen, and whom L was now
leaving behind me forever.
For some time we followed this road 1
running at the base of two declivities al
most perpendicular, whose dizzy SUBMITS
[ could not scan, and whose rugged sides
of gray, at intervals, were shining coldly
beneath some stray CLEAN of moonlight,
that, even in that cavernous pass, found
its way and smiled amid the gloom, like
| the good glance of a visiting angel.
Suddenly we emerged from this gloomy
| defle. and found ourselves in what ap-
peared almost level country. Here
where some tents were pitched-we halt
ed, and [ was prisoner in a guerrilla
camp.
A week elapsed, and I had recovered
from my wound. The chief of the party
who had captured me offered me my lib
erty, on condition that gave my parole
not to bear arms against tie rebels again
during twelve months This I had sworn
never to do in the event of my becoming
a prisoner to the Confederate army. [
was equally resolved now to adhere to my
oath.
From that moment / was closely guard
ed, with the vigilance known but to an
angry foe. No sleepy sentinel ever
lounged with heavy limb and weary eye,
in mock watchfulness, near the rugged
couch whereon | lay But, sleeping or
waking, some hawk-eyed watcher kept
/ gard sy rry side, marking OH my ont
goings and incomings.
In that camp was another prisoner be-
sides myself, miserable creature, appa-
rently, 0nly waiting the certain death that
| the caprice of merciless band would, in
some unexpected moment, hurl upon his
head, and whom nothing but the same
| caprice permitted still to move upon the
earth a living thing. This wretch had
been captured some days after [ had, in
the act of robbing the dead after skir-
mish. His crime in the eye of soldier
is deadly sin. He is the pariah of his
| class a vulture too foul for an honest
shot, fiom whose blood the bright steel
would receive disgrace deeper than its
stain. A thing to worthless to hang one
20 ba IoI
out suddenly, with stone or club, as rep
tile should, and the contaminated weapon
then aung from the hand forever.
He eringed to his captors, and they
drove him from them with curses and
kicks, and when he fawned they spat upon
him.
AN ESCAPE.
One night, after unwearied watch fulness
and ctaseless planning, [ broke from the
bondage that held me. The night was
clou1T and threatened rain. l had heard
enough from my captors to know that a
detachment Of northern troops was en-
camped to the eastward, within five miles
of us, This detachment L resolved to
reach or die From what / had learned
among the guerillas, felt assured could
with little difficulty find the eneampment.
After crouching my way through and
along the outskirt of a thlcket (that grew
by the side of road, old and grass grown,
running nearly east and west) for at least
tws1niies, merged from it into the road,
sweating and pleading hatless, my clothes
torn into fragments, painting and weariea.
l 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 easterly direction when a man leaped
from the thicket-and the thief of the
battlefield, the plunderer of the dead,
stood by my. side. "On, on - he exclaim-
ed in hoarse and excited tones, pointing
along the road in the direction 1 was
about to take, "they're following" He
shook with fear, and pitied him. Dis
gust at his presence too, was lessened by
a sense of the common danger. Before l
could speak he dashed past me along the
road. 1 followed, and thus we fed Cor
more than twenty minutes he little
ahead of me during the whole time. We
reached narrow unfinished bridge, stretch
ing from high banks across stream
We began to cross the bridge, but our
progress was much impeded and even en-
dangered, as our only stepping points
were from beam to beam and plank to
plank, most of them loose and rotten and
at uneven distances. The bridge was
supported by huge piles set in the river,