, 1861-10-16
THE BOYS At ,IRONTON.
What They are 9otpg In that Neck OF
Woods.
Correspondence Of the Chicago Tribune

Correspondents Of the Chicago Tribune
IRoNroE, Mo-, Oct, 49, 1861,
We have noT been at this post long enough
to understand OUT neighbo1s, and to lnoW
how they carry Oh the war. The villages con-
tsin many refugees from the country south of
us aEd numbers OF THIN have Joined the va:
rious regiments now stationed here. Our
caralry make frequent excursioIs into the reb-
81 settlements. :frcm- twenty to: forty miles
south OF us; and the. facts which am about
to stAte are as yell Known heTe as II ne were
on the ground to see them.
In the first place, eTe1y man from sixteen to
seventy years old. in the country south OF us,
ie ergaesd In the wsr: Its not oulY the young
men If the country, but etefybody. A large
portion Of them have enlisted, and gone far
tber south into the rebel army. Others have
formed ma1au ding bands Who are carrying DE-
ssEnction wherever they go; and the remair-
der are ready to Join them in any emergency,
With knives, pistols, shot guns, OF whatever
else they een get hold Of ,,ts' Among the l! ma-
like organization. The leading spirits taks
connand, aud the others follow wherever
they ere led. Most of them are mounted;
though tbe ho1ses are generally poor. They
Iced no QuarteTmaeteIs or commlEBarie2, for
they have neither tents, stores nor camp equi-
page. Their mode has been to quarter them
Selves in the touEes Of Union men, and to con-
Gscate the contents of their cupbosrds, smoke
houses, barnYardR ard cellars. 4 dry-goods
store was God send, but they are long since
sll "cleaned ont" The houses Of Union men
sre all ratied Of everything valuable; their
barnf stacks and grana1ies have been emptied,
and absolutely nothirg remains but the stand
ing cornI Within the last month the depre-
Gallons hare been extended to the property Of
eecsssionists--ali Union property is exhaust
I'd, and the robhers are now plnndering their
Fnic ld 1tryr hr.r1fc md
shoes, and all suppIies-fom without, are ex-
| kausted; sid, before winter, utter dest1tution
will mark the whole country as far eo1sh as
the Arkansas border. What toilt they do them 2
| I am sure Cannot tell. All prudence, fore
thought and preparation foE the future seem
| to be abandoned, and men IL G roaming about
| like wild animals, "sesking whom they may
| deyour."
The SCENES of outrage, violence aad s9ffer-
ing Which mark the travels Of these men,
| would make your heart sick, Eera I to detail
such alone as have ccme to my knowledge:
Bct forbear. Every days account is filled
| with rsuewed Outrage; and men appear to
! have reverted to barbarism.
| Ycu will make your own comments on this
state Of thipgE-of course, it cannot last
great while longer, for there will sooa be 1t
Union families lett to perseeute, and nothing
| to fed and clothe the prosecutors.
think told you in my last Of two OF OIL
ner, who went out hunting {Tit5out leave)
ard never returned. This was upon Friday last
We sought them in vain all day Saturday aud
Sunday. On Monday night, COL Cariin seat
squad Of thirty cagal1y to reconnoitra thi
country to the southeast Of US, over thu
1oute the lost men must have been carried, I
captured. Sergeant Bloomfield, Of Ccmpan!
!, c in our regiment, who hal traced the los
men fa1thest before, was furnished with
1iye my account IRON him. !.
The cavalry company Was composed atmos
wholly OF Missouri meE, who had heresof,r
been driven from their homes in the coantT
10 be visited. They and tnslr commando,
and the irhabstaats also. They secured th
county for distance Of fifty iailes. riding $.
night the first night, rousia5 tie eScts slo2ia;
from their beds, and making inquixies for Z
. lost men. The result Mss conviction IN
: they had been carried off south by maraut
: irg party.
Next day wc made several arrests Of secessiu
= leaders, and among them rich rebel name
T NfphcDg. The fellow after trying In vain
, p3syed sick, Finding this no 60, he mounts
! hc1ee, and rode as we'll IS any Of them. @
II searching his house for arms, his wife beggt
4 hard that certain drawer Should NOT
opened; but it had to come, and proved !
i i contain large amount Of hard coin! The bo:
II told her that Was not what they wanted, b
nrms only. She thanked them for the 1ne
. pected kindness, and told them to search no
:, where they chose.
= They next captured spy with letters fro
q seceeaionists near our oacn camp, describing
9 to the enemy, and mernorRndnm from Hard
- and JEFF. Thompson, four days old, giving t
= strengthen their commands. The former
Is given at 15 GOO, the latter 8, eco. The spy sa
n tteY are both moving towards Cape Guafdsa
n The company returned to camp to-ds
= =. bringing i've prisoners and much valuable
" formation.
e Last night, the train due from St Louis u
?! delayed tom hours by distractions thro'
=, =, upon the track. The night WAS very dark q
10 10 stormy and for the last forty miles Of t
q route, tie train was so frequently interrupt
8 by etstruction6 on the track O. to make P.
"a gfess both slow and difficult. These all
OF CURED ct points betseeen the companies Of 8
e: diers who guard the bridges. You may jud
Fl Of the spirit Of the resident rebels.
5h have just learned that certain parties &
In nected with the schools Of your city are ab&
m to present our regiment with magnIacs
TO stand Of colors. ] will make note Of ta
ng reception. Fo1tifcations progressing sapid
1p ayeraee. Our YVE