The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1864-08-25


the river, obtain the canoe, and bring Il
to the opposite shore, Meantime the
storm was raging furiOusly, samboS
courage failed him, but the desperate
position Of the party forced him to get
up his spunk. They started for the
bank--the darkness was so great that
thoy oil held 10 each others hand so as
not to get separated. Arriving at the
bank, Sambo said "Massa Colonel, Use
csu'tgo in dar in dis lightsnsr." HO
trembled in every nerve. and it was
more than an hour before he could re-
gain selfcommsnd of himself, so that the
Col dare trust him 10 the turbid stream.
Blaekaess plunged into darkness, and
all that could be heard was a splsshing
and putting, In a few moments the sa.
bic son Of Neptune came in with the
chain in bis mouth towing the canoe
THE EMBARxATIoN.
The Colonel, Lieutenant and Sam i'm,
mediately pushed out into the stream,
hoping under The cover of.the darkness
to make the groaterp part Of tho wsy to
Roswell Bridge that night, The party
had gone but a short distance whep
they heard the unwelcome roar orrapids
They were too near 10 make the shcrs;
the canoe being wholly controlled by The
current This was most critical mo.
ment. They who had so narrowly o..
capped death in battle, we're now at the
mercy of the meddeued, impeIuous wa
ter. Not all of the party could swim, so
il was decided to remain 10 the boat, and
if she foundered they would rest in the
same watery grave to.gethel, Onward
the Ifsil trembling canoe sped, bearing
its precious burden, amid myriad of
eddies and whirl.poOlS. until at last sho
gave asuddeu plunge, completely sub,
merging the passengers, They all held
tsnaciously TO her sides, when she came
to the surface, and with their hats bail
ed her out 0nce more they began to
paddle down the Chatlahoochio; had
gone but a mile or two, when that same
dreaded roar of falling water came
througN the darkness, ia'liaf with apt
palling etf-N' upon Ielr esfi The
boat wa. imm inter be1iei "a the
shore Re1ehng me- haussthey found
The, he ivy and bTiars we're 50 thick
that it was almo't impossible to Land =
After more than an hour Of bard work
they succeeded in gatius g place TO lie
down, where he water 9as not more
than an inch deep, he rain still pontins'n
tOrrants At Daylight the w. 'ry trayI
ellers again embarked, with scarcely q
hope of ever reaching their goal; but
they must not relax their efforts now
when SO near homo. The urdergrowth
is so high, and chick thAl- u islik |,
green curtain spread on either size, Tor
miles along the banks of this now hIsto
nc stream. The bushwhaCbers were not
looking for Yankees in canoes, so they
did not watch the river very closely
There were guards at the fords along
The river, but their attention seemed TO
be directed from the water, to the ap
preaching roads, so very fortunately for
our refugees, they were permitted to
slip quietly down unnoticed and unhsrm.
ed.
As the boat came around bend in
the river they saw one part of the Ross,
we'll Bridge" All began to cheer and
clap their hands for joy. Moving be
yond, around the bend, they saw the
whole bridge enveloped in a vast sheet
OF flames. Col. Capron says that no
language can ever tell the bitter anguish
of that moment. The FIRST and only not-
ura conclusion was that our whole army
had been forced back across the river,
and in their retreat had burned the
bridge. Having landed, they cautiously
approached some citizens, who SAID our
army was all cut up and beyond Mariel