The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1864-12-23
Ghe &tRia Sentinel.
sETHw. BROWN, EDITOR.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER @, 1864.
SAVED FROM FIRE.
nY1IEurENANr MARTINGALE.


BYLIEUTENANT MARTINGALE.
"BY Jerusalen-l this is gittin' to be
mighty ticklish Bus'pis, Max!" exclaim-
ed Peter Day, sharp-shOoter in my
company, as Ee-accompanied BY Cox,
the scouk-Tere running at terrific speed
over a long, rolling plain Lordering on
the Little Red river in Arkansas, pur-
sued by some eight yelling demons known
as guerillas.
/ There's no help for it, Pete, replied.
I We must reach the river and hideamong
the woods, if we would escape.
Gosh allfsbhooks I'm gettin' tired,
returned Day, despondingly.z
Seeing We began to lag, the pursuers
raised shout of victory which caused
him to spring forward like race-horse,
at the same time crying .5....E
Thunder amt they close; come, boys,
let US fly along; we'll be eaten alive by
those cusses, If they catch us
Shut yer mouth, greeny retorted
Cox, angrily. Yer losin' yer wind by
gabblinl gist use yer pegs as fast as yer
kin
At this iuncture an appalling yell
+ broke from the guerrillas, and on turn
ing to note the cause, we -beheld two
Indians, undoubtedly their allies, join
them, aud at once leave them behind in
( the hot pursuit.
use yer pegs now, gT'eenyr cried the
scout to that terrified individual, who was
tearing along considerably ahead of US,
his eyes dilatiDg with fear, and his hair
streaming behind him-having lost his
cap. If ye should 60 under now,
you'll have the pleasure of known that
twas nobody's fault but your own
Of this Day seemed to. be aware, for he
pressed on with redoubled vigor, never
stopping to gaze behind him.
Samuel Cox, Peter Day and myself
were out on a spying tour among the
mountains in the northwest part of the
State, our principal object being to as
certain the exact whereabouts Of no.
torious guerrilla captain, who, with his
band, was doing. much damage to the
Unionists In that region. The army was
then stationed at or near the village of
Fayetteville, and, as cur regiment was
with them; we We're ordered to report to
Chandeliers.
After securing the country around for
some fifty miles without meeting any foe,
we had almost determined to return,
when, Just towards the close of the day,
we accidentally stumbled upon the en-
eampment of the williams, situated in
little valley among the hills, and partially
surrounded by a thick grove of oaks.
The way we discovered it was this ;
Peter Day happened to be some distance |
ahead of US, while making observations,
and, as he was trudgiug along demurely, |
the figures Of several horses tied to trees, !
suddenly rose, or seemed to rise, direct
ly in front of him.
Now, always, no matter where he is,
Peter is sure to give vent to a long
whistle and a ludicrous exclamation,
whenever he is frightened or surprised |
and, in this case, his faculties were SO
astonisbed, that a shrill whistle, aecompan-
led by the inevitable 'Je~ru salem p told /
US that he had discovered something
new.
AsBe started forward to ascertain the /
cause, that parsonage came through the |
bushes, yelling in terrified accents
Run, boys, run fifty thousand guer-
rillas are after me! run, afOre they catch |
youP
Ten fierce, unshaven rufins followed
closely behind him; but hardly had they
revealed themselves when two rifles crack |
ed, and two fell never to rise.
Guess we'd better make tracks, Max;
they have too many to fight yet, said Cox,
as the eight came tearing on.
GO ahead, I answered; and thus we
started off on a dreary mOnotOnous run of
ten long miles.
On, on. over hill and dale We sped,
until we reached the long plain hereto
fore mentioned; here the guerrillas ,strOEe
their utmost to overtake US, well know
ing that in the fast-increasing darkness
their prey would escape and their strong
hold be known.
The Indians who Joined them were
their allies, and sEifter of foot than they.
We did all we could to reach the river,
and Day and Cox succeeded in their aim;
butI was not 50 fortunate catching my
foot upon a root, was pitched forward
upon my face, and 4, ere / could rise, was
pOunoed upon by the two redskins, who,
although fought manfully for freedom,
succeeded in binding me securely.
Neither Cox nor Day perceived my
mishap until they dove headlong into the
water, when the former exclaimed, hope
fully
keep up good heart, Lieutenant, and
/ III git yer out O. that fix
1 then submitted patiently, at which
the Indians seemed well pleased it was
evident, from their actions, that they
understood the words Of the scout, for
they kept me closely guarded.
When the guerrillas came up, their ac-
tions and threats we're awful to see and
hear.
Take him to the Red Rock and burn
himP cried one.
Hang him upr cried another.
Cut the ID rebels throat 7
Drown himP
Slice him up, we're hungryP
The latter suggestion seemed to be
adopted, for I was hurried along to a
high, fat-topped rock which oYerhung
the river, and which is called 'Carmi>
Rata, or Red Rock, by the savages.
The top Of this immense boulder con-
tained about one and halfacres a solita-
ry hickory tree stood directly in the cen
tire, and with feelings Of horror beheld
bones, a skull, etc, about its roots and I
also noted that its trunk was blackeued
/ by fire
Some time was passed by the guerrillas
in debating upon the best means of dis
posing ofme. I lay little distance from
them, towards the edge of the rock, and
and by working myself little way at a
time, I soon managed to gaze over. 1t
was inky dark, and [ could hear the wa
ters swash against the rock below. Twas
tempted to fall over and drown ere I
would be burnt at the stake. Then I