Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1864-12-01
. Down in Tennesseei

In Mr.. Kirke's new volume, with the
above title. .sis a very interesting account of
bible" William j Smith, the cele-
brated scOut OF Rosecran's army. 1t ap-
pears that in November, 1850. Mr. Kirke,
in one of his Southern travels. songht
shelter from storm, st Smiths house,
near the little town Of Richmond. in Bed
ford county, Tennessee, and subsequently
IN May. 1853. met him at Murfreesboro. -
Thirteen years had passed, but Smith ap.
preached kirke as he alighted at the rail-
way depot, and laying his hand upon his
shoulder, and accosted him as follows.-
; i kaow'd it was We; L know'd ye the min
nit sot eyes on We. I'd know'd We II
yer face had been blacker'n yer Wing
principles. t1af 4aisHf .
Regarding Smith as Representative
man" Of the better class of poor whites
who, he states. comprise two thirds Of the
whites of the South. MIR. Kirke gives a
full account of his manner OF life at home.
and of his history since the breaking ont
Of the rebellion. Some el this account is
full OF humor-as witness Bibles story OF
his courtshlp. and of the singular duel he
fought with Clingman the North Carolina
M. C.,-and some of it is touched with the
deepest pathos. In modern biography it
might he difficult to find MANY instances
of iilial devotion like the following:
Bible had been arrested for his loyalty
and taken before the Military Commission
"sittin' ter Chattanooga. Escaping from
custody, he had reached home. and, joined
by his only son. lad of eighteen, bad
started on foot for the Union lines, when
but the rest we will let the Scout tell in
his own words: .-.- -. lt
We travelled all that night through the
timber and Just at sun down on the next
day come to claim. We wus mighty
tired. but 'twoul,ln't do ter sleep thar. for
the trees wus nigh rod assunder; so we
tucked round. an on t'other side Nv the
road. not half mile of. seed bout an acre
NV laurel bush-ye knows what them is,
some on 'em SO thick dog karn't git
through 'em. Jake war tireder nur | war.
an he sed to me. Dad sez he, let us git
under kiver ter onst | feels loike |
couldn't stand up no longer. 1t was
foolhardy loike. for the sun warn't clar
down, but l couldn't bar ter see the boy so,
an agin my Judgment, we went down the
road ter the laurels. We Law thar till
mornin' an slep' so sound that I reckon
ef forty earthquakes had shnck the yerth.
they wouln't hev woked u.s. Soon as sun
mp, Jake rIz. an vent ter the edge nv the
thieket ter rekonnoiter He hedn't stood
thar five minntes-right in plain sight, an
not more'n hurried rods from me-afore
| yered a shot, an' seed the poor boy
throw up his arms, an tall ter the ground.
In less nar no time fifty secesh was on
him. | war springin' up ter go ter him,
when suthin' took me by the shoulder.
helt me back. an said ter me: "Ye karnt
do nothin' for him. Leave i'm ter the
Lord. Save yerself for the kentry" 1t
went agin natur. but it 'peaIed the Lord :
voice, so | crouched down agin 'mong the
bushes. / never know'd what it war thet
saved me till nigh year aiterwnds -
Then | tux that leftenant pris'ner--I could
hev shot him. but guv him his life ter
repent in. an he done it, he's a decent man
now. b'longin' ter Cunnel Johnson's reei-
men,. Wall tuck him. an he said ter
me: Il was aside Nv tliet pore boy when
he war dyin. He turned his eyes onter me
Jest as he war goin'. an he said: 'Ie
karn't kotch him He's ont o. the bush!'
Ha! hal He said thet, and died Ter
save me, died with lie on his lips!
His emotions choked his uttcrance for a
while. When he resumed, he said:
AT the end nv fortni't trav'lin' by
night an sleepin' by day, an livin' on the
ds'kies when my fixin's gnv ont. got
I inter the Union lines buy Nashville
| MIR. Kirke goes on to say, that i'.
| Bibles intimate knowledge Of the coun-
: try, and acquaintance with the loyal men
of the district, enabled him to perform
more actual service to the Union car,e than
regiment OF men in the ranks. Hiding
in the woods, or secreting himself in the
house, of his friends by day, he would sal
ly forth by night, and, penetrating far into
the rebel lines, frequently gather infor.na-
tion of great importance to onr army
Often days without food. sleeping ont in
| the cold and rain. hunted down with blood
hounds. betrayed by pretended friends,
waylaid by whole regiments, the mark for
thousand rifles, and with the gallows
ever before him. he went on his perilous
work with a sihgle-hearted devotion tc
his county. and an earnest. cliild-like reli-
ance on God that would have done honor
to the best names in history. .iHe1s7 lrU
His scouting adventures would fill vol
nme, and read more like romance Of the
middle age. than a matter of-iact history
of the present time.H On. one occasion,
when about fye miles outside of our lines,
he came.i late at night, npon party Of reb-
ell officers. making merry at a house of a
wealthy secsssionist. Riding coolly up to
the mounted orderly on guard before the
doorway. he pinioned his arms. thrust a
handkerchief into his month, and led him
quietly out of hearing. Then bidding him
dismonnt, and tying him to tree, here-
moved the impromp.n gag. and leveling q
revolver at his head. said to him; $40 Ga
Now. tell me. We rebel viliun, whot
whysky- -kags wns yea watchin' thar
Speak tfuib. orIll guv ye free passage
ter hot skentry.'s gsdi .noii,s sisi +
6s'Nine ossifers.' said the trem bling rebel
"a cunnel. 1.-TWO majors. . sargeon. two
eap'ns' am he rest leftenants.' els nwo5 i
WARS thar weapons? svaa sssnrs
| Thar swords is in the hall. l.way. Non