The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1864-06-03
\ Nrutuck ans story.


) native, approached me. He had thin
haggarl face, tawny skin, and mass
. of course black hair, which fell around
! his neck like hemp around mop han.
die. His butternut clothes were much
, the worse for wear, and torn in many
J places the legs of his trousers which
made no effort to reach the coarse bro.
gans that encased his feet, disclosed Il
! skin'sc scratched and rurrowed that II
seemed to have been gone over with n
harrow. had seen thousands of his
class, but there was n look of fsneh in.
tense wildncss in his gray eyes. which
moved in their sockets with the un.
steady glare Of a wild beast s. that in
voluntarily started and turned toward
him. Seeing my movement, he said.
in quiet, ci il tone:
"How dye. strangerT Dye blong
yerep'
"No, sir"
'!B long ter the armyp' Ct wore n
suit of regimcntal blue, minus the
brass buttons
"No, sir, I'm Peace man"
"a Peace man-Copperhcad?' and
his eyes glared little more fierecly
than before
"No, sir, not exactly that, but let
Others do the fighting"
"Ye does! Well. sir, vou uns ia n
cnss ter the country. Ye O ter b.
druv ont uv hit The man thet wont
fight aosc bant fit ter live"
"Yon re right. my rriend-sit down.
and | mentioned him to q vacant chair
beside me. He continued stan ling
evidentlv diSinrlincd to approach any
nerrer tc man Of peace principles
Observing this, aided:
"You misund 'rstaud me-I'm a
Rfe9cf RWie9Gc d ap;agnE- pp;agnE- but l arht in nv wav--I
"Oh. that's hit! Wall. thet'll do,
efye gwo Int pow rfIl t ong.'
"And how do you ight2'
"Ary how. Th, R.bs will tell you
thet. i
"Bnt yon don't wear the clothes;
how is til t.
"Why, me an''twelve right smart
ms hes bcci beatin' the bushcs--lieep-
in the deestrict clar, bat they grow d
ter much fur us"
"Oh! buslwhacking"
"les, but | had ter put ont. Use
eoin' inter the army now, but l must
sell my mars fast. Dye know whot
Goverment Il pay fur right smart
chunk Nv II mar?'
"A hundred and five dollars, l be.
licve. is the regular price"
"Faint 'nuT lur her. They's pow.
erful COOL brutes. an must git morn
thet, case my 'oomm'll hev notAin
else, an she's sic'lly like
"Bnt if yon go into the army You
can save some of your pay for her"
"No / karnt Il be shot--l feel
hit-Isc made up my mind ter hit"
As lie said this, he seated himself in
the chair had offered him, and star.
cl at me with n wilder, crazicr look
| saw that some terrible calamity hal
unsettled his intellect; and said, in
4 sympathizing tone:
"You re not well: you're not fit to
go into the army now"
YES, ia. sir--I kin fight rs hard
as ary man ys knows. Use little gin
ont Jest n wv, case Ise rid nigh ontcr
a hundred an fifty mile, an he'd to tote
my OF man q powerful piece o the
way
where have you come from?'
"Clav county, nigh on ter Manchcs-
ter. ] lived thar. Use plump from
there this c,enin.'
"\na Nou were driven away?'
Yes, sir druv away-rohbcd-
hous II burned-evrything burned, aH
ole Observation-Disclosures! He
bent down his head while he spoke,
and ;s he repeated the last words,
they seemed to well nigh strangle
him.
1T can't be possible" I exclaim-
ed; "Enman beings do not do such
things?
"Bnt they haint human bein's s.
thov's fen s--llevils from hell ll-from
hell, sir"
II know their passions are reused
but I did not know they killed women.
"rhey does, sir. Ill tell you
'bout hit;' and Grasping one arm of
my chair, and l.lning forward with
his blazing, unsteady eve looking in
to mine, he told me the following
story:
"Bont mile from whar I b'lonw,
thar livel n ole man by the name of
Begley-Sqnire B"gley, we called
him, though he did not own any
slaves, lie was nigh on ter seventy
. but was a right peart ole gentleman,
an, Union ter the core. Two on his
boys, Sam an John, is in the army
now-7th loyal Kaintuck. Well,
'bout fortnight gone, on the mornin
NV the fifteenth NV April, three men,
dressed in Union close, comes ter
the ole gentleman's house, and telled
him they wus round raisn' compa-
ny ter put down the Rebs thet was
Iporeing inter the county The old
man was mighty pleased an, l reck.
on he was unprudent in his talk fur
when they'd drawed him ont, they
tclled him T. ey wus raaly Secesh sol
diers. Then he ordered 'em ter leave
but they tlrottled him, and dragged
him off ter the edge ofa branch, hout
| half n mile away. and thar huno, hin,