The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-10-28
THE sEoRx 9fl1sEl QUARTZ ROCK
IA Tale Of the War.
Trpf PICTURE Of Yankee Character.
iron the New York Herald,l

: H 20
Itcriol<sl sltoBjuncti0n with General Sler-
man fand movements, a man belong
| ing n one ofSthe regiments in that de-
partr1ent came to, my quarters and de.
sired tprivate Interview with me. The
orderk said he called himself private
HatcE and claimed to know me-
Th61SA did not remembe. such per-
sonsisthe army or elsewhere gave the
order fpr him to be admitted"
dII hive come, Colonel he said, "to
ask tie favor of your influence to have
me-ptt on special duty as a scout. I
kn64 tiAs scountry we'll Ihave lived in
North Carolina, can make my way in dis
EkiSe without being suspected, and
think can be useful. Besides, / have
personally an interested motive i'll seek
| ing this service, if you will allow me to
say soto you in confidence" j..
y glanced at him from head to foot as
hs wat speaking, for his features and
g,ncraf appearance were striking. His
fGe whs strangely lisfigured by scars,
| which, tegether with a countenance 9th
efwise notlat all pleasing, and having
an expression of cunning and wildness
mingle3 smado him look repulsive. He
sppeafjH ta be about forty years of age,
vas RAJ her tall and lank, and had rest
ileDs mlhnek His place of birth was cas-
| il3 detected 'by his nasal twang and
drawing voice; he was full-blooded
down k2ster, and, as afterward learned,
! rem tke. State of Maine. ID.
y II ret6 led that l had no knowledge of
him osSof his qualifications for the SER
vice ht desired; that I did not know
whetll<r such services were required or
not, and that the commanding officer OF
the debartnent was the proper person to
whQmhe should apply. s..-.-. g,
a. Foa sir be rejoined, 'can better un-
derstand my claim to be qualified for the
service, and my motive for seeking it,
than the General or any one else here,
vhea Iexplain theseto you and bring to
yonr iEem9ry the circumstance of meet
ing y0nsbefnGe in this State"
Meefing me in North Carolina " /
exclaihed @I do not remember ever
haysn Seeepyou before
HYoatwiil recollect, perhaps" he con-
tinued strayelling in the State in quest
of mining property, or in some connec.
tion With mining business, a few years
before klrlwar."
q sai& 4 did, and had very good rea-
sons u remember my mining specula-
Z seYon4a11e one night after dark, amidst
q sewers and bitter cold February storm,
to hopss where I was. 1t was an out
Of the way place, on country farm road,
where &kf8ngers seldom travelled, be-
tween {etfss6oro and Greensboro It
was tho IfDuse of Widow Wormly Your
appeari1ce created almost as great sur
prise ~ III you had dropped from the
clouds, and you excited in the only two
inhabitapts, the old woman and her
niece, tH greatest curiosity and interest.
You do rot forget, suppose, that mys-
terious tpck in the field adjoining the
house \ hich Widow Wormly begged you
to exaH(iRe in the morning. Ah, sir,
that rod nearly cost me my life bare
ly escAp6d being strung up on account of
the sudden death of the old woman and
the treasure which was supposed to be
contai1td in the field"
"YesS1 do remember being at the
place y4u speak of, and the circumstan-
ces y0I mention l answered land
must h1ieve you were there, too, from
your a3turate description of what occur
red. Hbt you have stimulated my curl
osity e6out yourself, the sudden death of
Mrs. Warmly and that quartz boulder.
You igtimate that it Eearly proved
mystef5bns and a dangerous rock 20 you.
have yen any objection to explain what
you iifeSn9"
Thai is what / wish to do" he re-
piled, aheeause it will bring Inc to the
object 6fsthe application / made to you"
'Iwts d stranger at the house, aud
travelhE, as you were, the night you
rested there, though l remained after
you lefein the morning. My business
as an agent, selling clocks and patent
medicines, took me into many by-roads
and out of the way places; for / found
my best customers among the country
people, and it cost me very little to live
among them. In this way / stumbled
upon the house of Widow Wormly, and
should have left, probably, the fol-
lowingday had not you come there and
stimulated gold fever i'll my brain.
"De youfnot remember, sir, the persons
You saw there r
replied that | did recollect when the
circumstances were brought to my mind,
that the only persous noticed were two
women and a man that / was struck
with tbeappearance of the individuals
and the place, at the time, and that, in
memory, they all stood fresh before me
again. - t.l
The honse of Mrs. Wormly, or, as she
was called by every one, Widow Worm
", was, IS this man REMARKED in an out
of the way place. No railroad or high
road passed by or near it, II stood near
lane connecting one farm dwelling or
little settlement with apetber Most Of
the roads In this part of the country, as
in many other parts of the South, passed
through the fields, and are generally
called plantation roads, which become
common to the community by use. There
was no village within miles, and the
country population was. sparse. A. farm
house, a few negroes, and very few
white people might be seen every mile
or twoll Ii was one of the most perfect
" rurI and isolated districts ever
saw.
Ihad been on journey of inspection,
with ayiew to speculating, in the coal
lands on Deep river. This led me after
wards 70 Pittsboro, and from thence /
was making short cut by the planta-
ton roads to Greensboro, for the purpose
Of proceeding to the McCulloch mine
and other gold and copper mines in that
regionaI Ny business chiefly was to pur-
chase md speculate in mines and miner