The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1866-12-28
The Story Of a Union Scout.
From the New York Evening Post.

pistol and knife bearing colleagues, passed
away before the var, but the war itself,
with its countless indictments to enterprise
and adventure, bratgilt t. the surface a
new set, not at al behind their preGeces-
sors In any OF their Distinguishing character
istics.
| think I may fairly say that the men I
am now speaking of as Class. took their
sides in the great struggle more by the acct
dents Of the time than in obedience to the
dictates Of any great principle. The from
tiers and the territories, the ''men of the
Plains" sent their recruits almost indiffer-
entity to both sides. Ben McCu!lough's IA
nous Texan Rangers found themselves al
most equally divided, and at the battle of
Pea Ridge some fought under ana some
againe. heir Old comrades and commander,
and in many cases they neither knew nor
cared why.
OF course, however, the bitter Fighting
blood Of their class and training manifested
Itself IN their new circumstances.
GATE ARNOLD.
AS a sample man, par excellence. on our
side, / have selected the well. known scout
Fate Arnold" Of whose career so many
anecdotes have already found their way
iulo tHt newspapers.
II natiee Of Arkansas. brought up in that
utter wreck lessness Of law and life. which in
those days distinguished the southwestern
Asatia, a square-bult, muscular, wiry
man, of a little over medium height, dead
shot, and capital horseman, possessing the
most desperate courage. in fact, utterly in
different to personal peril, he became one
OF the most efficient scouts Of the regular
army.
There was some story Of wrong and out
rage, some burning and plundering of his
humble home by the remorseieSs guerrillas
with dark OF shade to il, Of which he never
chose to say much, which added the hot
blood OF revenge to a nature needing very
little stimulation,
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EXPLOITS.
He was familiar with every highway and
byway of the regions In which he served
and was fond of the war; path and It's incl
dents and eXcitemcnts as ever any Indian
warrior. In fact, in spite of his hazel eyes
ana dark brown hair. there was much Of the
Indian In his appearance, especially as he
steadily adhered to the buckskin legginS,
Mexican spurs, and other peculiar habiia-
meDts Of the men Of the plains"
hat | may say of him must be taken in
view Of the credtaJly attested declaration
that he has killed over hundred men III
close combat These were mostly guerriilaS,
and 50 great was the dread in which he was
held by the predatory bands in that region,
that his presence. or his well known spot
TED horse, was considered enough of Itself
to cause the boideSt OF them to move their
camp to less dangerous neighborhood.
That horse, "a singular animal, Of almost
human intelligence, was Il part Of the spoils
OF one Of his early raids, aud was presented
to hlm by the Union general commanding,
in recognition Of his daring courage | do
not know what has since become OF it, but
its career was almost as thrilling as that OF
its master.
So many men were Killed FROM off his
back, that at last no man could be found
hardy enough 10 mount him except Fate
himself. There was 4 strong feeling of SUI
perstition among the border men both as to
horse and rider Both were considered
"uncanny, " and especially to be avoided
GUERRILLA HUNTS.
Shortly after he Joined the Union forces
a gang Of about forty euerriIlas, under a
leader named Jack Hank leodds, committed
some outrages near Fort Leavenworth
Kansas, and Fate went after them with
fce men He followed them ont into the
Ozark mountain country, and only four OF
five out Of the forty escaped to tell the tale
Of that terrible six weeks of trailing, ambus-
cading and bush fighting Arnold himself
+ said to have picked off singly nearly one
(nalf Of the marauders.
Shortly after this gang Of the worst
tb.t = opl IL IL
commenced operations 10 John-on county,
near Clarksville, where Arnold was station
ed. They went to tue house of a defence
less old man and put hin to what was then
and there called the rack to wit, they
trussed itim up TO the four posts set in the
ground, built slow fire under him, ana
asked him where he had hidden his money.
Aot having any h could not tell them, and
the fire burned morselessly until the old
man was roasted to death. This by the
way, was 10 UNCOMMON experiment or
result iorthose days In the Southwest
" e who fought it through there can testify
to meeting such men and such incidents
many time, during our experience on
what has better canned the title OF the
dark and bloody ground, " than ever Ken
lucky did during the days of Daniel Boone
d'Il MS CbtI peer.
Well Fate swore vengeance, and VOW
Ell that he would clean on" that gang
There were plenty Of willing tongues to carry
the threat, and IN lew days he received a
counter message, couched in such terms as
reused all the border man within him
With some difficulty be obtained permission
from his commanding officer TO go on a
scouting expedition He started with his
trusty lieutenant and ten men-twelve in
all-wel mounted, armed and appointed. :
Forty eight hours thereafter he returned
with the loss of only one man woanded, but
drew up in front of headquarters with
cteUeR rlderless horses, saddles aud all com
plete, and with the blood chilling assurance
that the guerrilla band, supposed to num-
Der some thirty or forty, was wiped out. "
At least none Of them ever returned TO dis
turb the quiet of johnson county. Wheth-
er or not they all fell in open conflict no his
tOran Of that brief but bloody expedition
has ever recorded.
FIGHT FOR A BRACE OF PISTOLS.
His next adventure to be related here
was IN connection with noted border ruff
fan named Hard3reaveS, or something
like it, who had won an unenvlable reputa-
ton for atrocities which stood in bold re-
lief from even that dark back ground -
Hardgreaves possessed remarkably fine
brace Of pistols, handsomely mounted, and
noted among the border men for their accu-
racy and for their singularly bloody history.
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