The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1866-05-31
sA OTTUMWA, IOWA THURSDAY, MAY 81, 1866.


snrly bulls, and patient cows waiting to be
milked and fed, and q family of uncurried
colts and young mules, aud beautiful spot
ted goats, with their kids, and, near by, a
hog lot full of lean and squealing swine.
Speaking of the goats, MIR. - said there
was no money in them, but that he kept
them for the curiosity of the thing.
There was no barn on the place. The
nearest approach to it was the stable, or
"mule-pen," constructed of logs with lib
eral openings between them, through one
of which my lonesome iron-gray put his
nose as / came near, and whinnied his
humble petition for fodder. There he was,
stabbed with mules, unblanketed, and
scarcely better off than when tied to the
gate-post, for the wind circulated almost
as freely through the rude enclosure as j.
did in Mrs. Is kitchen. Such hospital
tiles were scarcely calculated to soothe the
feelings of q proud and well-bred horse !;
but the iron-gray accepted them philosoph-
ically.
"Where is your hay9" Inquired.
ssWe make no hay In this country. Our
stock feeds out on the hills, or browses in
the woods or cane brakes, all winter
When we have to feed 'em, we throw out q
little corn, fodder, and shucks."
A loft over the mule-pen was filled with
stalks and unhusked corn. Zeek went up
into it, and threw down bundles OF the for
father to feed out to the multitude of wait
ing mouths.
We went into the house, and gathered
around the sitting-room fire for a social
evenings talk. AS it grew dark, the doors
were closed, and we sat in the beautiful
freight. We talked of the depredations of
the two armies.
''I never feared one party more than
the other" said Mrs. -. IF anything,
the rebels was worst"
"Both took hosses and mules" said Mr..
-. "At fust l used to try TO get my
property back. I'd go to headquarters and
get authority to take 1t whur | could find
{; but always by that time t would be ho-
GUS -pocussed out of the way. 1t was all
an understood thing. Aside from that, the
regular armies, neither of them, didn't
steal from u.s.. But as soon as they d passed
then the thieves would come in. They'd
take what we had, and Gus for not having
moe. Sheep, chickens, geese, corn,
watches, and dmoney,-whatever they could
lay. their hands on suffered. Men never
thought of carrying money abont them,
them times, but always give il TO the Wee
mun to hide.
Thar was scouts belonging to both ar
mics, but that was the scourge of the coun-
try. fla man had anything, they'd be
sure to list it. They'd pretend to come
with an order TO search for gov 'ment arms.
1t was only an excuse for robbing. They'd
search for gov 'ment arms in tin cup
They had what they called cash rope.
That was rope to slip about a mans neck
and swing him up with, till he'd tell whur
his money was. They had gimblet,
which they said was for boring for treas
ures; and they always knew just where to
bore to find 'em. That was right hyerG"
lin a mans temples.) They'd bore into
him till he oould't stand the pain, then, if
he had any money, hed d be only too glad to
give it up. These were generally Confed-
crates. We was pestered powerfully by
as any. They pretended to be acting on
the Union side. They was made up OF
Southern men, mostly from Mississippi,
Alabama and Tennessee.
"They was torn down bad set of men,
bad rs the Rebs. They'd no respect fT
anybody or ANYTHING. One Sunday "a a
road. He knew them very well and he
said to them, it was Sunday, and he hoped
thar'd be no disturbances that day, the
people, he said, had all gone to preaching.
That's right, they said, they believed in
means of grace; and they asked whur the
preaching was to be, and who was going TO
preach. He told them, and said he was
going thar himself They said they be-
lieved a man did right to go to preaching,
though they was deprived of that privilege
themselves. He told 'em he hoped they'd
look more after their eternal interests in
futur', and they said they intended to, and
thanked him, and rode on. They then jus
went to plund' ring, cie'ring out his house
about the fust one. Then they said they
thought they'd take his advice, and look a
little after their eternal interests, and go
and hunt up the preaching. Then they
Just went over and robbed the meeting.-
There was seventeen horses with sidesad-
dies on em; the men generally went on
FOO 1tlt flnA rnI tllly a
every horse, and left the weemun to walk
home, and carry their saddles, or leave
'em."
Both Zeek and his father kept out OF the
war. The latter was too old, and the for
mer too young, to be swept in by the con-
scription act. Leek escaped well u said
the mother, with II gleam of eyultation.--
"But was just in dread he'd be taken !"
And / gathered that IA little innocent ma
ternal fiction as to his years had been eni=
ployed to shield him.
''Some ofthe hardest times we saw, here
i'm the Union parts of Tennessee, was when
they come hunting conscripts. They got
up some dogs now that would track man.
One of my neighbors turned and shot a
hound that was after him, and got away.
The men come up, aud they was torn-down
mad when they saw the dog killed. They
pressed man and his wagon to take the
carcass back to town; they lived in Adams
vile, eight miles from hyere. They stop
ped to my house over night, going back.
''They just bemoaned the loss of that
dog" said Mrs. -. They said they'd
sooner have lost one of their company.
"Thoy got back to town. and they buried
that dog now with great solemnity. They
put monument over his grave, with an
epitaph on it. But some of the conscripts
they'd been hunting dug him up, and hung
him to tree, and shot him full of bullets
and made writing which they pinned 10
the tree, with these words on it; 'IFe'H
serue the owners Of the dogs the same uuy
nert'h
I Was Owl Greek swimming to-day, Zeek?
Mrs. - asked meaning was ii so high
tina, our beasts had to swim. And that led
to a remark as 10 the origin OF the name.
'Thar's right smart of owls on this cricli,
said Mr.. -; sometimes were pestered
powerful by .em, they steal our chickens
So"
Just then we heard wild squawkng in
the direction of the hem roost.
"Thar's one catching chicken now"
quietly observed the farmer. l certainly
expected t6see either him or Zeek run out
10 the poor things rescue, but they sat I'M
concernedly in their chairs. 1t was the
chickens business, not theirs. The squawk
ing grew fainter and fainter, and then
ceased.
"The people all through this section I
allow will never forget the battle" said
Mr.. -. Friday night Johnson's left
wing was at Brooks's, the last house you
passed to-day befo'e you fo'oed Owl Crick.
The woods was just full of men. They
took Brooks, to make him show'em the
way. He said he didn't know the woods,
and that was the fact; but they swo'e he
lied, and he must go with'em, and they'd
shoot him if he led'em amiss. he was in
a powerful bad fix; but, lucky for him,
they had mt gone fur when they met
Dammern, an old hunter that knew every
branch and thicket in the country. So
they snapped off Brooks for Dammern.
The Federals was on the other side of us,
and allowed there was going to be a bat