Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-05-27

Of the frav. Thus We are tod how
General rode in front Of his brigade and
valiantlv led them to the assault; a thing
that Is impossible. for the voI'evs fred
bv his own soldiers would cut him down
as the advancing reaper cuts down the
golden grain. In almost every account
Of battle We hear much of hand-to-hau}
fighting, of havonet thru<ts. and sabre
sstroke<. This sounds very pretty On pa
per, but. unfortunately for the truth of
army correspondents. it exists only IN the
imarination Modern engines of war are
50 Destructive that it Is very rare for op-
posing lines to get nearer each other than
one hundred yards Rifles that throw
balls mile make the shot whistle other
wise thsn pleasantly about the ears when
the distance is reduced To one hundred
wards eabrcs in actual war are more
ornamental than useful, and the same
NAV be said of hayonets IF anv one
doubts this assertion, let him examine
hospital reports, and perhaps he will be
convinced. for wounds by sabre or havo-
net ere almost unknown. This fancy
colorinc seems to be one Of the inspira-
tons of war. and everything connected
with war|i1e age is painted in bright
extravagant huos. \ DEPRESSION We know,
but still. we hope. an explanation. In
the latter years Of the war, Kentucky
was overrun by lawloss bands, and many
were the deeds committed that would not
bear the searching eyes Of heaven =
Death was held lightly and almost every
home was stained with the crimson flow
Of blood There were bands in blue as
we'll as bands in gray riding over the
eouEtry for r,under, and with murder
flashing from their eycs-hands without
commission. from either Government
And the leader cf one OF these bands was
the youth who passed into history as Sue
Mundy. His smooth. cirlish face, and
long flowing hair made him conspicuous
mark, and gave color to the rumor that
the dashihr leader ttas woman in male
attire. The writer was then attached to
the Louisville .Iowaal, and, pandering to
the morbid craving for sensation, he
wrote the history Of Ste Mundy. He
/ described the leader of the outlaw band
as woman-a woman Of rare beauty
+ lItl tOH- l3FtH lItlI II NllI9 Ill llC NiHtl
and beautifully contrasting with the droop-
ing white feather in her hat--a woman
inspir d with reckless courage, riding
! foarlcssiy at the head Of set of desper-
ate men a woman delicately bred, but
all aire with vengeance, sometimes as
chiyalric as brave, and other times as
cruel and unrclentinE rs Fate. In brief,
her portrait was painted Ia the most gaf-
ish colors, and ina very short time the
name Of Sue Mundy became known from
one end Of the land to the other The
article was copied far and wide, and nu-
merous were the comments made by the
Northern press on the dsshing female
guerilla So well was the sensation sso-
~ received, that for months the wild ro-
nance Of Sue Mundy's life was kept up
by articles written in the mclo-dramatic
vein.
Sue Mundy. IN truth. was one of the
most bloodthirsty wretches that ever rode
at the head of an outlaw band. He plum
dercd wantonly, killed without reason
no stroke ever being tempered by the
spirit Of mercy. He wore his hair long
and his fee was boyiSh in the extreme,
but malignant devils lurked in those
black, piercing eyes Rloodthirsty VIII
lian that he was, he was as fearless and
coura ceous az the bulldog whon sst at
BAY His career WAS q marvellous one.
Hunted down like wolf, for more than
a year he remained the terror OF the neigh
borhood, and escaped the clutches Of
those sent out to make him captive.-
The mcmbers Of his band seemed to be
inspired with the reckless daring Of their
chief
1t was calm Sunday, We were sit
ting in the editorial room Of the Journal,
looking over BASKET of exchanges, when
the door was pushed open and bronzed
youth stool before Us. Accepting the
courtesy Of chair, he explained to u.
that Sue Nundy's band had jpst made raid
upon the outskirts Of the city, right be-
meath the nosas Of the patrol He saw
The cut-thrcats approaching hastily de-
taohod one Of his horses from a wagon
and rode with the utmost speed irto the
heart Of the city. He thought that if the
commander would send out small. force
the retreat Of the euerillas might be GU
off, and the iesperadoes captured. Ant
.hen he asked many questions as to tht
disposition Of the troops about the city
questions that the ignorant ~cuntrvmar
would scarcely propose We watched
him narrowly, anl began 10 doubt thC
truth Of bis story. Nevertheless, W.
agreed . accompany him to the office 0
the Provost Marshal. Passing out int
the street, We Observed Mir White
standing on TIE corner Of Foarth anc
Jefferson We quietly remarked 4 Nv,
are fartuaate Tae Provost Martial i
talking with gentleman cu The cprner
Yau remain here, arI We will gh an.
Bring him 10 tie Office, aud then u cal
tel him your story The horse o.
which the youth pretended 10 have ma
Ills escape wes quietly standing at TIL
edge 0; tie pavement. Tae first rlauca
toll u that it was az animal OF blood
coula.c ana speed. Nc saddle was strap
! raI 10 the back, and the head WIS dis
:i1ured with an cl blind briIlc.I Tn
hrcnze-f face rran IT once assanted. an
tie stopped 20 caress his horse. while VI
slow y approached Major Whstc. acarce
! " ha1 We reached tue cni Of the block
. when we hcari the clat:er q hoofs, ane
quickly tlruin- ro1nl, We d.>coyere.
/ \. our 4GosllaRi tfieni was gallo, II.