The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1872-03-01

his face, but not conceallng his brill
liant eves, that his appearance and
bearing were as distinguished as
when, seated in the chair of Office, he
had presided over the Senate of the
United States.
The party struck into the woods
by the Indian trail, and marched,
from necessity, in the Indian man
ner-the gigantic Perkins at the
head of the line, the prisoner in the
middle.
It was a perilous and fatiguing
march. For several days in sue
cession, the chilling spring rains fell
in torrents upon the unprotected
horsemen, swelling the rivulets to
rivers, and the creeks to crushing
floods. Sometimes, the whole party
were swimming their horses over
the rapid stream. Often, they
toiled YEARLY through mire, more
dangerous than the food iJself.
The first roof that sheltered the
party was that of small tavern,
near Fort Wilkinson, on the river
Oconee, about eighty miles from
the boundary line between Georgia
and South Carolina. The arrival of
so extraordinary party at this re-
mote place Of entertainment seems
to have astOnished the landlord.
While breakfast was getting ready
and the guard and their prisoner
we're sitting quietly around the fire
he began to ask them a series of ex-
tremely disagreeable questions.
Learning that they came from the
Tombigbee settlement, he hit at
once upon the prevailing topic, and
asked the news respecting Aaron
| Burr, the traitor! Had he yet been
arrested? Was he not very bad
man? Was not everybody afraid of
him? To these and other question
of the kind, Perkins and his men
could make no reply, but hung down
their heads in extreme embarrass-
ment, full of sympathy for their cap
tive. Burr, who was sitting in the
corner near the fire, raised his head
and, fixing his blazing eyes upon the
unsuspecting landlord said,
81 am Aaron Burr-what is it you
want with me?'
The poor landlord, amazed at the
information, and struck with the
majestic manner of the man, stood
aghast, and without a syllable of re.
ply, glided about the house, offering
the party the most obsequious aten.
tion. Two days more brought
them to the confines of South Caro-
lima, where Burr. from of old had
been a popular favorite, and where,
on his visit to TheOdusia, he had ev-
er been warmly welcomed, and made
mo1y personal friends. Perkins
knew the difficulty he should have
in conveying, with such a force as
his, a prisoner like Burr through
that State, and he exhorted his men
to renewed vigilance. By keeping
we'll to the north, he avoided the lar
| ger settlements until he reached the
district of Chester, which was only
one days march from North Caro-
lima. AS he approached the prin
cipal village of this district, he halt
ed the party and changed the order
of their march, placing two men in
front Of the prisoner, two more be-
hind, and one at each side of him.
In this manner they proceeded with
out incident, until they passed near
tavern, before which g consider
able number of persons were stand
ing, while music and dancing we're
heard from within. Here, Burr
threw himself from his horse, and
exclaimed in a loud voice,
Il am Aaron Burr, under military
arrest, and claim the protection OF
the civil authorities.
Perkins snatched his pistols from
his holster, sprang to the ground,
and in an instant was at the side of
his prisoner. With a pistol in each
hand, he sternly ordered him to re
mount.
~ aCW not g' shouted Burr in His
most defiant manner.
Perkins, unwilling to shed blood
but resolute to execute the commits
sion intrusted to him threw his pis-
tolls upon the ground, caught his
prisoner round the waist with the
resistIess grasp of a frontiersman
threw him into the saddle. One of
the guard seizing the bride Of Burr's
horse, led him rapidly away, and the
whole party swepG through the vii
lage in a mass, and disappeared, be-
fore the group of spectators had re-
covered from their astonishment at
the scene.