The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1872-08-22

h'shA l.; "iiISil tIlCS IlSHlcu ana St;lFlCu
On their search. They all cooked
their revOlvers, anil passed the word
10 XIII Mt sight, and started for tho |
cellar. laid myself Just as fiat as
could be and turned my face 10 the
wall, for | knew my face was thin
nest from ear to ear They came IT,
the door
| tell you, brethren, | just quit liv-
ing. Yoa have heard il said that
when man is drowning all his past
life comes up before him
The speakers eyes trembIcd, his
voice became Suffuscd. and his frame
shook with suppressed emotion as he
continued: q stood then before the
Judgment seat. | was Il dead man.
My heart ceased to beat. / already |
stood before my Judge nrcthren,
what could | do, bat just trust myself
to the Lord
The man who carried the tight was
tall, and providentiaiiv stoop q so
low in entering the cellar thar The
light shining against the bank of
earth threw Il shadow over me.
They searched the cellar but did not
find me, and went back up stairs
My wife attcrWard told nc that when
the men went down cellar, she took
her babe and went into the parlor,
and stood there holding her hand
against one ear, and her babe against
the other, expecting every momont
to hear the report of the rcvOlvcrs in
the cellar, announcing the death of
her husband.
The soldiers set fire to the house in
several places, and leaving one of
heir number to prevent my wife
from putting it out, departed. The
man seemed to he touched with pity,
and told her that if She wanted to
save some furniture he would help
her. My wife thinks that holding
the babe in his arms had touched his
heart. She plead with him if he had
any consideration for her or her help
less children, TO leave the house and
let her put ont the fire. He consent
cd, and left.
My wife then came to me and ask
ed me whether it was all right be-
tween me and God. pm afraid they
will come back and kill you yet, and
1t will be the greatest comfort that
you felt prepared to die
| told her | felt that | was pre-
pared to die.
Telling me to pray, she left me.
1t was not long before another party
of QuantrelPs men came, and in
drunken tones-for the marauders
had become intoxicated by this time
demanded whether | was in the
house.
do you suppose, said my wife,
cOnfidentially, shat he would stay
here and you shooting and burning
all over the town? No; he left this
morning us soon as the firing COM
menced, and unless some of you have
shot him and killed. him outside, he
is safe. Some Of your men were here
this morning and searched the house.
However, you muy look tor your
selves
In this way she blutied them.
They set fire to the house, and left
one, who drew his revolver on my
wife, and said he would kill her if
she put it out. He stayed till the
house was so far consumed that there
was no possibility of saving it. My
wife pulled upa carpet, and in taking
it TO the yard, dropped it accidentally
by the door.
My wife was afraid, and so was |
that | would be burned up alive; for
| had now no thought of doing any
thing but what my wife told me.
The floor was on fire almost over me
and the flames were creeping nearer.
My wife stood and threw water, pail
after pail on the floor, and was doing
so, when a ncighbOr, Catholic wo-
man came and said: why, Mrs. Fish
or, what are you doing? What good
will it be to save that floor? Besides
you can't save it.
Il don't care what good it will do,
replied my wife, Il am going 10 keep
on Wettlng that floor.
But finally, when she SAW she could |
not save it, she asked the ncighbor
whether she could keep secret. |
She then sworc her by the Virgin |
never 10 reveal ii.
well, them said my wife, my hus-
band is under that floor
The soldiers were still everywhere,
shooting and burning, and the air
was filled with the shrieks of wound |
ed and dying men, the wailings of
widows and orphans, and the sound
Of falling buildings. My wife then
called me to come out, and threw Il
dress over my shoulders. The two
women picked up the carpet, and |
crawled under it between them, and
so we three proceeded TO small brush
about four feet out in the yard
There my wife saw four soldiers
ready to fire. They were moi hun
dred yards off. Then, for the first
time, the poor woman despaircd. A
pang then shot to her heart, and she
gave up all for lost. Nevertheless, |
SUNK under the bush and they threw
the carpet over me.
'SaN the chairsp cried my wife;
and they rushed to where the chairs
were piled, close to the burning
building, and ran with them, and
flung them carelessly upon me, and
piled up what was saved of our house
hold goods about me, The soldiers
evidently thought the pile only a lot
of household furniture, and left it I'M
molestcd.
istaid there till two hours after they
left, and then gathered my wife and
my four chiidrcn-for the two boys
had come back-and in the garden we
knclt and thanked God for deliver
ance. Brethren, you don't know
what it is to be thankful"