Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-01-04

- LIT 1e<-&S AsH1n al a6aet
of 10. Lees father. Lee was . young
man and as desperate A. any. He knew
nothing 81 fear. aud had b-en in many
a close encounter on the Kansas bor-
der. He WAS ak feet high. buiIs from
the ground MP. had q Wild, dashius air.
that always distinguished him In any
company, and had face that wss alto
gether more pleasing than disagreea-
BILE The place of rendezvous for this
company Of State scouts was Carroll
parish, nov West Carroll parish. about
I twenty five miles from the Mississippi
/ River, direc IL across from Nicksburg.
Previous 10 the war this country had
/ been in a high state Of cultivation, but
I the neglect Of the river leyees had male
I it subject to limitations. For many
miles ia every Il Tec;ion much of the
land was covered with water ~ great
portion Of the year. A good class OF
people lived there. Many of them had
been wealthy planters and the owners
of large numbers Of slaves. 1t was one
Of the richest portions Of the State,
being in the centre of the great cotton
belt Of the South.
Jea Leo and his followers had no
trouble in finding friends anl abettors.
and that, too, among the most respect
able people Of the community. There
were two little towns in the parish
Floyd and Delhi. At these two ham
lets, and in their vicinity, the guerillas
made their homes. They came and
went without let or hindrance, and were
always full Of money. Joe Lee, Frank
and Jessie James and John jarrett
stopped with planter named Dickson,
and Dickson lives there ut this time.
He, above al others OF the parish, was
the confidential friend of the guerillas.
They were all active, we'll built mon,
of that G.,shing, reckless air that cap
lures the hearts of women. They kept
the community in state Of perpetual
excitement and enthusiasm and made
sad havoc among wives and maidens.
1t Was one round of revelry from week
in to week out Every night there was
party or bali ut the house Of some
planter. The guerillas were the lions
on all these occasions. They sported
the most gaudy dress, hourished the
finest pistols and rode the best horses.
They were the only heroes the people
there could have with them. To the
negroes they were terror. In fact,
they were supreme in the mastery of
Carroll parish. Now and then they
would go away on forays and would re-
turn with various amounts and kinds of
plumber. They would waylay some
small detachment of the federal army,
shoot the men and rob them of their
money and horses. They kept on hand
large supply of government mules,
harness, wagons and various sorts of
military appendages. They dressed in
federal uniform whenever they were on
one of the raids. This was fashion
with the Missouri guerillas. Thus dis
guised, they decoyed many q poor sol.
dier into the Jaws of death.
There could be much said of the dar-
ing exploits of Joe Lee and his band of
freeboters, but one adventure deserves
especial mention, since it is not known
how near it came to affecting the desti-
ny of the nation. 1t appears that after
Vicksburg had been invested. and the
South. threatened at other points, Gov
ernor Allen, of Louisiana, conceived
the desperate idea of capturing the
person of General GRAFT. He believed
that Grant was the evil genius of the
Confederacy, and that if he could be
killed or taken prisoner the siege of
Vicksburg could be raised and the fed
eral army driven back. He sent for
Joe Lee and impaired to him his
thoughts, and asked him il he could
devise plan. 1t was read ly taken to
by Lee, who Immediately proposed to
execute the daring enterprise. At that
time-that is, in the spring of 1864
Grant and his army were encamped at
Milligan's Bend. near Young's point,
on the Mississippi, some eighteen miles
above Vicksburg. General Grants
headquarters were in the dwelling
house that belonged to q magnificent
plantation, much of which can be seen
from the deck of q passing steamer
Joe Lee proposed to go to that house
and bring away the body of General
Grant, dead or alive. He chose five of
his most trusty men. They were the
two James brothers. two of the Younger
brothers and John Jarrett. These with
himself made six. There never were
six better men for such an expedition.
They were young, strong and as brave
Us the bravest. They had already seen
all there is in war. They had been
tried in the most trying places; had
suffered all manner of hardships; did
not care much whether they lived or
died; were the quickest and best shots
in the world, and rode the fleetest
horses in the land. 1t was Just before
the federal army set out on that sur
prising march down the west side of
the river. The country was all full of
marshes, bayous and morasses, so that
the natural advantages for the execu-
ton of the plot were good. The plan
WAS for Joe Lee and his five trusty fol-
lowers to dress up in full federal uni
form, ride on horseback to Milligan's
Bend, go direct to the house where
General Grant was stopping, rush in
and secure his person, put him on q
spare horse and then escape to the
swamps, which were near by. On one
Saturday evening late the party set out
from Dickson's house, near Delhi, and
rode toward the Mississippi. There
was not soul on earth besides them
selves and Governor Allen that knew
of their desperate mission. 1t was some