New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-10-17
John JORDAN. UNION SCOUT.
,ou, ms s,vFp GARrIEIp,s REGIMENT.

,.,,rsuy CsRKbR-AS OLD STORY OF DAI-
,>c RIDE RFPhINrsD FROM THE ATLANTIC
MONTHLY. OF OCTOBER 1860
49,, tne many brave men who have taken part
=, ,his gyar-whOSe dying emhers are now oeihg
-, i,ic,, ,,a. bv poor white man hone, perhaps
have done more service Ia the country, OF Won 80
glory tor themselves, than the poor whites NJ
Tav. acted a. scouts for she Union armies nc
issue ct battles the result OF cabiuNsis' az" e.,
possession OF wide districts OK country naf 5 H.,
depended their sag~clty, or been u'l' @ To-
The ufor,ua tion they have gathered; aiib bel 'nS
have seldom been heard of IN the newspapers GU"
may never be read OF IN history. ,,Alo al
Komantic thrilling. and sometimes ~ co,ts
ventures have attended the "a danger
OF both sections; but more 1lnonIIS The partt-
have undoubtedly been eDcouhtereI ~ o,'o,r.+;n,,
- ~ lie North than of the South. Operating
fnostl within .he circle OF ther own aVi.S - ~,
the latter have usually reeh aiuy I,, frendly 10
the Southern people. VINO, seuo..,.J a. s,,e. and
Secession have themselves on Iet.u - -; ~
conveyed dispatches across os1rIc'-' 10y, U ,,asc1
our armies. ana ihac"oSS'"iN " ''
loy 'i sezvrc rendered the South by these voun
teer scouts has often been OF the most i'hpoItens
Lra.ter one stormy night, early in tie war, a
Young woman set out from garrisoheu Town W w
visit sick urclo residing s1'It uIst"Sa - Va.
country The sick uncle, mounting MS lorse ~
,ndngbf rode twenty miles n the ram ter oIlcStS
beadouarters Tie rcsuit was. the Important toNI
Of Muheesnoro ana prOmlslhg Mao,-,i'e aT he
tell INTO le hands Of the Confederate = ana All DC
cause the said MalOr-Genera! permitted pIst'S
Woman 10 pass his lines Oh "a III sslon Of mercy ~;
At another time, a Rebel citizen. protesting as
~ 80 Seces.lon foI having the weakness TO De
pust - 80 to,L The oath of allegiance and
assumed the Union uniform. Informing hiins9 bd
Gully ii the dispns.sIOn of our forces alOk bhe
NnsIvijie Raiirosd lac suddenly disappeared to re-
anpear with Basil Duke and John Morgan III Il nid-
night raid on orr slumberlng outp0sts.
Again column on the march came upon =
stretched woman. with child IN heI arms seated
nv the diving embeTs OF burning hoheHteal',
bnrninc she said. because her sole ana GUY IiioHu,
bnr unrlc Ithrse ladies' seldom have any nearer
linf stood up street tur the kentTy' NO AMERICAN
soldier ever refused lift to woman I'D uls6tSs'
This woman was soon lifted into an cuPN sauG?lo
nv tho side OF a staff officer who, Win many Nioe
Nyinks and knowing mods, was DISCUSSING 1no "a
tended route OF the expedition WIN 4 5il,, 70
nIeron A little fnrt bel on the woman su'Slle ma -
iueu,ered that another lcle VINO 'ud hot sO4nt ~
nnite ~ street fur the kcntrl, ana, consequently
had a house still standing up FOR hiu iiFeu pump
10 ,b-t ,ar' nm Ter the right o the highroao. Sue
was ..t dow n. the column moved on and c'Ieent
we'll planned expedition mscarrIed. Dut 10 v4Iie
wasted "A thought on the lOrloln woman an, ~ 10
eaiiow bshy whose skinny faces were 80 long "ltLIh
earshot of Inc wooden-headed stait-olucer. -.
Means quite Is ingenious ana qul5e ~ b ph
were often adopted TO conceal dispatches " heh Vne
,nessenrer was in DANCE. OF capture Dg an enemy
s loot win a hollow ueel fragment OF corn-n0le
too stale to tempt starving man. sup % az
60. Master over a fostering wound, or bali OF
cotton -wOol stuffed into the ear 20 Keep out INC
west wind. often hid message whose d'SooNery
yyoutd cost A life. ana perhaps enCan2ef an army
The writer has himself seen the hollow Hiti-easlS
which bore to BGrnSdc's bceasuele9 force tbe WSl7
come tidings that IL tMfty hours 0uoii'"i "
The perils which even the native scout encoun-
tered can be estimated on'y bythose familiar WIZ
fhe vigilance that 6urrJuJds an army III. VdaH.''
,neetn- with an acquaintance the slightest act m
consistent with his assumed character VI 'He
list inron0rurv bet wecn his speech and that OF
tbc district ~ which he progressed 10 belong ms
sant many "A good man to the galloWs. one on INC
best OF Losccrans's scouts-a native OF EhSt MI,
tucky-lost his life because ne WOuIu DVl liz
,nnnntl his nag pack lCarrYl his gun. r MS pTthi
'drv So without Eutteri, ana edzZie ms pen "
Whiskey ia the midSs OF bragg CAMP Wnuh nv
surb things were done there, nor III me mountains
mi Alabama whence lie protested to come Ac-
ouaiutrd only with q narrow region IN. Do"l
fi, 1id uof know tllat every Southern district mas
its own dialect. and ,hat the travelled ear % d
cIos. observer can detect the slightest deviation
frnm ia customary phrases. But ne was not alohe
i'm this ignorance. Almost every northern "'i i
who has undertaken 10 describe SOU - -
fallen into the same eu0r. Even OhnSlea"', VINO
has caught the idl0ms wonderiuhy' coulC.'.us mn
dialects OF different regions. ana ilNe1 NDi
Georgian right smart when he had Deeh Only
powerful stupid ali h's llIe. 4; %
tbe Sout h-sOue ll.i;cTale and simple N hlto DuO
brav. aud Self-deVOted poor white man, WhS II ne
had worn shOuldcr-straps and been aole 20 VIZ
interesting dispatches. might now ns Aho"l as
hero hall she world Yer SOM % !lro' ~ l. -
they been born at the North where iree schools are
omen TO all: would have led armies, ana cit q ldilc
Ia live after them. But they were porn az w
Sonth had their minds cramped ana th"ir SOUS
stunied by a system which dwaris every hoolo
fLinU. and so their humble missCn over M
have gone down unknown and unhohOieu' ilh4u 'Ae
silence ana darkness Of their native WOODS; -
hope 10 rescue tlG uGnoIS ~ =, ~ - s-oro ,Ifter
oblivion by writing tins article lie IS no" pe} GNU
the hearing Of my words; nut WoulH IscolI vil0
act III his short careef tlat ~ puIc ta.i Isl,
NAV lead some OF 70 knoN better anu rove il"ip
thp much- abused and misunderstood class 10 "nlcn
Farlv In the war the command OF IN IMPORTANT
military expedition Was intrusJed 10 TIRE president
NJ a Western college Though a young man, tihs
scholar had already achieved a chara cter ana
history Beginning life widow SON. MS Hfhu sIA
zen year. were passed between farm, canal
and Il black -saltrrN. Being an intelligent elieI-
0otr lad MS friends Termed the usual hCpts OF MN
fut ~ nm he aupreuticed himself 10 a canal-n0at
their faith failed, aud, after the iashon OF Joo
friends they cOmfOrted bis mother WIN lie lssII-
ance that her son mad taken the S"lt lHiA ~ Vllo
Ta,,,l PM ike Job, she knew ii whom she Oe-
heved and the boy soon Justlned Aer cPl.uOenVo
A. eyent shortly occurred which changed the cur
rent OF his lie. gave HIM purpose ana A'uo MN
man. -. an -,,.h Ia al, "a
employed was leaving one OF those long reaches VI
siattt ,yoter which abound the ONO ana Penn
sylvania Canal. he was called up 10 taEc ms UIIl
at the bow. Tumbllng out OF Ded, nus oycs nsI,
with sleep. he took his stand on the mario" pat
snru below the bow Deck, and began unCOl1ng q
rone 70 steady the boat through lock II was aF,
DroachInC Slowly and sleepiIy ne IN" Gllhu ~ "
!. lsnotfad and caught in a narrow cieft Ia inc
edge of the deck. lie gave ~ sudden pull puI IL
held FAST then another ana StI9h9SI p'ii.' '
1,o,,e yvav Int sent him over the DOW Iht" Jile
SSro+cr Dawn he went INTO the dark night ana Jhe
stiu darker river: and the boat ghded on 70 Duty
him among the fishes NO h4lan nlR " nirlc
81 the boy thought as he went down hdS iuI "a,
PRAYER his mother had taught hun lhs,I4cliVeS
rintchinp the rope he sank below the surface but
then it tightened in his grasp, and held hrluiy,
SEEING il hand over hand, he drew himsei up
o,,s5oek and was again a live hoy among the Nv
ING Another kink had caught in another cTeVlcc
and saved hun. Was il that prayer. or the loFe OF
ms praying mother, " hiGh wrousht TINS 1Ia1 ie
lie lid NOT know, INT, long after the boat had
nsssad the lork he stood there, in his dripping
clothes. bordering the question. - -. 40
the crryce: but it had lost the knack Of kinking.
MANY times he tried-six hundred says my IN
f,rmant~and then sat down and reflected. !
bave thrown this rope he thought. SIX hundred
times might throw it ten times as many without
its catching. Ten times SIX hundred az SIX
tIorsand 20 there were six Thousand chances
against nv life. Against snch odds Providence