Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1885-08-06
MURDER ON THE OUTPOSTS.

Of 1861, the first year of the war.
was sergeant in an infantry company
which had been selected on account OF
us fighting qualities to guard an i'm.
portant point on the line of commune
cations. The South Branch, rising
Il considerable distance above Moor
field, winds along north until it reaches
Romney, and four miles beyond that
mountain-locked natural stronghold
bends abruptly TO the east, on its way
to join the greater streams of the Poto-
mac. AT this bend the turnpike road
connecting Romney, where the Union
force was disposed, with Green Springs
Run, the depot supplies on the Balti.
more and Ohio Railroad, crossed the
river by suspension bridge. The
written order to our captain COM
manded him to hold this bridge "to
the last man, if necessary" And
there we remained until some weeks
later, when the Confcderates maneuv-
cred our entire force back to its, base
on the railroad.
The war had stripped this part of
Virginia of most of its people. Hill
side and valley seemed to belong again
to the wild things of nature. The
scream of an eagle soaring in the gray
sky would call out a perfect din of
animal notes. Even the handful of
soldiers prowled about as stealthily as
the foxes themselves which now and
again scampered out of the laurel
bushes. Graceful deer, with spreading
antlers, sometimes peered out from
under the forest growth. One after
noon bear even made bold TO invade
picket-post's cooking camp.kettle.
licking the fat from the edge with great
relish and contedly Looping off before
the startled soldiers could realize the
character Of the visitor and fix their
bayonets TO turn him into better meat
than mess pork.
One evening, just at 6, as the second
relief was changing posts, the sharp
crack of a musket shot rang out, from
down the river apparently. 1t was a
dark night and nothing could be seen.
At the shanties the poker-decks were
east aside and there was hustle for a
moment, the rush of feet, the rattle OF
leather straps as the men put on their
harness, a curse or two as some one
failed to find his own musket, and then
all was still again. Cartridges were
looked at. pieces clutched and bal
anced in half-jocose manner. as if to
say the Johnnies" would get more than
they came for, and all listened for the
next shot; OF Il volley, and the order
To fall in!''
We had a captain and two lieuten-
ants. Blu. the First Lieutenant, a
crusty, good sailor, who was killed the
next year At Antietam, was serving his
turn OH guard that day. just before
3usk we knew he had crossed the
bridge with corporal and private to
90 20 the left, along the river and up
the ravnes, TO see that all was in order
III the posts for the night. Ten of the
men also from the shanties had been
missing since early in the afternoon,
and il was supposed they had lodged
the posts in order to ford the river,
and had gone TO a hut IN one of the
ravines where an old negro had been
smuggling whisky for some time and
Yelling it clandestinely to our
tended TO visit the hut in quest of the
s;ragglers.
Minutes passed, and though we stood
about at the shantics with arms in hand
40 sound came but the murmur of the
FLYER cddying along under the bridge,
The signing Of the trees and the cough
of a sentinel pacing his beat down the
road in front of the guard house. Sud-
denly there was challenge across the
river. Halt! Who comes there D"
Quick footsteps up the road brought a
messenger and the captain ordered me
20 take a squad TO the guard house.
Down the steep road my squad and l
went at the doublc-quick. The moon
was rising from beh nd the mountains
toward Winchester, throwing her white
light through the graceful wires of the
bridge and athwart the trembling rip
pies of the river. | arranged my men
II the guard house rs had been or
Tered, and took my stand near the
sentinel. a little procession approach
,d us from the other SIDE, and as 1t
ncared The center, where the curving
cables seemed almost to touch it on
,lther flank, VIC could see il was form
ID by eight men bearing another
hers, and that it was led by the Lieu
tenant of the guard. Behind, between
,vo guards with fixed bayonets, reel.
sL drunken soldier. 1 was called
rom my establishment by the SHARP
voice of the officer ordering me tC
give him men to relieve his of theil
burden, and the drunken one who
followed, were the ten stragglers tC
he negro hut.
The transfer was made and the pro
,esson continued up the road to the
,hanties. Tho intoxicated man fell tt
;hs ground as he heard the guarC
house with an attack of mania a potu
lie was "a raw-boned, generally well
behaved Pcnsylvanian. We carried hin
ia and laid HIM on the hard bunk
made of pine bark with blanket spread
On II. The excitement of finding thu
dead body of Parr, who was well Liked
in the company, had sobered all OF the
stragglcrs bnt the Pensylvanian, ant
aad made them cautious as to wha
they said that could have any bearing
On PARIS death. The body had beer
stumbled on in the dark by the lieu
tenant when on the other side OF thu
river near the outlet of the ravine, a
he was returning from the negro hu
with the nine scapegraces he had NJ"
there. Before the body had been car
ried far, il had been examined in tn
light of picket fire and no wound o
trace OF violence could be found.
What was the connection betweel
The shot at 6 o'clock and Parr' s death
Had the enemy had anything to d
with Il, more than one shot would hav
been heard, for all the stragglers wer
armed, and, drunk as they may hav
been at the time, or rather becaus