The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-02-05
"ENGINE THIEVES" ="
The Great Story Of Capturing a
Locomotive"
By REV. VIM. PITTENGER,
tCoPYRIGHTED, 1881.
CHAPTER TX.

CHATTER TX.
OTHER CAPTURES
As all the members of our party were ulti-
mately assembled at Chattanooga, so that from
that time stories flow together, it is now
! well to bring the separated threads of narration
down to that point One of the shortest and
most lamentable was that of Jacob Parrot and
Samuel Robinson, both of the 33d Ohio When
| they left the train in company they reached
the woods, but on the wrong side of the road.
After being concealed for a short time they
came back to the railroad but in attempting
to cross it were observed by four citizens
and captured. They were Immediately con-
! Quoted to Ringgold, where company of Con-
federate soldiers was stationed. A course of
! questioning here began, but Parrot refused to
tell anything He was but little over 1S years
OF age, very boyish-looking, and entirely desti-
tute of education. So they seem to have
thought him favorable subject for receiving
the treatment applied to those fugitive slaves
who hesitate in answering questions. He was
taken out of the room by an officer and four
men, who stripped him, and holding him down
| over large stone, administered over 100 lasheS
| on his bare back, leaving scars which the writer
has often seen, and which he will carry to his
grave. Three times the whipping was sus
pended the poor boy let up and asked if he was
ready to confess, and on his refusal he was
thrown down again, and the torture continued
They wished to force from him the name of the
engineer and the particulars of the expedition.
| But all their efforts were in vain. The crowd
procured a rope and were about to hang him,
but an officer of higher rank came up and pre-
vented this final barbarity.
The wonderful fortitude of the poor boy was
Of no avail. He and his comrade were caught
SO near the place where they left the disabled
engine and they were SO utterly unable to give
any account of the manner in which they came
| to be there, that both would no doubt have
! perished if Robinson had not-after first trying
the Fleming Co, KY, story, and being falsely
| informed that Parrot had confessed everything
| finally given his name and regiment with
the general outline of the expedition. After
this confession they were imprisoned for time
In Ringgold, and afterwards brought to Chat
| tanoOga.
| ID. A. Dorsey furnishes me an account of his
| adventures, which were in some respects pecu-
| liar. My own special friend, Geo. ID. Wilson,
was with him, as well as VIM. Bensinger and
Robert Buffum. / use Dorsey's own graphic
| language:
We fled from broken-down iron horse
in northeas.erly direction towards the adjacent
hills. These were sparsely studded with timber.
but almost entirely destitute of underground and,
OF course, afforded but little opportunity hide
from our pursuers The latter following upon
our trail, well armed and very numerous Here
occurred the first OF many an amusing scene, such
rs often light up the most horrible situation Buff
fun had worn peculiar long gray coat, reaching
Now ne found 1t sore impeachment to his precipi
tate flight, and unbuttonng it, right out of it,
leaving IT spread out on the old dry weeds behind
him,-not even stopping to get the bottle out of
the pocket, i'll which he and had been deeply in
| tereSted for the past 2i hours
"On we went, or rather few, until we had dis
tanced our pursuers and found ourselves in dcnser
forest. II was very cloudy The sun was COM
pietely hidden, and we could not tell which
! north, south, east or west We wandered on until
near midnight, when we came to log hut in
small opening. surrounded by dilapidated rail
| fence. The light of blazing fire shone through
the cracks IN the wall and walked to the door
| and Knocked repeatedly. Getting no answer Will
| son pulled the latch h-strng and walked in. There
tail Georgian lay stretched at full length on the
! floor with his bare feet to the fire, almost
dressed and suffering all the agonies of collie Over
him bent his better half, busily engaged in admin
Isterlng hot-ash poultices OF course, under such
| circumstances our application for food avai!ed
nothing and we were obliged to plod on through
| the darkness. mud and rain. Before morning
came to another cabin, which did not enter, but
| borrowed a pail of milk from the porch, and tax
ing 1t to the woods, speedily devoured it. Then
we wandered on, hoping for clear sky but the
clouds were unbroken, and our wandering at
| dom continued all the morning
| About 10 O'Clock in the forenoon we saw some
| persons on horseback, who were evidently hunting
| for US. We managed to eIude them, and getting
back TO ground they had passed over, concealed
Were seem but by shifting position avoided
| them for some hours The increasing number of
| our pursuers, however. convinced us that we were
! III the most deadly peril.
| On- ge WOODS, spread your branches apacs
TO your deepest recesses fly;
would hide with the beasts OF the chase,
would vanish from every eye.
"'And bark ! and bark! the deep-mouthed bark
Comes higher still and higher.
Burst on the path dark blood hound
His tawny muzZe tracked the ground,
And his red eye shot fire.
| "These words Of the poet were fully echoed by
my feelings. The much dreaded blood hound was
! upon our trail We discovered three of them de-
| HIpO q w had rec. fly
| right on our track, and four men behind them AS
coon the latter discovered u.s. one of their num-
ber hallooed, and was answered by shouts in every
direction This demonstrated that we were sur
rounded. We advanced and boldly met the first
| four, and endeavored to deceive them as to our
real character. Our denias of being the men who
captured the train the day before were all to no
purpose. Soon we were surrounded by at least so
men, armed with shot-guns, rifles and pistols. One
! man carried long rope TO say they were furious
would be n mild description. They demanded, in
all kinds of profine and vindictive language,
immediate surrender. We were separated into two
| squads. Bufium and Bensnger stood together, and
did what they could to prove that they victims
of a case of mistaken identity; Wilson and were
few yards distant, and as he the better talfler
left it all TO him. He protested that we not
| the men they wanted, but citizens of Virginia
| hunting for fugitive slaves. He told very nice
and plausible story,-l thought il ought to have
convinced any reasonable man,-but it in
| vain"
[This was the only case except one, so far as
l know, where the Kentucky story was varied
|
were using it. Had Wilson and Dorsey been
alone they might have succeeded better Dor
sey continues:
! I'VE had TO surrender fight The latter course
would have been madness. We handed over our
revoivers and pocket-knives demand, and then
commenced the most terrible threats of vengeance
| young blood, whoappeared not more than I6, put
| a pistol at Wilson'S head, and would doubt
have shot him had he not been prevented by one
they called Major rough fellow they called
Black Billy presented double barreled shot
gun TO my breast, swore he had 16 bucllshot in
each barrel, and unless made clean breast of il
he would blow them all through me. This reused
my Indignation and considering my life worth
nothing ii L confessed, while confession might
implicate Others said: Gentlemen, we have
| rendered, and you have our arms. We are in your
power. If you want to shoot just shoot!'
| Throwing my breast forward, i'll full cxpccta-
ton of receiving the shot, surprised to see
him drop the butt of his gun to the ground and
make arrangements for tying our hands. Having
thus secured us, they conducted to house
about a mile away, and gave Us a pretty good din
ner
Here we learned that a reward of Sl0o had been
| offered for each of the engine thieves We also
learned that were only nine miles from Ring
gold, which convinced us that much OF our travel
! ing the night before must have been on the back
track. We were certainly not as far from RiHggoid
when captured as we had been when the previous
night set in.
After dinner we were taken to Ringgold on foot,
and put into iait,-the first one into which had
set my foot 1t was Sunday, April 1S, 1852.
This same evening were all removed by rail to
Marietta Ga where arrived about midnight,
and were there placed in literal dungeon of the
worst character,-dark, dreary, damp, and swarm
in1su wit "a hrats md nj