St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-01
DEAD AT HIS POST.

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DEAD AT HIS POST.
Thrilling Adventure of a Southern
Scout Within the Union Lines.
A Rebel spy's Life Saved by Storm
That Took vtdette's Life.
There are few men and women in the
country who don't remember that cold New
Years day which ushered in 1868. Horses
chilled and died in the camps in Virginia,
and men as far south as Charleston had their
feet frost-bitten.
I was then scouting the Rappahannock
along Burnside's front. In the last days OF
December [ crossed the stream about SIX
miles above Fredericksburg, evaded the
Yankee picket. and spent two days in the
Union camps. I was handy with the shears
and razor, and 1 went from tent to tent as a
soldier barber. AS l had on a Federal uni
form / was spy instead OF a scout, and az
rest meant death, melted out in the promptest
manner. While / was not insensible to
this fact, 1 nevertheless took matters in
such an outwardly cool manner that was
never once questioned, and no suspicious
were aroused until just before intended to
leave camp of my own accord.
| shaved only officers, and in the two
DAYS l picked up considerable money and
quite little nformation-enough,a anyhow,
to prove that the great Fedeval army was
preparing for permanent winter quarters,
and that no cavalry raids were planning for
a dash at the south shore.
About o'clock on the afternoon OF the
second day was called upon to shave
lieutenant of artillery.
WHOM AT ONCE RECOGNIZED
as former citizen of Atlanta. He was OF
Northern birth. and as soon as the war
broke out he left Georgia for the North. L
had lived in Atlanta for year previous to
the wal. being engaged in blacksmithlng,
and remembered that this mana Mr..
Tayler, was patron OF our shop. was
journeyman, and l could not remember
whether we had ever spoken. Three years
must have changed me somewhat and L
felt that my chances of being identified by
him were very slim.
Nevertheless had not finished the opera
ton of lathering when the lieutenant quietly
remarked:
''When did you leave Atlanta?"
''Atlanta?"
eyes"
'Why, sir, Atlanta is in Georgia, and
still in the hands of the rebels"
81 know it!''
''But was never there"
"Ohw
Did he recognize me? If he thought he
did my only way was to bluff him. He
kept searching
MY FACE WITH HIS BLACK EYES,
and as I got ready to shave him he con-
tinued:
''Old Peters, your boss, was pretty good
fellow. He came near buying my house ON
Peachtree street."
''Sirr' said, as I stood back and looked
him in the face, 81 may resemble some one
YOU saw in Atlanta, but am resident of
Lancaster, NY, and belond to the Twelfth
infantry"
''Umph!' he grunted.
There was no further conversation be-
tween us. Had I bluffed him off? While
hoped so, had my doubts. AS I left the
tent he looked after me III manner full
of danger, and 1 at once determined to leave
the locality. I started at once, and dodg-
ing around tents and huts. and turning up
this street and down thatI was soon half a
mile away.
If the lieutenant suspected me, what
would he do? Men might be sent out to
dog me. AS l passed an empty tent the
owners of which were on guard or detail,
the idea came to ME to disguise myself. In
a brief ten minutes had my whiskers off,
and with bit of coal had blackened my
eyebrows and produced decided change in
my appearance. was only well out of the
tent when corporal and two men halted
me, looked into my face, and the corporal
said:
''We don't want you-go on"
DID THEY WANT THE REBEL SPY?
I was in hot water, and the best way out
was to leave the camp. l threw my bar
ber's outfit into ditch, and. assuming to
be Jolly drunk made my way towards the
camp guards, but the outer picketS and
videttes were different set of men. I
found, too, that the pickets were on the
alert, probably having received orders from
headquarters, and as night shut down the
weather changed to a cold rain with north
wind.
My attempt to pass out where I had come
in was failure. The pickets had been
doubled, and twice was shot at as 1 al
most ran upon the men. l kept working
up the stream, hoping all the time to find an
opening, and the weather kept growing
colder. The rain changed to hail and sleet,
and by 10 o'clock my clothes were so stiff
with ice that 1 could scarcely bend limb.
1t was useless to attempt anything in this
condition, and after weary search in the
darkness 1 found shelter in a thicket and
determined to wait for an abatement of the
storm.
Within an hour was little better than a
chunk of ice, but hung on until midnight,
my teeth chattering.
MY BLOOD TURNED TO ICE,
until they had no more feeling than blocks
of wood. / must get out of that or freeze
to death, but when I attempted to leave
the thicket fell down, rolled over. and
had the hardest kind of task to get upon
my feet and start my legs in motion. My
pace was a sort of hobble, and my suffer-
ings were such that headed direct for the
river, determined to surrender to the first
picket encountered.
How passed the infantry pickets know
not. but when within a few rods of the
stream I came upon horse standing under
a tree He was saddled and bridled, but
had his head down, and was shaking and
grooming with the cold. Not two rods
away was his rider-the vidette. The man
had dismounted to thrash his arms about
and. overcome by the drowsiness which
had fought off with desperation for the last
two hours, had sat down and fallen asleep
and had probably frozen to death. His
knees were drawn up, his head down, and
the hood of his overcoat was drawn over his
face / laid my hand on his shoulder, but
ha did not rnoua I cave him a nuSh and