The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1886-01-01
MURDER ON THE UUTPOSTs.

tse SOtttusv ,yVT <uuHs
MURDER ON THE UUTpOsTs.
1t was in Virginia during the autumn
OF 1861, the first year of the war.
was sergeant in an infantry company
which had been selected on account ci
It's fighting qualities to guard an i'm.
portant point on the line of communi.
cations. Tho South Branch, rising
considerable distance above Moor.
field, winds along north until it reaches
komncy. and four miles beyond that
norntain-locked natural stronghold
bends abruptly 10 the east, on its way
TO join the greater streams of the Poto.
mae. At this bend the turnpike road
connecting Romncy, where the Union
Tor c was disposed, with Green Springs
Kun, the depot supplies ON the Bali.
moro and Chic Railroad, crossed the
liver by suspension bridge. The
written order to our captain com.
mandcd him to hold this bridge ..to
The last man, if necessarily And
there we remained until some weeks
later, when the Confcdcratcs mancuy.
cred our entire force back to its base
on tho 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
scscam OF an eagle soaring in the gray
sky would call out perfect din OF
animal notes. Even the handful Of
soldiers prowlcd about as stcalthily rs
the foxes themselves which now and
again scampcrcd out of the laurel
bushes. Graceful deer, with spreading
antlcr@. sometimes pccrcd ont from
under the forest growth. One after
noon bear even made bold to invade
q p:ckct-post's cooking camp kettle,
licking the fat from the edge with great
relish and contcdly Looping off before
the startled soldiers could realize the
character Of tho visitor and fix their
baycncts 10 turn him into better meat
than m"ss pork.
One evening, just at 6, rs the second
relief was changing posts, the sharp
crack of Il muskct shot rang out, from
down the river apparently. 1t was a
dark night and nothing could be seen.
At the sllantics the pokcr-dccks were
cast aside and there was bustlo for n
moment, the rush of feet, the rattle of
leather straps rs the men put on their
harness, 4 curse or two as some one
failed TO find his own musket, and then
all was still again. Cartridges were
looked ut. pieces clutchcd and bal
anccd in a half-jocosc manner, as if to
say the Johnnics" would &c, moro than
they came for, and all listened for the
nnxt chat ,,,lln,, o,.l
to "fall in!'
We had captain and two licuten-
ants. But the First Lieutenant, q
crusty, good sailor, who was killed the
next year at Antictam, was serving his
turn on guard that day. Just before
dusk VIC knew he had crossed the
bridge with a corporal and private to
go 10 the left, along the river and up
the ravincs, TO see that all was in order
1T the posts for the night. Ten of the
! men also from the shantics had been
missing since early in the afternoon,
and it was supposed they had lodged
the posts in order to ford the river,
and had gone to q hut III one of the
j ravincs where an old negro had been
4 smuggling whisky for some time and
selling it clandcstincly to our
soldiers. The Lieutenant had in.
tended to visit the hut in quest of the
ss:ragglcrs.
Minutes passed, and though VIC stood
about ut the shantics with arms in hand
no sound came but the murmur of the
river eddying along under the bridge,
the signing OF the trees and the cough
OF 4 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"
Quick footsteps up the road brought q
messenger and the captain ordered me
to take a squad to the guard house.
Down the steep road my squad and l
went Il. the doublc-quick. The moon
was rising from behind 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
ut the guard house as had been Or
dered, and took my stand near the
sentinel. a little procession approach
cu lis from the other side, and as it
ncared the center, where the curving
cables seemed almost to touch it on
SItuSS htshhs W. SOulu SCC ~ WIS III
cd by eight men bearing another
wrapped in blanket on their Shout
dcrs, and that it was led by the Lieu
tenant of the guard. Behind, between
two guards with fixed bayonets, reel
cd a drunken soldier. 1 was called
from my establishment by the sharp
voice of the officer ordering me to
give him men to relieve his of their
burden, and the drunken one who
followed, were the ten stragglers to
the negro hut.
The transfer was made and the pro-
ccssion continued up the road to the
shantjes. The intoxicated man fell to
the ground as he ncard the guard
house with an attack of mania potu.
He was raw-boncd, generally wcll-
behaved Pcnsylvanian. We carried him
in and laid him on the hard bunk,
made of pine bark with blanket spread
on it. The excitement of finding the
dead body of Parr, who was we'll liked
in the company, had sobered all of the
stragglers bnt the Pcnsylvanian, and
had made them cautious as to what
they said that could have any bearing
on PARIS death. The body had been
stumbled on in the dark by the leu
tenant when on the other side of the
river near the outlet of the ravinc, as
he was returning from the negro hut
with the nine scapegraccs he had met
there. Before the body had been car
ricd far, it mad been examined in the
light of 4 picket fire and no wound or
trace OF violence could be found.
What was the connection between
the shot at 6 o'clock and PARIS death?
Had the enemy had anything to do
with it, more than one shot would have
been heard, for all the stragglers were
armed, and, drunk as they may have
been ut the time, or rather because
they were drunk, there would have
been lively fusillade. But all agree
that there was but one shot.
The Pensvlvanian writhed in his de-
lirium on the bunk. and was held
down by Zee men. He appeared to
have no interest in aught but the hog
goblina.,nd creeping things that as
sailed him in his fancy. Bat he had
scmi.rational moments, when he would
sit up and carry on a conversation with
himself in muttcred. incohcrent tones
not easy to understand. And when.