Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-11-05
True Narrative.

Steve Riggs, of the Seventh Indiana
Infantry, was a character who deserves u
place in history. Too young to be &C
cepted as soldier, he was so persistent in
his determination to go Will the "boys"
that, with the consent of his parents, he
was finally accepted as Il musician" md
assigned to duty in the drum corps. Any
of the old comrades that see this will agree
that Steve had music" in him if he
couldn't drum.
At the battle Of the Wilderness, when
things began to get pretty hot, Steve split
his drum over stump, grabbed the
musket of a wounded comrade. and rushed
to the front and did noble work. II had
rather fight" said he, ethan carry off
wounded; so hate to hear their groars y
But the one incident, that made him a
hero was when the corps was temporarily
transferred to support Phil Sheridan in his
last great raid i'll the Shenandoah Valley
Steve was always in the front on a forage
as we'll as fight, and on this raid orders
had been issued to subsist on the country
and to destroy all unavailable stores, SO as
to make the ground untenable for the
enemy in future. The object of the raid
had been accomplished, and the Fifth
Corps were packing, preparatory to
the return to the Army of the Potomac,
when Steve bethonght him of plantation
about mile and a half southeast that had
not been visited" and, nothing daunted
by the fact that disorganized squads of
rebel cavalry were scouting back and forth
for the purpose of picking up stragglers,
he, armed with cavalry carbine, started
alone for the plantation. 1t seems that
this one plantation had escaped the raw
ages of either army, and our explorer, after
crossing the last fence that separated him
from the mansion. found himself in a
splendidly kept garden, with bordered
walks interspersed with rustic arhors. all
rejecting wealth and refined taste on the
part Of the proprietor. The carriage house
was TO his right and partially between him
| and the house, and, Just as he was deciding
on which point to advance, an old gentle
man came out of the house with package
of papers in his hand, which he proceeded
to button in his inside pocket as he made
his way to the carriage house.
Steve waited until the man entered the
stable, and then slid up to the rear of the
barn. where o convenient crack enabled
him to get good view of the interior. He
saw the old gentleman take span Of fine
blooded horses from their stalls and
| and open the opposite doors to drive out
when he stood fora moment and removed
the papers from his pocket and, as if to
make sure he had them all, ran them over
in his hands, making half aleud mem
oranda as he did SO. "There is the plan of
those Yankee forts and rifle pits, and there
is the number of men, and here is the
maps showing the roads they will have to
take" This was all Steve heard, but this
was enough to make him yearn for the
papers; and no sooner thought than his
determination was made. He would have
them-aud more. He waited till the old
! gentleman mounted the seat and reached
for the relns, when he slipped around the
corner by the side of the door, and as the
old man drove out he presented his carbine
and called, "HuH! gire mc those papers.
"What papers," said tie occupant Of the
carriage, tremblingly. Those papers III
your inside pocket" said Steve; and be
quick about it, too, and the hammer Of
the carbine clicked. There was no heir
for it, for Steve had seen enough to have
"shoot" in his eye, and the old man sadl,
pulled out the package and handed it over
Steve never lowered his gun until he
assured himself they We're all there. He
had just got them buttoned under his
he saw woman waving sigma
from an upper window and LOOKING
in its direction he saw the telltale cloud Of
dust of q squad of Confederate cavalry
hurrying in answer to the signal. Blu
Steve's wits never deserted him. ORDERING
the old man out of the carriage (Which hi
emphasized by the uncomfortable nearnes.
Of the carbine), Steve jumped in, and
turning into narrow lane that led to thu
"big road" in the direction he had come
he piled the whip, and lust escaped shove,