The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-01-19

their guns, with which they would be able
TO fight us at long range. The car which,
II the day had been dry, would long before
this have filed the bridge with a mass of
roaring flame, was burning faster than
the bridge. To take IL to another bridge
was useless, for the drenching rain would
have given it little chance to burn away
from the shelter OF the bridge. Very
sadly we left the tall column OF smoke
behind. The pursuers saw the car, and
realizing how serious their loss would be
II II was permitted to consume the bridge,
they pushed right into the smoke and
showed the burning car on to Ringgold,
but short distance ahead, where it was
left TO smoke and sputter in the rain on
the side track.
We were now on what proved to be our
last run. / have often been asked If this
day was not one OF great fear and terror
on the part OF those who were engaged in
tho race. For my own part, cannot
honestly lay claim to any greater fear
than I had often felt in ordinary military
service No matter what happened, there
was the assurance that we still had one
resource-the power to turn around and
attack the pursuing foe. From the be-
ginning, such a conflict had been present
20 my mind as matter of course Be
fore leaving camp, this had been reckonei
q natural consequence of our position.
It had been frequently talked of among
the men, and not one of them seemed to
regard it with any moro dread than an
ordinary battle. We had been careful to
select large revolvers for use, and not for
show, and when we found the enemy
gaining upon uS, or our leaders, plans for
their destruction failing, we only felt or
said that our time to strike would soon
come. We did not have the boastful feel
ing that we were an overmatch for a large
body OF southern soldiers, for we all
knew how desperately they could and
often did fight; but of the ordinary citi-
Gems gathered up as we presumed our
pursuers were, or even of conscripts, we
had no great fear. That we had not our
accustomed arms was a serious disad-
vantage, but this could be remedied by
getting into close quarters; and we trusted
that our leader, who had shown such
wonderful skill in management, would be
able to put US within short range of the
pursuing train, where we felt sure that we
could quickly give good account OF it.
Probably the fact of Andrews having
never been in battle, but always engaged
in schemes where his own cool daring and
saRacious planning counted for every
thing, and mere force for nothing, made
him hesitate to order an attack which
would throw aside all these qualities and
determine the issue by simple fighting.
A time was near when we would firmly
have disputed our leaders command II
there had been an officer of any authority
among us who could have been substi-
tuted for him; but not until Andrews
himself had definitely abandoned his Ru-
thority.
Many times the question has been
asked; "Why did you not reverse your en-
CINE, and, jumping off, let it drive back at
the enemy" What good could that have
donel If their engine and our own had
been destroyed, as was very probable, to
gether with considerable number Of
lives, we would only have been where we
were before we captured the engine al
all, except that the whole country would
have been aroused, and our disguise
thrown of. The second train would have
been on the ground in a few minutes and
the power OF pursuit would have been IN
diminished. We had no wish to saerihcS
our own engine until the last effort pos
sible had been made. To merely destroy
had no charm for us, when that destruc
ton could neither promote our escape MOI
aarve n military nurDOse