Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-19
ADVENTURES OF A SPY.


In war times is little more than technical A
SPY is In citizens dress, the enemy's uniform,
female apparel. in any disguise he may Sc
lect, and he penetrates the enemy's lines. A
scout is supposed to wear the uniform Of his
army. and to work between the lines. How
ever, both spy and scout are sent out after
Information, and ara expected 20 obtain it at
any personal risk Ii the scout can't get it
with his uniform on, or on neutral ground,
he must assume some disguise and get within
the enemy's lines 1t is certain death to the
spy when caught. A scout may have one
chance in fifty Of pulling through Ii caught
on the eve of battle drlmhead court mar
tiai will make short work of him
During the Last three years OF the late war
I was constantly engaged in spying and
scouting. being attached to several well
known commanders, and some of the adven-
lures had may be considered worth reading
Thousands of scout and spy stories have been
printed since the war. and of the hundreds
which have fallen under my eye not one OF
them appeared to have been written or die
tated by q genuine scout The common idea
is that scout leaves the lines at dark, ap
pears before the enemy's defenses an hour
later, counts the cannon, estimates the
troops, glances at the strength of the posi-
ton and is back before midnight to report to
his general that all is lovely and it requires
only prompt advance to wipe out the OPP
posing force. After the conference Of Grant
and Sheridan in the latter's camp before
Winchester, which resulted in the famous
order to ''Go inn / was called to Sheridan's
headquarters Maps of the front OF both
armies were shown me. IL was a strange
country to me, and the map of the rebel
front could not be depended on as accurate.
81 want YOU" said the general, ''to scout
from one wing of Early's ermy to the other
between his pickets and his camps l want
the length of his lines and the lay Of the
ground Take particular notice OF streams,
highways, bills and natural defenseS shall
expect you back in three days"
( l had a nearly new blue uniform, $50 in
gold, and couple Of revolvers Also Sheri-
dams pass to come and go at pleasure It
was about O'Clock in the morning when 1
received my instructions, and twenty min
Utes later l was riding TO the left of our
zines. Our left was at Berryville, confront
ing Eariys right; our right at Bunker Hill,
In front Of Winchester, confronting his left.
l was going in on Earlys right flank and to
move down his lines The Opequan creek, a
respectfully sized stream, lay between the
two armies, and the lines ran through forests
and thicllets and over hills and cleared
farms As nearly as could be known, Early
had the larger force, and it was thought that
Sheridan would do well to hold his own
against aim, saying nothing of assuming the
offensive. rode to the last picket post on
bur left before disInounting. The lines here
were half mile apart, running through
thicket and wood, and the rebel picket WIS
about pistol shot away. There was no picket
firing and in the course of half an hour l
Was beyond the picket and ready to turn to
the right. There was real danger now.
could hear the hum and hustle Of the campo
On my left, not much over quarter of mile
away, and l felt that must make my way
down this strip, not over half mile wide,
for five or six miles, exposed every moment
10 discovery.
The first mile was under cover, but sd
vanced from tree to tree as cautiously as an
Indian fighter creeping upon his victim 1t
was well that | took these precautions.
had reached the end of the woods and had
field about forty rods wide to cross when l
suddenly heard the report Of a light rife
only few yards away. | was then creeping
On my hands and knees and as the report
came man In Confederate uniform stepped
out from behind large tree and picked up
squirrel which he had shot He had evil
IDENTIFY been In ambush for some time, and
had l been advancing carelessly he would
certainly have discovered me- He had sew
eral' other squirrels, and after two or three
minutes be flung them over his shoulder and
started for camp. l waited for him to get
we'll away, and then crossed the open space
by creeping along fence which was nearly
covered by bushes. Then there was another
stretch of woods, broken by several ravines,
and ] had reached the middle of it before
saw any one When not creeping on my
hands and knees was advancing in stoop-
Ing position, keeping the lay of the ground in
my mind, and directly | came to a spring in
a ravine at which Confederate was filing a
string of oanteens | was on ridge, and
was almost over the man before l discovered
him He was so occupied with his work that
nv movements had not attracted his atteu-
ton, and l thanked him and passed on Forty
rods away | had TO hide in a fallen tree top
to let the picket relief pass me, and in max
ing the next half mile l encountered more
than a dozen persons Some were after wood
others going TO springs, and two sat on log
playing at cards. with a considerable heap of
money between them
| had gone down the front for two miles BY
lid-afternoon, and could remember the lay
Of every acre of ground Then, as l skirted
the creek, had to climb over a fallen tree,
and as | dropped lightly on the other side q
hand seized my ankle and q thick voice
growled out:
"Sho you've come f'r me, ehf Wan 'er
take me back, do youa Well, you can't
do it"
A strapping big fellow lay beside the log
He had been drinking too much, but that be
was not helplessly drunk | soon had reason
to know As near as could gather from his
disjointed sentences he had had trouble with
sergeant in his company and came out to
hide himself. In spite Of my blue uniform
he took me for the sergeant. and thinking /
had followed him from camp. he was ugly
minded He not only refused to let so my
ankle, but meant hght, and in another
minute we were hard at it In those DAYS
was something Of an athlete and fighter, but
this WAS the strongest and most obstinate fell
low had ever encountered All his efforts
were aimed at getting clutch on my throat.
and | had nearly to kill him to get loose
There was danger that some one might sp-
pear at any moment, and it was with 8
thankful heart got away from the locality
I soon found, however, that the woods be-
yond me were full of soldiers, some gathering
fuel, others digging roots or gathering bark
md three or four were after squirrels got
into the top Of fallen tree, pulled the brush
over and around me, and decided 20 wait for
darkness before making another move. While
lying here dog which belonged to one of tho
hunters came shifting and snufing at my hid
ing place, and presently set up furious
barking. His owner came ssunterfng up