The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-08-14
awall, he's turned up agin.s

| "Wall, he's turned up aginr
"Where is herr
ssIn camp It's a Gods fact, Saw lin
this mornin',n said old Tom, smoking his
short pipe. t
"Whorel'
"in camp. Came past our quarters
whar our mess war"
"Did you speak with hint" the Colonel
asked. -
he said he'd been layin' N tn brush ter
shoot n cuss as he hates He's been clar
out ter Corinth, but hain't got his man yit.
Golly, We orter see his gun; it's great,
b,p. lone-barreled ole-fashioned rifle. Very
thing ter kill buck"
"He ought to know something about
what the rebels are doing wish you
would find him, Tom, and send him to me-"
"pll do 1t, Kernel. Ill go right now N
hunt lin up" and old Tom rose to his feet
and started from the tent TO find the mys-
terious negro; but Blackhawk, as usual,
| could not be found when sought, and Tom
had fruitless search.
That evening General Prentiss ordered
Colonel Mason TO take two hundred men
next morning and 20 out several miles In
their advance TO reconnoiter, as 1t was re-
ported that the enemy had been seen in
considerable force along the Corinth road.
Almost ever since his arrival at Pitts
burg Landing Colonel Mason had heard OF
diminishing in their front, and his own
pickets had been fred on several times.
ut is probably some guerrillas," said the
Colonel TO himself. "They are prowling
through the country, and the woods are
full Of them, A few companies Of cavalry
can easily put them to flight"
| or course the four men who had been his
self-oonstituted body guard formed q part Of
the two hundred picked men, and with
three days rations and forty rounds, they
set out at daylight next morning. As they
were passing one Of the outlying picket
posts sergeant hailed them and said:
"Ye'd better look little out"
"Have you seen any thing Of the enemy
this morningp' the Colonel asked.
'No; but they've been shootin' at us
boys all night and wounded Jack Gates"
"How many times were you fred ont"
''Three. The last time they gave US o
dozen shots all at once"
''They are only few bushwhackers; we
will drive them from the woods" said the
Colonel.
With three or four exceptions Lulre's en-
tire two hundred were veterans who had
been trained In the hottest fights at Bel
mont and Donelson.
The country was undulating and covered
with dense growth Of trees and under
brush, except where clearings had been
made and fields cultivated.
The Colonel and his staff were the only
mounted men in the expedition. The re
cent rains had made the roads muddy, and
marching was difficult and wearisome.
They had gone about five or six miles
when the advance guard informed the
Colonel that they were in sight Of farm
house, near which number OF horses were
hitched
'They are bushwhackers. Now to capt
ure them" said the Colonel.
he divided his command into two di
visions, and approaching the house from
the south and east prepared 70 flank II so as
TO prevent any one from escaping.
Luke glanced at the sky 10 see what the
hour was, but it was too cloudy for him V
determine by the sun, and, consulting his
watch, he discovered II was after twelve.
"They are at dinner" he thought, "we'l
bag our game and learn something from
them"
The Colonel was not yet in sight Of tn,
house, which was concealed by the thicl
woods and underbrush, when single sho
rang on the air.
A moments silence ensued and then
dozen more reports followed in quick sue
cesslon. The yells Of combatants, snortinI