Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-11-05
"But when will that ber he was

Waali why can't We uns Etay down
on the ground? If them sarchers chances
In har, won't they find we uns kinder
treed and handys7
The boy could not answer this ques-
ton He had carried out Abe's instruc-
tl0ns. He had never done any original
thinking, and it was too much to expect
OF him now | pointed out that there
was nothing to prevent our getting down
if we wanted to, and no reason why
we should detain the boy, who On hear
ing this gave a sigh Of relief and started
off at a run
We had had enough sleep for twenty
four hours, but, even if exhausted, ii
was not the time nor place for repose.
We tried to account for the coming Of
white men, Abe had told US that men
from Augusta and Sylvania were search
ing the woods for deserters, and no doubt
that was the mission Of those men. But.
granting that we were right in our sur-
mise, we knew only too well that they
would much rather capture escaping
Yankees than deserting conscripts.
The owl found q resting place on n
beam few feet away and looked at us
with a solemn stupidity that was at first
amusing, but finally it made US nervous.
and Bell, who firmly believed that the
( presence Of the bird was "a sartin, sure
sign Of death in the family" clambered
down to the floor and followed.
We spoke in whispers, and did hot
dare to move. Not a sound escaped us.
Now and then we were sure that we
heard approaching voices, but it always
turned out to be the whirr of the cicada
or the soughing Of the wind in the trees.
1t was this constant anxiety and mental
strain that told on Us far more than tile
night marches and infrequent food. An
( assurance of twenty-four hours of safety
would have brought us rest and relief,
but once in our sleep the waking thoughts
asserted themselves, and We were still
flying on through the darkness, with
shouting men and barking dogs close be-
hind us
Inc tree tops were growing dim. and
film Of gray mist began to rise from
the field. The air, that had been sitting
hot all day, grew chilly, and still our
friend Abe did not put in an appearance.
We had made up our minds to take our
chances and 60 on, depending On dark
ness and dumb luck" as Bell put it.
when we heard the weeds about the gin
house swaying as if something were
moving cautiously through them Then
came low Hist, it's only me, maussesl'
and the faithful black man stood be-
fore us.
He was evidently much excited, and
with reason The searchers from Syl-
vania had dogs with them and they were
hunting Yankees that had escaped from
Millen as well as deserters. They had
been over the ground to the west that
day and were going to search the woods
to the east and south that night, hoping
( to come on the fires of the men known
to be hiding Abe regretted that he
could not guide us that night, al Ne haa
hoped TO do, but he brought u bas
containing bread and meat and two
( heavy knives made ont Of files, which he
thought might be useful If the dogs
came on us. he advised us to start at
once, keeping the north star i'll front.
and as soon as we reached Clear run,
about a mile to the north. to wade alon-
it, so as to throw off the dogs if they
should chance to follow He told us
about the Campbell place, about ten
miles of, and assured Us that if We
reached there we would find friends.
We bade Abe goodby, and at once
started across the abandoned field and
entered the woods at the other side
The murinur Of water in front told us
that we were near the stream which Abe
called "Clear run" 1t was only a few
yards in width, and the bottom was
hard. 1t flowed toward the north. and
inferred that it was a tributary Of the
Savannah, as the streams of the day be-
fore, which flowed toward the south
were branches Of the Ogeechee. we
walked down the stream for about two
miles, the water usually to our knees.
/ but sometimes waist high, and frequent
! ly we had to Chamber over trees that had
fallen across the stream
v We might have continued longer i'll
the water, for it was warmer than tile
air, but suddenly the woods fell away
on either hand and we found ourselves
\ at a bridge with clearing in front
\ The bridge suggested road, and AZ WE
had not walked five miles Oh one since
our escape, and this appeared to lead in
/ the right direction, we determined to
I try it. As our feet were sore we took
I off our boots and stockings, ana throw
I ing them over our shoulders started of
/ with some comfort The road was clay
and the track was cool and pleasant to
our feverish feet, but after going few
miles the soles became tender and We
sat down by the roadside to put On our
ragged boots again.
j We were talking in whispers, when we
were startled by hearing loud halloo
\ seemingly only few hundred yards
\ away and IL the direction we had been
travelling. At our back was fence, and
over this we clambered quickly and
noiselessly; then. with our hands On our
clumsy knives. the possession Of which
gave US an indescribable feeling Of se-
curity, we waited to listen The shout
was repeated and answered from dis
tance still further on in the same direc-
\ ton Then followed the quick pounding
I Of a galloping horses feet and the vocif-
erous salutations Of two men, who had
evidently missed each other at some
u rendezvous near by.
4 The two men. both mounted, came Tip
\ the road at a walk and talking as if each
I thought the other deaf We did not
move from the fence, for we wanted to
Y hear what the men had to say, and it
was possible that they were negroes, but
Z the horses and the boisterous talk damped
( this hope. From their talk we learned
Z that a great search was going on for de-
X serters and outlaws, and that parties of
men with dogs were securing the woods
in every direction particularly recall
one remark. made as they rode by:
They're q id sight worse than the
Yanks, for they not only won't fight, but
they keep good men back har a-hunting
EN- up. wish the Confederacy would
win or collapse, for by - I'm right
smart tired of this sort Of business. 1t
does seem powerful like sometimes as
If everything was going plum straight
to the deyil!"
mo DE CONTINUED.
John O. Whittier is SO modest that
his niece, who is preparing a biography