The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-01-07

motive in the center of a Confederate
camp in April of that year.
They had effected the seizure of the en-
gine BY stealing from The Union lines into
the encmys territory disguised Is citizens,
and having been taken in their borrowed
plumage were condemned rs spies Eight
died the scafTold June - 1852 and
while the remainder, fourteen in number,
lay IN Jail under military guard expect
ing the same dismal fate, the telegraph"
wb spered that uOOses were preparing for
the. AS they looked for no mercy ut the
hands Of their captOrs they were not at
all morbid about showing the tender at
trih tie, for they were in the heart OF the
Cor .cdcracy, fourteen against the million
in q ms between them and their own kind
s. one afternoon while they were being
fed under the personal direction Of the
jail "a Union man at hcHrt-they seized
anC Jagged the unsuspectinS man, snatched
hin ,eys away and unlocked all the apart
me -, freeing another batch of unfortu
M - then ran to the military guards,
overp0wered and beat and stabbed them
wit their own weapons vaultcd a 10foOt
FEM and took to their heels III the open
cJuntry. The reserve gUIarl promptly
turned out, and of the railroad raiders who
had managed the affair eight got Clear Of
the neighborhood on the jump
TIE subsequent experiences Of two 0f
the after III reaching some spot where the
sta sI4rgled banner still waved, is told in
this chapter substantially rs given in ;he
published narrative of one of the pair
The Adventures of Alf Wilson" GA
ti0rtI Tribune, Washington, publisher7J
The story will prove good reading for both
"Yauh' and Johnny" and can hurt the
feelings of none at this late day, not even
those Of the fellows who We're outWittcd
by the runaways on their independent
Journey from Atlanta to the sea
Wilson's companion advcnturer was
Mars Wood, cOmrade Of the same COM
PAM, G, Twenty -lirst Ohio. They had
pairyd as chums before breaking Jail, and
leapcd the fence together and fled to the
woods. The comrades had had il bitter ex-
pericnce after the raid failure in April, in
trying to escape north through the noun
tains of Tennessee, and this time concluded
to try something new and make for the
gulf. In their former attempt at escape
they had nearly succeeded by floating on
the Tennessee river, and with the persist
ence of adventures chung to the hope that
they could do better if luck gave them
second chance They would find river
flowing south and seek the gulf.
After some narrow escapes from recap
ture by Confederate cavalry that secured
the country in pursuit, they took the north
star-that old time friend of lost wander
ers-for a guide and started southwest,
hoping to reach the ChattahOochee. They
knew but little OF the course of that river
or of its destination but would trust it 10
lead them to Union waters somewhere
under the shining canopy. The first thing
to do was to reach it. Safety demanded
that they travel by night. They were
ragged and unkempt and would be objects
of suspicion whenever seen.
The second night out they crossed 4 rail
road, which confirmed their belief in the
route chosen, and in overconfidence they
sat down and ate up all their supplies.
The third night they passed through
cornfeld and plucked Il few ears to gnaw
upon The next night Wood, who was no
better than an invalid. was Obliged to
crawl ON his hands and knees. Wilson
was discouraged by this, but heroically re-
solved not to desert his friend. At length
when lie found that they could not make
another mile he heard the sound of run
Mug water. 1t was an inspiration to both,
aud they pressed on and were soon on the
bank of broad stream flowing in the di
rection Of the gulf
Wilson says their JOY was uubOunded
and compares their sensations to those of
the discoveries Of the Pacific ocean and
the Mississippi. 1t was a pathway to
brin.; the wanderers home; it led to the
sea Y, here the old flag floated in indisputed
triumph. They could have shouted their
little strength away, but fortunately held
in for fear Of exposure. They followed