The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1895-09-12
GRANT HAD THE FIGURES.
A story of Secret Service During the
Final In Virginia.

F1naI Advance In virginia..
When I was the military governor
of Norfolk there were five counties of
North Carolina, besides Norfolk and
Portsmouth, under my command. 1
had about $4,000 or 10000 people in
those two cities to care for. 1t was
absolutely necessary that they should
have food, and those vegetable sur
plies that would naturally be found in
the surrounding country. In order to
have those supplies brought in, with
out furnishing any opportunity of Civ
ing aid and encouragement to the en-
envy, l was obliged to have a line of
pickets extending all round those two
cities. Whenever a man came in with
supplies or left the town on his way
home he met with one of those pick
cts on the road, who would examine
the contents of his wagon carefully.
search every COR husk and scrutinize
every part of the mans clothing, in Or
der to see that he was not bringing in
or taking away any secret informa-
ton.
And then came a difficulty; ome
came, sometimes alone and often ac-
companied by men. l then put mar
ried men on picket duty, and had their
wives accompany them; so that my
pickets finally became married men
and their wives. When a woman came
in from the country she was subjected
to the same close examination by the
wife of the picket.
One day a wOman-a very prepos-
sessing young woman-came to head
quarters and asked permission to go
down into one of the North Carolina
counties to take a little child, who
was, she said, an orphan; her parents
were dead, and her grandparents lived
in that state, and she wanted to take
her to them.
l carefully questioned her in one
way and another as to the parentage
of the child, as to what the parents
died of, and so on. She burst into Il
flood of tears, n seemed to have
some tender recollection in connection
with the matter. When she became
calm | gave her the necessary permits
sion, informing her that the wife of
the picket officer would subject her to
the usual examination. While the ex-
animation was being made the woman
who was making it heard a slight
rustling of paper in the gatherings of
the young wOman's petticoat. Pro-
curing a pair of scissors, she ripped
open the garment, and there she found
a long strip of paper about as wide as
an old-fashioned telegraph dispatch
| paper, and that bore an important
communication, to wit. that there was,
a direct line of communication be-
tween Richmond and London carried.
on by parties in Norfolk and New
York. This was an unsigned commu-
| l. tinn npl Inft fhA infnpopnA {hnA
there would be more communications
coming in.
The general government had opened
the postofice for use to what they
hoped would be the loyal citizens OF
that portion of Virginia Immediately
after l had captured Norfolk, and
these rebels were evidently making
use of Uncle Sans p%ostoffice to COM
municate directly las the papers show
ed) with their English allies. So the
picket officer at once dispatched a
courier to my headquarters with the
| paper he had found. / at once saw
through the scheme, and made up my
mind that 1t was important, to dereta
mind that 1t was important, If posi-
bic, to deceive the young woman into
the impression that l regarded it as
nothing at all, and let her go on
through the lines, hoping by that
means I would be able to obtain
through the mail these communica-
tons referred to.
| sent an aid-de-camp, telling him to
reprimand the officer and his wife in
the presence of this young woman for
troubling her in so slight a matter; in
forming her that l had thrown the
paper away, that it was of no conse-
quence, amounted to nothing, and sent
word that the young woman should <
on. AS soon as she had got out OF
sight l instructed the officer to explain
to the loyal picket man and his wife
what the action meant so that they
would understand it after they had
gone through the modification of be-
ing reprimanded from me for doing
what they believed to be their duty.
The sequel proved that my judg-
ment was correct. l directed the post
master to watch for any communica-
ton coming with a certain address,
which was on this slip. The address
was "Paxon, Son q Co, New York
evidently a fictitious name, for no per
son would dare to be openly CORE.
spending in New York. 1t also show.
ed that "PaXon, Son & Co" communi.
Gated with a firm in L~iverpool-''Ira
Evans & Coz
In about a week the postmaster
came in with a long envelope address
ed to PaXon, Son & Co. Opening it
found a letter addressed to Ira Evans
& Co., Liverpool. Opening that ]
found one addressed to another firm
the name of which l have fOrgotten)
in London. Opening that found ont
addressed to the London Index, whicl
was the rebel organ of the English
alnes. Then, opening that, | founC
the last issue of the Richmond En-
Uuirer, which | sent to Secretary
Chase, as l had promised to send hin
all the latest papers l got hold of.
This programme continued for sly
weeks. The same series of envelopes
the same late newspaper in the las
envelope, until the seventh communi
cation. This contained a document O
seventeen closely written f~OolscaI
pages and contained an exhaustive re
port of the exact condition of the com
missariat and quartermaster's depart
ment of the rebel army. Was there
battle eve Won with greater result
than attached to this document? o
course, | sent 1t at once, with a spccia
dispatch, to Secretary Stanton and re
ceived his warmest thanks. That doc
ument was in Grants hands when h
said: 81 will fight it out on this lin
if it takes all summer" He had il
his hands information of the exac
condition of the enemy.-Gen. e. L
Eiple in the New York IndeDpndent