The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1895-05-02

afternoon. she was only ss; young to have
the responsibilities that rested on her, but
the absence of her father and brothers, who
were fighting for the confederacy and the
death of her mother just when the bom.
bardment of Charleston made an up cOun.
try residence seem safe asylum for refu,
gees, constituted her the natural guardian
of her younger sisters and the mistress OF
the slaves, who were also removed to the
Fort Motto plantation. With tho house
servants, who were with them in their
city home, she had no trouble, but the
man Andrew was one of another set OF
negroes who had been ON one of the sea.
coast plantations.
No train, miss" announced the depot
agent few hours later, sad infection
In his voice.
still holding out the money for her ticket
IN 5ewildered way. lis there some de-
layp An acoidentP"
keenly at her. Didn't you knowP They
are tearing up the track. There won't be
any more trains on the South Carolina
road"
IT must get to Columbia" she said de-.
terminedly. II must start tomorrow.
Can't you hire conveyance for me9 l
have no horses fit to go, but surely there
must be some left on some of the planta-
tions.
"All the horses have been sent away to
avoid the enemy" said the agent. BE
sides the bridge over the Congaree is burn
ing now or burned already. No one can
CROSS +"
Miss Lansing walked to the open door
OF the little station and looked up tho rail
way track, where the narrow lines stretched
away In the distance. "Oh, why had she
not taken the train that morning9" she
thought Still in the box Of valuables
which had got her into this predica.
ment were watches, jewelry, portraits and
other keepsakes which various members of
the family had intrusted to her charge
when leaving Charleston, Fort Motto be-
Ing regarded as safe place, and she felt
that she had done right In trying to save
them. There was nothing to be done but
to go back to the plantation house, con-
suit with Daddie John and his wife (the
most reliable of the servants) as to the
best means Of conoe6i!ng her valuables
and invoke such fortitude as she might to
sustain her In the ordeal which confronted
berthe ordeal Of meeting tho raiders,
who were even then but few miles dis
tant, as rumor said, burning and destroy
ing everything in their path. The fam
lilies of the neighborhood In whose houses
she might have found an asylum had all
fed to what they thought was safer
ground. There was no likelihood that she
would see friendly white face for weeks
Her feminine relatives were all In Colum-
bia, and to that city had fed the aunt to
whom she had sent her sisters, and be-
meath whose hospitable roof she herself
had expected to take shelter, no one
dreaming at that time of the fate In store
for the devoted town.
Three weeks had passed. The spring
had opened, but tho fields were unplowed.
The dry and brittle cotton stalks of last
years crop yet stood untouched, and many
acres had not boon planted for several
seasons Jasmines were blooming along
the hedRerows. innocently unconscious
that this particular spring their beauty
seemed mookery tc a land where all nc
oustomed sounds were hushed, either of
labor or pleasure. The trees alongside the
South Carolina railroad route wore 'un-
usual appendages, the iron rails of the
road having been twisted grotesCflely
around their trunks. Here and there an
obstinate section of rail that refused TO be
ripped up when Its companions were
Jerked from their beds stood upright
yanked away as II to emphasize the desc.
lation, and everywhere the blaokened
smirch Of the torch was visible, Dogwood
trees wearine tha'- svidai white elaemad