The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-01-20

at such a place and moment-soGne-I
thing that you could hear from me
alone. l did not know you were in
Washington, although ! knew you
were relieved; [ had no way of seeing
you or sending TO you before, and 1
only came to Mrs. Boonpointer's party
in the hope of hearing news OF you.
You know that my brother was
captured by your picketS, in company
with another officer. He thinks you
suspected the truth, THAT he and mis-
friend were lowering near your lines
to effect the escape of the spy. But
he says that although they failed to
help her she did escape, or was passed
through the lines by your conniVance.
He says that you seemed to know her;
that from what Rose, the mullato Wo-
man, told him, you and she were eyl-
IDENTIFY old friends. / would not speak
1 of this nor intrude upon your private
4 affairs, only that [ think you ought
to know that I had no knowledge of
: it when [ was in your house, but be-
/ lieVed her TO be a stranger to you.
! You gave me no intmadon that you
/ knew her, and I believed that you
were frank with me. But l should
not speak of this at all, for [ believe
that it would have made no differ
ence to me in repairing the wrong
that l Thought ] had done You; only
that as I am forced by circumstances
( to tell you the terrible ending of this
story you ought to know it all.
My brother wrote to me that the
evening after you left, the burying
party picked UP the body of what
they believed to be a, mullato woman
lying on the slope. 1t was not Rose,
but the body Of that very WOnan-the
real and only spy-whom you had
passed through the lines at daybreak.
Ny brother thinks she was accident
IL
by her own friends, and so fell a
double martyr. But only my brother
and his friends recognized her Through
her blackened face and disguise, and
on the plea that she was a servant OF
one of their friends, they got permits
sion from the division commander TO
! take her away, and she was buried
by her friends and among her people
in the little cemetery of Three Pine
Crossing, not far from where you have
gone My brother thought that ]
ought to tell you this; it seems that
he and his friend had 4 strange sym
pathy for you in what they appear tC
know or guess OF your relations with
that woman, and [ think he was
touched by what he Thought was your
kindness and chiValry to him on ac
count of his sister. But [ do not thinE
> he ever knew. or will know how
f great is the task that he has imposed
upon me,
: You know now, do you not, why
: did not speak to you when we frs
f met? 1t seemed so impossible to do i
r in an atmosphere and a festivity tina
2 was so incongrUouS to the dreadful
message l was charged with. AnC
{ when [ had to meet you later-per
2 haps 1 may have Wronged you-bu
' il seemed to me that you were so pre-
s occupied and interested with othe,
! things that I might perhaps only bt
: Wearying you with something you
E cared little for, or perhaps alread,
2 knew and had quickly forgotten.
1 Il had been wanting TO say some
! thing else to you when l had got riC
I of my dreadful message. l do no
S know if you still care to hear it. Blu
r you were once generous enough t,
e think that l had done you a service
: in bringing a letter to your command
I er. Although 1 know better than an,
D one else the genuine devotion to you
= duty that made you accept my poo
s service, from all that ] can hear yol
e have never had the credit of it. VIII
You not try me again? am in NOR
i favor here, and I might yet be NOR
successful in showing your superior
: how true you have been to your trust
t even if you have little faith in you
r friend Matilda Faulkner"
4 For long time he remained mo
E fionless with the letter in his hand
: then arose. ordered his horse, and sal
:. loDed away.
t There was little difficulty in findin
the cemetery of Three Pines Crossin
t "a hillside slope, hearsed with pin
n and cypress, and starred with whit
e crosses, that in the distance locke
: like flowers. Still less was there i
finding the newer marble shaft anon
e the older lichen spotted slabs, Whic
r, bore the simple words: Alice Ben
: ham, Martyr" a few confederat
is soldiers, under still palmer and newe
wooden headstones. carved only wit
d initials, lay at her feet. Brant san
$ on his knees beside the grave, hut h
e was thrilled to see that the base {
v the marble was stained with the re
e pollen of the fateful lily. whose bio: