The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-08-24
GRANT HAD THE FIGURES.
n Story OF Secret Service During. the
(: Final Advance in Virginia.

\ Story or Secret Service During the
Final Advance in Virginia.
When L was the military governor
/ of Norfolk there We're five counties Of
North Carolina, besides Norfolk and
Portsmouth, under my command. l
had about $4,000 or 10000 people in
those two cities to- care for. 1t .,M.,
absolutely necessary that they should
have food, and those vegetable sup
plies that would naturally De 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, I 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 corn husk and scrutinize
every part of the mans clothing, in Or
der to see that he WIS not bringing in
or taking away any secret informa-
tiOn 49,, 49, ,lAw So
And then came difficulty; women
came, sometimes alone and often ac-
companied by men. I then put mar
rled men on picket duty, and had their
wives accompany theln;''so that my
pickets finally became married men
and their wives When woman came
in from the country she was subjected
to the same close examination by the
wife Of the picket. 80
One day a woman-a very prepoS-
SGSSiDp uO11np to hool
quarters and asked permission to go
down into one of the North Carolina
counties to take 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 a
flood of tears, and 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
rJlstling of paper in the gatherings of
the young woman's petticoat. Pro
curing 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
direct line of communication be-
tween Richmond and London carried
0,,4sl
York. This was an unsigned conlnu-
nication, and left the Inference that
there would be more communications
coming in.
The general government had opened
the postoffice 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 We're evidently making
use of Uncle Sans postotfice to COM
municate directly (as the papers show
eO with their English allies. So the
picket officer at once dispatched
courier to my headquarters with the
paper he had found. I at once saw
through the scheme, and made I'D my
mind that it was important, to dereth
mind that it was important, if posi-
bic, to deceive the young woman into
the impression that 1 regarded it ais
nothing at all, and let her go Oh
through the lines hoping by that
means I would be able to- obtain
through the mail these communica-
tons referred to.
| sent an aidde-camp, telling him to
reDrmand the officer and his wife in
the presence of this young woman for
troubling her in so slight a matter; in
forming her that 1 had thrown the
paper away, that it was Of no conse-
quence, amounted to nothing, and sent
word that the young woman should 20
on. AS soon as she had got out of
sight 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. / 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 & Co., New York.
evidently a fictitious name, for no per-
son would dare to be openly CORE
spending in New York It also show
ed that "Paxon, Son & Co." communi-
Gated with a firm in Liverpool
Evans & Co."
In about a week the postmaster
came in with long envelope address
ed to Paxon, Son & Co. Opening it 1
found a letter addressed to Ira Evans
& Co., Liverpool. Opening that I
found one addressed to another firm
(the name Of which have forgotten),
IN London. Opening that I found one
addressed to the London Index, which
was the rebel organ Of the English
allies. Then, opening that, / found
the last issue of the Richmond En-
auirer, which I sent to Secretary
Chase, as I had promised to send him
all the latest papers got hold Of.
This programme continued for six
weeks. The same series of envelopes,
the same late newspaper in the last
envelope, until the seventh communl-
cation. This contained document, of
seventeen closely written foolscap
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 a
battle ever won with greater results
than attached to this document2 IOf