Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-11-14
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
AN ODD WAR DUEL.
A Running Fight Between Gen. "Joe" Shell
I.....-l. IrLarcn-

A Running Fight Between Gen. aloe" Shell
by's Rough Riders and a Train Force.
"What narrow world it is after ALL"
said middle-aged gentleman, as he
contemplatively puffed at his cigar, III
n party of half a dozen old grand army
men, who had been swapping army
stories at post camp fire not long ago.
81 was captain in a New England regi-
ment," continued the speaker, "at the
capture of Roanoke Island and almost
the first man l saw among the confeder-
nte prisoners, was 1.-THE, slender, fiery
little fellow, who, four or five years
before, had been n classmate of mine in
q New York college. He didn't see
me till / clapped him on the shoulder
and asked him il ne could shoot better
than when he tried to shoot me one
night in n secret society meeting. His
eyes filled as he grasped my hand-wc
had been good friends after the trouble
alluded to-and he replied: 'Ah!
Nee, was a great fool in those days,
and I'm afraid I'm not much better
now I've never seen him since"
EYES," said an old major with a gray
mustache, there are strangely improb-
able meetings between people who have
met before, in both peace and war. l
can tell you queer story illustrating
that same narrowness.
"In 1864 I was in Arkansas, where
war was carried on in about as rough
and ready n way as war could be.
Scarcely day passed for some weeks
that was not shot at by some scamp
skullsing in hiding place, and 1 sus-
pect most of them would have shot
obout as promptly if I had worn the
gray, and been obliged to go about as
i did. They were Ishmaeltes to the
last degree, many of those fellows.
"One day I started with another Of
ficer and large sum of government
money to go from Little Rock to Deval's
Bluff on White river, between which
points there was a craggy railway, the
sole line Of communication and supply
for Gen. Steele's frontier division. The
train was one of 'empties' going for
supplies. My companion and I stacked
up our personal belongings and the
money, the latter in one of those ridic
ulous little iron boxes used by the gov
ernment disbursing officers, in box
car and took possession. 1t was fright
fully not, and after we had passed out
from the cypress swamp on to the open
prairie we climbed out on to the top Of
the car for air.
Presently as we approached guard
ed station, we discovered there was
fighting going on there and soon re.
allied that Gen. Joe Shelby had large
force of his rough riders had broken in
on the line of communication, captured
post and were tearing up the road
We had unwittingly nearly run into
their clutches. The train was stopped,
we transferred the money to the cab of
the engine, put it in charge of our
clerks, and, instructing them if they
saw capture was inevitable, to open the
boxes and throw the half million into
the furnace-their testimony to the
facts before a congressional committee
being probably good, and ours certain
ly not worth a cent-we climbed back
into our car and the train began the
ticklish operation-on such a track-of
backing out of danger.
"a couple of miles or more behind us
was spur or switch track, with only
one end connected with the line, and
Gen. Joe had already sent considera
BILE detachment of his cavalry gaAoping
across the prairie toward that. If they