The National tribune., 1896-06-25
THE LOST BRIGADE,
And the Story of Mysterious Box, With n
Sequel.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Croxtoh
| Brigade of Cavalry was detached from tn
main column on Wilson's raid through Ala
bama, and sent up the Black Warrior Rive
to capture Tuscaloosa. 1t could never &c
back TO Wilson's army, and became know
| in history of that period as the Lost Bri
gade.
Our fights were every day, retreats ant
counter-marches every night, TO escape pres
sure and try to find n weak place in tn
enemy's lines But they held this brigade
in an open trap. and tried to do it up in de
tail.
i was along, and helped that brigade on
of several of its scrapes They crowded III
up in the mountains, until the fighting wa
constant. One morning we noticed flag
of-truce and learned that we and the foo
rebels that were after us had been fightin,
for week after Lee had surrendered.
We soldiers always went in pairs. George
Stone, now of Marion, Iowa, was my mate OF
that raid, and had been captured and, VIZ
understood, killed the evening before. So
was alone. When the regiment came dOwr
into The valley and went into camp, l wan
defed off by myself.
Down near an old mill / found beaut
full pool of water, and failing to reach bottom
with pole, took off my uniform and made
dive from the bank. / was surprised al
not reaching bottom.
/ came out, rested, made running plunge
and did reach bottom. and found large
square box. The find puzzled me. turned
IL over once with difficulty. Then / arose
and lay quite while on the bank, thinking
While the pool was deep, it was narrow, and
If 1t sloped ali the way up, by rolling that
box over and over, could bring it 10 view
/ went at it, remained under water until my
ears popped, had three trials, and was max
ing great progress, when the regimental
bugle blew boots and saddles
rushed my toilet, reached the company
as 1t was forming, some of the boys having
saddled my horse, and we marched rapidly
away, following a courier, who had been
sent 10 guide us 10 Cavalry Headquarters at
Macon, Ga We reached there about the
time of Jeff Davis's capture. / never after
that day saw well-shaded pool of wafer
but my mind would go back 10 that struggle
under water over a mysterious box.
During the S0s | surveyed lands in west
Texas, Quitting one Spring for the Upper
BraZos country. One of my men took sick
at the last frontier settlement. Arranging
TO leave him there with a settler, / hired
one OF his neighbOrs TO take his place. We
always called him BRACES: Every night on
those staked plains the boys wanted a story,
and / kept i good stock at that time, and
often could lead the other boys out. Brazos
was a good listener, but / never could get
him to talk
As my line crossed the extreme headwaters
of the Brazos River / found some fine pools
OF water, and that night surely came the
story as written. Brazos began TO stare
open-eyed at me while / was telling it, and
when / had finished his gaze at me was SO
intent that it annoyed me. Up early next
morning, | pushed Brazos to high mound
with his flag, called him on line, leaving the
boys TO chain up, and went on to his flag. /
found him constantly setting his eyes on me
with that persistence that, if continued,
botbers any one. l told him to wink or bat
his eyes and quit giving me that antelope
gaze. He said:
sit down before the boys come up; /
want 10 tell you n story
served in the rebel army. gave it up
before Lee did, and had just reached my home
at that old mill you told OF, when your Lost
Brigade was fighting at Talladega. No sol
dier bad ever bothered that neighborhood
/ told our women and old people how the
Yankee cavalry stole everything, from a
chicken TO the money about a place On my
advice they dug up their buried money. /
nailed 1T up In a box, threw it into what was
called the deep hole below the mill. In the
thick laurel, on the opposite bank from where
You made your plunge, | lay about 80 feet
from you. | OWNED what you were at /
studied your face closely, and that is why |
look at you so. j wonder that | did not
recognize you before you told the story.
Never did man study face as / studied
yours every time you came up and lay on
that bank.
was relieved TO see that none of YOUR
comrades followed you. / kept my faithful
and true old army musket on your head
every time it came up. ! had decided to
put the ounce ball it contained through
your brain as soon as that box reached the
waters edge, then jump down and throw the
box back in the pool and make my escape
up the laure-cOvered mountain where your
men could not pursue. They would find
you killed by bushw hacker, but know
nothing of the box.
AFTER your brigade had left that country
our people got teams. | raised the box.
We came to the frontier of Texas bought
wild land with that gold. and opened those
elegant farms you camped near when / came
TO you"
/ had listened to many interesting and
entertaining stories, but never one that inn
pressed me as that sequel to my own story,
heard away out on the Llano Estacado of
West Texas.
When Brazos had finished said 81 am
awful glad / did not get that box" He
said: So am I."-HoMER MEAD, Co. X,
9Th Iowa Cav, Camden, Ill.