The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-03-06

less deserted factory, behind it's rotting
gateways, making the bleak mountain
side more dreary than ever.
Shortly before reaching Bishops house
my shoes, the same for which / had
traded my vest with an old negro soon
after leaving Columbia, and which ]
had bound around my feet with stout
cords before leaving the Jail, began to
cut queer capers. One of them climbed
up my leg half way to my knee, and
when knocked at the door it was with
the wreck of the other in my hand.
Mr.. Bishop met me at the door on a
crutch and received me cordially for
Smith s sake Only day or so before
the establishment had been raided by a
band of Confederates, the cattle driven
off and the bedding confiscated.
Bishop and his wife slept on the only
mattress in the house, and the best they
could offer me was bed on the floor
before the fire. When the cold air came
up through the wide cracks between the
blanks, it seemed to be cutting me in
sections with icy saws until crawled
over to the side of the room and lay
lengthwise of wide puncheon under
the table.
In the morning it was quite evident
that disagreeable thoughts were domi-
nant in Mrs. Bishops mind as she pro-
ceeded sullenly and silently with her
preparations for breakfast. The bitter
bread of charity was being baked with
vengeance for the unwelcome guest.
Premonitions of the coming storm fash
ed now and then in lightning cuffs on
the ears of the children or crashed omi-
nously among the pots in the fireplace.
When breakfast was served, the table
still stood against the wall, and Bishop
now advanced good naturally to assist
in removing it to the center of the room.
Mrs. Bishop was like charge of dy-
Mantle, ready to explode at the first jar,
so that when one Of the table legs over
turned the swill pail the long pent up
| storm burst upon us in torrent of in
vective. The prospect Of spending even
few days with this virago had no at
fractions for me, so after breakfast
Bishop took me down the mountain to
the house of neighbor Case, with whose
sons Captain Smith had lain in conceal
! ment for several weeks on former visit
to the mountains. I was very curious to
see these famous outlaws and Union
bushwhackers, whom nothing delighted
so much as from some safe cover to pick
| off q Confederate recruiting officer, or
tax in kind collector, or tumble out OF
their saddles the last driver of wagon
train These very lively young men had
been pressed so hard by the authorities
of late that even if known it was not
prudent to disclose this place of hiding.
The elder Case pulled roll of leather
and a kit of tools out from under the
bed and cut me out pair OF shoes IN
the rough, and it was decided to take
me back to Bishops brother Pink. Hav-
ing accomplished all this, Bishop and
climbed nearly to the top of the noun
tain, turned hundred yards into the
wnssG.. ana walked into q moonshiner' Is
still in full operation. Two men were
attending the fires and shilling the mash.
one of whom was Pink Bishop, to whose
care I was to be committed until Smith
came. There was a light fall Of snow
on the ground, plainly showing our
tracks as we had come from the road,
and for this reason it was deemed I'M
safe for us to remain at the still.
So Pink and l packed our traps, laid
in supply of provisions as we passed
the house, and followed the crest Of the
Blue Ridge back to log house which
was used for storing cornshucks We
dug the bundles away from the fireplace
and disposed them against the cracks,
where they would do the most good, and
lighted fire. Pink was a blacksmith,
but he could make shoes for human
wear as we'll, and we set to work at
once. l split the pegs from section OF
seasoned maple, and sewed the two
parts of the uppers together under his
direction and he did the rest. In day
or two the shoes were completed and Oh
my feet.
Every night we watched for the arri'
val of Smith, but Monday came with
out his appearance and we reluctantly
gave him up. 1 went down the noun
tain to Cases and had supper with the
family before starting. AS l was tc
travel the mountains alone, decided te
make my way back, distance OF az
miles, to the Hoopers, in Cashiers val
ley, and thence to Headen's, on Yellow
mountain, where we had been captured
1t was Sunday night, the goth day OF
January, when we left Greenville jail
and it was the night Of the 9th of March
when l set out from Cases. The sky
was clear, and 1 intended to make
long march, keeping the general direc
ton by the stars, but thick clouds soor
blotted out my guides, and as it grew
dark the snow began to fall rapidly. TC
travel any distance was hopeless. saw
a light ahead at the end of the road
was travelling and concluded to try iti
hospitality.
When / reached it, 1 found snue
looking brown house, with deep porch
cut into the front. A girlish voice an
swered my knock, and after some par
ley the door was unfastened and the
owner of the voice came out ON the
porch to give me the directions wal
asking for. By this time had deter
mined the complexion of the family pol
itics and made clean breast of the sit