Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-12-10
War "reminiscences.
AN ODD WAR DUEL.

AN ODD WAR DUEL.
"What a narrow world it is. after
ALL" said middle-aged gentleman,
as he contemplatively puffed at his
cigar, in party of half-dozen old
grand-army men, who had been
swapping army stories at post camp
fire not long ago. L" / was captain
in New England regiment" con-
tinued the speaker, "at the capture
of Roanoke Island, and almost the
first man / saw among the Confeder-
ate prisoners was 1.-the, slender,
fiery little fellow, who, four or five
years before, had been q classmate
of mine in a New York college,
He didn't see me till clapped him
on the shoulder and asked him if he
could shoot better than when he
tried to shoot me one night i'm a Sc
cret-society meeting. His eyes filled
as he grasped my hand-we had
been good friends after the trouble
alluded to- and he replied, All!
Mac, was great fool in those days
and Pm afraid I'm not much better
now.' have never seen him SINCE"
" Yes" said an old major, with a
gray mustache, "there are strangely
improbable meetings between people
who have met before, in both peace
and war. I can tell you a queer
story illustrating that same narrow
ness.
In 1864 was in Arkansas, where
war was carried on in about as rough
and ready a way as war could be-
Scarcely day passed for some weeks
that was not shot at by some scamp
skulking in hiding place, and 1
suspect most of them would have
shot about as promptly if I had
worn the gray, and been obliged to
go about as 1 did. They were Ish-
maelites to the last degree, many of
tn ose fellows.
One day l started with another Of
ficer and large sum of government
money to 20 from Little Rock to
Deval's Bluff, on White river, be.
tween which points there was a
craggy railway, the sole line of COM
munication and supply for General
Steele's frontier division. The train
was one Of 'empties' going for sup
plies. My companion and stacked
up our personal belongings and the
money, the latter was in one of those
ridiculous little iron boxes used by
the government disbursing officers,
in a box-car and took possession. 1t
was frightfully hot, and after we had
passed out from the cypress swamp
on to the prairie we climbed out on
the top Of the car to take air.
Presently, we approached a
guarded station, and discovered
that there was fighting going on
there and too realized that General
joe Shelby and large number of
his rough riders had broken in on
the line of communication, captured
the 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
1t in charge of our clerks, and, in.
structing 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 congressional committee be-
ing probably good, and ours GER
tainly not worth cent--we climbed
back into our car and the train began
the ticklish operation-on such q
track-of backing out of danger.
A couple of miles behind us was q
'spur' or switch track, with only
one end connected with the line, and
General joe had also sent consid.
cradle detachment of his cavalry
gallopiDg across tho prairie toward
that. If they reached 1t first and
threw the switch we were lost. A
few of the swiftest riders rode
sraight for that end, while the 9th.
ers-100 or more.-veered toward the
train and opened fire. We didn't
dare to run very fast, and they had
no difficulty in keeping even with us
for mile and half or more, though
strung out and soon beginning tc
lose.
1t was a close and thrilling race
though. Some of the horsemer
reached the spur before the train, but
for some reason they could not throw
the switch, and soon afterward we
clattered over 1t to our immense re.
lief, and got away to a neighborine
port, whence we soon brought a re
lieving force, but after the mischie
was done.
Throughout the race there was
running fight between the trair
guard and the horsemen gallopins
along within twenty rods of US
But there was too much motion fio
aim, and very few were hurt. M,
, companion and I stood on the sid
door of the car returning the fire of tn
7 horsemen. In the midst OF the fusil
lade he turned back into the car t
, reload and at once calculated, 'Goot
Lord, Major, look at that!' Iturne,
and on the other side Of our pile o
traps, was little, fat, bullet headed
3 hook-nosed cotton trader, curled vi
. on the floor with traps between hin
8 and the flying bullets. My compan
q inn n atra nninO aix. .f0Otar auddopI n