Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1898-12-21
Tracks nhliterated hx Ra,.

The bridge being repaired, we again
pushed on through the pine woods. The
wagon tracks could now be plainly
seen, but 1t soon commenced to rain
very hard. and the tracks we hadfol-
lowed were now obliterated. We were
IN the great pine woods of the south,
the soil nothing but white sand scarce.
~ an inhabitant to be found, and soon
we lost all track of the party ahead;
but sun we pushed blindly on.
VI the final capture of Davis, Gen.
eral Harnden writesi
Colonel Pritchard and roda N.
gether into the Davis camn wbieb wac
just across a little swala orl, ! sa,,,
RODS from where our skirnntsb tonk
place. The first person we SOW, IN,
was John II. Reagan, the postmastet
general of the Confederacv ,a,aix
United States senator from Texas Sb.
said 10 me: Wen, you have taken tbe
old gentleman at LAST
Who do you mean?
4 mean President Davis
Please point him out
There he stands said Reagan:
pointing 70 a tall, elderly, and rathet
dignifled-looking gentleman, standing
SNASAN A'SA1At1N away
We rode up. dismounted. and .sa-
luted, and asked if this was Mr.. Dar
Wis? Yes he replied. I am President
Davis AT this the soldiers set up a
shout that JEFF Davis was CAPTURED.
UP to this time none of the men who
actually arrested him. knew that he
was Davis. One soldier said: What
that man jeff, Davis? That's the old
fellow who. when l stopped him, had
his wife's shawl on
-, wen Hang JEFF Davis"
"We-that is, Mr.. Davis and I-were
the center of circle composed of
Union soldiers and members of the Da-
Wis party In the background some of
our men set up the familiar army song.
Wen Hang JEFF Davis on a Sour APP
pie Tree!' to the tune of John Browns
Body. which did hot add in the least
to Davis comfort.
In the camp We're two tents and eight
ambulances, each of the latter drawn
by four mules. There were also sew
eral fine saddle horses. Besides Davis
there were Reagan, Colonel Harrison,
Mrs. Davis, her sister Miss HoWelD,
and number of Confederate officers
from Johnston's army. and a lot of
teamsters, servants, and others, but no
fighting men, 1t appears that when the
lighting began, Davis was sleeping i'm
his tent Alarmed at the noise, he has
THY arose and threw a shawl around
him, started out, but meeting a soldier
was stopped and ordered back into his
tent He heard the noise of the sharp
skirmish, saw the dead and wounded
brought in, but knowing that he had no
fighting men with him, could not at the
time understand what II meant
Il entered into conversation with
him, bat with little satisfaction to him
o; me. would not call him Mr.. Presi-
dent but always addressed him as MIR.
Davis, which seemed to greatly annoy
him, and he retaliated by speaking
with the greatest contempt of Your
government
Davis Become, Angry.
I'm speaking to his wife he blamed
her for the capture, for he said that IL
he had acted on his own Judgment he
would have been with the others of his
party, and this thing would not have
happened as IL had. 1t appeared that
she had persuaded him to accompany
her little farther than he had at first
intended. Mrs. Davis took him by the
arm and tried tc pacify him After
making all allowances for the humiliat-
ing position in which Davis found him
self at that time, | came 10 the conclu-
sion that he was greatly overfated
man. As TO the story which became
widely prevalent at the time, that Da-
Wis mad on hoopskirt and was dis
gCiscd as a woman. ] know hut very
little oft, but think it grew out of the
remark of the soldier, that when he
stopped him, he had his wife's shawl
IN ["