The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-15

next morning as ] was getting ont of the
barn l saw several infantry soldiers out
foraging. My actions had aroused their
suspicious. I wrote on my slate that l was
Confederate peddler named Freeman, on
my way to jackson TO get new goods for
selling TO the boys in gray.
on, that won't do said one of the sol
diers. III bet he's another Yank spy
Then l learned from the conversation Of
my captors that two of the spies sent out
from Grand Gulf at the time 1 was sent
had been caught and hanged two days pre-
viously. Try and imagine what my
thoughts We're as the soldiers marched me
across a cotton field to the headquarters.
In my four years of warfare that was the
nearest l ever saw death before me. 1t
seemed perfectly hopeless TO brave out the
ordeal | would have to undergo in the enc
my lines, without pass in my pocket
and no one to Vouch for me. l was taken
TO Gen. Kirby Smith 5 tent. The general
was Informed that l was suspected of be-
ing a spy In the guise of a deaf and dumb
peddler. Gen. Smith said nothing. Two or
three officers in his tent went aud whis-
pered TO him. l knew they We're devising
schemes to catch me if were a spy In dis
guise. l pulled myself together and looked
absently about, as if l had never seen the
interior of a tent in time Of war / knew
that L was thoroughly suspected by all
present. One of the officers wrote me a
message on a bit of paper. While / was
writing an answer, the man started and
calculated, Look out!'
Il wonder now that my hand did not
start involuntarily The officers and others
were looking at il closely. For some min
utes there was conversation on my slate
concerning why i had no pass In the Con-
federate lines whence l came and where
/ was going. / could see 1t was all done
to disarm me of any fear had. An off,
Ger came forward and said; This poor
mute looks tired. It's a shame to keep
him here Then, turning to me, he smiling
ly said, Are you hungry?
ut was a pretty ruse, but ] simply star
ed at his epaulets. Then they tried to
make me pale, and Ii was a frightful test
| was made to SIT down while Gen. Smith
turned to other business, apparently for
getful of me. The other officers sat near
me and smoked and chatted. Presently
they began talking about some new orders
that had been issued to hang every Fed
eral spy Immediately upon conviction.
They talked about how two spies that had
been hanged two days previously had acted
as they squirmed in death and how the
officers were looking for more spies to
hang on the same spot. My brain was in
a Whirl Everything swan before my
eyes but sat with my face turned up to
the military diagrams and rules of camp
on the tent wall before me. More whisper
ing followed. ! wrote: am hungry and
tired. Why do you keep me here|
"A colonel wrote: We think you are
deceiving us. If you are, il Will be death
to you He watched my face as l read
the lines. / wrote in reply. i have n
very hard time getting a living In this
war. am with the Confeds with all my
soul. Please, may l go?
I'm an hour / was taken to shanty-
like affair and locked In. A young man
In Federal uniform was lying ON the floor
when l entered. He rose, and looking at
me, sald My goodness graciousl Have
they got you, too?'
II looked at him wrote that l was
mute. Then the stranger laughed and
said:
"'Oh, 1t won't do you any good to keep
that trick up longer. We're going TO die
together as Union spies, and why not be
resigned to 1t? / was caught day before
yesterday, and I'm to be hanged. Now
they'll wait for you TO go with me. Ha
hal Wen show the Rebs how Yankee
boys can die game, won't we?'
"It was a trying moment, and ! did
want to open my heart and mouth TO such
a Jolly Federal man, while my case SEEM
ed pretty hopeless. I could not tell what
opinion the men at Gen. Smiths head
quarters had formed of my actions.
wrote on my slate that ] was mute,
and that 1t was useless to try to commu-
nicate with me except by signs or writing.
But the stranger talked right along and
tried to appeal 20 my love for the Union
cause He would suddenly fling very
natural question at me. Worn out and
hopeless as l was dared not doze even
for a second that night ] knew my COM
panion was feigning sleep also.
along in the middle of the night, when
7 was purposely breathing deep and regu-
larly, I heard some one enter. IT was
pitch dark | was all attention, but still
breathing deep j heard a pistol drawn
from its holster Crash! bang! The weap-
on was fired an inch above my face. IT
seemed as If lightning had struck me. At
the same moment a dark lantern was
flashed in my face and my countenance
was studied. / slowly opened my eyes at
the light and rolled over as II TO go TO
sleep.
"The pseudo Union soldier went out
with the Confederates. / could hear them
whispering about me and what reason
there was to suspect me as a spy. At 7
o'clock next morning ] was led to the
cook tent, where they gave me a meal.
NV satchel was restored to me. A colonel
came and shook me by the hand. He
looked over my few remaining soaps, etc,
and bought little. Then, turning to me,
he asked:
How much are these?
1T believe my lower Jaw did move.
was caught off my guard for a trice. But
I never spoke and the colonel was not
looking at my face. He wrote me a pass
In the lines about Jackson and just as he
handed il to me he turned and said:
" Let me see that again
'gMy hand almost moved to obey such
an agreeable gentleman, but instead I
folded the paper and started on my way
out Of camp knowing that / was watch
ed 'covertly by scores Of eyes. That day /
replenished my satchel in Jackson and
started back by a circuitous route toward
the Federal lines. / had no further both
er from the Confederates and my gifts
Of tobacco to several officers whom met
made me friends. / reached the Grand
Cuff at dawn on May II. I was thanked
for the information / had got for the
army, and a month later ! was first lieu
tenant In my company. OF the twenty
men who went as spies at that time, four
were captured and three were Hanged.
One man was shot dead by sentinel.
II was in Nashville, Tenn, IN 1888, and
I called upon Col Jason Parker, who
was on Gen. Smiths staff, and who de-
vised the attempts to catch me mapping