The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-07-15
SCOUTING.


In the summer of 1882, at the demo-
cratic convention hat nominated Mr..
Cleveland for the first time, I met the
most interesting talker I ever knew.
1t was in the Turkish bathrooms of the
Grand Pacific hotel.
We were in the hot room together,
lying side by side on hunks, and
noticed a scar on his upper right arm
that looked as if it had come from a
terrific bite, not a dog bite, either, but
shaped as if inflicted by a human
mouth.
l looked my man over curiously, and
right where the hair reaches down to
the forehead I noticed another scar,
which had evidently been caused by q
saber cut. OF course, I felt sure that
l was in the presence of an old war
veteran, and, being one myself, I in
troduced myself to him.
Il am Captain Corkey-J. J. Corkey,"
| said. Served in the Third Louisiana
Now tell me who you are, for you are
an old soldier, I know. You zeal the
marks of it right here and I pointed
to his forehead, but this beats me-"
putting my hand on the arm that bore
the imprint of a ferocious bite.
You've guessed right" said my bath
companion. Il am Captain Leighton
Charlie Leighton-only 1 was on the
other side. 1 served in a Michigan
battery, but afterward became a scout
in the service of General Rosecrans."
Where did you get that?" I asked,
pointing to that awful bite mark. In
the warp
Yes, in the war. It's the bite of q
human being all right, and a mark of
the most thrilling experience in all my
life. I was always an adventurous fell
low, and scouting offered just the kline
of excitement my very nature craved.
so / attached myself to General Rose
Grams staff as a scout. We were In
West Virginia, when General Rose
Grams sent for me one evening, telling
me that he had a piece of work for
me to do that required the utmost cour-
age. His only reliable scout, a man
named Mackworth, had been killed at
the lower ford the night before, and
Genera Morgan, the confederate COM
mander, was on the ROmney road, the
generals headquarters being at Sedley
Mansion. To this very mansion Cen
eral ROsecrans wanted me to go to
find out whether General Morgan in
tended to mass his troops in the GEN.
ter or on the left of our forces.
Rosecrans was to attack the enemy
at daybreak, n on the correctness
Of my information depended the sue
cesSful outcome of the attack.
well, I knew that Sedley Mansion
was in the heart of the enemy, and
that l was taking my life in my hand
when I accepted the mission. But ac-
cept it 1 did, and as I left Rosecrans
to prepare for it he shouted after me:
I wish you luck, old fellow; but it's
one Of those id uncertain errands-
heads I win, tails O lose
1.-TWO miles from General Rosecrans'
camp, midway between ours and the
enemy's lines, and six PAGES beyond
the night before secreted two rockets
in a hollow stump. After having
reached General Morgan's camp and
learned whether he vas to mass in
the center or to the left, I was to re-
turn to his stump and fire one Of
the rockets if the massing was to be
done in the center, and both if the
defense was to be mad from the left.
1T was 10 O'Clock when I was ready
to noun my horse, and the first out
posts were soon passed. 1 was famil-
lar with the country about, and this
was of considerable help that night,
which was dark and rather gloomy.
After I had passed the secon outpost
I gave the u to my horse and rode
down the mountain at b~reakneck
speed. The animal under me was an
excellent gray mare, in whom I had
every confidence. The country was
wild, Astounding with ravines and
rocks, but the sure foot of my horse
landed me without accident at the
second milestone, a granite block,
which I recognized as the landmark
mentioned by General Rosecrans. Six
PAGES away from it I found the hollow
stump of the tree, and quickly placed
my hand inside. 1t touched the two
rockets, which 1 withdrew and exam
ined to see that they were in good or
der. Finding them so, I replaced them,
got on my horse and now exercised a
good deal more care han I had pre-
viously taken, for I was getting near
the lines Of the enemy 1 moved along
slowly, with my horse close to the
edge of the turf, to deaden it's hoof-
beats. My saber jingled softly, so I
bound it close to stop the noise, wrap
ping my handkerchief around my spurs
to prevent their clicking. With my
eyes strained to catch the remotest
sign of a camp fire or the top of a tent
I whisked along. The moon crept out
OF the clouds and shone family, aiding
me in my wistful search for any sort
of a landmark that might tell me
where the enemy was.
II tried to be cheerful, and If I had
MT been afraid of the noise l would
have whistled. But, suppressing my
ardent desire to hear myself, the sense