The National tribune., 1898-10-06

fore being successful it became necessary
to know exactly where to find him anC
Just how many men he had.
The General told me what he wanted
and asked me if | would go down the
country and hunt him up, and | replied
that ] would. He then gave orders that
| should be fitted out to my own notion,
and Capt. Prentice, the Assistant Adlu-
tant-General, furnished me with a citizen S
| dress, and the General gave me his own
/ saddle pony to ride, as it was the only
unbranded horse in the camp.
Thus equipped put out from our lines
| in the night, and t. the road to Muir
| freesboro. i had e. .Jnely ride till morn
ing, when stopped at house on
Stewards Creek to get breakfast, and
he was going to Murfreesboro, and pro-
posed to ride with me, and, of course,
| was glad of his company
From the familiar way he spoke OF
Hardee and other Southern officers, l felt
| satisfied he was rebel scout and had
| Just been to Nashville. He was a large.
well built man, with homely features, but
| expressive OF a good deal of cunning He
was very bitter against the Yankees in
| his conversation, and could tell me more
meanness they had done than | ever be-
| fore thought they could devise.
| All this l stored away as stock in
| trade, to be reproduced to the .Johnnies
! themselves when occasion should require
me to abuse my friends
We crossed Stewards and Overall S
| Creeks, when We met with the first rebel
piclets standing in a field some distance
| away. AS we approached they stepped
up to know our business, where we were
| from where we were going, etc. My com
panion was in a hurry to proceed, but /
desired to converse with the pickets TO get
whatever information | could from them
| They were as loquacious as | was, and
had much to say about a fight they had
| been in few days before with the 4th
Ohio Cav, magnilying their own exploits
| hugely. They represented the 4th Ohio
as little better than arrant towards which
worried me a good deal; but l must keep
! up my disguise. Little did they imagine
| that they were then speaking with a
/ member OF that very regiment and less
did they suspect that my fingers were
not given me such very strict orders | be
lieve should have stopped right there
and given them fight.
But a sevcrer trial than that, even, was
in store. One Of the reprObateS walked UP
to me, and with a flourish and an oath
handed me a pistol. saying it had been
taken from the 4th Ohio Cav the day be
fore, and that Capt. Morgan had come in
at the same time with eight buckled
around him. | examined the weapon
and although it looked very familiar, i
handed it back and told him had never
seen one like il before.
Next my curiosity was excited by their
guns. ! represented that | had never
seen any like them, and innocently
wondered if the Yankees had any OF the
same pattern.
NO." said the man, these are English
guns and there, sure enough on the
lock was the crown and the words Tower.
London, stamped on the metal There
were but three men at the post, and when
the fellow gave me his pistol their guns
were in a corner of the fence and they at
some distance from them, SO that / could
have shot all three before they could have
helped themselves.
No passes were required from men going
south, but no one could travel north
without pass from Hardee. On arriving
at Murfreesboro found it was guarded by