Smyrna times., 1901-01-16
A SOLDIER VISION
BY M. Quad.
COPYRIGHT, 1900, By C. B. LEWIS.

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For a period of three weeks along |
the front of our brigade a picket had !
been murdered on his post every night. |
The front was a mile long, with the |
posts within ten rods of each other,
and a bushwhacker had crept up on |
the lone picket with all the craft of an
Apache and stabbed him to death The
one assassin had killed % men before
any great stir was made about it, The
brigade was being equipped for the
spring campaign, many changes were
taking place among the officers, and
the murder of a few pickets did not
count for much in the general confu-
sion. All that was done when the mat
ter was finally taken hold of was to
put two, three and four men on a post
in place of one and to send out small
scouting parties to look for a needle in
a haystack, as it were.
That all these murders had been
committed by one single hand no one
doubted. knife had been used in
every instance. The murderer had crept
up in the darkness, leaving a trail be-
hind him in some cases. In no case
had he struck over two blows, and the
surgeons said that he had always used
the same knife. Sometimes his victim
had made n brief struggle or cried out
or fired his musket and sometimes had
lived few hours after the attack. If
you wonder that a soldier on picket
could thus be craftily approached and
done to death. let me tell you that in
only few cases were the posts in the
open. They were under the trees, in
the midst of a wood, ON the edge of old
fields grown up to briers and weeds.
alongside of a creek. the babbling of
which would drown all other noises. A
man was posted there to stand still.
not to walk to and fro. He might have
participated in half dozen battles and
made a record for bravery, but within
half an hour after being left alone on
the post his nerves. were more or less
unstrung. The very darkness and lone
illness would do that. He might finally
lean his back against a tree or sit
down, and he might keep eyes and
ears on the strain, and yet he could be
approached.
On the night that the order was is
sued to double the men on the posts
was i'll in my tent with sore throat
and fever. My tent mates were on
guard or detail. and | realized that |
was light headed. | could not fall into
a sound sleep. but l doZed at intervals.
and the noises of the camp were con-
fused with queer dreams. OF a sud
den this confusion cleared away, and |
had what you call either a dream or a
vision | saw a man in the uniform of
a federal captain. mounted on a dark
bay horse, ride up to farmhouse.
The face and form of rider and horse
were as plain to me as If | had seen
them in my normal state of health at
monday. The captain was a man OF
about 80. blue eyed, with brown hair,
brown mustache and a front tooth
filed with gold At the corner of the
left eve was a small scar from wound
inflicted years before.
AS the officer descended from the
saddle and hitched his horse to the
fence saw woman's face at the win
dow for a moment. The same face was
seen again for moment as she opened
the door for the captain. She was
tall. dark haired woman. and the race
bore a smile 1t seemed to me that
stood and watched the horse for thu
next quarter of an hour. The anima
chewed at the fence rail. broke dow
n small bush with his hind feet ant
paved a deep hole in the earth in hi
impatience.
AS suddenly as the vision came 1t wa
blotted ont. but II returned again. Thi
time the captain was mounted ana !
was night. 1t was the same horse an
he wanted TO speed too fast and wa
pulled in. I could not make out how
followed on. but follow | did. and W
had lust descended a bill and wer
crossing n creek by plank Dridg
when there came a red fash. followe
by the report of firearm, and the cal
tain threw up his arms and lurched
the right ard fell out of the saddle
The horse sprang to the left OH ~
bridge. which had no railing. landed
the creek and went off among the III
derbrush. | saw that the officer wa
being dragged along with his toot
the stlrrup. | also saw the man WI
had fred the shot He was tall' gaui
faced. with long black hair ana gu
tering black eyes, and dressed IN u
rough clothes Of a farmer. lie looK'
the typical bushwhacker. he at on
started after the horse, and as
leaped from the end of the bridge
the earth below be struck In soft 81
and pitched forward on his rae