The National tribune., 1901-05-23

ventures into the heart of an enemy
country.
For such n service as this l was choser
in the early part of the war. 1t was al
the time when the cry, "All quiet along
the Potomac" had become an almost uni
ycrsa by-word throughout the North.
Gen. Mcclellan was planning an inva
sion of the enemy's territory, and, pos
sibly. the capture of Richmond, IL he
deemed this could be done, and he was
very anxious to ascertain the number and
disposition of the Confederates and the
strength of their fortifcations, especially
those in the vicinity Of the rebel cap
ital To do this it was necessary for
some one to hazard his life by going into
this "h0tbed of secession" and probably
because it was well known that had re-
sided in the South for some years l was
chosen for this duty.
Lieut.. Hudson" said the General that
morning when he summoned me into his
presence TO inform me of his plans and
tell me what would be expected of me,
Il have q very unpleasant and, yes, a
very dangerous. duty for you TO perform
one that will require shrewdnesS and tact,
as well as courage. and know of no one
better fitted than you for the undertake
ing
He then briefly as possible told me just
what Information he wished me to obtain
and bring or send to him, laying stress
uIon the Importance of the information
and the intelligence that would be re-
quired to procure it.
Now" he said, when he had finished
"2s ] have intimated, | have chosen you
because, from my personal acquaintance
with you. l am satisfied that you possess
both the qualities TO enable you to act
your role so as not to awaken suspicion,
and the intelligence and courage neces-
sary TO make the attempt successful"
bowed in acknowledgment of the COM
pliment paid me- George Mcclellan and
1 had been playmates in our boyhood
days and, later, classmates at school, and
however much his complimentary re-
marks to me might have sounded like fat
tery. | believe they We're made in perfect
sincerity, although perhaps but little mer-
ited by the recipient.
'0f course" continued the General, Il
do not wish you to underestimate the diff
ficultics and dangers you will encounter,
neither do / wish you to undertake the
mission unless you are willing TO do so.
OF course, q satisfactory performance Of
the undertaking will receive due recog
nition What do you say; will you go"
Yes, SIR | answered promptly. Per
haps could | have foreseen the suffering
was to undergo, would not have been
SO ready to accept, but i was young, am
bilious and somewhat reckless where per-
sonal danger was concerned.
How soon can you be readyt asked
the General.
''In an hours time" 1 replied.
"4Sll right; report to me then for your
final Instructions"
/ saluted and withdrew to my own
quarters to make the necessary prepara-
tions for my trip. These were soon made,
and then / sat down to write a letter
home to apprise my folks of what / was
about to do. Then for the first time the
porils Of the undertaking burst upon me,
and for moment / felt inclined to re-
turn TO the Generals headquarters and
tell him | had changed my mind; but
only for a moment did l entertain this
thought No; l would not act so cow
aTdly part.
Although l could nerve myself to 20
on with what / had undertaken, | could
not bring myself to tell them at home
No; it would only make them worry. and
there was no need of their knowing: so,
after some thought, | wrote them / was
going on official business to Kentucky.
Thoughts that l might never see the loved
ones at home again moved me so deeply
that / made several attempts before
could succeed in completing a satisfac-
tory letter, so it was a little over an hour
when | again reported to the General.
| found him waiting, and the last in
structi0ns were soon given.
anu lpM SutfeSS DE Win NOut tHdT-
lie,' said the General, his voice full of
emotion.
THANK you, George" replied. in
voice that shook, despite my efforts to con-
troll it. Our feelings made us both for
get our rank, and We were parting as
though we were boys again.
The entrance of an Orderly aroused us
both, and in irmer tone / said: Gen
eral, I'll soon return with all you wish"
II hope So" be replied, "and suffer no
bad consequences from your trip. Take
good care of yourself"
Thank you; III try TO-" | responded
saluting and Withdrawing
] had already decided upon a plan Of
action. | had friends in southern Ken
tucky who | knew sympathized with the
Confederates, if they did not actually es-
pouSe their cause.
Among them was family by the name
OF Welling. They had come from Vir-
ginia. and were typical Southern people,
cordial and courteous in their treatment
of strangers.
| had formed their acquaintance some
years before on one of my visits TO that
section, and between myself and the only
son, George yelling, a close friendship
had sprung up. There was a remarkable
similarity in our appearance; so strong. in
fact, was the resemblance that we had
frequently been mistaken for each other
/ had not seen George for several
years Dut q Iuli-lenGth picture OF him
sent to me some months before convinced
me that, with the exception of my having
mustachc, while he was cleau-shaven
the resemblance was as marked as ever
George had an uncle, Mr. Butler, living
In Virginia, and / had conceived the bold
plan Of personating George and making
this uncle visit.
AS Mr.. Butler had not seen his nephew
for at least 10 years. TO my certain knowi-
edge, | felt sure l could easily deceive
the old gentleman, aided as | was by my
natural resemblance TO his nephew and
by my personal knowledge Of the family.
Fortunately for the success OF my
plans the Wellings knew nothing of my
connection with the Union army, nor even
that ! sympathiZed with the North in the
Etruggle. My relations with them had al
ways been of the most friendly charac-
ter, and | had never in their presence
expressed views antagonistic to slavery.
could thus be reasonably certain of haY-
ing their assistance in obtaining the pass
ports should need to travel through the
Southern States.
/ will not describe in detail my trip
10 Kentucky. 1t was too much like many
another to be interesting. / heard the
usual number OF remarks for and against
the Governments manner of conducting
the war and harsh. unjust criticisms of
Gen. Mcclellan, which made my blood
boil, and / felt like knocking his SANDER.
ers down. But realized that if l wished
to be successful as q spy / must disci-
pline myself to endure more than this and