The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-05-19

N"NdNy mel, oid SoiultIS W no
had returned from Appomattox, and pur-
sued them, crossing the Yadkin River,
rushed up to within q few yards of the
fort and two Of their men, James Linney,
brother Of Hon. r. Z. Linney, and Jones
Brown, We're killed and left in the yard.
The others, some Of them springing from
their horses and running on foot, escaped.
They managed to get together at Mora
Wan Falls n returned home greatly
detected, while the robbers were great
ly emboldened by their two victories in
one week. The loss Of Linney and Brown
cast the darkest shadow of gloom and
sadness over the whole community.
The burning question was asked by
every one, What is going to be done?"
Some thought that there was little or no
nope OF anything being Lonesome who
had been were really afraid to go again
and did not go.
Now the writer must speak as an eye
witness of all that follows. After return
ing from the army l took a small school
n Alexander county and boarded in the
home of tEllis Haynes, Esq. The com
pany which was driven from the fort the
Sunday before was made up in this COM
munity.
Col. Sharpe called together and held
u consultation with a number OF the old
soldiers and it was soon decided that an
other effort should be made to dislodge
them and put an end to the work of plum
der and murder. l left my school in the
hands of one Of my pupils and Joined
the company. We started on Tuesday af-
ternoon following the Sunday on which
our Alexander men had been repulsed.
The company Umbere about twenty
men. Having crossed the Brushy Noun
tains at Cove Gap, just before reaching
Moravian Falls, in Wilkes county, we
met a man from near Holmon's Ford who
told us that Wade was looking for us and
declared be could whip a thousand
Of us, and he hoped that We would come
on. We stopped and held q consultation
and sent one Of our men into lredell
county to ask Col. Robert Y. Cowan, who
had commanded the 33rd Regiment Of N.
{. Troops in the war just closed, to gath
er up all the returned soldiers he could
and to come to Holomon's Ford with all
possible speed. We sent another one of
our number to the headquarters of a
portion Of the Federal army encampe
near Lexington, N. c., to inform them Of
the condition of things in Wilkes county,
and to ask them to send and relieve the
situation as early as they possibly
could. We then went on, reaching Mora
Wan Falls about sunset, and remained
there till near midnight, and then moved
slowly and cautiously up the road leading
to Holmons Ford. The night was dark,
or the after part of it, and all felt that
the march was fraught with danger.
Coming within a mile or less of the ford,
a voice sharp and clear rang out: Halt,
who comes there?" Col. Sharpe replied:
Men from Alexander: Who are you?"
The answer came, "OXford's men from
Caldwell county. Advance This was
good news to us. We found Oxford's men
all sleeping soundly in the woods near
the road except two or three who were
walking the sentinel's beat. We shared the
bed of leaves till break of day and then
the call came for all to rise and fall into
line. The two companies together num-
bered not more than forty men. We left
the road leading to the ford and turned III
the river to the left and crossed at a
small ford on the farm of a Mr.. Teitlett
and then assembled a hill to the valley
road and d:smounted and fed our horses
and opened our haver-sacka and ate
breakfast in the yard Of Mr.. Tolbert. II
his house a woman was dying, who with
her husband the day before was APP.
} preaching the ford in a wagon and wa:
shot by one of the robbers from the for
more than q quarter of a mile distant
! While hero Mr.. To1bert said to us: "Yol
may easily Judge what my fear
of these robbers are and my feeling
: toward them. but 1 dare not say a wore
:. But my advice to you all is that 0 e.
back home; for with that force you will
, not be able to take them. They are Oh
the lookout for you, and they hav
doubtless sent to their symDathizers TO
) recruits, and should they capture yo1
= they will surely kill you, and no doub
e now they are lying in those thickets wait
v ing in ambush for YOU, and as soon a
d you turn the top of that hill you are i
8 hanger of being shot down" We held
: counsel of war. A few of our braves
n menj were in favor Of going back an
d waiting till we could rally a stronge
g force. BY a large majority it was de
cided to go on. After passing the to
c of the hill and coming to a little narro'
u footpath heading through a long stretc
y Of thicket and old field pines, the Colone
said to me: "YOu take these five me
{ and follow this path till you reach tn
hill yonder on the west Of the fort be
tween which hill and the fort runs Lew
Fork. Feel your way carefully tnrOug
the thicket and when you reach the hi
scour it all over and see that there is n
one on it. l will take the company Q
horse and station them on the north an
= east of the fort and then we have thel
: surrounded with the Yadkin River on til
South. When the men are stationed
gun will be fired on the east that yo
may know that we are in place | too
, the five men and we went single file OF
after another, expecting every step to
Il shot down. We breathed not a FIRE
- breath until we reached the hill an
secured it all over and found no one G
,e it. We had been in many places
ID danger during the war, but never ha
sd cur courage been tried as it was in tn
march through that thicket. We fe
n that an enemy whom we could not Sc
ot was about to drop us in our tracks,
er constant expectation of being shot I'M
j. eternity. We We're never so conscious
n safety as when we reached that hi
is where We felt that in the fight we cou
IS see the foe. We had been on that hi