The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-08-04

SoHetHllS better WOulu open up, anu us
the transportation business remained very
dull. | continued driving post team
through the Winter of IT, and '63.
As l forgot to state il previously. l will
here mention that a Wagon Boss pay
was $50 a month. assistant SD, and
Transfers So. rations included.
AT this time Fort Scott was garrisoned
by the Sd Wis. Cav. which regiment. in
addition to the garrison and provost guard
duties, also did the escorting of forage
trains along the Missouri border, and
trains that We're engaged in hauling sup
plies to Forts Gibson and Smith in the
Indian Nation. Maj b. s. Henning was in
command of the regiment and post of Fort
Scott.
During the early part of the war the
rebels, who had not Yet got I'll acquainted
with the Northern soldiers. used to boast
fully declare that the Union army was
made up of .'cowardly Abolitionist Yankees
and lop-eared Dutch and that lone
Southern man could whip six of them"
and all such stuff. by the close of the
war these same fire-eating Southerners had
very materially changed their opinions of
the fighting qualities of the Northern sol
diers. and had had whipped into them a
wholesome respect for the - Yankees
and lop-eared Dutch
During this Winter ('62 and '63) there
was brought into Fort Scott as pris-
Oner by some of the soldiers of the Sd
Wis. Cav, a rebel bushwhacker, who had
been captured by them while on foraS-
ing trip over in Missouri. He called him
self Capt" Price. and his gang had con-
ed of about a dozen of those murder
IN la .flrI..t If IX.hI nh
souri, seemed TO excel.
think this Price was one of the most
omOuS rebels that | met during the
While prisoner he could not re-
. ii. II from abusing and insulting every
III man-effcer. soldier or citizen
whom he came in contact. And this
lad been allowed TO do with impunity
so long-because he was a helpless pris-
oner-that he seemed TO think that the
- nigger-loving Yankees''-as he de
lighted to call his enemies-were too
cowardly to resent his insults. Finally he
got so abusive to his guards that the Off
GERS of the guard found il necessary to
gag him and swing him up by the thumbs,
or give him a ducking. occasionally, to
cool him down.
He tauntingly boosted of the number
of - cowardy Yankees" he had killed:
and that any good Southern man was
match for six of the - Yankee Adolf
tionists;" and how he had delighted to
charge in among lot of the internal Lin
colin hirelings. and shoot them down like
dogs. while they fell on their knees and
begged for mercy, and so forth, and SO
on, dd naasenm. All his talk was upon
this style. He seemed TO imagine himself
a hero, while every one else appeared to
think he was either fool or a lunatc.
He was a young man of about -, and
shortly after lie was brought in prisoner,
his wife. giddy, romantic young woman
a m 70 fnr SrIch irla
: braSgart-came to Fort Scott. in order to
be near him. She was not a prisoner. or
put under any restraint of her freedom
but her movements We're closely watched,
lest she should be sending information to
the enemy.
1t would have been strange. indeed. if
the constant stream Of vituperatiOn pour
ing from the fellow upon his guards. and
all others who in any way sympathized
with the Northern cause, had not pro-
vOked a feeling of retaliation.
One evening after dusk. as / was pass
ing the guard house. i noticed that in addi-
ton to the regular sentry, mo. l." who was
walking his post as usual in front of the
guard station. two extra guards were
crouching in the dark shadows at either
rear corner of the prison, and the officer
of the guard, also stood conveniently near
one of them, with his revolver in his hand.
All except NO. l. were still and motion
less as Enthusiastically waiting. and in
tently listening and watching for some
thing to happen. 1t was easy to con-
lecture what that something was. Some
prisoner was expected 70 make a break
and these men were ready TO drop him.
Without seeming TO notice what was going
on, L walked on past, into the shadows of
the next building-the hospital--and there
concealed myself 70 await results. | was
disa appointed, however. After a time, as
the expected did not seem to occur, the of
ficer and two extra guards withdrew, and
re-entered the guard house.
i learned subsequently that the guards
had discovered that Capt Price had dug
hole through the wall of the prison room.
and they had set watch for him. and
tried to arrange things encouraging and
favorable, hoping that he would make an
attempt to escape. But he 'smelt rat"
and failed to come out of the hole he had
dug.
Next day, while was at the blacksmith
shop getting some mules shod. an officer
and file of guards brought Price to the
shop and had letters rivcted on his ankles
with a short piece of chain between. All
the time this was being done he was put
ting in the time in his usual way, abusing
the - Yankees" / could see from
the looks Of the Lieutenant and his guards
that they would he delighted 10 get A pre-
text to kill him, but did not find any justi-
fable opportunity Yet.
The soldiers Of the garrison had all be-
come familiar with this bowhard bush
whacker. and think they had all mentally
passed sentence of death on him. and were
anxiousy waiting for some reasonable ex-
cuse to put it in execution. The com
manding officer had ordered the letters put
on him, but the officer Of the guard told
me that he would have preferred 10 let
him remain footloose, so that he would be
encouraged to make a break for freedom,
as then the guard would be justified in
killing him.
While the blacksmith was rivcting the
jewelry on him he was getting off his
stereotyped boast of the - Abolition
lists" he had killed; telling how he and his
gang would ride around through the neigh
borhood where they ranged. hunting down
Union men; how they would ride up 10 the
houses Of such men as they suspected OF
sympathzing with the Union cause-al-
ways after dark. call them to their door
and shoot them down; and what sweet mu
sic it was to his ears, he declared. To hear
the screams of the women and children Oh
such 0cca sions.
/ did not blame the soldiers for wanting
to kill him. i felt as though / would like
to do the job myself 1t was safe proph
ecy that his time in this world was linn
tied, and that the soldiers would soon find
some way to six" him.
1t was probable that he greatly exagger