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

| farms on either flank, within two or three
miles of the road, as we travel along.
The owners of the stuff found are not
asked whether they wish to sell, or what
price they ask for it, When anything is
| found the commander of the foraging
party has it loaded into the wagons with
ont ceremony. He then writes out re-
ceipt and hands to the owner, giving the
amount Guessed att of stuff he has taken
The owner can present this receipt ut the
Quartermaster's office in Fort Scott. and
if he can prove by responsible loyal citi-
zens that he is. and has been, loyal citi-
zen Of the United States, he gets pay at
Il fair generally liberaD price. If he can't
establish his loyalty. he gets nothing.
AS soon as the forage wagons succeed
in getting loads they make for the train,
which is travelling slowly along the road
unload into the other wagons, and strike
ont for more. These foragers do an excel
lent service also as scouts and hankers
If there are any rebels, or signs of them
in their range they will find it ont, though
the getting of this information frequently
costs the lives of few soldiers or team
STEERS; still, the risk is seldom seriously
considered-it's in their line. The for
ayers are frequently attacked by bush
whackers, but f they succeed in killing
as many Of the rebels as they lose of theil
men, and still get away with the forage
they consider themselves that much ahead
of the game.
Sometimes when such attacks are made
Mt or near a house detail from the
trains escort goes back and utterly de-
stroys the place. burning buildings and
everything, on the justification that the
people f'such house are harboring bush
whackers,;, In this way families are often
bereft Of Home and everything they have
in very Short tirse, but they are usually
the families OF friends and aiders of ON
worst enemies. the. bushwhackers, and
although, to one who is unaccustomed tC
the hardShips Of war, this would seem
barbarous, cruelty inflicted on possibly in
nocent parties, yet the usage Of war jus
titles it. :
This kind of. retaliation on the guerrilas
has a tendency to keep them from taking
advantage, of the farm buildings to am
bush our men
"A, soldier Of one of our foraging parties
was badly wounded i'm a skirmish with
bushwhackers near q farm house He was
left al, the house while the party came to
the train to get medical aid. for him and an
ambulance to haul him to our camp. When
they went back after him they found that
he had again been shot and stabbed in a
most c0wardly. and inhuman manner by
some Of the bushwhackers, who had re-
turned to the house while he was lying
there wounded and helpless: and they had
then thrown him out in a hog lot for the
hogs to devour.
He was not yet dead. however. when
the relief party reached him, and fortu-
nately the hogs had not yet found him.
and he lived long enough to tell his com
rades how the women Of the house had
continually reviled and cursed him after
his party had left, and how they had sent
for the guerrilas and urged them to finish
him and throw his body to the hogs.
Those she-rebeIs were the most ven
Omous kind. 1t was with difficulty that
the officer in charge of the relief party re-
strained his men from doing these women
bodily harm: for many Of them wanted to
tie the she-devils to a tree and give them
severe horse whipping When prevailed
on to forego this satisfaction, they com.
promised by striking match in the house
and sticking it where it would do the
most good" as one of them said, and in a
few minutes the house, outbuildings and
contents were in flames. The soldiers re-
fused to let the women and children re-
move thing from the house; they had to
stand and see all they had consumed. Can
any one say they did not deserve all this
punishment, and more too?
The cOwardly bushwhackers had
skipped out on the reappearance of our
men, and did not again dare show them
selves, for fear our soldiers would vent
their fury on them.
Ito he cOntinued)