The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1905-01-04

Major Earnhnrt, after telling me
OF the danger of Il picket outpost, ask
cdmc TO go to Point Lookout La, IL
miles below Lake Providence and 50
miles above Nicksburg, thc terminus
OF the little private telegraph line
owned by that rich planter, Horace b.
Tibbotts, and you (Philip II. FalD
were stationed at the Vicksburg end
Of H. that is at De Soto, just across
the river, and | was strictly instructed
TO wasci the river day and night and
report to you morning and evening.
And it was Christmas eve, about 8:45
p. m., dear old Major T.. e. Earnhsrt
and were in our 'eerie' playing 'old
sledge, when a little girl, who ived
on the place, came in and said, 'Mnrse
Aiuhart, you and Marsc Daniels better
come out here, l hears boat com ing.
Come now, says she Major, you are
dreaming, Artay, No, sab. l hcers
it say choo, choo, pat, pat, pat. Thus
illustrating the steam escape and pat
OF the wheels. We went on the porch
and listened intently; the sounds which
We had not heard for months were just
audible, the little one acute ears had
detected it miles away. Major Earn
hart and | were smoking, Indian fash
ion, large merchaum pipe Owned
jointly. We ran to the river bank
about one-third Of q mile from our
watch house, and waited perhaps thir.
ty minutes. We could hear the
ps"iinK au'i pa, pnt, directly mon
ster tsrned the bend, miles above
US, aud oamo slowly as If feeling the
way. 1t was the gunboat. I was
ready to send the news to you (FalD,
but no-'hello, major, here comes
another, this in whisper; just then
some sparks few out Of the major o
pipe, and grabbed tho pipe and ex-
tinguished the IRE, telling him thoso
- would fire volley at the crack
Of match. By noR-the large black
devil was abreast of u0, in easy gun.
shot from our double barrels, but sui
eide to fire. We counted, counted in
all, seven gunboats, ffty-nine trans
ports loaded with blue coats.
''It was a dark cloudy night, cold
and drizly; just as soon as we were
satisfied the last one was by, I jump
ed on my little bay filly and fairly
few to the telegraph Office, three miles
back in the woods, and began calling
you. This was just after midnight,
l was 80 agitated ut the prospect OF
the capture Of my dear old home,
Vicksburg, before I could give the
alarm, that thought it was almost
daybreak when you answered; I was
simply frantic; now the fact is and
after called you but about twenty
seven seconds. You were right there
and said: :Golly, old fellow, what's
upP Then it was for you TO got frus.
trated. I gave you the fullest iafor-
nation possible in the fewest words
possible, and they are indellible in
my brain this hour. Great God,
Phil, where have you beenl I have
been calling Il am afraid half an hour
instead of) half minute, and the riv-'.
or is lined with boats, almost hun.
dred has just passed my lookout.
Seven gunboats and fifty.nine trans
ports ohook full Of men. God speed
you, rush across and give the alarm.
You said: God bless you, Lee, bye
bye, we may never meet again. You
can best tell the remainder on your
end, for after short nap, I went
again TO the little telegraph hut end
tried the circuit, but no battery.
And learned some time afterwards
that the huge fotilla landed at various
points below, viz: Omega, Millikens
| Bond and Young's Point, and Qua
down che poles for mile and chopped
the wires into bits.
Major Earnhart bidding farewell
(his wife, two litsle daughters. myself
and wife), rode rapidly through the
awful muddy swamps to the hills,
then to Delhi and wired the iews to
General Kirby Smith, General John
G.aWalker and others. History has
the incident, buttthe minutiae inter.
eats but ourselves and families aud
friends. Next morning | was preparing.
to shoot some ducks near the house,
whom my wife came to the porch aud
said: Look ,sLeel quick. OF course,
looked for ducks or geese, but dis
covered drakes ard ganders in some
sixty blue coated cavalry approaching
from the north. learned that two
regiments had landed st Lake Provi-]
denoe and pioksted the country for
1 - ypSt,