Gunnison news-champion and tribune., 1905-08-18
cHAFTEg y.

tarss air uf WAss he exc l-.41aed.
Il shsn ] have onsayh ~ aci enf''
''A.A rua wiA po-tVose the e~ecs-
sioa7'' 4.sed.
Yea. ! leoi justified in doing 80 till !
hear surl lar from W@shiartsa-~
Wsthe uais,ng to hear moro I fair
~ fec dssu 10 the military prison. i'
~s~ ~ Carrie ! had been shinkiar. fos
carsse haa been hoping and praying
So - Ese com AZ ssa in her s~fsi
seaxeeopss ran to meet me. She must
have aiviHad my message bcfor. I spoke.
ior her white face flushed and the
haased esrrcss,icn hed her eyes. Cry
lag out: TaaHk s,od for the good news
she thsew her arms s,ogt my neck. aud
Our lipe met in forgiveness and repsie.
ing.
At Ten aclScs that morning the troof
Wagons were ready to draw out. and nS
men ssood bT their horses impatient fsi
the order b. mount. had bade Carri.
and her brother goodbye. and her las
words were still ringing like music II
my ears. " hat you have done for m.
and mine. Harry Watts. can never b.
Forgotten
tlolding ms hand. General Bowie said
Find cut IL Brent was in Powell
Valley 81 the date he claims. and. /
you can get evidence 10 corroborate hi
statemeut. send 1T through by one o
your scouts at once. II this is not done
the postp0nement which | have a.
sumed may turn out to be great mis-
fortune 20 all concerned"
The old soldier knew the secret @
my interest. ] promised 10 do ali tina
lay in my power; then, with mutua
prayers for the success of our common
cause, | swung into the saddle. th,
bugle sounded. and my troop rode ou
OF Camp Dick Robinson.
On the crest of the slope, winding u
the southeast, | turned and lifted m,
hat, and. through the mist and storm.
saw the hutter of white scarf. like al
angels wing. and felt that there wa
one Union troop followed by the pray
ers Of Confederate wouan.
This was my second visit to CAM
Dick Robinson. Whom here before ",
were pr pairing undar General Thoma,
to advance against Zollicotler. whose
host. un trained and boastful, was raid
ing the shores of the Cumberland Wa.
DAYS. when nearly every regimen
marched to the stirring strains of IT,
own brass band. and when every private
had more irnpcdiments than Major
General carried now. Then the trap
pings of the horses were regal in tbei.
splcndor and the officers were moving
pictures framed in blue and gold, an,
shoulder-straps were so beautiful anC
novel that it was said some of the
younger men wore them when in bed
Tho rcgimental banners. aside from
what they syIaholized. were things
! shimmerinr. sill1cn beauty; now they
wero shredded and riddled. and blood
stained, but those very rents had he
come eloquent with memories tina
| thrilled us as the new fa~s never did.
Our officers carried no insignia to dis
tinruish them from the men. The trap
pings of the horses were rusty anC
cracked. our uniforms were faded anc
some of them rdely patched: our ear
binCs had lost the gloss Of finish; ou
troop ruidon was a tattercd, f1llod rag
and the scabbards of our sailors were
dented and worn. The cheer, the song
and the wild halloo of exultaut voutt
march. On the faces of the youngest.
and the oldest man in that troop was
not twenty-seven. there were set lines
that made them stern, lines
that had been burned deep in the f..
mace heat of battle. But though not st
fair to the eye, each one OF those men
was worth ten of the volunteers of the
early war.
Our march to Cumberland Gap was
over the route taken by Bragg's army a
year before. when, after the ticrce fight
at Perryville, they fell leisurely back
laden with the rich spoils of Central
kentucky, while the tardy UniCn
legions made only a show of pursuit
Still, the track of that unhurricd retreat
was visible through every dctile of the
ternpest-tossed Cumberland range.
The log cabins, clinging like odd bird :
nests to the mountain ledges, were
abandoned or inhabited only by women
and children. The fences that had in
closed their patches of potatoes and
corn were gone. and the men who had
built them we're in the field or slecrin"
on it. Along the hard. rutty trail b.
scattered the debris Of wars flood
broken wagons. the skeletons Of mules
and horses. and ash spots. marking the
site Of old camps: here and there a
grave: and over all the naked crests and
rain washed valleys the spirit Of silence
and iesclation.
Now and then We caught sight of a
horseman far of from the -" ri march.
and the fact that he kept out Of reach
convinced us that he was one OF the en-
eIny's scouts, frorl whom we had moth
ing TO fear Now and then puf of
smoke could be seen squirting out from
some cliff. far overhead. and the crack
of a bushwhacker's rife would follow. II
no harm was done. We passed on un-
. needing: if = man was shot We encirclcd
the mountain. and never returned with
a prisoner And SO for six DAYS we