The Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1903-1909, 1906-09-18
A NARROW ESCAPE.
Division Mail Carrier Picks Up Thor
oughbred Horse That Carried
Him to Safety.

This Is the narrative of Private
| j. He had heard great deal said
| about escapes; and as soon as he
| could get a chance, he related this,
in the American Future, which GER
lainly has a smack of the real thing
All through that campaign | had
acted as mail carrier for division
of the Sixth corps. Everybody In the
division knew me, and | never had
any difficulty in getting all the help
that | needed from time to time. |
could tell great deal about what
happened, both at the front and the
rear, between that July and Novem-
Der. 1t was my business to get the
mail for my division separated from
that OF the rest of the corps, when 1t
could be done, as quick as possible,
and to make regular trips back with
the outgoing mail. Many adventures
happened to me in this business;
none quite so stirring as that of the
early morning of October 10, 1864.
For two days previous | had been
at Winchester. A mail was expect
ed, and, as usual | was on hand to
get what belonged to my division. |
got 1t on the evening of the 18TH
after dark | knew that Gen Sheri-
dan had arrived from Martinsburg
that day on his way back to his army
and that he was passing the night at
Winehastar Evorythipo wac o,,iat at
the front, according to reports that
had come In that morning. The nat
ural and ordinary thing would have
been for me to wait in peace and
comfort at Winchester that night
sleeping in good bed, eating some
thing better than rations that night
and the next morning, and then fall
ing in with the generals escort after
breakfast, and riding up to the front
with them.
AS it happened, | should have made
about the same progress that | did,
had | adopted this course, and, with
somewhat different adventures,
should have got my mail up to the
division about the same time.
| don't know what it was moved me
to make a night journey of it, unless
1t was that | was not sleepy, and felt
great deal more like riding than
sleeping. In that restless kind of
condition, it occurred to me that
might just as well get the mail up
to the front at daybreak as six hours
later, and | acted promptly on the
idea My horse was poor con,
demned animal that the quartermas-
ter had furnished me some weeks be-
fore, claiming that it was the best
he could do for me. have no doubt
he lied; but time has softened his of
Tense, If it has not entirely wiped it
out of my recollection of those days.
That animal was knee-sprung, and
could not be depended upon for more
than two miles and a half per hour.
| had tried my best to make an even
exchange with some of the cavalry
and orderlies (when they were not
looking) but either they were too
sharp, or | was too dull, and the swap
was never effected, My Rosinante
was well known all through the com
mand, and | became the subject of
much good humored banter on his
account,
| calculated that by starting from
Winchester at ten o'clock that even
ing | could pass over the Is miles be-
tween that place and the camp of the
army " sunrise There was some
risk OF guerrilas, but | had learned
something of their ways, and was not
fearful of their lurking along the Val
ley pike that night.
So started, reckoning without my
host. 1t seemed to me that my poor
old mount never went so slow With
nA~Aa-~~AnH