The Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1903-1909, 1906-09-18

difficulty was able to get him OF q
walk for three minutes at a time
The night was cold and clear until
about four o'clock. when fog began
to rise, ! passed through Midtown.
Kernstown, Newton and MiddIetown,
all places that the veterans Of the
Shenandoah campaigns will recognize
by their names.
Just beyond Mddletown | heard a
noise of musketry away over to the
left | stopped a moment and then
rode on, thinking 1t was only some
casual picket firing. A half mile fur
Their | heard volley from the same
direction, then faint sound o. what
we used to call the confederate yell"
was riding nearly In the direction
of the sound, and | now turned sharp
off to the right, A short distance
over the meadows in that direction
saw small shed, and, obeying an
impulse, ! rode into it. / merely
wanted to stop and think what to do,
as it was pretty plain to me that an
attack had been made by the enemy,
and that battle would follow.
Lin the shed there was horse, with
no equipments but headstall and
bride, and fastened by the latter. 1t
was just light enough for me to see
and my eyes devoured the animal. 1t
was Virginia thoroughbred; as
handsome a piece of horse flesh as |
had ever seen
How did he come there? You must
ask some other person; | don't know
can only suppose that, as Mosby was
operating on our rear that morning,
this animal must have been left there
for few moments by one of his men.
Whoever left him, | made no scru-
pie of appropriating him. trans
ferred my saddle blanket, saddle and
mail pouch to his back, turned my
Rosinante loose, mounted the thor
oughbred, got good grip of the
bride, and was out of the shed and
away up the pike like shot.
had not gone half mile further
before | heard great noise of mus
kerry and yells, and | plainly saw
dozens of men dressed in gray rush
ing across the pike ahead of me.
knew that | was running right
into the enemy's advance and
wheeled and rode back. | rode pretty
fast, too; it seemed as if things were
getting rather hot about there.
AS my thoroughbred went gallop-
ing down the pike at rate that |
certainly never rode before, | saw
three or four soldiers by the roadside
with leveled rifles, and heard the cry
Halt" could not have pulled up
had | wished to, as certainly | did not.
heard the whistling of bullets about
my ears as | went on, but none of
them touched me or the horse, and
we kept straight on to Middletown
Just before | reached that village
pike from the east, not more than
five rods behind me, and gave me
their most pressing attention. |
heard them Gathering after me on the
hard road, their carbine balls cut the
air around me, and cries of Halt!
Surrender! you Yankee." fol-
lowed me.
just laid forward on the saddle,
shouted to my horse, put on the spur,
loosed the bridle-and he did the rest.
1t was not race; it was a clean
runaway. They had nothing to match
that horse. | outran, distanced them
easily and reached Winchester be-
fore any of the stragglers.
! rejoined the division with the
mail after dark of that night when
the battle was all over, and we were
victorious
Somebody will inquire, of course,
what became of that horse.
1t makes my heart sick to think
that had to lose him.
| was merely private infantry SOL
der on detached service. Any horse
that | rode was supposed to belong
to the government. There were
good many hungry eyes in our divi.
sion fastened on this one after the
18th. | was called upon to account
for him. and did so with a strong plea
for my individual property in him.
TWAS of no use. | had to turn him
in to the quartermaster, and don't
know what became of him; but who.
ever rode him after that rode one OF
the best horses in Virginia.