Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-03-14
4 BRILLIANT
STORY Of
THE WAR
ERGEANT JOHN II. ROBINSON
Continued from yesterday

Ntheu 10 oeieNe my story. telling
me tina people had been fooled and
sent TO prison from that county, for
giving the same information that
asked for. | did not insist on his
! telling me anything that he might
feel uneasy about. so | asked him
TO direct me the way to Port Tobac-
co, the county town of Charles coun-
". Maryland. which he said he was
unable to do. but directed me where
1 would strike a road which would
lead TO ferry across the creek.
about mile up from the Potomac.
and probably / could get directions
there. | bid my man good bye, go
ing in the direction pointed out by
MIN. IL was not part of my inten-
tion to find my way to Port Tobac-
co, but to find a skiff, If there was
one in the neighborhood, whereby
| might cross the river to the Vir-
ginia side. This man that | last
talked to had told me / would find
none along the river, that they had
all been destroyed or run up the
, creeks TO keep the people from run
ning the blockade
When ] arrived at the ferry |
found the ferryman out fishing I'm "a
skin, and upon call he came To me.
whereupon | asked him to convey
me across the creek, which he did;
while crossing he eyed me very
closely and said, you are from the
other side OF the river, are you not?
] said yes, / am aiming to go back
10 the Virginia side. He further en-
quired of me. how / was going to
cross. l told him / would pay some
man good price to take me across
in skin, after night: to this he re-
piled that | would hardly find man
that would undertake II, for If he
did and ii was found out, he would
be sent off to prison, and advised
me to take n sltiff myself to carry
me over, that there were plenty OIL
them up and down the creek. BY
my conversation with him / sought
J to impress him with the thought
that | knew nothing about handling
skiff, and that | did not know how
TO swim, and that | might meet
death on the water, if tried the OK
pertinent.
| enquired of him for directions
that would lead me TO Port Tobac-
co, which he was kini enough to
give me, all the while, however,
was examining the makeup of his
skiff, which was about If feet long
and probably three feet wide, and
in the center OF when was ( neat
paddle about three feet long II the
man had been mind reader he
would have put a lock or his skin
that night.
On landing, ! thanked my little
man for his services and proposed
- lay him, bu h would have moth
ing. | gave him a hardy hand
shake and babe pinl good bJe He
was the last man that 7 enquired OF
about the route of Port Tobacco.
I started off in the direction that
he had told me to % to reach the
road leading to Port Tobacco, but
| did not go more than half a mile
until / found a thick cluster of ma
pie saplings, all from the same hol-
low stump. These saplings were
several steps from the road, but into
their midst | slipped and hid. my
self away and waited for the COM
ing of night, and as soon as the
dark appeared, / was ON my way
back to the creek. where as COOL
luck would have it. / fuond a skin,
and | need not tell where / founi
tt or whose ~ was. but ] appropri-
ated 1t, and off / went down the
creek towards the river There was
about two inches Of water i'm the
.skiff and after running about half
mile and getting TO an open space
where / could see no houses close
by | pulled off my boot and dipped
out the water, but the boat leaked
When / struck the Potomac, I
found the tide running high, and
/ had no guide except the stars of
heaven. After I had gotten about
mile from the Maryland shore, the
clouds covered the heavens and OBJ
scured my guide. Looking ahead
htunnNrTrrH -.
were apparently several miles
apart, and by this time the surface
OF the water was geeting exceeding
~ rough, especially for one that
was not accustomed TO the flow Of
tidewaters. Sometimes 70 looked
or appeared to me as though my lit
tie skiff would be swamped. for at
one moment it would turn a rear
summersault. in antoher moment it
appeared TO be going head foremost
TO the bottom OF the river: then
there would come along a broad
slider and throw my little bark on
edge and would brace myself to
keep from being spilled out out into
the water. While all this was going
on ] was not doing much padding.
but trying to keep on top. and as
soon as the big waves would pass
/ would take up my little paddle
and dig away. then throw it down
and put my hand in the water 20 see
whether 70 was running TO stem or
stern, but the water was so rough
and night so dark ! could not tell
whether ! was making headwa or
not. BY the time I reached what
supposed to be near the middle
Of the river ] began to think ] would
make fine sailor. my little bark
behaved so nicely on the smoother
water that ] suspected she had been
there before and had gOtted used to
All the tricks Of a rising tide. and
so after little while ] became very
brave and began TO think + would
compare favOrably as craftsman
with our American Indians fin his
bark canoe ON the Fathef of Wa
terg. n FFF MEz n
/ soon found myself near but be
low the upper light boat. and after
passing the line OF these boats ] had
nothing for q guide and concluded
1t was best TO wait for the moon to
rise. and while SO waiting. Just drift
ing mp the stream with the tide 7
found that the tide had carried me
above the upper light boat, and Just
then ] was startled by the puff of n
steamer not more than one hundred