The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-04

1Hcy HUI St UFuy duQ TeSOiuIe QSutluS appearance that pleased me. Perhaps a dozen were unmistakably of the mountain white type-gaunt. unshav- en. slow of speech. their keen. restless eyes searching every covert for a pos- sible enemy in ambush. The others were mostly young. reckless looking fellows. picked from the ranks of va rfous organizations because too rest less for the discipline of regular com mand. felt hope that 1 might be retained in command and thus given opportunity to test their mettIe.
 Daniels" said. drawing back my horse till rode beside him, ''this looks an odd command given me. What are they-enlisted mepT'
 ''Some of !em are." he answered slowly. shifting his eyes over the rab- ble behind. but ther mountain men mostly are jus volunteer scouts. pick ed up we're in ther deestrict cause they know their way round. 1 reckon may be it's tough lookin outfit from a so- jerin' pint O view. but thar's some dern good scouts a-ridin' thar behin' yer. That yaller headed feller thar has been mostly my partner lately. He's Irish. name Con O'Brien; deserted twice from ther Ninth Illinois cavalry, but since they put him scoutin' thar ain't no job too blame hard fer him ter tackle. I tell ye. leftanant, scouts is born, not made"
 How long have you been at ii?
 Fly eff %t started in with Buell. in Kentucky"
 ,"You came from up there?"
 He looked at me almost suspiciously. Then his eyes shifted to the scene in front.
 'I reckon I was born bout ten mile from yere. over wonder on ther east ridge" His eyes narrowed. a new light visible within their depths. "It was jist ter git back yere with sich an outfit as this yere ahind me thet made ne a sojer." he acknowledged slowly. ''I got some private work ter do in this yere kintry."
 "A feud?
 "I reckon thet's whut ye call it. Maybe it's bin a hundred years run nin' an has caused 8 heap O killin' one way an mother. but it's sorter simmered down ther las' two year to Jem Donald an me. Whin this yere war broke out he sorter took to ther Confed' side. an thet naturally made me Tank. They he'd ther best O it round yere in them days. an arter awhile skipped But I'm back yere now. an l ain't skuikin' round alone neither. l reckon I've got an ol' wom- an an some kids down thar on Salt crick. if ther house ain't been burnt over lem fore now. An if it has, God pity Jem Donald!"
 There was grimness in these words spoken deliberately. the tone utterly expressioniess. which 1 cannot properly convey in written language. the glint of the eye. the compression of the thin lips. making the deadly meaning perfectly apparent. It was the unyielding hate of savagery. long breeding over past wrongs. InvOlun- tarily I glanced about into the fringe of woods
 .sIs Donald about here thenw
 "Who. big Jem Donald? Sure. hain't ye never heard O himr'
 I shook my head. hoping thus to lead him on to-his story.
 What is the special trouble between you and this Big Donald. Daniels?"
 Darn if know whar it started.". he acknowledged. as though the thought came to him almost as surprise. "It was fore my dads time. reckon. an seems ter me 1t was over a lot O ha wgs thet got rOotin'' up some corn down on Rock crick. Thet's whar ther Dan. felses an Donales lived in them days, but blame if know which one owned ther corn an which owned ther hawgs. Ther Donalds in them days he'd fine plantation. with big house on 1t. an maybe a hundred slaves. !Ther Dan felses was alters pore, but thar was Q monstrous lot O us scattered Tong Rock crick, an when they went gunnin' fer ther Donalds they gin'rally got 'em. All I know is thet when I come Tong. bout hundred years later. ther Don- aids was liyin' in log ,shacIShback O Bald mountain an ther fight was still goin' on. My dad was shot down at Milliken Bend by one o. ther crowd when l was eight year old: then my brother got or man Donald somewhat on ther trail an filled him full O buckshot. Ther next thing they set fire to our house when nobody but mann was to hum. She shot into ther bunch and got away, with a broken arm. hidin' out in thers bush fer a week. Then ther Danielses rode over ter Bald mountain. an we come pretty near putin tbef Donald tribe outer business. until gang O lem ambus- caded us one night in ther bottoms. got two bullets in thet fracas, ,An' my brother was killed.
 "'Bout thet time ther war broke out. Darned If I keered which side licked in ther war. but Jem Donald come out fer ther COnfeds. an so I went in fer ther Union. Waal. we fought it out yere fer maybe six months. but ther odds was all with his outfit: thar wasn't many Danielses left able ter tote a gun. an finally I skipped out and jined Buell."
 "The secession sentiment was strong through this section. suppose?
 "Waal. I don't know bout thet. Ther mountain men mostly didn't care much: mighty few O 'em owned any niggers. But ther gentry was with ther secess;onists. an Big Donald alters