Part 9

That night, word was brought in that some of Jordan's men had been on a certain road, and the probabilities were that we should be attacked before morning. The Major immediately took the necessary steps to put his force in the best possible position for defense. His plan was to ambush the enemy. Two mounted scouts were sent out, with orders to ascertain the Confederate strength, and then, after showing themselves, to fall back and if possible to draw them into our trap. We waited patiently for several hours, and at length the scouts returned. They reported having seen the enemy, who prudently refused to follow them in. It being apparent that no attack would be made that night, the usual precaution of posting pickets was taken, and all returned to camp.

The next morning, one of the men asked to see "that little thing" I showed the Major when I came into camp. It was some time before I could make out what he meant. I finally asked him if it was the compass; and he reck'ned it was. I took it out of my pocket and showed it to him. Finding him ignorant of its uses, I explained them as well as I was able, saying among other things that the needle always pointed to the north, unless attracted by some more powerful magnet. I took a piece of iron, and caused the needle to traverse by attraction. Some of the questions he asked, would have puzzled old Doctor Benjamin Franklin to answer. It is hard to believe that at this age of the world, in a civilized country, a man could be found so utterly ignorant of the uses of a compass.

Here could be seen the difference between educated freedom at the North, and uneducated slavery in the South. Without any system of free schools, the poor whites were unable to procure the means to educate their children. It was not to the interests of the slaveholders, the aristocracy of the South, to educate the masses. Slavery naturally created an aristocracy, to maintain which it was necessary to keep both negroes and poor whites in ignorance. There were no common interests between the rich and the poor whites, to induce the former to tax themselves to educate their neighbors' children. The result was, that while the children of the aristocrats were, generally, educated above the common standard at the North, the masses were left in deplorable ignorance.

By this time we were becoming impatient to resume our journey, and urged our friends, with all the eloquence of which we were possessed, to make the attempt to reach our lines that night. But the Major, although plainly desirous of accommodating us, was firmly convinced that the attempt could not be made with safety, and wisely, no doubt, overruled us. Much against our inclination, we abided by his decision, and concluded to remain another night. During the course of the day, we received an invitation to attend a wedding.

_A Mountain Wedding_

One of the members of the Home Guards was a reckless young fellow, a deserter from an Ohio regiment. Wild, yet generous-hearted, he had, he said, been grossly abused by his Captain, and had therefore left his command and joined the Home Guards. In less than a month, he had succeeded in captivating one of Jasper's fairest maidens, and we were invited to witness the ceremony that should make the twain one flesh.

We more than suspected that the desire to witness this ceremony had influenced, if not the Major, at least a large proportion of his men, to delay our journey. We put the best face on the matter, however, and inasmuch as we were compelled to wait, decided to attend.

Just before the time arrived for the invited guests to assemble, Major McCreary made a detail of a sufficient number of his command to secure us from surprise, and posted them upon all the approaches to the place; the balance attended the wedding in a body, taking with them their arms and equipments.

Like a majority of the homes of Georgia mountaineers, the house in which the ceremony was to be performed was about sixteen feet square, and constructed of logs. A large fireplace, extending nearly across one end of the building, was piled with wood that crackled and roared as the ruddy blaze encircled and devoured it. It sent back into the room a delightful glow, lighting up the dusky nooks and corners of the old cabin, now flickering up to the ceiling and again dying away, leaving the inmates in the dancing shadows. A bed occupied the opposite side of the room. Opposite the only entrance was one small window. The other furniture consisted solely of a rough pine table and a few chairs.

The assembled company composed a group that if faithfully drawn would insure to any artist the reputation of a first-class caricaturist. The guests, numbering between thirty and forty persons of both sexes, filled the room to overflowing. Immediately in front of the fireplace stood the bride and groom, hand in hand.

The costume of the bride was not such as Paris would have prescribed for such an occasion. Durability and comfort rather than a desire for artistic effect, had evidently been the ruling considerations in its selection. The material was calico, bright colors predominating, and it was made up without any of the furbelows and jimcracks called "trimmings." No unsightly hoops (then everywhere in vogue) concealed the outlines of the girl's well-developed form. Upon her feet were worn good, substantial leather shoes and woolen stockings. Her "waterfall" was made up of her own luxurious hair, held in place by a horn comb. No ornament of any kind or description, not even a sprig or flower, was permitted to relieve the chaste simplicity of her costume. Standing there by the side of her chosen husband, she looked substantial and durable, rather than beautiful.

The groom, resplendent in all the glories of a white shirt and clean homespun jacket and trousers, seemed to be as happy as is often permitted to mortals.

Grouped around the room, in various grotesque attitudes, were the members of the Home Guards. Some were standing, resting their chins upon hands folded across the muzzles of their muskets; others were standing in the position of a soldier at ordered arms; others were squatted on the floor, with their guns lying across their laps. Sitting on the bed and on the few chairs, were some of the women, while others mingled with the soldiers, quite regardless of appearances.

Everything being in readiness, the clergyman took his place, and in a few words pronounced the marriage ceremony--which, whether performed in palace or hovel, is so fraught with good or ill, to both the parties concerned.

For a moment after he had concluded, all were silent. The grave deportment of the minister combined with the peculiar circumstances attending upon the marriage, acted like a spell upon the audience, compelling even the most reckless to yield to its influence. The silence was rudely broken by the young husband, who, taking his bride by the chin, by this means getting her face in position, gave her a rousing smack on the mouth, exclaiming: "Well, Mary, how do you like gitt'n' married?"

"I like it fust rate. I wouldn't mind gitt'n' married every day," was her reply.

The scene that followed beggars description--such pulling and hauling and kissing of the bride; such kissing of everybody who would submit to being kissed, and of some who wouldn't; such screaming and laughing; such jostling and mixing, surely never were seen before.

For an hour or more the carnival continued. At length they were tired out by their wild play and boisterous mirth. Quiet was restored. Songs were called for. Spencer, a good singer, gave them the song, "Who will care for mother now?" I followed with "Old Irish Gentleman" in my best style, my music resembling the notes of a jay bird alternated with those of a wild goose, with an occasional note resembling the filing of a saw. The songs, however, were received with applause about equally divided, although I heard a pretty widow remark that she thought Spencer the better singer, and I could not dispute her taste.

When the bride remarked that "It must be gitt'n' moughty late, hard on to one o'clock," the company dispersed; some to their homes, others to the picket line to relieve the guard and learn the signs of the night. Spencer, Hatcher, and I betook ourselves to the headquarters of the Guards, where we were soon soundly sleeping.

The next morning the Major despatched men in every direction to ascertain the whereabouts and movements of Jordan's men. We were urgent in our request to start that night.

"Wait until I hear from my men," he said. "I sha'n't run the risk of having you recaptured, nor of unnecessarily sacrificing my men. I am just as anxious as you are to have you reach your lines in safety. We are in need of ammunition and supplies, and you can assist us in getting them. You can also establish the fact that we are Union men, and that we can be trusted. I want to accompany you myself, and we will start just as soon as it is safe to do so; but you must wait until that time comes. We have repeatedly tried to make your people understand our position, but they do not seem to trust us."

There was altogether too much good sense in the Major's reasoning to gainsay it, and we perforce submitted with the best grace possible.

_Diplomacy_

In the course of the day, two members of Jordan's Band came into camp under flag of truce. Their ostensible object was to enter into a compact with the Home Guards, by the terms of which the private property of each should be respected. Major McCreary evinced good diplomatic ability in the conduct of the negotiation. He insisted upon the restitution of property taken by Jordan's men prior to the formation of the Home Guards. He detailed with great clearness and force the manner in which the houses of his men had been plundered by the guerrillas; how they had not only appropriated articles of value, but had destroyed furniture and clothing, with no other motive than that of revenge.

"When you restore to us the full value of what you have destroyed," he said, "less the value of what we have taken from you, then we will enter into an agreement to respect private property."

He greatly exaggerated his numerical strength, and I think was successful in impressing upon the minds of the envoys that in position and men he was far stronger than he really was. He also succeeded in worming out of them information of the utmost importance as to the location of the Band at that time.

_A Start for Our Lines_

When the interview was ended, the Major informed us that the news he had obtained, if substantiated by the scouts when they came in, would enable us to start that night. A little later we were told that the attempt would be made.

Ten men, under the command of the Major, were selected as an escort, and we started out in a state of high exhilaration. Our horses were fair roadsters, we were armed; and judging by our feeling at that moment, nothing less than a battalion would have seemed a formidable obstacle in our path. In fact, I believe some of us would have rather enjoyed the prospect of a skirmish that night. The Major had occasion to check our rather noisy demonstrations more than once during the first hour of our ride. The night was intensely dark. The rain came down steadily, and as our clothes became saturated, our exuberant spirits toned down to the level of reasonable men.

Once more, at a distance of about four miles from our starting point, we came to the outpost of a guard. He reported that just before night he had discovered a man skulking in the bushes beyond.

The Major immediately detailed one of his men, with orders to reconnoitre a certain by-road, at a point known to be a rendezvous for Jordan's men when they were in that vicinity, and to report to us a few miles farther on. He then informed us that if we were attacked at all, it would be near the point where he had ordered his man to report.

The scout put spurs to his horse and in an instant was lost to view in the darkness. It was curious how suddenly our desire for a fight evaporated, when the probability arose that our wishes might be speedily gratified; especially when the chances were so decidedly in favor of an enemy lying in ambush, from which we should be compelled to dislodge him.

Quietly and unostentatiously the Major communicated his plans to his men, and everything being in readiness we resumed our march. When within a mile of the point where the scout had been ordered to join us, we heard a crackling and snapping in the brush at the side of the road. We halted and breathlessly listened.

Somebody on horseback was coming our way. If it was the scout, all was right; if not, it was certain the enemy was on the road. Silently we sat on our horses and listened. At length the Major challenged, "Who comes there?"

No answer. Again the Major challenged. I cocked my revolver, and the click-click running along our line sounded ominous.

"Halloo, boys, is that you?" came out of the brush.

We recognized the voice in a moment; it was the scout's.

"Why didn't you answer when I challenged?" demanded the Major.

"I reck'ned I'd just wait and see who you was, fust," was the cool reply.

"You ran a mighty narrow chance of being fired into."

"Yes, I calc'lated on that; but I thought I'd take the risk. It's mighty onsartain 'bout hitt'n' a feller in the brush, dark as it is now; and I'd ruther be shot at than fool along into Jordan's hands."

"I say," said Spencer to me, _sotto voce_, "that fellow is a cool one!"

And so he was. Think of a man's calmly calculating, rather than make a mistake and thereby raising a false alarm, the chances of a dozen shots being fired at him at a distance not exceeding ten rods--from a point he all the while intended to advance toward, until near enough to recognize voices. He was a specimen of the kind of men that made up the Home Guards.

The scout's report was favorable. He thought there had been no enemy around the old rendezvous for several days. This intelligence corresponded with that already obtained by the Major. Coupled with the state of the weather, it seemed nearly certain that we should have only the elements to contend with that night. Again we were off.

"We must push ahead, now, at double quick. We have no time to lose," said the Major.

Putting our horses into a gallop, we rushed into the darkness. Splashing through the mud, now fording creeks, now floundering through quagmires, our little band flitted like spectres. Every hour lessened the distance between us and the boys in blue. Daylight would find us within sight of the stars and stripes, if no misfortune overtook us. Our horses were reeking with perspiration. Up hill and down, on and on we galloped. At last a house appeared in sight.

"Halt! Dismount!"

"What is this, Major?" I asked.

"The house of a friend," was the reply. "We are within five miles of your picket lines."

Could it be possible that only five miles divided us from our old comrades--from the "boys in blue," from telegraphic communication with wife and children? Only five miles to liberty? We could hardly restrain our feelings within reasonable bounds. My heart fluttered and my limbs shook with excitement. My voice trembled so that I could scarcely articulate.

"Why do you halt?" I querulously asked the Major.

"We must wait till daylight. It is not safe to approach the picket line at night."

"But, Major, is there not another house nearer the line? Must we stop here? Would it not be safer to get as near the line as possible? Is there not a possibility that we may be attacked even here?"

I poured these questions out without giving him a chance to reply. It seemed as if I could not stop.

"It seems like you were gitt'n' mighty uneasy just now. I reckon we'll have to stop a time, anyhow. You might as well come in and make yourselves comfortable. We will get warmed up, have something to eat, let the horses blow awhile, and then perhaps we will go on to the Widow H----'s. She lives right close to the line, but she's a Reb clean through, and I don't like to trust her any longer than is necessary."

The Major's cool, matter-of-fact way of disposing of the matter, made me ashamed of my excitement and petulance. I felt the more chagrined at the display of my feelings, because Hatcher and Spencer had exhibited so much more coolness and self-restraint, and I determined that thereafter I should act with more discretion. So, hiding my impatience as best I could, I dismounted and followed my companions into the house. We found the family asleep, but a good fire burning on the capacious hearth was a welcome sight to the drenched and shivering troopers.

The noisy summons of the Major aroused the sleeping inmates. When they found who we were that visited them at such an hour, they extended to us a hearty welcome. Fresh wood was piled upon the fire, around which we gathered in a steaming semicircle. The Major took our host aside. A few brief questions were asked and answered.

"It's all right," he said as he joined us. "The whelps have been around, but left yesterday. I reckon we'll stop awhile, get a bite to eat, and then shove on to Widow H----'s."

It was yet two hours or more to daylight, and our friends could not be blamed if they preferred their present comfortable quarters before the fire, to muddy roads, darkness, and pelting rain. As for myself and two companions, we were the very pictures of suppressed impatience. When our hospitable host passed around some food and home-made coffee, we were far too excited to partake. The sight of Major McCreary and his men, coolly stowing away the bread and coffee, fairly made me grate my teeth with impatience.

At length the Major, taking pity upon us, rather than following his own better judgment, as I am firmly convinced, gave the order to remount. We were the first to obey.

The night was still very disagreeable. The rain continued to come down with pitiless violence, accompanied by a cold northeast wind, which, combined with the pitchy darkness, rendered traveling the reverse of pleasant. We were, however, too much excited with the prospect to mind the unpleasant state of the weather. We were living on anticipation. Our brilliant hopes overshadowed the uncomfortable present to such an extent that even now I look back to that night's ride as one of the most delightful episodes of a not altogether uneventful life.

An hour's ride brought us to the house of Widow H----, within half of a mile of our picket line. It was still very dark, and altogether unsafe to attempt to approach the pickets. We must wait for daylight. So, when the order to dismount was given, we acquiesced with the best grace possible.

Fastening our horses, we approached the house. A resounding _rat-tat-tat_ brought the widow to the door. Finding the party headed by the leader of the Home Guards, she seemed the reverse of pleased, and was not inclined to accede to our moderate demands for shelter until morning; but finally, with a repugnance she took no pains to conceal, she permitted us to enter. We soon built up a good fire, and under the influence of its cheering warmth forgot the inhospitable conduct of our hostess. With many a jest and story we beguiled the tedious hour till daylight.

_Among Comrades_

At the earliest dawn we were again on the road. Ahead of us, upon either hand, as far as the eye could reach, could be seen the blue smoke of the picket fires. We were traveling leisurely. I was conversing with Spencer; when suddenly, upon an elevation not ten rods from us, appeared a soldier dressed in blue, who in short, crisp tones commanded, "Halt! Who comes there?"

The Major answered, "Friends!"

"Halt, friends! Advance one, without arms, and give the countersign."

The Major dismounted and advanced. A few moments' conversation took place between him and the soldier, which the distance prevented us from hearing. We soon after heard the order given by the outpost guard to fall in, and then came the order, "Dismount! Advance, friends!"

Dismounting, we advanced, leading our horses. Upon reaching the outpost guard I thought I recognized a familiar face. "What regiment do you belong to?" I asked.

"The First Wisconsin Cavalry," was the reply.

"Give us your hand, old fellow!" I exclaimed, with the tears running down my cheeks. "Let me hug you. Hurrah, boys! Do you hear that? First Wisconsin Cavalrymen!"

Hatcher and Spencer were dancing about, crying and laughing. In fact, we were all of us fairly crazed with joy. Our new friends did not seem at all proud of their demonstrative guests. In truth, they rather drew back from our demonstrations of affection.

"Who are you, anyhow?" one of them sourly asked.

"Escaped prisoners," we replied.

"Where did you make your escape?"

"Near Charleston."

"You don't pretend to say that you have come all the way from Charleston, right through the Reb country?"

"Yes, we do pretend that very thing."

"Well, it may be so, but I don't care about being hugged"--glancing towards us with a look expressive of mingled incredulity and disgust.

This rebuff had the effect to cool us down a bit, and when we came to look ourselves over, we could but confess that so far as personal appearance was concerned we were nothing to boast of. We were unshaven and unshorn, our rags barely sufficient for decency, barefooted or nearly so, bareheaded, and most miserably dirty. No wonder a well-clad Union soldier resented our familiarity!

We were disarmed, placed under charge of the guard, and marched to the headquarters of the Brigade, then commanded by Colonel Lampson, of an Indiana regiment.

After some delay we were ushered into the presence of the Colonel. He listened attentively to us, reducing each of our statements to writing. After he had finished, he sat a few moments in meditation.

"You have got this thing pretty well fixed up," he finally said. "Hatcher and Spencer each belong to regiments now mustered out of service; and you," turning to me, "belong to the Army of the Potomac. We have been deceived too often by you fellows."

"Who, in God's name, do you take us to be?" I asked.

"Starved-out bushwhackers or spies, or perhaps both," he answered curtly. "Orderly, call the officer of the guard."

"Colonel, the First Wisconsin Cavalry is camped here, is it not?" I asked.

"Yes. Do you know any of the members of that regiment?"

"I hardly know. Where is Colonel La Grange?"

"La Grange is in Wisconsin. Did you know him?"

"I did. We were in prison together. Where is Captain Clinton?"

"Captain Clinton is here. Orderly, go and say to Captain Clinton that I desire him to report to me in person, immediately."

Clinton had been engaged with me in our tunneling enterprise at Macon, and was one of my most intimate friends. He had been exchanged but a short time before we left Charleston.

In a few moments I heard him speak to the Orderly in an excited voice: "Get out of the way and let me in! I'll bet it's Captain Kellogg!"

Almost at the same moment he opened the door. I stood facing him as he entered.

"I told you it was him! It's Kellogg! It's Kellogg!"

By this time we were in each other's arms, both of us sobbing like children. Then leaving me, he first caught Spencer and then Hatcher.

"There--there!" broke in Colonel Lampson; "you appear to know these men."

"_Know them?_ I should rather think I did. _Know them?_ Didn't Kellogg and I dig tunnels together? Didn't we starve together in Rebel prisons? I should rather think I do _know them_!"