However strangely he may have thought of my movements then, I am sure that when he reads these pages he will know why I disturbed him at that unusual hour of the night. He furnished me with a beautiful nag. With an old gun-sling and canteen strap I rigged up a sort of bridle, mounted the horse, and returned to my rebel escort.
On my return, I was in ecstasies of delight over "my captured" nag. I told the Captain that I had stolen it from a Colonel, and that I found it not twenty yards from his quarters, and that I tried to steal his saddle, bridle, and holsters, but his d—d nigger was sleeping with his head on the saddle and I could not get them without waking him up.
The men were all highly interested with the narration of my exploit, and not only conceded that I "was a h—l of a fellow," but "that I had got a d—d good horse." We then returned to Herse's plantation, and I awoke the Colonel to show him my prize. He was as much delighted as the rest had been.
It was by this time daylight, and we started for Cold Water; I left the mule, as I had agreed to do, on Mr. Herse's plantation. On our way back we burned considerable cotton. I remained a few days longer at Cold Water, and then accompanied a detachment to Saulsbury to burn cotton; from there I ran away and returned to Bolivar. My mule had been brought in as I requested, and so I exchanged my horse for it. I had been gone in all twenty days.
CHAPTER X.
Sent to Grand Junction to capture guerrillas—Suspicious incident—Strategy to get out the guerrillas—Orders disobeyed—The rebel flag—The very kind secesh lady—The mistake—Out of the frying-pan into the fire—Guerrillas watching for them—The attack—The prisoner—The result of the trip.
A part of the duties assigned me, in the many trips I made to Bolivar, was to hunt up guerrilla organizations, learn their intended movements, and make arrangements for their capture. During my scouts, I had learned that there was an organized band of guerrillas at Grand Junction. On reporting the fact to General Ross, he requested me to go down and capture them, and gave me for that purpose a force of one hundred infantry, under command of a Captain, and forty cavalry, under command of a Lieutenant, with instructions to the officers that they should obey my orders in whatever plans I should choose to adopt. I was also furnished with a train of ten four-horse teams and wagons, and was instructed to let the infantry ride out, and, on my return, to load the wagons with forage.
It was about sundown when the detachment moved out from Bolivar. I rode about one hundred yards in advance, then came the cavalry, and in the rear the train bearing the infantry. My dress on this occasion was that of a citizen.