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WAR SI Squire Tom's Long I3 H. M. Wiltse, My friend Squire Tom is tue non of a Tennessee man, who was hom in Virginia, and a Cherokee woman. When the civil war began he was a mere boy, but he promptly joined thc Confederate army, and became a (scout, first for General Joe Wheeler and then for General N. i>. Forrest. Upon one occasion his little party was ordered to make thc nearest pos sible approach to Nashville, take care ful observations of the Btrength and situation of tho enemy and report to thc commanding general. AB they were proceeding rather leisurely through a fertile section of middle Tonnesece to give the horses a little rest toward noontide they wero surprised by a force of federal cavalry, and in Squire Tom's own words, "did thc only thing that was left for us to do, and ran liko tho devil." Duck river was somewhat swollen, but under the inspiration of a shsrp fire from their pursuers they foroed their horses into tho stream and all emerged on the opposite bank without casualty save Tom, whoso horne was shot and killed. Being an expert swimmer he suc ceeded in securing tho bridle and sad dle and getting safely ashore with hiB valuable burden. The party was now in a forest, and for tho time being comparatively safe But it was imperative that those who were mounted should push on as far as possible during daylight. Thc lieutenant in command said to the unfortunate boy: "Tom, you are in a desperate predicament, but I' know of no other way than for us to leave you to your fate, and may God bless you. Good-by." "All that I ask of you," replied Tom, "is that you will throw a green branoh upon the right-hand side of the road, whenever you leave Notohey Trace," for he knew that they would leave that highway at night when they were ready to go into oamp. Notchey Trace waa ao called because in those days the way through tho forest was indicated by cutting notches in the trees to tell the miles as well as per form the functions of guide posts when the road was not plain. "I will do that, you may be ?uro," said tho lieutenant, "but what earthly good will that do you? We shaM travel at leaBt 25 miles before we go into camp, and you have no horse. We must break oamp and push on be fore daylight in the morang." "I will bo with you when you break camp," said Tom. The lieutenant pressed his hand warm ly, tho boys all bade him a reluctant, and, as thoy believed, a last good-by, and away they went at a swift gallop. Tom proceeded ?along the road that they had taken until he came to a large oom field. Into the midst of this he plunged, and there kneeled upon the gronnd, in obedience to a promise made to his Indian mother, who was a devout Christian, and whose implicit faith would put to shame the feebler quantity given to many people of greater pretentious that he would always appeal to God for help in oases of emergency. "I wer', at it in mighty earnest," said Squire Tom, "but with the most implicit faith that God would hear and answer my prayer. It may seem ridi culous to you that I should have pray ed so long and so earnestly while in tending, all the.time, to steal the first horse that I laid eyes upon; but I was praying for a horse, and I believed that God would send me on':, to take as a gift from Him or to steal as a ne cessity of war." It was ll o'clock in the forcuoon ?w'h'CQ his companions left him. It was -sundown when ho heard sounds as of a body of men and a train of wagons moving up the road, and thereupon brought his long prayer to a close. He crept to a point where ho could .see, and suro enough a body of federal troops and a wagon train were passing 4>y. Hungry and thirsty to the point of faintness, Tom was rejoiced beyond expression when he discovered a large number of fine watermelons in tho part of the corn field where he was now standing. Eating as mueh of the de licious fruit as he wished, ho orept along, concealed by the friondly corn, until he saw tho federal foroe going into camp near a barn and some cribs. He remained concealed until after darkness had fallen, and fortunately for him pale moonlight soon succeed ed. When everything b?camo still he reconnoitered and discovered that a numbQr of horses wore grazing not very far from thc barn. The position of tho sentries he could not make out,1 ? but iw'j risk of challenge wa?fono that must tx? taken. y Lying down arid dragging his saddle and bridlo as best he could, he cropt to tba newest bors?'aod tries' to secure it, but tho animal gave a slight snort "ORIES. rayer and its Answer. in Sunry South. and ran away from him. Ho made several attempts with similar results, but finally came to a large animal which showed no fear. Quickly placing his saddle and bri dle securely for a desperate ride, ho mounted, and avoiding thc road, where he knew n???iob were Mure to be post ed, he made off into Holds and over fences, until he fekfairly secure from successful pursuit. Then, having a fine knowledge of stars and woodoraft in general, he took observations, and proceeded in the general direction of the spot where ho thought his com rades were likely to have left the road, avoiding it, and still proceed ing through fields, forests, and over fences. Even in this emergency the lessons whioh his mother had taught him were not for a moment forgotten. The wrongs suffered by her race had not embittered her, but had impressed her strongly with the duty of observing strictly the rights of others. When a fence was tco high for safe jumping ho would dismount and let it down. If it merely separated field and forest or two barren fields, he left it open; but if it separated fields in which crops were growing, or in either of which was a crop, he conscientiously replaced it in as r;ood condition as whon he found it. All of the knowledge that he had of the country was ' that a settlement called Lousy Level lay to the left of the road, and that his comrades would be encamped to the right of it. Where the road was he bad but little idea. He wanted to know w??ere Lousy Level was in order that be might go in the other direotion. Toward midnight he came to a farm house, and with that one bit of infor mation as a pretext to arouse the farmer and ask the direotion to that locality. In reply to a question, whioh was natural in those troublous I times, he replied that his mother was siok over on the Level, and that he had been after a doctor. As soon OB the farmer had returned to the house Tom went to the spring house, where he had discovered some pans of milk, and stopped long enough to drink the contents of one, whioh was a mighty source of strength for his desperate ride. Leaving the level of unseemly name far to the left be kept the course as his judgment and the stars dictated, and after a long ride, after many strug gles with briars and brambles, after passing through many strips of forest and crossing many a rail fence, his hear' ounded for joy as they emerged into the highway and he discovered a freshly broken laurel branch, lying upon the right side. Getting down he soon found a fence, and could plainly see where a party of horsemen had crossed, and then put up the gap. A mile'or two further on he found his friends, all wrapped in soundest slumber-not even a sentry out to give the alarm in ease of the approach of foe or friend. ?They did wot, ex pect a visitation from either, they felt so sure of their hiding placo. They all needed a full night's rest, too, in order to be ready for the great ride of the morrow. Tom pioketed his horse, rolled him self in his blanket, and was soon as sound asleep as the happiest of the party. Abo . daybreak he was awakened by an exclamation, 11 Why, boys, look! There is a strange horsel" The presecoe of the animal caused a good deal of consternation; but wheo one of the scouts discovered Tom roll ed up in his blanket and Called atten- ! tion to him, the lieutenant exclaimed, in enthusiasm, which military discip lino did not chtok, "Well, if there ain't that darned Injun." In turn every man in the party gave their oompanion, so unexpectedly re turned to them, a sound hug and a "God bless you, Tom, my boy!" It proved that, the horse which Tom had stolen as an answer to his half day long prayor was the property of tho wagon master, and the best trav eler in the federal command. A Soldter of the Legion. Mr. S. E. Welch, himself one Of the best soldiers who fought under Hamp ton, tolls tho following very interest ing story about ono of his old oom-, rades who has fought his last fight: "William H. Dova, a Confederate veteran, who doser ves mora than a passing notice and who served the Confederacy with conspicuous ability, passed away on February 6,1903. j He was born July 9,^-841, in dhrist Churoh Parish, where his carly life was passed, and volunteered in% Capt. L. C. McOord's company for service in the Hampton Legion infantry. When tho company was mustered into thc Confederate army and expected to bc sent to Virginia it was ordered by Governor Picken a to thc coast of South Carolina, and was stationed for months on the Stono River, where Mr. Duva proved by obedience to orders and readiness for any duty, no matter how dangerous or trying, those high sol dier qualities which he maintained to the end. "When the seven days' Gght around Richmond occurred the company was hurriedly sent to Virginia and partici pated in all of the battles which led up to the Maryland campaign and ter minated at Fredericksburg. Our com rade took part iu these and was sev eral ti lues slightly wounded. About tho close of 1862^ Jenkins's brigade, to which tho Hampton Legion had been transferred from Hood's TciauH, W*D ordered to the Blackwater River, where picketing and skirmishing were of almost daily occurrence. Mr. Duva was constantly on the 'firing line,' and here learned much of the art of scout ing, in which he was afterwards so successful. Ho was a man of untiring energy, unfailing good humor, re sourceful and courageous. No matter how exhausting the maroh, wet to the skia, famished and foot-sore, his mer ry laughter could be heard and was contagious. "No Qne in tho entire command con tributed as much as he when the bivouac was reached to reconcile his wearied, hungry comrades to make the best of the most wretched conditions. His happy disposition made him a great favorite, and there was scarcely a man in the brigade who did not know 'Bill Duva' and greet him most cordially on all occasions. He was a famous swimmer, a fine horseman and excelled in all athletic sports. His knowledge of woodcraft was remarka ble-under no circumstances was he ever lost in the woods or mountains. "At the bloody engagement at DLan dridge, East Tennessee, he was taken prisoner and sent to Knoxville. Soon after, with twelve or fifteen comrades, under a mounted guard, he was started off for Cumberland Gap. On the road bis buoyant spirits kept the crowd in a merry mood. At nightfall of the first day out ho persuaded his guard to climb a feooe with him to get some drinking water. The weather was bitterly* cold and the stream frozen. Stooping down he broke the ioe with a stone and slaked his thirst. Upon getting up he held the stone in his hand and his guard stooped to drink, when Dova struck him with the rook and ran into the woods. The entire guard fired, but missed him. For two days he hid in the brush and travelled only at night. At the Holston River Ferry he found a Federal pioket play ing cards by the firelight. Quietly slipping the ohain from a small boat, he jumped into it and poshed out into the stream, when the dog barked and alarmed the guard, who at once ran to river and ' kept firing till our com rade crossed the stream. Fortunately he escaped harm and, though the country was full of Federal scouting parties and Union bushwhackers, he returned to oamp, after an absence of a week. i x "When the Legion' was ordered back to Virginia as mounted infantry Mr. Duva was detailed for speoial duty as a scout, and in this he rendered conspicuous service, as his. natural qualifications eminently fitted him for such work. The information he gath ered and dangers he experienced were more like a romanoe than the monot onous life of a soldier. For nearly four years b* served his country, and when Lee surrendered at Appomattox he laid down bia arms with the con sciousness of duty well done. After hostilities ceased he returned to the city, and was for many years in tho employ of the South Carolina Railway Company and ita successor, the South ern Railway. "An enthusiastic Confederate, a sincere friend, a brave man and Chris tian gentleman has gone to his re ward. Three Mexican War Veterans. Spartanburg, February 28.-Veter ans of tho various wars are too com mon to attract milch attention, even in these "piping times of peace." When a call is made for pensioners thc woods seem to be full of Confederate veter ans and they appear to come out of old wells, red gullies and other hiding places, as the Kuklux did. years ago. Then tho boys now pose as veterans, for somo of them volunteered for the Cuban war and, although there ie not tho smell of gunpowder on their clothes, they, too, aro on the vctecran list. But it is a pretty raro sight to see a genuine veteran of the Mexioan war. So far ' as this correspondent knows there are only three in this county. ? Very few persons remember the I publio meetings and the call for vol I untcers in 1846. A few may remem ber tho ovation given to tho returning .soldiers in 1848. Of these three Henry C. Easier, living near Chero kee Springs, belonged 'io tho regular army. In 1846 a recruiting officer named Welsh came to Spartanbcrg to : W got young mon to join tho regular army for five years. Several volun teered. Amonguhom waa H. C. Eas ier. .Tnh a Wyalj|, Mark danton and John Richardson, a printer in thc Spartan office. There were others whose names can not bo secured. They were sent to Fort Moultrie, where they were or ganized as an artillery company, un der Capt. Stcptoe, and attached to the 3d regiment, under Col. Oates. They were sent from Fort Moultrie to tho mouth of the Bio Grande, thenoe up the river to Tampioo and thence to Vera Cruz and Cerro Gorda. At the latter place they came under the command of Gen. Winfield Scott. Mr. Easier thought that he was the finest looking man he ever saw in uni form. His company lost Capt. Steptoe in some way and Capt. Burke was io command when they assisted in bat tering down the walls and gatos of Mexico. The company remained io Mexico until peace was declared, when they returned to New Orleans. Tboy were then sent to fortress Monroe and then to Fort Independence, near Boston. There Mr. Easier saw the Constitu tion, which was perforated with shot. The company was stationed at East port, Maine, a short time, t He saw Col. Butler fall at the gate of tho City of Mexico. He also saw Gen. Taylor, Jefferson Davis and many of the other distinguished officers. He was mustered out of servioe at the expiration of his time. He had saved his pay and had about $400 when he returned home in 1851. He was 78 years old a few days ago. He bears his age well and is able to do a fair day'p. work on his farm. The two 'other veterans in chis oounty were in the volunteer servioe.-News and Cou rier. North Carolina Ponies. There is really no more historical as well as interesting and curious terri tory in tho United States than the long sand banks whioh mark the east ern boundary of North Carolina, and _l. . _L *_M. i_a_._ii?iJ. rruivu si/i LU ? tjtou ureBKHnver. rrtnuiu which are the' sounds . through which the government now proposes to pro vide an inland waterway whioh will end the terrors of Cape Hatteras. The writer has told for the Sunny South the story of the part of the banks of whioh Cape Hatteras forms a vast promonotory, and this is to be a story? abont the part further to the southward, where the little ponieL are, the only wild horses east of the Mis sissippi; ponies whioh have over three oenturies of history behind them. The part of the banks in question is known as "Shaokleford's Banks, tak ing its name from the ohief owner. Beginning at Ooracoke Inlet, this stretch of sand reaches to Bogue In let, terminating at Shaokleford's Point, in front of the town of Beau fort. Shaokleford's Banks are about forty miloB long, low-lying, with here and there dunes, or sand hills, rising to a height of, say, thirty or fo.*ty feet, tree-covered,' the trees hoed with vines, and in this mass of nearly sub tropical vegetation, most of it ever green, the Spanish bayonet, prickly pear, or small cactus, and the fan or scrub palmetto. There aro homes here and ; there along the irregular stretch of Shaokleford's Banks, and there is also a light house, and near it a great natural harbor of refuge, at Cape Lookout, whioh the government is also planning to utilise. On Shaokleford's Banks alone are the little- ponies referred to. lt is strange, bat true, that these arc found in their wild stat* nowhere else. There aro, said to bo about 1,200 of them on the banka. Inquiry made of observant residents as to whether the number of the ponies had decreased during the past fifty years brought ?he response that they had, and that until about 1850 the ponies increased* The ponies weigh about 800 pounds and their height is about thirteen or fourteen hands-thai is, 4t\ to 4} feet. Their life te mainly on the,banks, though in very stormy weather they sometimes swim over to the mainland, a distanoe of two v> five mileB away. Their food ia marsh grass, ?eaves of scrubby trees, and shrubs and berries,. particularly the berries of the holly, Tho woods give them usually a good shelter, and henee it is but seldom that they seek the shel te r of the main land. They live to quite an age, but the average is about 22 years. Some reaoh tho ago of 40. These ponies have owners. The "banks ''aro owned by grants sold by the. State. These people make pons out of, drift wood and rough logs and poles and into these the ponies and their colts aro driven and branded. A obit following a branded mare is considered the property of the owner of tho mare, and he holds it. lu cases where there are colts whioh do not follow the mares, thoa the "pen ners," that is, the men who make and own the pons, take them. Such is tho unwritten law. The ponies are driven out Of tho scrub by drivers or herders, and tbie is a work of no small difficulty, as the scrub is so thiok as often to bo a jungle, threaded by thousands of narrow paths, through the shining sand. Tho wind and the salt keep down much of the vegetation, so that thero one may ace hickory trees not over three feet in height, yet loaded with nu ta, and her so chest nut trees equally as dwarfed. Tho colts are covered with hair sev eral isjbhes in length, naturo's protec tion 'against the weather. This is called colt hair and looks life felt. Jt falls off in large flakes. Most of the colts aro of a faded brown color, bat when ?heir hair falls off they come out in their true color, which is some times black. They are termed colts until they are branded, though the? may be three years old or more before they are penned and the brand pot on. The ponies are always known, in all paris of the State, as "banker" po nies. They do not appear to be sold muoh outside of North Carolina, as the people in other States do not know anything about them. They cross well wifh horses. When taken up country and fed upon hay, corn and oats they fill out and darken in color somewhat. Their instinct is remarka ble. They know by means of it tho way to get to the mainland or to tho islands with tho minimum amen?t of swimming, and the writer has seen them wade great distances without getting out of their depth, making va rious changes and turns in direction to oonform to the shoals. Tot they are fearless swimmers. They paw holes in the sand at low-lying plaoes and thus get drinking water. Though an inlet only about two miies in width separates Shaokelford's Banks from Bogus Banks, yet the po nies never go on the latter banks. Nor do they cross Ooraooke Inlet. The ancestors of these hardy and valuable little horses were the Bar bara horses which Sir Walter sent over with his colonists to Roanoke Is land. They have bred and multiplied and for at least two centuries have been utilized by the people of that section. Sir Walter's oolonists, when the relief from England was so long delayed in reaching them, went with the Indians to the mainland; but most have left their ponies. Tho Indians were unused to horses. These In dians were the HateraBks, who gave their name to the dreaded qape. When Raleigh's colonists first landed there they found that the Haterasks were distinguished by their blue/;eyje_a, and that they had a tradition, that their "fathers oould talk put ?f;a* book." Honco the inference ' t?iat at sorao former period a orew '.'pf, w^hito men had been oast away thereabout and had amalgamated with the Indians. - These sturdy little ponies are, the;e fore, a part of the romance which hangs about this quaint, part of North Carolina. There are persons who bold, that Raleigh's colonists first landed on Shaokelford's bank? and later went to the isle of Roanoke, where they built their fort, because it was a more de fensible pfooe, and' that they loft tho "little Barbary horses" on, these bo&k8<| until better times should come. iMe The "banks" at Hatteras and also to th? southward were even'within many's memory far more heavily wooded than they are now, the over whelming Band dunes, or moving mountains of sand, having swallowed up large Btretob.es of forest. As the dunes pass on, moved by the winds, they leave only stumps of trees, or at most mere snags, polished to'a re markable whiteness.-Fred A. Olds, in the Sonny- South. - " . . mm ?- A woman's brain in said to le oline in weight aftei the age ?of 30. Naturally, for it is then, generally, that she has to think for a husband and ? half dozen children as well aa herself. - The jory brought in a verdict of "Not guilty." Tito judge said, ad monishingly to the prisoner: "After this you ought to keep away "from bad company." "Yes, your honor. You will not see mo here again in a har? ry." ' CH Gloomy thoughts to come habitual to the dy peptic. He- looks on .the dark ?de o? things and every mole bill ' becomes a mountain. His condition- fl affects hist business judg ment and mars bia home relations. Dr. Pierce's Golden Med ical Discovery cores dys pepsia and other diseases SSS ! ? of . the organs of digestion and nutrition, : It gives buoyancy of mind as well as health of body because it removes the physicial cause of mental depression. It ena! 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