Part 6 (1/2)

”Have you heard the news?”

”No,” we responded; ”what is it?”

”Why” (with more efforts to recover his breath), ”Price has evacuated Lexington!”

”Is it possible?”

”Yes,” he gasped, and then sank exhausted into a large (very large) arm-chair.

We gave him a gla.s.s of water and a fan, and urged him to proceed with the story. He told all he had just heard in the bar-room below, and we listened with the greatest apparent interest.

When he had ended, we told him _our_ story. The quality and quant.i.ty of the wine which he immediately ordered, was only excelled by his hearty appreciation of the joke he had played upon himself.

Every army correspondent has often been furnished with ”important intelligence” already in his possession, and sometimes in print before his well-meaning informant obtains it.

A portion of General Fremont's army marched from Jefferson City to Tipton and Syracuse, while the balance, with most of the transportation, was sent by rail. General Sigel was the first to receive orders to march his division from Tipton to Warsaw, and he was very prompt to obey. While other division commanders were waiting for their transportation to arrive from St. Louis, Sigel scoured the country and gathered up every thing with wheels. His train was the most motley collection of vehicles it has ever been my lot to witness.

There were old wagons that made the journey from Tennessee to Missouri thirty years before, farm wagons and carts of every description, family carriages, spring wagons, stage-coaches, drays, and hay-carts.

In fact, every thing that could carry a load was taken along. Even pack-saddles were not neglected. Horses, mules, jacks, oxen, and sometimes cows, formed the motive power. To stand by the roadside and witness the pa.s.sage of General Sigel's train, was equal to a visit to Barnum's Museum, and proved an unfailing source of mirth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GENERAL SIGEL'S TRANSPORTATION IN THE MISSOURI CAMPAIGN.]

Falstaff's train (if he had one) could not have been more picturesque.

Even the Missourians, accustomed as they were to sorry sights, laughed heartily at the spectacle presented by Sigel's transportation. The Secessionists made several wrong deductions from the sad appearance of that train. Some of them predicted that the division with _such_ a train would prove to be of little value in battle. Never were men more completely deceived. The division marched rapidly, and, on a subsequent campaign, evinced its ability to fight.

One after another, the divisions of Fremont's army moved in chase of the Rebels; a pursuit in which the pursued had a start of seventy-five miles, and a clear road before them. Fremont and his staff left Tipton, when three divisions had gone, and overtook the main column at Warsaw. A few days later, Mr. Richardson, of the _Tribune_, and myself started from Syracuse at one o'clock, one pleasant afternoon, and, with a single halt of an hour's duration, reached Warsaw, forty-seven miles distant, at ten o'clock at night. In the morning we found the general's staff comfortably quartered in the village. On the staff there were several gentlemen from New York and other Eastern cities, who were totally unaccustomed to horseback exercise. One of these recounted the story of their ”dreadful” journey of fifty miles from Tipton.

”Only think of it!” said he; ”we came through all that distance in less than three days. One day the general made us come _twenty-four_ miles.”

”That was very severe, indeed. I wonder how you endured it.”

”It _was_ severe, and nearly broke some of us down. By-the-way, Mr.

K----, how did you come over?”

”Oh,” said I, carelessly, ”Richardson and I left Syracuse at noon yesterday, and arrived here at ten last night.”

Before that campaign was ended, General Fremont's staff acquired some knowledge of horsemans.h.i.+p.

At Warsaw the party of journalists pa.s.sed several waiting days, and domiciled themselves in the house of a widow who had one pretty daughter. Our natural bashfulness was our great hinderance, so that it was a day or two before we made the acquaintance of the younger of the women. One evening she invited a young lady friend to visit her, and obliged us with introductions. The ladies persistently turned the conversation upon the Rebellion, and gave us the benefit of their views. Our young hostess, desiring to say something complimentary, declared she did not dislike the Yankees, but despised the Dutch and the Black Republicans.”

”Do you dislike the Black Republicans very much?” said the _Tribune_ correspondent.

”Oh! yes; I _hate_ them. I wish they were all dead.”

”Well,” was the quiet response, ”we are Black Republicans. I am the blackest of them all.”

The fair Secessionist was much confused, and for fully a minute remained silent. Then she said--

”I must confess I did not fully understand what Black Republicans were. I never saw any before.”