Having made a very humble sort of breakfast, our party re-assembled, with the intention of returning to Cumberland, keeping, as far as we could, the left bank of the Potomac. The scenes around us were picturesque and wild; the streams came rushing down from the mountains; and at every turn a new object full of amenity and beauty presented itself. We had to travel about twenty-eight miles to get to Cumberland, and kept a pleasant path close to the edge of the river, which sometimes flowed between narrow gorges, at other times through ample and fertile bottoms teeming with heavy crops of wheat and maize. Sometimes the hills came down with a sharp slope to the river, leaving no room for a path, and then we were obliged to ford the Potomac into the state of Virginia, to be in an hour or two driven back into the state of Maryland from the same cause.
We soon passed the site of old Fort Michilimackinac, upon a lofty bank of the continent to our left, celebrated for the treacherous ball-play and the massacre of the English garrison in 1763. Next we passed Wagushance, or little Fox Island, then Great Beaver Island, on the right. The Fox Islands further to the south presented themselves very beautifully, the southernmost having lofty cliffs, apparently of a light-coloured sandstone. Nothing could be more pleasant than our voyage hitherto, but at the close of the day one of the most fearful-looking storms I ever was in broke over the vessel. The clouds became gradually as black as night, and constantly gave out such vivid lightning, accompanied with astounding claps of thunder, that it appeared almost certain to many of us that the steamer would be struck. At length it became so dark that it was impossible to discern anything out of the vessel, and the rain came down in those incredible torrents which sometimes are poured from the terrible summer storms of North America, of which this was one of the first class. Our captain was ah active and wary man; he said nothing to any of the passengers, but we observed his great anxiety; indeed, there seemed to be no inclination for conversation on either side, for whilst we were in the midst of the worst part of the
Wild Guns Reloaded Full Crack [torrent Full]
These views were many years ago communicated to a few friends; but at that time no prudent man would have publicly proposed the investment of capital for such an object, lest he should incur the charge of being thought visionary. Until of late even New Brunswick has generally been considered a wilderness, possessing few or no resources that could aliment the capital necessary for the construction of a railway across the province. But in 1839, when it was the scene of my labours, as her Majesty's Commissioner in the dispute with the United States on the north-east boundary, I became satisfied that the project could be successfully carried out, and that it would soon be called for by a sound policy.
FROM the brink of this prairie I had a fine view of the line of the river and the country around. The stream had a graceful serpentine course, and the trees on its left bank were beautifully distributed in natural clumps and lines, and everything assisted in the perfect and general embellishment of the scene; even the uninterrupted solitude of the prairie was full of enjoyment. The wild man, who is killing the goose for the golden egg, has abandoned it, after frightening the buffaloe away, and a country containing every requisite for human welfare is vacant of industry. Perhaps this state of things is to be as much attributed to the folly of the Indian as to the cupidity of the white man: the simple and ignorant savage, if he had not surrendered himself so easily to the artificial habits he was lured into, might have maintained his empire here a long time. It is impossible to look around one of these desolate and deserted prairies, without thinking of the quick ruin that has overtaken this unfortunate race; and the traveller re-peoples them in imagination, with the same ardour as when, contemplating the graceful solitude of Rivaulx Abbey, he would wish to see the venerable monks re-appear in their mouldering cloisters.
I was sorry to discover at night that my men were not proceeding as cheerfully as usual. I had apprized Milor, when I determined to leave the Makatoh, of my intention of pushing on to the sources of the St. Peter's. This he had communicated to them, "but they were unwilling to go further to the west: they were well fed, yet the nights were beginning to be very cold, and they thought I ought to have provided a tent for them. These fellows, when on their Indian expeditions, had lived principally with the Ojibways, and had strong prejudices against the Sioux. To go to the sources of the St. Peter's, it would be necessary to pass Lac qui Parle, about ten days higher up. Some savage murders had been committed lately upon the Ojibways by other Indians, and the perpetrators had all rendezvoused at Lac qui Parle. Some of the reckless fellows called pillagers were said to be there, with other bad characters belonging to the Yanctons, Assiniboins, and other bands bordering on the Missouri. Having listened to all these stories, I asked Milor's opinion, who stated that we were perfectly safe if the men only acted prudently, and tHat their fears were very much exaggerated. I had no choice now but to turn back or face the savages, whose very wildness, so untamed by intercourse with white men, made me anxious to see them; but, as I did not wish to give
The hottest hand-to-hand fight I ever witnessedwas the next day after the incident just related. Itseemed General Jackson tried to avoid an engagement as long as possible in order to give time forLongstreet's Corps to come to our aid for Pope hadturned his whole army, or it so seemed to us in theendeavor to crush our small force. The brigade towhich I belonged was stationed behind an old railroad right of way and the road bed had been partlygraded. The 15th Alabama had an embankment infront except on the extreme right where there wasan open space of some fifty yards not filled in. Tothe right, still further, was a cut through a rise orhill about six to eight feet deep. Two lines of battlecharged our front and a part forced throughthe opening, but we slayed nearly every man whogot up to our line. They pushed our men back fromthe opening, but we on the left poured an enfiladingfire into them that left few to tell the story. Threelines of battle, one after another in beautiful orderwith banners flying, hurled themselves against ourmen in the cut. The front line was nearly annihilated, but the second one came to the rescue andnearly met the same fate, but some of the men andthe color bearers got to the edge of the cut andwaved their flags over our men. We had mostlymuzzle loading guns and there was no time to load.Then such a contest with rocks and butt ends ofmuskets I have never seen or read of before orsince. It was in full view of all of our regimentnext to our right, and we poured an enfilading firewhich somewhat staggered the third line, but mostof them got to the edge of the cut and were aboutto annihilate our men with overwhelming numbers,when with shouts and yells, our reinforcementscame up and a volley or two put the enemy toflight. The maddened men, the flying stones, theclubbed muskets, the shouts, yells, smoke, dust, din,and rattle of that scene passes description.I caught a glimpse of the banners of Longstreet'smen as they came rushing to our rescue some halfmile distant and our men shouted in unison withthem, inspiring us with a joy unspeakable andmade every man redouble his efforts, if that werepossible.
The Federals rapidly retreated after their bloodyrepulse and the arrival of reinforcements underLongstreet. Our regiment was moved to anotherpart of the field in the direction of the retreatingenemy, but I was ordered to remain at our laststand to succor the wounded and guard the regiment's baggage and some supplies. The field wasliterally strewn with the dead and wounded. It wasa grewsome task, alone and in the moonshine, toguard this field of death and destruction. The piteous groans and wild despairing shrieks of thescores of helpless wounded would have appalled anybut a hardened, half starved and wornout soldier.I rendered what aid I could to those around andmade a fire upon which I broiled some bacon andboiled a large tin cup full of captured coffee. Nearme were at least one hundred dead men and sixwithin twenty feet of my camp fire. I took part inthe battles of Gettysburg and Chickamauga two ofthe greatest and most sanguinary contests of thewar, but I saw more dead and wounded on this fieldthan in either of the two named. And the dead wereprincipally the enemy for our loss was comparatively small, considering the sanguinary nature ofthe combat.
During the campaign in the Valley of Virginiawhile we were on the march, General StonewallJackson, our commander, several times rode to thefront from the rear of his army. At such times weknew he was coming by the shouts of the men behind who quickly opened rank two and two on eitherside of the roadway. He came in a gallop on hischestnut brown horse, sitting not gracefully buteasily, with the visor of his cap well down over hisbrow and a pleased expression on his countenance.While not an imposing military figure he appearedsoldierly and striking. The men were wild with enthusiasm whenever he appeared, giving vent to theiradmiration by continual shouts and waving of hatsWe had unbounded confidence in his leadership andwould have rushed into the jaws of death had he soordered. It is said that he rode down near thebridge over the Shenandoah river, when pressed inthe rear by Fremont and saw that Shield's forceshad planted a battery on the other side commandingthe bridge, our only means of crossing over. Heshouted to the enemy to move that battery lowerdown, that the rebels were crossing below, whichorder they quickly obeyed. He then rushed a brigade across and met the Federals before they foundout that they had been duped. The truth was thatsome of our cavalry did cross the river, but far below the bridge we so badly wanted at the time. 2ff7e9595c
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