e most remarkable man of the whole party. He was not
educated highly, though he had read a great deal; but in natural
shrewdness, I rarely, if ever, saw his equal. He had traveled
extensively over the United States, had observed everything, and
remembered all he observed. Had he lived, the composition of this book
would have been in abler hands than mine. In addition to this, he
excelled, perhaps, even Parson Brownlow, in the fiery and scorching
denunciation he could hurl on the head of an opponent. In action he
was brave and cool; no danger could frighten him, no emergency find
him unprepared. These were my companions.

The rain had begun to fall slightly as we walked out the railroad, on
our route, and soon it increased to torrents. The night was pitchy
dark, and we stumbled along, falling into gutters here, and nearly
sticking in the mud there, until midnight, when we resolved to seek
shelter from the storm.

For a long time we could find no indication of a house, until, at
last, the barking of a dog gave us a clue. After some dispute as to
which side of the road it was on, we struck off over a field. Our only
guide were the random flashes of lightning that gave us a momentary
view of the country around. The better to prosecute our search, we
formed a line within hearing distance of each other, and thus swept
around in all directions. At last we found a barn, but were so wet and
chilly that we resolved to hunt on, in the hope of finding a fire and
a bed.

After a still more tedious search, we found the goal of our wishes. It
was a rude, double log-house. Here we roused up the inmates, and
demanded a shelter for the night. The man of the house was evidently
alarmed, but let us in, and then commenced questioning us as to who we
were.

We told him we were Kentuckians who were disgusted with the tyranny of
the Lincoln Government, and were seeking an asylum in the free and
independent South.

"Oh," said he, "you come on a bootless errand, and had better go back
home, for I have no doubt the whole of the South will soon be as much
under Lincoln as Kentucky is."

"Never!" we answered, "we will fight till we die first!"

At this the old man chuckled quietly, and only said, "Well, we'll see;
we'll see," which closed the discussion.

We were truly glad to find a Union man under such circumstances, but
did not dare to reveal our true character to him, and he probably
believes to this day that he harbored some chivalr