me." Irvin asked the reason. The
ferryman said: "Tell General Toombs I wish to God I could do something
for him."

General Toombs had a wide personal acquaintance in Georgia. He seldom
stopped at a house whose inmates he did not know, and whose relatives
and connections he could not trace for generations. Sometimes, when
incognito, the two men were asked where General Toombs was. They
answered, "Cuba."

At Oglethorpe, in Macon County, General Toombs rode right through a
garrison of Federal soldiers. As one of his regiments came from this
section, General Toombs was afraid that some of his old soldiers might
recognize him on the road. A Federal officer advanced to the middle of
the street and saluted the travelers. Their hearts bounded to their
throats, and, instinctively, two hands stole to their revolvers. Pistols
and spurs were the only resources. Chances were desperate, but they were
resolved to take them. The officer watched them intently as they rode
leisurely through the town, but he was really more interested in their
fine horses, "Gray Alice" and "Young Alice," than in the men. Jogging
unconcernedly along until the town was hidden by a hill, General Toombs
urged his horse into a run, and left "his friends, the enemy," far in
the rear. It was a close call, but he did not breathe freely yet. There
was possibility of pursuit, and when the party reached the residence of
a Mr. Brown, a messenger was sent back to the town to mislead the
soldiers should pursuit be attempted. From the hands of the enemy,
General Toombs and his friend were now inducted into pleasanter scenes.
The house was decorated with lilies and orange blossoms. A wedding was
on hand, and the bride happened to be the daughter of the host. Brown
was a brave and determined man. He assured General Toombs that when the
wedding guests assembled, there would be men enough on hand, should an
attack be made, to rout the United States garrison, horse, foot, and
dragoons. At Dr. Raines' place, on the Chattahoochee River, a horse
drover happened to say something about Toombs. He gave the statesman a
round of abuse and added: "And yet, they tell me that if I were to meet
General Toombs and say what I think of him, I would either have a fight
or he would convince me that he was the biggest man in the world."

Tired of the long horseback ride, having been nearly six months in the
saddle, the men now secured an ambulance from Toombs' plantation in
Stewart County