ON the return from Texas in the spring of 1863, Quantrell’s journey in detail would read like a romance. The whole band, numbering thirty, were clad in Federal uniforms, Quantrell wearing that of a captain. Whenever questioned, the answer was, “A Federal scout1 on special service.” Such had been the severity of the winter, and such the almost dead calm in military quarters, that all ordinary vigilance seemed to have relaxed and even ordinary prudence2 forgotten.
South of Spring River a day’s march, ten militia3 came upon Quantrell’s camp and invited themselves to supper. They were fed, but they were also killed. Quantrell himself was the host. He poured out the coffee, supplied attentively4 every little want, insisted that those whose appetites were first appeased5 should eat more, and then shot at his table the two nearest to him and saw the others fall beneath the revolvers of his men, with scarcely so much as a change of color in his face.
North of Spring River there was a dramatic episode. Perhaps in those days every country had its tyrants6. Most generally revolutions breed monsters.
On the way to Missouri, they fell in with Marmaduke, who was commanding a bunch of Bushwhackers122 in St. Claire County, Missouri. He also had been wintering in Texas, and they camped one night near us. Marmaduke was telling Quantrell about an old Federal captain named Obediah Smith—what a devil he was and how he was treating the Southern people. Quantrell laughed and asked:
“Why don’t you kill him?”
Marmaduke said he was too sharp and cunning for him.
Quantrell said, “If you will detail one or two of your men to come with me and show me where he lives, I will kill him with his own gun.”
It being agreed upon, the next morning Marmaduke called on Oliver Burch to pilot Quantrell to where Smith lived. The following morning all marched up to within about a mile or so of where Captain Smith lived. Quantrell called his men together, chose Wash Haller, Dick Burns, Ben Morrow, Dick Kenney, Frank James and myself of his own command, and Oliver Burch of Marmaduke’s command. They rode up to Captain Smith’s house, all dressed in Federal uniforms, and called at the gate, “Hello.” Smith came walking out and Quantrell saluted7 him and told him he was a scout for the Federals from Colonel Penick’s army. Smith saw them in the same uniform as himself and did not once think of their betraying him. They talked for a few minutes when Quantrell said:
123 “Captain, that is a fine gun you have there; why don’t you furnish us scouts8 with a gun like that.”
“This is a fine gun,” replied Smith, “it has killed lots of d——d bushwhackers.”
Quantrell said, “Captain, would you mind letting me see that gun?”
Taking it from him, Quantrell began to look it over, and turning to his pals9, said, “Ain’t that a dandy?”
They all answered, “Yes, wish I had one.”
Quantrell kept fooling with the gun and, catching10 Captain Smith’s eye off him, fired it at him, shooting him through the heart and killing11 him instantly. Killing Smith was getting rid of one of the worst men in Cedar12 County.
That day about ten o’clock, three militiamen came to the column and were killed. A mile from where dinner was procured13, five more came out. These also were killed. In the dusk of the evening two more were killed, and where we bivouacked, one was killed. The day’s work counted eleven in the aggregate14, and nothing of an exertion15 to find a single soldier made, at that.
Evil tidings were abroad, however—evil things that took wings and flew as birds. Some said from the first that Quantrell’s men were not union men and some swore that no matter what kind of clothing they wore, those inside of said clothing were wolves. Shot evenly; that is to say, by experienced hands, in124 the head, the corpses16 of the first discovered ten awakened18 from their sleep the garrison19 along the Spring River. Smith’s execution stirred them to aggression20, and the group of dead militiamen crossed continually upon the roadside, while it enraged21 it also horrified22 every cantonment or camp. Two hundred cavalrymen got quickly to horse and poured up from the rear after Quantrell. It was not difficult to keep on his track. Here a corpse17 and there a corpse, here a heap and there a heap—blue always, and blue continually—what manner of a wild beast had been sent out from the unknown to prey23 upon the militia?
At the Osage River the Federal pursuit, gathering24 volume and intensity25 as it advanced, struck Quantrell hard and brought him to an engagement south of the river. Too much haste, however, cost him dearly. The advance, being the smaller, had outridden the main army and was unsupported and isolated26 when attacked. Quantrell turned upon it savagely27 and crushed it at a blow. Out of sixty-six troopers he killed twenty. In those days there were no wounded. Before the main body came up he was over the Osage and away, and riding fast to encompass29 the immense prairie between the river and Johnstown. When scarcely over it, a flanking column made a dash at him coming from the west, killed Blunt’s horse and drove Quantrell to timber. Night fell and he rode out of sight and out of hearing. When he drew rein30 again it was at the125 farm of Judge Russell Hicks on the Sni, in Jackson County. The next morning at David George’s he disbanded for ten days, sending messengers out in all directions to announce his arrival and make known the rendezvous31.
The ten days allotted32 by Quantrell for concentration purposes had not yet expired, but many of the reckless spirits, rapacious33 for air and exercise, could not be kept still. Poole, Ross and Greenwood made a dash for the German settlement of Lafayette County, and left some marks there that are not yet obliterated34. Albert Cunningham, glorying in the prowess of a splendid manhood, and victor in a dozen combats against desperate odds35, fell before the spring came, in an insignificant36 skirmish on the Harrisonville and Pleasant Hill road.
In the lull37 of military movements in Jackson County, Cass was to see the inauguration38 of the heavy Guerrilla work of 1863. Three miles west of Pleasant Springs, Younger and his comrades struck a blow that had the vigor39 of the olden days in it. The garrison at Pleasant Hill numbered three hundred, and from the garrison of Lieutenant40 Jefferson took thirty-two cavalrymen and advanced three miles towards Smith’s, on a scouting41 expedition. While Hulse and Noah Webster, two Guerrilas who seemed never to sleep and to be continually hanging about the flanks of the Federals, discovered Jefferson and reported his movements126 to the main body encamped at Parson Webster’s. Taking with him eight men, Joe Lee hurried to cut Jefferson off from Pleasant Hill. Younger, with eight more, was close up from the west. Lee had with him John Webster, Noah Webster, Sterling42 Kennedy, David Kennedy, William Hays, Perry Hays, Henry McAninch, James Marshall, Edward Marshall and Edward Hink. He was to gain the east end of the lane and halt there until Younger came up at its western extremity43. Jefferson discovered Lee, however, and formed a line of battle in front of Smith’s, throwing some skirmishers forward and getting ready apparently44 for a fight, although afterwards it was reported that Lee’s men were mistaken for a portion of the garrison left behind at Pleasant Hill. Younger had further to go than he at first supposed, but was making all the haste possible, when Lee, carried away by the uncontrolable impulse of his men, charged down the lane from the east, at a furious rate. Jefferson held his troopers fair to their line, until the Guerrillas reached a carbine range, but could hold them no longer. A volley and a stampede and the wild race was on again. About a length ahead and splendidly mounted, William Hays led the Guerrillas. Shot dead, his horse fell from under him and crushed his senses out for half an hour. John and Noah Webster took Hays’ place through sheer superiority of horse flesh and forced the fighting, John killing three of the enemy as he ran and Noah,127 four. Noah’s pistols were empty, but he dashed alongside of the rearmost trooper and knocked him from his saddle with the butt45 of one of them, and seized another by the collar of his coat and dragged him to the ground. Both were dispatched. Too late to block the western mouth of the lane, Younger joined in the swift pursuit as it passed him to the left and added much to the certainty of the killing. Of the thirty-two, four alone escaped, and Jefferson was not among them. Hulse shot him running at a distance of fifty yards, and before he got to him he was dead.
Pleasant Hill was instantly evacuated46. Not a Federal garrison remained in Cass, outside of Harrisonville, and the garrison there was as effectively imprisoned47 as if surrounded by the walls of a fortress48. The Guerrillas rode at ease in every direction.
Younger and Lon Railey hung about the town for a week killing its pickets49 and destroying its foraging50 parties. Other bands in other directions gathered up valuable horses for future service and helped onward51 to the southern army troops of recruits who needed only pilots and protection to the Osage River.
Like Cunningham, the man who had fought as a lion in twenty different combats, was destined52 to fall in a sudden and unnoted skirmish. Returning northward53 in the rear of Quantrell, Lieutenant William Haller was attacked at sunset and fought till dark. He128 triumphed, but he fell. His comrades buried him and wept for him, and left him.
The battle of the year 1863 had commenced; formidable men were coming to the surface in every direction. Here and there sudden Guerrilla fires leaped up from many places about the State, and burned as if fed by oil, until everything in their reach had been consumed. It was a year of savage28 fighting and killing; it was the year of the torch and the black flag; it was the year when the invisible reaper54 reaped sorest in the ranks of the Guerrillas and gathered into harvest sheaves, the bravest of the brave.
Anderson, newly coming into sight, was flashing across the military horizon as a war comet. Left to himself and permitted to pursue his placid55 ways in peace, probably the amiable56 neighbor and working man would never have been developed into a tiger. But see how he was wrought57 upon! One day late in 1862, a body of Federal soldiers, especially enrolled58 and uninformed to persecute59 women and prey upon non-combatants, gathered up in a half day’s raid a number of demonstrative Southern girls whose only sin had been extravagant60 talk and pro-Confederacy cheering. They were taken to Kansas City and imprisoned in a dilapidated tenement61 close upon a steep place. Food was flung to them at intervals62, and brutal63 guards sang ribald songs and used indecent language in their presence. With these women, tenderly nurtured129 and reared, were two of Will Anderson’s sisters. Working industriously64 in Kansas with his father, Anderson knew nothing of the real struggles of the war, nor of the imprisonment65 of his sisters. A quiet, courteous66, fair-minded man who took more delight in a book than in a crowd, he had a most excellent name in Randolph County, Missouri, where he was born, and in Johnson County, Kansas, where he was living in 1862. Destiny had to deal with him, however. The old rickety, ramshackle building in which were the huddled67 women, did not fall down fast enough for the brutes68 who bellowed69 about it. At night and in the darkness it was undermined, and in the morning when a little wind blew upon it and it was shaken, it fell with a crash. Covered up, the faces disfigured, the limp, lifeless bodies were past all pain! Dead to touch, or kiss, or passionate70 entreaty71, Anderson’s eldest72 sister was taken from the ruins a corpse. The younger, badly injured in the spine73, with one leg broken and her face bruised74 and cut painfully, lived to tell the terrible story of it all to a gentle, patient brother kneeling before her at her bedside and looking up above to see if God were there.
Soon a stir came along the border. A name new to the strife75 was beginning to pass from band to band and about the camp fires to have a respectful hearing.
“Anderson?” “Anderson?” “Who is this Anderson?” The Guerrillas asked one of another. “He kills130 them all. Quantrell spares now and then, and Poole and Blunt, and Yager, and Haller, and Jarrette, and Younger, and Gregg, and Todd, and Shepherd, and all the balance; but Anderson, never. Is he a devil in uniform?”
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1
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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7
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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9
pals
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| n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙 | |
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10
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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14
aggregate
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| adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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18
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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26
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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encompass
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| vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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32
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rapacious
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| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
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obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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35
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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37
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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inauguration
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| n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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41
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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42
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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43
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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44
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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45
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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46
evacuated
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| 撤退者的 | |
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47
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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49
pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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50
foraging
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| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
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51
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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52
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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54
reaper
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| n.收割者，收割机 | |
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55
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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persecute
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| vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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63
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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industriously
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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74
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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