Many Rebel soldiers were evidently taking a train that stood by the depot [so] we began to get away from that river as fast as possible. Keeping in the woods, [we soon] ran across a party of Negro men and women working in a field. I don’t know whether they went without their dinner or not, but it was pork-killing time and they brought us a pork stew with corn pones enough for ten men.

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[Later the slaves had told us that] a few miles below the city there was a large spring only a short distance from the river. They also told us that 5,000 Rebels were encamped there. After striking the river we followed the bank until we came to the creek formed by the spring. We could see the bottom plainly and supposed we could wade it. Jones soon had his clothing off and commenced to cross the creek. By the time he was six feet from shore he was in water up to his neck and we knew that if we crossed that stream we must swim and two of the party could not do that.

After consultation it was deemed best to try and make a circuit around the Rebel camp. [But after encountering a guard at a Rebel outpost, we returned] to the river where we finally induced our timid (they were only afraid of water) comrades to swim. Now commenced a careful march down the river and before daylight we had put many miles between that Rebel camp and ourselves.

After sleeping until noon (we could only guess at the time) we decided that as the woods were dense we could run no risk by pushing on and we started down the river by daylight. [Soon] we heard the unmistakable sounds of paddles and saw just what we were hunting after, a boat, but we saw more than that and the latter did not please us so well. There were three Rebel soldiers being ferried across the river by slaves. We watched until the Negroes brought the boat back to our side of the river. [No sooner had we] secreted ourselves in some bushes [than they] stopped right in front of us and only a few feet away. They were elderly men and one of them could easily have passed as a white man had it not been for his dress and association with the slave. We engaged them in conversation, held out to them a glowing description of the time when they would all be free, and while the darker of the two men appeared to be very friendly and frank the white one acted in a manner that failed to inspire any of our party with confidence.

After a while I said, “Sam, we want your boat,” but each of the slaves appeared badly frightened and said that their old master would kill them sure if they lost that boat. Perceiving, at once, that I had made a mistake in mentioning the boat, I said, “Oh well, if that is the case we will try going by land.”

The darker of the men volunteered to pilot us some distance on our way and the other fellow left for home. After proceeding in a zig-zag, round about way, well calculated to mix us up in regard to our direction, he left us just as darkness set in. His footsteps had hardly died away in the distance when two or three of the party said, in concert, “Now boys, for the boat.” We found the boat, large enough to ferry a span of horses, a cumbersome and unwieldy affair which would restrict our speed to about that of the current. The bottom had a covering of boards and prying up two of them we had a pair of paddles.

Towards morning a heavy fog settled over the river making it difficult and dangerous to proceed. The country appeared to be open and settled, and we concluded to go on in hopes of reaching a wood. When we were compelled to land we found we were in a large grove of young forest trees without underbrush or means of concealment.

We built up a fire, imprudently, of course, and lay down to sleep. When we woke up we found the day well advanced and that the fog had lifted. After some hours we discovered three boys, two black and one white, approaching the grove seated upon two horses. [When they saw us, they turned their horses and galloped off.] Our situation now was nearly hopeless. We were in Mitchell County, Ga., and on the opposite bank was Baker Co., notorious for its numerous packs of blood-hounds. We argued that if we took the boat and proceeded down stream that the pursuing parties would head us off and if we crossed the river into Baker county they would soon have a pack of trained hounds after us.

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