As soon as the farmers heard
that the government was taking possession of everything that came over
the bridge they ceased hauling their produce to the city and carried
it to Hastings. There was one silver-haired farmer living near the
city limits by the name of Hilks, whose sympathies were entirely with
the South, and he had boasted that all of Uncle Sam's hirelings could
not locate his team. One of the members of Company K was a former
neighbor of the disloyal farmer, and he made it his particular duty
to see that this team, at least, should be loyal to the government. A
close watch was kept on him, and one morning he was seen to drive down
to the west side of the bridge and tie his team behind a house, where
he thought they would be safe until he returned. As soon as the old
man passed over the bridge the squad took possession of his horses,
and when he returned the team was on the way to Abercrombie laden
with supplies for the troops at the fort. Of course the government
subsequently reimbursed the owners of the teams for their use, but in
this particular case the soldiers did not think the owner deserved it.
Gov. Ramsey's carriage team was early taken possession of by the
military squad, and when the driver gravely informed the officer in
charge that the governor was the owner of that team and he thought it
exempt from military duty, he was suavely informed that a power
higher than the governor required that team and that it must go to
Abercrombie.
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