86 WHIP AND SPUR. 



so small that, with our tired horses, it would 

 have been imprudent to turn our backs to Mar- 

 maduke's little army, if he supposed us to be 

 alone. 



Keeping the town well picketed and making 

 much show of laying out an encampment, we 

 started the teams and the main body of the 

 command at nightfall, holding back a hundred 

 men for a cover until a later hour. 



During the evening the Rebels on the south 

 side of the river became suspiciously quiet, and 

 there was, apparently, some new movement on 

 foot. The only possible chance for an attack was 

 by Magnus's ferry, ten miles below, where the 

 boat was so small and the river so wide that 

 not more than twenty horses could be crossed in 

 an hour, and our sharpshooters were sufficient 

 to prevent the removal of the Batesville boat 

 to that point. Still it was important to know 

 what was going on, and especially important to 

 prevent even a scouting-party of the enemy from 

 harassing the rear of our tired column by the 

 shorter road from Magnus's to Evening Shade ; 



