and giving me the password which would enable me to communicate with him without difficulty.
"Now," said Shorter, when he had finished all his explanations, "you see that you will have to keep your wits about you, for if you let the Feds get their fingers on these papers it will be all up with you. When you reach Memphis, deliver this bogus account of the movement of our troops to General Washburn immediately, and get him and his people well impressed with the idea that you are on their side; then, at the earliest possible moment, give this despatch for Forrest to our agent. I will know by the success of the movement that Forrest is to make whether you are successful or not."
After some further conversation about the best plan of proceeding, and further explanations about what I should do, Lieutenant Shorter suggested some changes in my dress, his idea being, that I should personate a poor countrywoman, who had lost her husband at the outbreak of the war, and who was flying into the Federal lines for protection. He also gave me letters to the different Confederate commanders whom I would meet on my road, directing them to assist me, and put in my hand the sum of one hundred and thirty-six dollars in greenbacks which had been taken from the captured spy. This, he thought, would see me through, but in case it should not prove sufficient, he said, that if I made my wants known, any commanding officer I met would supply me with funds, and that after I reached Memphis I would find plenty of friends of the Confederacy upon whom I could call for assistance.
Everything being in readiness for my journey, the next morning I took the train for Okolona, where, procuring a pass from Captain Mariotta, the provost marshal, I hired a conveyance, and drove to the headquarters of General Ferguson. On showing my order for assistance to the general, he received me with the greatest politeness, and invited me into his quarters, where he gave me some information and additional instructions, and reiterated Lieutenant Shorter's cautions to be vigilant and careful, as I was on a mission of great importance.
The general then handed me ninety dollars, and presented me with a pistol, which he said was one of a pair he had carried through the war. The money he was sure I would need, and the pistol might be a handy thing to have in case I should be compelled to defend myself, for my journey would
