The Turnbo Manuscripts
by Silas Claiborne Turnbo
1844-1925
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THE MARAUDERS THREW TWO CHILDREN
ON THE FLOOR IN SEARCH OF BOOTY
By S. C. Turnbo
On many occasions little children suffered from ill treatment from robbers
while they were plundering houses in war times. We have gathered information
of this kind from several sources.
Mr. J. N. (John) Whitfield, who was born at Calico Rock in Izard County, Arkansas, in the beginning of the war informed me one day in the Creek Nation that he underwent an experience of this sort just as the war was closing. Mr. Whitfield Is a son of John and Marina (McCloud) Whitfield. His father was a confederate soldier and served in the army east of the Mississippi River. I was too young to recollect anything about the war except the last year of it when there were many things occurred which I can remember all about it. Some months before its final ending while father was off in the army my mother took us children and moved into Wood Ruffe County where we stopped some 16 miles northeast of Augusta. The locality where we stopped was known as Bowens Ridge which took Its name from Tom Bowen who was an early settler there. We had a few things that we desired very much to carry through till peace was made for we knew we would need them. Among these articles was a few small tools that belonged to a blacksmith shop which we were very careful to keep well concealed. Mother kept the least ones between the straw and featherbed ticks that we children slept on. Robbers and soldiers passed our house every day sometimes they would stop and search the house and take a few things and go on. Then again they would not stop. One day a reckless outfit of men rode up to the yard gate and got down off of their horses and walked into the house and began searching everything worth carrying off.
They were abusive and while mother was protesting against the outlaws they cursed her and told her to shut her mouth for they would take what they pleased if they could find anything they wanted.
I and my little brother Loranzo was sick and we were both lying on the bed that the tools were hid in. After they had got all they wanted that was in sight, one man stepped to the head of the bed and he told another man to go to the foot of the bed and they both took hold of the featherbed and raised it up and threw it with us onto the floor with such slight courtesy that I and Lonzo thought they were going to kill us. when they did this the tools were exposed to view and they all snatched them up and picking up their stolen stuff got out of the house and mounting their horses and rode away.
Mr. Whitfield said that his father lies buried in the cemetery at the mouth of Clear Creek that flows into Crooked Creek (in Boon County, Ark.). His mother Who died in Woodruff Co., Ark., is buried the McGreggory graveyard 16 miles north east of Augusta.
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