Seven Union Scouts were camped out on the Buffalo River. Samuel R. Harp and a man named Cooper were among them. They had bedded down for the night when Cooper had a vision of a rattlesnake coming out of the campfire. He was afraid and said, "Boys, that is a sign that we’d better not stay here tonight." They all laughed at him as he picked up and moved his camp a mile or so down the river. In the night, Cooper heard gunfire. Upon rising the next morning, he saw no smoke from the other scouts’ camp. He found the six men dead - shot in their beds.

Linda Doty Walker

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