Gold Hill Daily News

A Gay and Festive Boy in Female Attire.

Several cases have been reported of women being caught in the garb of soldiers; but none till now, of a soldier in female attire. The Memphis Bulletin relates such a case as follows:

A private named Stephens, of the 93d Indiana Infantry, has been masquerading about this part of the country for some time past at a great rate. He has been in the deserting business, more or less, since his enlistment, and became quite an adept at the science through long practice. He made his home with his mother, who resides here, and through her assistance managed to elude the officers who were endeavoring to apprehend him for several weeks. He adopted the apparel of the opposite sex, and through the aid of dexterous mantua-making and a rather feminine face, he escaped detection for some time. He showed himself, by his make-up, to be well versed in all the mysteries of female machinery, and was furnished with rustles, corsets, bustles, hoops, gaiters, padding, curls, paint, powder, gloves, perfumery, bonnet, and all the other jigamarees, gingerbread work, etc., that contribute to the manufacture of a lady in a street costume.

Finding the city too hot for him, or growing that way fast, he concluded the best thing for him to do was to go north. To show his incredible effrontery, it is only necessary to state he went in his disguise to the Provost Marshal's office to get a pass to go up the river. Something strange in his gait led an experienced detective to think everything was not as it should be. Some instinct told him that he was a man in woman's attire. He was immediately arrested and conveyed to the Irving block.

Here a delicate question arose: how should it be proved whether it was a sham or a real woman. If it should happen the officers were deceived in their suspicions, what a horrible mistake it would be to subject her to the degrading examination. It was suggested that a lady be employed to ascertain the truth, but if the officer's suspicions should turn out true, what then? The fellow would not confess, or, rather, he persisted in his claims to femininity. So strongly did the current of opinion set in his favor, that he was confined for the night in the woman's department of the prison, but secretly, under the espionage of a sharp sentinel. There were developments before morning that determined the vexed question. We won't pretend to say what they were, but have heard that he took off his wig of false curls and disclosed a crop of short, black hair, cut man fashion.

On the next morning he was taken before the Provost Marshal, all rigged out in his female attire, and looked as foolish as a sheep-stealing dog. After a brief examination, he was remanded to confinement, to be tried for the grave offense of desertion, and the chances are he will be shot, unless the authorities exercise clemency in the matter.