Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-12-31

CAMP CHASE
Our article two weeks ago. calling attention %
tie condition sf tie political prisoners q cam
Chase. has caiiel iprih - nany renuks that We
are satisfied our people wholly di-apprOve OF IT,
management
ina few weeks our Legislature will be in se-
son. and We have no doubt an investigation viii
he called for II the authorities can lind any one
to swear them cleAr OF any Of the statements we
made. we shall be happy 70 sec il done. Hun
dreds will feel that oar State J. disgraced, ii the
reports are true aud ARE not promptly recti
fed. and the guilty managers dismissed OF
punished.
There are three prisons at Camp Chase-Nos.
/, ? and 3. One of them i occupied by political
prisoners alone, and il was 10 this one our re
marks referred. as there stated.
The only thing we ever heard in favor Of Camp
Chase was, that the political prison at Louis
vile. Nv. especially 80 FIR as food was con
cerued. was infinitely more Infamous than this
Ii that j. any consolation, those interested are
Welcome 70 il. though il does not take FROM what
We said of Camp Chase one iota Of its horrors
aud barbarities.
We said nothing of the little b.y, thirteen
years old, belonging to Gallipolis. Ohio who was,
for months. kept in Camp Chase prison during
the summer aud early fall. whose only crime was
that. being on "a boat, he owed a loyal woman IL
Western Virginia fifteen cents. a balance on
washing she did for him while the boat laid at
the wharf where she lived, on the Ohio river
For thi. debt OF fifteen cents he was reported TO
the military authorities rs disloyal was seized and
sent 10 this political prison, where he was kept for
monthsl
We said nothing Of the dungeon they have
there-a dungeon tor political prisoners. aud the
manner OF keeping men in it by way of punish
ment for any trivial otlense.
This dungeon Is made of wood quite confined
and perfectly dark. "a real lair tight" IL is built
about two feet from the ground. over a mud
puddle, with iour-inch anger holes in the bottom
iioor, boIei IN "A sort OF squire, close together.
directly ever the mud puddle. At the top, I'll
Iectly over these anger holes, Is n four inch
square hole to let the air escape as it comes mp
through the anger holes. In hot weather no
lungs were strong enough 10 stand IT twenty Jour
hours without being seriously affected One pris
oner, who served in the dungeon twent, four
hours, we learn, received such q shock upon his
lungs that it is doubtful whether he will ever en-
tirely recover Another, who was in forty eight
hours. saved his lie by living with his nose 90 an
aucer hole, breathing the stencil rom the mud
and wafer beneath, rs the best he could 10.
When he slept. it was lying on his face with his
nose stuck in the anger hole.
We did not state that during the time Colonel
Allison had cbaiee of the prison. that lie and
some Of the officers, to test the virtue OF the
prisoners. hit upon the plan of m king a s%pecula-
ton out of them ut the same time. rs some oi
the prisoners were among the wealthiest men OF
Kentucky aIrl Western Virginia, and some. We
believe. all the way from Tennessee. The plan
Was arranged aud carried out in this wise:
\ man was put upon the parapet. on guard (at
night) where lie could hold conversation with the
prisoners. He agreed with them that for a Ger
tain consideration in money he would fix u plan
Tor their escape. As they all wanted to get out
of such n place ~ speedily as possible. some OF
whom had been there for n year and no prospect
for u trial or release, the prisoners bit at the
offer; and n certain hour the next night WAS fixed
on Tor their exit. One OF the prisoners gave the
guard twenty dollars aud n gold watch; what
others gave We never learned. At the time fixed
an outer plank was pryed of. and the night be
Ing very dark, they commenced issuing from the
prison. But before they had got many yards
they heard n command given; aud instantly
sprang up before them from the grass "a iie oil
soldiers. and click. click, went the rifle locks,
and they were, all who got outside, brought up
standing al the point of b%ayonets aud cooked ri
fes and hustled back TO prison!
The men who entered into the arrangement,
and paid their money aud gold watch. were pun
ished by forty eight hours in the dungeon, aud
the money and watch never returned Not even
when they were discharged. which most of them
we're, because there were no charges against
them.