Arkansas true Democrat., 1862-01-16
The Reign of Tyranny in Baltimore.

We ale permitted to puDIisH lhe ioiio"- ing extracts from letter received by & resident of this city, from correspondent in Baltimore, whose reliability Is unques- toned .-Riedmond Enquirer.
 BALTIMORE, December IA, 1861.
 "As we think of nothing but prisoners, I ought to have answered your last letter immediately; but when l tell you of the suferings of our dear friends in New ork, you will not be astonishel that have ne- elected 10 write in my concern about those nearer. Scarcely family of any note in Baltimore is untouched: Either they have sons in the Confederate axmy from whom they cannot hear, or else they have hus- 1 hands. brothers or friends confined in Fort Lafayette.
 "Mrs.--has four sons in Virginia, and her husband and remaining son are in prison. This heiress of two fortunes has now proposed to take boarders. If none come she must go and live with her mar ried daughter till the war is over.
 1 "tIhese arrests are made with the great est indignity and cruelty The oppressors come in the dead of night, in bodies of half dozen men. If you ask their an thority, they show you none, but say they were sent from Washington. One gen tleman attempted to resist this most absurd ly illegal proceeding; but in few moments afterwards his house was surrounded by soldiers They then sent for the lady of l the house, who threw wrapper over her {, shoulders and came down stairs. Two or thlee of the soldiers then detained the lady 1 in the parlor, while two others of their comrades proceeded mp stairs with their prisoner and watchel him while he dresses himself to see that he slips nothing into his pocket The rest of the federal myr- milons search every corner and nook of the house. If keys are not delivered up to them, they break the doors. To show how minutely they ransack, 1t took them from three o'clock to seven A. M., to get through; the poor lady of the house mean while is guarded by the ruflians, and at last hears her husband marched off, and finds herself left to their mercy.
 One lady asked permission to send for her father or her brother, who lived across the street. The request, however, was de- nied her. Another lady asked to call a female friend next door; but was refused They then real aloud to her the letters her husband hal written to her before her mar riage, which they came across while search
 ing her writing desk, and laughed over them before her. They would not tell where the gentlemen, whom they arrested, were to be taken: and their families only
 learned from public sources that they went neN day to Fortress Monroe. Their i'm prisonment there was simply beastl y.-
 They were put into easements communica- ting one with another, the doors and win 1 dcws of which were blocked up with Ve- nitian shutter, fastened outside with iron bars. leaving a space of P by fl inches at the top of the doors, by which light came into their rooms. Only during the bright est hours of the day could they see to read -anl they were never allowed to leave these two rooms Tor any purpose. Two wooden boxes, containing two horse buck cts, served as water closet; and these were elnptieI once a day. 1 suppose the papers give the names of this noble army of mar yrs So you may conceive what 1t IS for men like John Hanson Thomas, W m. liar rison, ( harles IT, Pitts anl $. Ieakle W al- l Ii, to be subjected to such treatment.
 "These gentlemen, understand, sent to one of their friends in Baltimore for a quantity of lisinfectants, notwithstanding which the atmosphere to which they were subjected was stiIing and intolerabe.- 1 After two weeks confinement in Fortress Monroe they were despatched to Fort La fayelte; and so closely had they been i'm 1 prisoned that they even enjoyed tho pros 1 pect of sea sickness. They arrived at Fort l Lafayette without accident at P. M., and | the thirty five prisoners were turned into large easements, the floor of which was rough bricks set up on end, and the only furniture was guns and gun carriages.- The prisoners were not allowed even their trunks to sit on, the excuse being that they could not take time to search their trunks 1 that night The trunks, however, had al ready been rummaged thorougly when ta- ken from the homes of the prisoners, again i when they arrivel at Fortress Monroe, and once again when they left 1t; besides, the gentlemen had been all that time under strong military guard. The sea had been very rough and some of the prisoners had been very sea sick, but they had to walk their rooms through the night. Next morning the prisoners were given their trunks, and the next night they had them to sit upon; and they could talk their thick clothing out cover the bricks and lie down. The third day they hal loose straw given them and they could lie upon the floor l After ten days, iron bedsteads were fur nished them and cotton bags, filled with loose straw, for beds; but no bed furniture, | except for such as had the precaution to bring 1t. The prisoners were allowed the liberty of the square yard within the fort, for certain hours during the day. They can buy candles, but must put them out at 1 9 o'clock, when all conversation must cease. There is no fire in the easements and no way of having one. There are two small Ter rooms, 14 by P feet, with wooden floors and stoves, in which ten or twelve of the older and more delicate prisoners are plac" ed. One of the Baltimore gentlemen has had two hemorrhages since his imprison- ment. and another's mind is very decided lv affected. see by yesterdays New York papers, that he IS maniac. The prisoners are not allowed writing materials, and all letters sent to them are opened and examined These details get from re-