The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1862-03-08
From the n. Y Times Correspondence.
The Story of the Last Prisoners from
Richmond.

ers, who as their names were called oil.
would pass along to a separate part of the
room.
Life was quite monotonous. The two
meals of the day, reading the papers, few
minutes down In the yard, songs, carving
rings or toys, listening to some yarn spin
| ner, DC, were about all that could be
called into requisition to make the weary
days pass along.
The nights were the drearies. Some
times, as If by common consent, every
| thing would subside, and while they sat
| around the fires, after the lights were put
out, each would appear to busy himself In
the silent musings of his own heart. But
these quiet hours were not frequent.
All winter the men have only been
allowed two meals day The afternoon
meal, or dinner. consisted of soup, with
! rice, &c, and half of small loaf OF bread
! The meal next morning for breakfast,
would be the beet. cold, IRON the previous
days soup, and another half loaf of bread
This diet continued throughout without
any variation. Coffee was unknown, and
tea was very rare. Potatoes and other
vegetables could be had by those with
money.
The officers had three meals a day
ALTHOUGH h the fare was limited and plain,
II vas perhaps all the better for the men,
they had no outdoor exercise at all.
They could not disspate with liquors, late
hours, or the like As general thing
there was no great complaint about the
the quality Of the beef or bread.
PRISON ADJUSTMENTS.
The monotony OF life in the tobacco
houses would be varied by getting up
! mock trials, debates, &c, and sometimes
with practical jokes. About New Year 5
they got up the play Of EyJ Eo3l which
/ Was performed with very good appoint
meurs, dresses. &c. a young man (as III
Shakespeare own day taking the part Of
the principal female Character This play
/ went oil well, being presented TO an au-
. dieuce Of between four and five hundred
prisoners, many OF them Inyalids, who
were able to come in from the hospital
4 apartments. The programme Of the play
on this occasion had the announcement
! on the bottom, Front seats re-erved for
crppies IL said the actors acquitted
themselves very well, and that the play
and kindred aunusements helped TO max =
the Christmas and New Year holidays
pass off PLEASANTLY to many poor fellow
who might Otherwise have been dow n
Z hearted enough.
time, some played euchre, whist, seven up,
or other games at cards Others chess, and
others checkers, or back gammOn. Some
employed themselves at cutting rings. or
other little fancy articles, out OF bone
. taken from the prison beef Others read
the Richmond papers, which wer. brought
. In regularly. OF course they 81 ~ none of
the northern papers. When any one re-
f ceIved letter from home he was the
envied man Of the day.
They formed, partly FOR anu emeu! and
partly for 4 police auo-.g themselves, a
- Prison ASsociat!on. with regular officers,
&c, The seal of this Association was
/ iHgeniously and appropriately designed OF
/ a ring of kscs chasing each other round,
with the motto, Bite and be id p
Congressman Ely from his rank, was elect
ed President Of this Society.
AT NIGHT.
IN the prisons Of the men candies were
furnished. and the officers prson was
lighted with gas The early afternoon
meal made the evenings very long The
rn-n occupied them with talk, arguments
soclol games. and with fighting over and
over again the battle Ui Boil Run and
other engagements
At half past 9 clock the lights were
withdrawn from the mems prisons, and
the gas turned off from tha, OF the officers
Then they would gather around the stove
(they had plenty of fuel) and often pass
away hour after hour in singing America
the Star Spangled Banner, and Fight
tor the Union, and IA telling stories, and
stmetimes III religious exercises, hymns,
and 30 forth.
In the officers PRISON., among other
good fellows. was gentleman named /.
W. Hart, (Oid Hart Quartermaster OF the
Twentieth Indiana Regiment, who did a
good deal 10 make Richmond prison HE
endurable, with his cheerfulneSS aud s:::: s::::.
ing a song, composed by himself, to in
spirit his fellow prisoners. While they
were all sitting there around the stove
perhaps thinking of home, by the din
light of the fire, if nothing else was offered
Mr. Hart would strike up his song and
sing verse after verse and all the prisoners
would come in strong on the chorus:
Roll on, roll on, sweet moments, roll on,
And let the poor prisoner, go home
There was another contribution TO the
life and genuine goodness of the time IN
the presence of Lieut.. b. +. Hancock, OF
the Nineteenth Indiana, a perfect speci
men of the Hoosier, full of dry fun, and
helping much to keep the blue demon
away from the door,
THE INFAMOUS CAPT. TODD.
The one who, from the universal testi
mony Of all the prisoners, appears by his
conduct TO have aroused them TO the
highest pitch of desperation, was Capt. Cor
Major) iodd the brother OF Mrs. Lincoln.
He was the rebel officer in supervision oi
the prisons. From all sides came stories
of this sneaking, savage, cowaldly scoun
drel, who seems fitted by nature tor the
position of a plantation overseer-that Is
il these attributes would tit him tor such
post. Todd wanted no better amuse,
ment than to come into the prisons of ii
forenoon and kick the helpness, crippled
and wounded prisoners, for no cause what
ever except his own woitish disposition
His conduct was so dastardly that he was
suspended by the jeff Davis government
and Major Gibbs was put in charge of all
the Richmond prisons. He was very
strict. but he had human heart. Capt
Goodwin is now in command; he, too, is
stern, but gentleman.
sHINPLAsTERs.
The money that passes in the rebel re
sions the past few months is mostely o.
the kind called shinplasters. Good
for Is cents at some oyster house, OIL
"nve cents lot mix. are specimens o.
the kind Of circulating medium that goe:
by the handful in Richmond. Still. the
trouble is not sa great from this sort O
money as might at first be supposed. l,
gose for any small articles of food or per
sonal apparel anywhere without difficulty
and Of course it goes in TIE Richmond bar
rooms A populardrinking place of that
city counts up its proceeds after day and
night, and finds them to consist Of great
heaps of these brownish, yellowish, and
few whitsh shinplasters
When the prisoners had any money
; forward to them in gold or treasury
j notes. or northern bank bills, they would