Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1863-11-10

I n
has money he can send out and buy bar.
rel Of potatoes for SIG, barrel OF houl
for $40, pound of sugar for So, pound
OF coffee for $40. On Belle Island there
are thousands Of our men without clothing
to keep them warm, for when meu go into
battle they sometimes lose their hats, or
throw of their coats. and leave their blank
cts, and many OF these men are destitute
of sufficient clothing to keep them warm.
AT night they lie down upon the sand,
without any blankets to keep them warm,
and nothing but the great canopy of Heaven
for covering, and the stars, AS It were,
for their candle. And there some of our
soldiers have been, month after month,
without anything under Heaven TO make
then. comfortable. You pity tho soldiers
in our own hospitals; then my friend, let
your pity go to our soldiers on Belle Island.
They are there sickeuing and dying by tens,
by tweuties aud by hundreds. Here be.
fore You to. night and before God, at whose
judgment bar l must stand, 1t Is murder
for those rebels to put our men on that
island In that condition, and our govern
ment should take some steps to relieve
those men who are absolutely being MUIR
dered in this way. SAW your townsman,
William Hayes, who was on Belle Island,
and had been brought from there TO the
hospital. He told me OF his sutferings-
Twice he was parOled 10 be sent North,
but he was too weak to go to the depot
Men who are in the hospital are put into
IN ambulance and taken to the depot, but
if they are on Belle Island they must walk.
Now this man was twice paroled, but was
too weak to walk to the cars and WAS left
behind. Many of our men become so
weak that number of them join together
k.k L.
brought to the hospital reduced to living
skeleton, and obtained permission to visit
him and learn OF his trials and sufferings,
and received his message TO his family
In view Of eternity just before him, he was
cheerful aud OOntented, with the hope and
prospect of glory before him. But, my
friends, this is only single instance of
the sacrifice that has been made, not only
for our country, but as q sacrifice to rebel
cruelty. Our boys on that island, instead |
of good provisions, get mule meat or taint- |
ed meat, that before it was killed was AS
poor as the turkey that had to lean against
the gate post to gobblr. Many of those
men are absolutely starved, and Left with
out fuel, water or blankets. There are |
about 5000 bravo men there, many OF
them from Ohio. whose suiferlngs must be |
terrible. Can you wonder that sympa-
lulGS RO OUT iuE LuOSG uGh wv |
have become so weak that they can hardly |
stand upon their feet2 Castle Thunder is
northwest from Libby Prison, and is u place
where they coufne both men and women.
Down in one room in Castle Thunder there
we're three hundred men. This room runs
he entire length of the building, and was
about one hundred feet long. There was
1ne window in the end of the room aud
hat was closely cross. barred. There were
hree hundred men confined in this room,
md tiro Ofthem peTe in an entirely nude state,
Cithom one particle Of clothing on theE
,OItsS. They had been there two yeHrs,
md what little clothing they had when they
irst went in had worn out a1d gone shred
~ shred until they were in an entirely
lude coBdition. They spent the winter by
making bed like pigs, they would gel
nto il, and get those who were clothed to
10 -afound them to keep thnm rom freez-
ng AuFing the winter. . '-'-
The hOOrS of the prison Were covered
With two or three inches Of saVdust, and
IAviug but one window in the room, only
ew could get to it to examine their clothes,
nd, Hs consequence they became so GOV.
red with vermin that the rebels had to {
AXE them out into the yard and set their
cgroes to scrubbing them oil.
hnen tue Fcoeis ueHEu tuht we nhu pray
RS in Libby Prison they secuted the idea,
nd came out in their papers against us,
md said that they would just as soon ex
,ect that God would hear the cannibnls
ray as to hear the thieving Yankees, and
hey wondered at our temerity, and reier-
ed me specially to the second chapter OF
romans, twenty-frst verse, and advised me
o read it before prayed any more. This
'erse reads: "Thou, therefore, which teach
st another, teaChest thou not thyselt2 thou
hat preachest man should not steal, cost
hou steai!"