North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1863-01-28
Political.
DIR. OLDS ON ARBITRARY ARRESTS.

OIsDS ACCOUNI VI HIS ARR AND lMPRIS-
oNMENT-THE HORRORS OF FORT LAFAY-
ETTE EXPOSED.
| thuSlastic reception, at Lancaster, Ohio, and
addressed over ten thousand persons. We
give the portions Of b S remarks relating to
his arrest and imprisonment:
On the 18th Of August last, after 10 o'clo'k
a, night, my h, use was forcbly ent. red by
three government rnfiAns, who with violence
seized my person, and holding revolver at
my head demanded my surrender
When, after my capture, l demanded to
know by what authority they had thus rude
ly broken into my room, and by what author
ity they had thus seized upon my Person,
they very grumbingly informed me that they
We're acting under authority Of the War De
partment. then demanded to be shown
their warrant. They informed me that had
no right to make any such demand-that the
order which they held was for their protec
tion. and not for my qualification. They,
however, permitted me t. see it. The doc
ument was signed by the Assistant Secretary
Of War-was dated al Washington city, Au-
=ust 2. 1862 II was directed to w. H. Scott,
and commissioned him to take with him one
assistant and to proceed to Lancaster, Ohio,
and arrest E1son B OIds, and to convey him
To New York and deliver HIM to the COM
handing Office Of Fort Lafayette aud that
IT he was resisted in the execution of the or
der, he was directed tn call upon Governor
Todd, Of Ohio, for such assistance as might
be necessary. The order contained no inti
nation of the nature and cauSe'' of the &C
cu>a'Ion against me; indeed, it charged ME
with the commission of no often Sc whatever :;
and when demanded of my clptor> To know
what were the charges against me. the, re
piled that they " did not know" Thus, IN,
friends was dragged from a sick-bed for
Nas at that time, and for many long and wea-
~ days and nights aiterward seriously af
d,cted with an attack of the blood ffuX. H.
this condition | was hurried into carriage
and during the remainder ot the night driven
to Columbus, and just al day hight placed up
Il; The cars ard taken in my sick and ex
hau~ted condition, wi h"ut a moments delay
. Fo"t lafayette. After this degrading op
'ranon had been performed, and before con
Quoting me from the commandamt's room to
my dungeon, all the other prisoners about
The fort were Licked INTO their rooms thai
,i,.bt IN 4 ~ 4
venture Information might be given to the
world and nv friends of my whereabouts
md the crueltle> to he practIced upon me
One Of The prisoners having learned few
lays afterwards, through the medium of th
newspapers, who the mysterious stranger
was. wrote 10 friend of his that DR.. Olds,
# Ohio, had be, n brought to Fort Lafayette
and placed in solitary confinement" His
Letter was returned to him by the command
ant, requiring him tn strike out so much of
II as referred to the case of DR. Olds NY
iungeun was on the ground, with a brick
pavement or floor over about the one-haIf ui
II; and ;" great was the dampuess that in a
very shorI time a mould would gather upon
any article left upon the floor. My bed was
in iron stretcher. with a very thin hu>k mat
resS upon lt-so thin indeed, that you could
feel every Iron slat in If the moment you Law
down upon it. The brick floor, with all its
tampness, would have been far more com
Portable than this iron and hu>k bed, had it
not been for the rats and the vermn that in
tested the room. had also in my room
br ken table and a chair; a chunk OF gov
ernment bread, with an old Sinking rusty
TN of Lincoln coffee, with slice of boiled
>alted polk, was my fare. My only drink
other than their nasty coffee, was rarl-water
was furnished with no towel, neither could
any entrcaty procure one for me. Neither
could | lnudce my jailors to let me have
candle during my long, tedious, sick nights.
No entreaty could procure for inc the return
me when was searched. Again and again
| begged for the little bit of opium to relieve
my suffering, which had been taken out of
my pocket with my other medicine, but all
IN vain. After ten days of such treatment
and such suffering, late one night the ser
geant of the guard brought me some med-
cine which, he informed me, the surgeon of
Fort Hamilton had sent the. This surgeon
knew nothing about my case, having never
seen me or been informed by me of thy CON
dition. With no light in my cell, with n"
one t" give me even drink Of my rain wa
ter, you can well Imagine that would not
take the medicine. do not know but that
my jalurs designed to poison me. Their pre-.
vlous treatment Justified such an opinion |
made up my mind that il | died in Fort La
iayetle, would die natural death, u less
indeed Lincoln ordered me to be tried by a
drumhead cSurt martial and shot, winch |
felt he had as much right to do as he had 10
arrest and imprisun me in the manner he had
done. Under such treatment, and by this