Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1864-02-05

OBJECT, ahiyeYlng in dark corner, his old blu
blouse out at the elbows, his pantaloons spli
to the knee, TO hat, ITO shoes, covered viii
filth and Yermin, is the same gentleman W
saw, the day before, enter the middle TOOTH.
! Eren so. These instances are Of ordinary o.
currence They excite no surpise.
Tue middle IooIn is tho provost rIarshal's IA
vor;te place of resort. He was formerly, it il
said, a bartender in New York city. Here hi
| meets with his Cd chunIa Most of their dcmc
fertile brain There is no doubt no shares in
the sroils. This is notorious. His n,:me is
| Cant. Holmes. lie Is very fine specimen ol
the Yankee provost marshal proper lie al
| ways addresses you with q snilo, which
DIVORCES into u broad gra when he is abou,
to rob YOU. Uo is one Of the lslks in
the chain of thieves, which extends rom Colou:l
Porter, commsndant Of the post, to Colonel Fish,
who he's recently been arrested in Baltimore Tor
induging in his native propensity stealing -
None are too poor or tco rich 10 escape Cap ain
Holmes. He lukes the !a3t five cent Of postage
currency from the drunken Yankee soldier; the
dGlicaeies the kind Ladies Of baltimore seed 10
our sick soldiers are on his private fable. Ee
lssvts the Confederate soldier his hair, nails AID
skin. Ulli then bu2sts OF his soidiery generosity
tics will secure him promotion hut since our
soldiers y! Fort McElenry nisY profit by il, he
may have the benefit Of the recommen laiion.
This Hurried sketch only extends 20 the buill-
Tags outside the fJrt propo: The "Interior" ~
it is called. deserves chapter to itself. Dutit n'lis
be deferred for the present Here Confederate
prisoners are kept in cell for tour and FIVE
months n. 4 limo, without seeing daylight
When one wishes TO sleep, the r~maioing
thrse nre fore ID to stand in ono end of the
cell. Libby prison i5 not quite so bad rs this.
The writer si ,ut soma m onth in tho 'Inleli r.,
and his own experience there tfurls some mate.
rials from which Ec could skclth: bu: i: nigh:
appear Gutisical. This sketch Of Enh McEIenry
may be con .luded by ,h, remark That j. muh
not be accepted rs r type Of the Yankee prisons.
with tie execution of Fort Norfolk and possibly
one or TWO ohsrs, for tho reasons given in Ee
bog inEing Of this statement.
The confinement Of Southern prisoners iuais-
c!iminale!Y with The vilest ,lf,cnurings Of this
enemy's cities aud camps, is prominently IN OBJ
r31ioas fHture Of their pr: Oh houses, and soTo
r.ta!ia:ory measures should be adopted by Tho
Confederate GUr,rnmeDt 10 me6v the outrage.
, We cannot reia:iste in tbs same "ag, no. having
at hand tho materials i'll which they so plente-
ously and peculiarly ubotn1; but some plan
should Do adcp-cl srd vigorously executed
which would fleet 80 Imperial 'n. rssni. ~ the
relief Of or prisoners ron t;!.s terrible sOn1i.
tion.
FI1Ttus.
There is cne fpn'ure of tho Fort however, which
must not be overlooked /; is sbont the itss thir
.he prisoner sees on his arrival, and its proror-
tons become painfully familiar sometimes BE-
iyre Lc ieaves-a standing gn'!ows is the feature
referred to |, is no, usual for this species -cf
architecture 10 r.main s:RndinG, after it has ac-
r1mpah=d its immediate work, even in war
. times. Here il IS Il permanent institution, has
been standing in the mcst prominent part of the
grounds tn- months and serves to rcmin! The vis-
tor who comes 10 the Fort to refresh his pat'io!-
t; ism by historical rnemorios, that he lives under
the shsitnrine wings7ot the best government
! the world, Sc. &C.. Every evening a. tho sun
goes iown beyond, it looms in dusky proportions
against the urid sky. The prisoner, gazing
through his bars attIs grim engine of death, fsel'
that there is nothing :hat separates him from its
greedy embrace hi: bis comrades on the banks
OF tho Rsppahanuock. There it sixpils day after
day hungry 70. their blood. 1t is promised
rousing fssst in ninety days. Possibl, The men
who once struggled hare through p cert!in par
liens night would have Ind their noble ardor
, somewhat danpenei could they have seen through
the hszs of futuriiy this strange engine standing
where they so generously poured on their IFS
! blood A standing gallows under the shadow OF
the flag that 80 proudly they hailed y Their
grand children can sae it daily from the roofs OF
! their houses in B.l,imn:c-1nl take warning.
/ The rest Of these Skotchcs mast be omitted
! to-day. Tho remaining ones Will embrace
aiIitioaal statements concerning the treat
: Inens CT Cent .je7a.c prisoners, drawn from.
personal observation, and tho condition Of cur
! soldiers at Camp Chase, Johnson's Island and
elsewhere, from authentic reports.
! Many srarg. sights and go nil pertain 10
~ IL, ,ct
! latter is shat Of
| "fRE:u FISH,"
Fauilia- in their mouths "a h1nHehald word :.
! Heard in the greg Of morning when the mol
aucLoly fry Of political prisoner, iu't ~.
rived, await in the prison yard the orders Of
tho provost marshal, AID, curiously inqurinS,
hopelessly dcspairing, with ali the interme
Giatc shades Of nope aad fear depicted on their
countenarces. fS their gaze On tho barred
windows behind which the hcartlcssly ua-
sympa,hiziIg tuces greet them from above
Heard also in the dead Of night when tie
scepers turn over in their buaks to curse the
':fresh li-h" for disturbing their slnmbeTs At
such unreasonable hours: tho frcsh fish stand
ing, meanwhile, Il disconsOlate group. wo"-
dering why no better Recommendations have
been made for their reception; and, after
frui.less n 2jeciure, d-pcsitiag themselves IN
the bare Hoor-no not bare, if dir: can cloihF,
anything-and sink to sleep after cxhaus.i5g
themselves cogitating - the beauties ol IL"
chest government tne world cTcr Haw. .-'
Heard wherever Yankee prison is intra-
ducod new feature in Narthe.n clTliizatioA.
The little Jail in tie thin village, the da:';
booming walls Of the granite fortress, the loHs
brick cage in the heart OF their popu!"nN
cities, daily hear the cry Of ''.rcs!I ish'-'
slang term full Of significance, and never t9
bs f"rgotton by the unfortunate " hose intro
ductinn it announces. Fresh fish," Fresh
from home business, friends. Fresh troih The
fed, Workshop, desk. Fresh from tAe hp'
that seemed secure in its hrmhieness.- -
Fresh from the drawing room, where the pr.
1 equally ashast with the elegant proprietor .:
the strange clatter of mus kets in the halls thi;
morning.. And many fresh, deliciousiy Ere-l
r., m the s"ee. dream of rational grcatncs:
60 fill the earth with bruss clocks. Liberty
paper shoce and steam civilization. llnw
rudely broken The SEQ never contained! g
greater variety than we shall find here
l. nving ont tho prisoners Of war. ;'Eo ih!E
numerically the exception, let u' sketch t.:
rcpresnn,ative charh;ser5 in these schools .t
fresh tfsh. Their csun!erpa:ts will be rssos'
nized in any Of the hundreds OF prisons q
Yankee land.
Wharo the majesty OF Inc law is so forcihl!
asserted, the representatives Of tho same de
serve our first consideration, and so we LET
leave 20 present them as they stand presented
THE GRAND Jury.
A somewhn. singular judicial phenomen;
this would be in most countries but here th'
matter is Incorporated by so many prcce
dents into the governmental code, tEnt il cx
cites no surprise even II the subjects them
selves. Let Us approach the forcn,an-a s'aid
elderly man in black, as lac sits with th
Jury" shiTering around "ths rusty CRATE
unconscious of o fire." and reques: TO kno7
why he prefers these bare walls, and thi
dirty floor, and "hard tack, and ''salt horse,
to his elegant country seat, . refined cH'c
oysters AMI canves-baeks. The case is soo'