Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-11-12

ounces. Bat il Il not ea5y % describe this
ration, il WAs 50 Irregular IN kiad, faAIry
aud amount It's seaeraI character IA
viTidly Indicated by remark made IN
Conversation by one Of the o&serE Il
would gladly" sAid hs, with snPhAsic sin
eeFity, GLADLY have preferred the horse
feed in my hther's stable
Those Who we're eutirsiy dependent On
the prison aArs, sHd Who had 40 hie1ds ct
the North to send them boxes Of food, be-
gan % suffer the horrible agony of craving
food, and feeling themselves day by day
losing strength Dreams Gud deIusions be-
gaa q distract their miHdz-
Bat the most 9asecou1tabIe aad sh4meful
scr Of AL VS. yet q come. Shorty Atter
| this general dimmuniCinu Of rACoua, IN
the mouth ofJanuary last, the boxes, which
before had been regularly delivered, and Il
good order, we're withheld Nc reason was
giVs1- Three hundred arrived every week,
1 aud we're received by Col Quit The On
GERS were permitted . send cut sad buy
! articles ~ extrRvagaut prices, and Wouid
| lad the clothes, stSrIoueFy. hams and but
| ter which they had purchased, bearing the
marks Of the sanitary commission In one
! instance Ihis constant LhiEVeEy became
| al unexpected advantage 70 the inmates.
| After the famous "r1aneIIing out,r by
which 50 many effected their escape. the
| guards confessed that they had sees the
| fugifiVes, bus supposed that they were
| their oWu men stealing the bozFsi The
tunnel, afper r1Hning under the street, lad
| iEs outlet near where the boxes were piled
uP.
When Richmond vas threatened by cur
| troops, Richard Turner took care To dAsh
| the hopes of his caprTes, as we'll az add
to their anxiety, by informing them that
| should fitzpatrick succeed II entering
| Richmoud, il would not help them as the
prison authorities would blow Qp the pFis-
on. aad al its inms'es.' Lieut.. LstoUehe
/ vas heard observing % 8 Pebel afficGF With
whom ne had catered the cellar, where
the two hundred pounds Of powder were
said 70 be placed There Is enough there
| 20 send every damned Yankee 20 hell"
Turner himself said IN the presence OF
| Col Faruswurrh, II answer 20 the Ques-
tiOn, Was the prison mined2" ayes, ard
1 would have blown y1d AL to HIdss, be
fore l would have suffered you % be res
cued." 4 remark of Turner'S, fuzrifyIng
the act, which Wa5 mentioned 10 oce CT
! the commissioners, buE accidso tally omit
ted in the formal testimony gives Q1irs
| decided turn % the very natural prybsoil-
| iIy that the fendish plan vas resolved up
90; Suppose Fitzpatrick sEould have got
in here. what would nv life have been
I NOEb0 1SScG gG4 al kbk Ag45Gs !
/ would have blown you all % H4css before
l would have suffered you % be rescued
Thousands OF sufferers at Belle Isle en-
dured similar hardzhips, intensified by en-
| tire want Of shelter. Stripped of dIauketa
aud oVercoats, hatless ofre1, shoelsss
ottan. in ragged eoats Acd rotIen
shirts, they we're obliged 70 take
the weather "a il came. Here a1d
there seat had 4 IRE, and the inmates
| gathered arouad il, but the thousands out
side shivered al the cold cut them To the
bone, Sad huddled together for warmth
aHd sympathy.
The winter came-aud one of the hardest
winters ever experienced n the South
but still no better shelter Vas provided
The mercury wa5 doTu 70 zero At Mem.
phis. which Is further south than Rich
moud The snow lay deep On the ground
around Richwoud. The ice formed in the
James, aud aowed n masses upon the
rapids, IN either side Of the Island. Water
left in buckets on the island, froze Two or
three inches deep ii = single night The
men resorted to every expeiisut % keep
from perishiug. They lay ii the dirch, As
the most projected place, heaped apon one
another, and lying close together, as one
of them expressed IT, ''like hogs ia win
ter taking turns as 70 Who should have
the outside OF the row. In the morning
the row of the previous night vas marked
bv the motiouless forms Of those "Vho
we're sleeping ou IA their last sieep-fro=e8
to dea'h' Every day, during the winter
season, Numbers were conveyed zwaE srIf
and stark, having fallen asleep in evsrIast-
ing colt Some ot the men dug hOies Ia
the sand, in Whieh to take Fetuge. Ali
through the night croEds or them we're
heard running up and down 70 keep them
I - -
eued them, even more than It would have
threatened most men exposed 70 au equally
severe temperature, GTen with such thin
clothing and inadequate shelrer-for they
UeFs stdrVuIg
They znaEed the very bones which had
been thrown sway, sometimes breaking
them up for soup. They we're glad % get
the refuse bread which was occasionally
thrown 70 them BY the guards. They even
A.e the rRts which burrowst IN me en-
campmeuL. A dog, belonging 20 Au othcer,
siraYJug into the enclosure, Vas caught
aud secreted, and before he could reclaim
his property, II Tas toru apart by the man
Who stole il, some of il eaten by himself
aud the remainder sold 70 hiz comrades
When At length exchanged, many were
40 weak that they had to be carried zshors
on stretchers, aud died in the brief transit.
Others toCtered 70 the hospital, with the
lIrtle strength they had remaining, only 70
die in few hours Some Of them we're
found covered with bad and extensive sores,
caused by lying on the sand. Many had
Lost their reason. aud were in all stages Of
idiocy and fmUecility- Oae had become in
eurAbly insane in his Joy a. being delivered
often they acted IKE children And had
to be taught agAiu the decencies of life, 30
long had they been unhahifuAted 70 them.
A number had partially lost their sight
hearing. and speech. oue maa was pointed
out TO the commissioners vita h1d been 80
cnuarad hr Hacmin that afrec haNinn he.n-