Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-07-27

into one room IKE pdch VI sheep anu tlell
counted as we went out. The Inspector re-
missing This impossible, the Major
said 1t might possibly be 10, but ITO 1t
could never be; and the Inspector also con
Guided he must have made mistake OF 100.
We were soon ordered to fall in tor another
roll call, and we were, of course, anxious so
know what the trouble was The sergeant
/ informed rae that ten prisoners had escapeu'
/ and he Knew four of them, naming ooi
/ Streight and three others; and that he also
knew where they had gotten out, VIZ be
| .vaeo posrs SIX and seven, by bribing the
/ Guards OF course we rather encouraged
/ fhep, in this belief, but at the second count
they found oat they were right the first time,
and knew that SO many could not have es-
! caped bv bribery. Then came the search for
! the place of escape. The carpenters came In
/ and examined all the window bars, and the
! floors and walls from Top to bottom, but could
| find no place Of egress and gave up IN de-
spair. Soon we saw Adjutant La Iouche
walking arm in arm with another man around
/ the prison at some distance, as If taking their
morning walk, but their minds were evident
| liz occupied with something, if the close scru-
! tiny with which they surveyed the premises
around them was any criterion. Alter walk
/ ing up the canal and examining its banks as
! closely as circumstances would permit, they
I entered the YarU HutTe lHt tuiIA-tl GAlti ecu
/ from the ground, and soon found it. But
here they seemed to fear some Yankee trick,
aid Adiutant La Touche sent for negro
| whom he ordered through the tunnel first
and then followed himself, when he found
-, y f t &c 81 Il,;t H. -. -,
! how they had entered this room still puzzled
! him, and this was not found out until one of
| the rectptured prisoners told it. | saw La
| TOuche one day examine the holes in the
| wall where the bricks had been left out for
| the staging, if perGhance he might obtain
| some clue to the passage leading into the
| basement 4 tin cup had been placed in one
Of them by somebody to get it out of the
way, and this one was examined particularly
| close
During the evening of Nav 9Th, rumors
were flying about the prison that we were to be
moved, and at II o'clock we received notice
| that we must be ready to march for Peters
burg at o'clock the next morning We
were allowed to take nothing with us but
two blankets and tin cup and plate, so the
order said. We we're around at the appoint
ed time, but did not leave the depot till near
ly y o'clock. and then it was for DanVille
instead of Petersburg, the " Beast being so
near the road leading to the latter place That
Trey did not think it safe to take Us that way.
There was about one guard to every two
prisoners, three OF them stationed in the car
to watch the door, and the rest on the top of
the car. Every body seemedfo think they
were going to escape OH this trip, or at least
seemed determined 10 try it, for nearly every
car had at least one hole, and most of them
two sawed in the bottom We made saws
out of our table knives, and while some were
at work saving, others stood up around the
guard talking, to prevent them from observ-
ing what was going on. But we were discov-
- I u, e.
of the officer in charge of US. Every time
the train stopped one man descended at each
corner of the and remained on guard on
the ground until the ears commenced NOV
ing, when he again assembled to the top of
car, but then 1t was too late to do anything
| We arrived at Danyille Sunday morning
May 6th, and we then found out that three
officers had escaped, notwithstanding the Wig
lance of the guard. One poor fellow who
jumped out through the door while the cars
were in motion, received seven bullets in
| his body, and was afterwards found dead in
the bushes.
Thursday, the 18TH we left Dauville for
| Greensboro, y. c., and after going sixteen
miles on the cars, We had TO walk seven
| miles where the railroad was not completed
! We were forced sometimes to walk ankle
/ deep IN mud and knee deep in water on the
/ road, whilst the guard, marching on either
| side, had it comparatively dry; and | saw a
| rebel cock his gun at one of cur officers for
sitting down On a log by the side of the road
TO rest, while We were waiting for some who
had fallen in the rear to catch up. We ar
rived at Charlotte, y. c., at ten o'clock A
| NJ, the 18th, without having found a chance
/ OF escape. Here we were taken out on a lit
/ tie knoll, on the edge of the town, where we
| stayed until four F. NJ, when we were put
| aboard another train, and started for Column
/ bus, S. c. We were promised rations at
! Charlotte, but, for some reason, did not re
/ Ceiye them
! Let me here introduce to the reader Capt
/ ;. c. Houeycutt and 1t. VIM. p Hodges, of
/ the Second East Tennessee infantry. The
| former is the same Honeycutt who wrote from
/ Libby 10 Mrs. Lincoln for box of provis-
/ ions | have no doubt Mrs Lincoln sent
| the box, and only regret that the Captain did
/ not stay IN Dixie long enough to receive it.
! Capt. Honeycutt and Lieut.. Hodges were
! both born and raised in East Tennessee. The
/ germ OF liberty was planted in their breasts
/ while children; it grew, expanded and gain
/ ed strength amid the bracing air and noun
\ tain homes of their native country, and now
! they were ready to do and dare anything to
/ regain the lost treasure. The above men
/ toned officers and myself formed a partner
1 ship with a view of escaping together if pos
/ Sibie. { had almost given up the hone of
/ getting out except by jumping through the
door while the ears were in motion, ard with
/ this in view, We wished TO get as near the
! rear OF the train possible, in order that we
: might draw the fewer shots from the guards
+ on the top of the train. We succeeded in
/ getting into next to the rear car with priso-
! ncJs, though there were some ten or a dozen
/ empty cars still in the rear, on which there
were no guards, except one man on the ex-
! IRENE rear ear, as a sort of a lookout Capt
/ Honeycutt was the first man in the car, and
1 as he looked around for favorable place. he
! found hole in the bottom large enough for
/ a man to pass through, but it was only about
/ a foot from the door where the guard was to
| sit He Immediately spread his blanket
over il and sat down, and we sat down by his
side
We soon had the guards interested in CON
versation, and awaited with feverish expecta-
ton the approach of night. At stations we
got out, on various pretences, to examine the
[ brakes in order to see if it would be possible
TO lie down under the cars and let them
pass over Us but after 4 thorough examina-
tlon we had TO abandon that project, for,
though some of the brakes might pass over
Us without injury, others went so low as to
crush Us. The only thing LETT for Us was 10
lie down quietly under the cars and as soon