The Portland daily press., 1865-01-05

Lieut.. William Fl. Smyth, lson Of Prof.
Smith of Bowdoin College has recently re-
turned to this town, after captivity In South
ern military prisons OF about fifteen months.
Seven ofthese were passed in the Libby Prlsr.
on at Richmond; three at Macon, Georgia., q
two at Charleston, IS. c., and the rest at Co
lumbia, s. C.------
Mr.. S. comes back good health, though
bearing the marks of suffering and exposure,
The preservation of his health he attributes TO
boxes which he fortunately received from
friends, and to negotiations of varions sorts he
was able to effect. For example, by selling
his watch he was able to purchase Is Conied-
crate dollars worth of onions, and thus keep
off the senrgy. HelsayH that il the prisoners
had been left entirely to the mercies OF the
Confederacy, theywonld have starved.
Mr.. s. was taken prisoner at the battle of
Chickamauga, He was carried to Richmond
via Atlanta, Augusta, Raleigh, Weldon and
Petersburg. The journey occupied more than
aweek. IntOia box car, uncleanedi from its
last freight ofbcattle or sorghum mol0sses,J
twice as many men were packed as could sit
upon the floor. Scarcely any food was given
during the whole trip Atthe Libby, the men
were crowded together as thick as they could
lie. No straw, no furniture, no conveniences
scarcely OF any sort were afforded. The ra-
tions were a corn Loaf, weighing pound and
aquarter. 1t was made Of meal, and water
and little salt, and was solid and heavy as
lead. 3-4 of a gill of wo-my, black or white
beans, and as much rice were added with d
very little salt. Bsa bs1sssiasa u . 10 t'lsA
At Macon they were turned into barren
sand plain, with scarcely the shelter Of here
and there pine tree. "A close fence, 10 feet
high, shut out all views OF the world without.
No boxes, mails, or comforts of any sort, were
received for months. At Charleston, where
the prisoners seemed to be out of the jurisdic- 4
tion of the infamous Gen. Winder, they Jared
better. At Columbia some 1900 officers were
turned into field, and left to shift for them
selves as best they might. sg,ss isslEn
Notwithstanding this treatment, Yankee in-h
genuity, in innumerable ways, has succeeded
in frustrating the otherwise inevitable result
of such cruelty. The contrivances,, shifts,
strategy, constantly employed, would I'LL vol
umes il narrated. Over 1000 escapes of Off
GERS from the prisons have been effected, and
between three and four hundred officers have
reached our lines. At the Libby an officer
was employed to count the prisoners. He had
been an accountant in New, York city. He
said he had a good reputation there as an
accountant, but he couldn't count q thousand
Yankees. sAie'a 4-aN II " ~ X, ~ E
The person upon whom rests the chief re-
sponsibility for the outrages upon our prison
era, lis Gen. Winder. Under him are the Tuf-
ners. sAAd AKA ~ ~ ~ ~ .,''l 2
Mr.. S, with others, escaped from the train,
while on the way to Macon from Augusta
Heetfavelled through the heart of Georgia
He was betrayed at last by a negro, who PROV
ed to be house servant; Whether this was
Intentional or accidental, is not known. The
negroes generally have been friendly and even
devhted to escaped Yankees, often periiing
their own lives in order to be of service. An
instance of treachery hasscarcely been known.
This EinduQea has mazda a
upon the army officers. The blacks have
treated them ike brothers. Re-captured off,
GERS unite in testimony to tie fidelity of the
blacks. One Incident among thousands will
illustrate this. De ipl easS3 1os saia9 taeauauia
While secreted in thicket, three officers
saw some negroes, early Ia the morning, come
out and begin hoeing corn. Seeing no white
man near, one of the party accosted them.
Learning that there was no danger, the others
came out, and announced themselves as Yam
KEGS. Immediately the negroes brought out
their own scanty supply Of corn and bacon,
and insisted upon its being shared. They
said their masters take all OF their earnings.
They had got from their owners the idea that
the war was to make them free. They direct
cd the party to the house of black further
on, where they said provisions could be found.
The officers missed their way and came upon
another squad of negroes. They were equal
ly lCl0uuly. w u5u bu0 OmcoT5 Cdtn6 near Tue
house, one of them went cautiously to the
door in his shirt sleeves. BE found within an
old woman and several daughters. He asked
If he could get anything to eat. .sisss ~ ~
"Not bite" said the old woman. fsa. y.
The officer started to go, but beckoned to-
the old woman to follow. She followed, and
he informed her that he was an escaped Yam
kee officer. 1a t5,,s sfoG
."De Lor bless your SOUL" was the immedi-i
A. IL sg4aa.fa st4f.
"Yon wouldn't betray me, would you ?" !"
"Oh no, Massa, Pse prayed for you, and
prayed for you, night and morning, dat you
might succeed ygaseso9 9saa7 sat suioII gd
'.Perhaps l can get something to eat
here?, - .I i.f Il, "a
She Immediately gave him buttermilk, and
sent boy with some to the two In the thicket.
Soon the husband came out and guided them
to better thicket. Not long after the whole
family came out, bringing fried chicken, fried
eggs, ham, wheat-four biscuit, corn bread,
butter and coffee. -ls e 52i'aetg ta@ ~ ~ y
The negro man said he was well treated,
and had enough. He would like to be free,
yet didn't suppose it wonld add materially to
his comfort. But he didn't want to leave his
children slaves. His chief care seemed to be
for them. He said the negroes prayed for the
Yankees even in their meetings, whenever it
was safe. He had good idea of the objects
of the war. This was in the heart of Georgia,
and before Sherman entered the State.
The escape Of SO many Yankee officers has
dinused vast amount Of information among
the blacks. One old negro said when asked
If the blacks would fight for the Confedera-
cy-Eij 'f q 1s-fss = 4
o"Jes SO sure as dey put arms in de hand of
the niggers jes SO sure de tuar stop riqht dGri
Jes so sure as de Lor made Moses dTld placed
lam IN de bebbinsl" BE intimated further
that the blacks were now not used to arms,
but when they had them would know on
which side to fight & a's ~. e 1stsez te
Mr.. s. confirms the accounts we have had
of the difficulty the rebels find in Transporting
supplies for their armies, and of the signs of
approaching military exhaustion.