Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1865-01-14
Another Insight intO Southern
Prisons.

Another Insight intO Southern
Prisons.
LETTER FROM wELL-KNowE JOURNALIST.
We have been frequently asked, BY
many Of his old friends and acquaint-
ances, if We ever heard anything from
Col Add. Saunders, formi editor and
proprietor of this paper, We are now
able to answer their inquiries The
Davenport (Iowa) Gazetss eousains
lengthy letter from Add, giving full
particulars Of his capture By the rebels
and bis present incarceration near Co
lumbiA, South Carolina He also pre-
seuts us view Of his manner Of living,
Or rather starving, and of the hardships
our prisoners are compelled to endure
at the hands Of malignant rebels Not
withstanding be is compelled TO live on
unbolted corn-meal and sour sorghum
molasses, Col Saunderss pluck asd
spirits give way not in the slightest
We hope Gen. Sherman vill soon liber-
ate the brave men confined at Colum-
bia, and enable them to be avenged Of
their adversaries.
We make the following extract from
the Colonefs letter:
Nearly Rescue
At Macon va came near being res
eued By Stoneman's raiders, but before
We left had the company Of him aud
many Of his fellow-oliicers as prisoners
We started TO Charleston on the lth Of
August, two bodies Of about GOO officers
each having left before us, one going
20 savannah. A great many thought
We were going 70 be exchanged ct once,
the result Of coneoeted stories raised By
our rebel keepers to induce men not 10
try TO escape on the way South At
Charleston we were put in large
/ prison known as the Workhouse Here
our only view Of the outer world vas
through iron-grated windows
New, tell yon il makes fellow feel
kind Of queer the frst time he takes up
bis abode in little iron-harred city,
and gazes at the great ont-ofdoors
through iron-lattieed windows After
| this, all my sympathies shall be alive
and lively for the virinous inmates Of
/ jails and penitentiaries, but | will con
| grAtulAte them on having plenty 70 eat,
and not having 10 do their ewn cooking
and washing.
The Daily Occupation.
But the daily prison scene might
strike our friends az home as rather an
dignifed la the morning the jail-yard
is covered with little files. Officers Of
all ranks, from General to Second Lieu
| tenants, are carrying water, choppiug
wood, and bending anxiously over some
just mixed up mess being submitted to
| caloric experiment. Close b., others
afs taking their morning bath, naked as
Adam before he gathered the 6g leaves
Others again, rows Of EN-, sitting down
eagerly scanning the seams Of shirts
and drawers for greybacks, a sport
in which all, the very cleanest, are re-
warded By bagging more or less game
Some Of these around the fires are coat
less sad shoeless, many ragged, and
altogether hard-looking set. Some
have been prisoners for year and q
half, others are "fresh fish" All are
hoping and praying for an exchange
Asother CAaRge for the Worse
On October5 at very sudden notice,
We left our prison az Charleston for Co
lumbis, where we arriged, to the number
Of ], 1855, that night by the cars The
yellow fever had become epidemic in
Charleston, and few Of our officers bad
become victims to it. This, and the fact
that our rebel friends we're anxious to
get US from under dre (for all the time
We were IN Charleston it was being bonn
barded), so as to rescue their friends
whon Msior General Foster had put in
the harbor subject to similar expo sure 4
little more intensified, brought about th'
change Of position.
We remained day in Columbia, il
an open lot near the depot, without shel
ter, and exposed TO q furious storm 0
rain, and with very little food The mex
day we marched about two miles, an
. we're placed in q large field, with n
, shelter but few little pine trees-an
here We are yet, excepting those wb
have escaped and are now tramping K
wards the North and Liberty. | do nc
think We now number more than J, 20
although scores who got miles away wer
caught by patrols and hounds an
bronght back Ny own physical cond
= ton, or the weakness of SCARED lei
has prevented me making that exper
- ment, but the regiment Is well repr
a sented.
1t Columbia, s. c.
We have now been in this place near
ss. six weeks No shelter whatever b
been provided for as, nor means of ma
N ing our own shelter, except thirte,
axes among our fourteen hundred me
- given to us couple or three wee
after our arrival With no other toe
but these, and a few axes we boug
(price $45 now, without hAndles), sol
substantial log cabins have been erecte
At the start we all built huts of pi
Is bushes, protection against the sun, B
}. very little against the rain and the
we're cold Of the nights, for We have b
many heavy frosts and hard freez'
From two to half dozen officers ms
- together, and each mess has made
own shelters As tastes differ, tbs
. habitations differ accordingly A 5
gular spectacle is presented By our pris
canp. IL Il utterly without plan or 5