The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-07-21
SOUTHERN PRISON LIFE.
Incidents OfCaptIVity I'm Rebel Prison
Camps.


,Junius z. Browne, of the New York
Tribune, who was confined in rebel prisons
for some time, has published 8 volume OF
"reminiscences of prison life, from which
we take the following extracts:
TUNNEL DIGGING.
ut ID singular how much the prisoners
accomplish with slender means. They
rarely had more than 8 case knife or an old
hinge; and yet with that they would dig,
in 3 few days, q hole large enough to admit
the BODY of q man, through ten and even
twenty feet Of earth.
THE greatest difficulties in the construc-
ton of q tunnel are the disposition Of the
dirt. snd the lack of fresh air, which, as
soon as the excavation is carried to q dis
lance, very % becomes exhausted
TAfunnel is SO old and well-knoWn q
means of egress from prison that the su-
thorities are aver on the alert TO ind one,
and the appearance of any quantity ofdirt
would at once excite suspicion. Heneethe
greatest caution is necessary. Hsversscks
and small bags are brought into requlsltlon,
and the dirt IS carried, little by little, from
the mouth of the tunnel to some place
where it will not attract attention.
aOperators usually select some spot
where they think they will not be inter-
runted. near the outside limits of the pris-
on. and 90 to work. The toll like beavers,
Isboring often day and night, with changes
of hands, because they feel the danger OF
delsv. have known numerous tunnels TO
be discovered because their completion q
been deferred over q single night
HAt Castle Thunder, by getting down
into an old store-room, below the court
martial room, as it was termed, n could
begin his tunnel beside the rear wall OF the
prisop, skirting an alley fifteen feet wide;
and as few people went there the prospect
of disturbance was small.
uThe design was to commence digging
in tbe morning, and finish it before dawn
the following day. That never could be
accomplished, or, at least, never while l
remained there. If it had been L should
have gotten out certainly; for l frequently
sat up watching the progress Of the subter-
rsnean bore, all ready TO wake my COM
psnions and depart at q moments notice.
HDuring the five months l was st the
castle, than q dozen tunnels must have
been constructed, all running under the
slley mentioned, and designed to come up
on the other side of the fence, out of sight
of the sentinels, where n could have
walked through q military hospital yard 70
Main street, and made good his retrest."
Mr.. Browne adds:
ave grew very familiar with the occult
science Of tunnelling. Its mOdus operG1di
is this the Workmen, having sunk q hole
in the ground three, six or eight feet deep,
as the case may require strikes of hori-
zontslly, lying flat on his face, and digging
with hhstever tool he can fnd-ususlly 3
csse-knife. The excavation is made just
lsrpe enough for one man TO creep through
It. The great difficulty is to conceal the
dirt. In Salisbury, however, this obstacle
did not exist, for many of the prisoners
lived in holes in the ground, which they
were constantly changing of enlarging.
Hence the yard abounded in hillocks of
fresh earth, upon which that taken from
the tunnels could be spread nightly with
out exciting notice.
EAfter the great influx of prisoners OF
war in October, a large tunnelling business
was done. 1 knew of fifteen in course Of
construction at one time, and doubtless
there were many more. The commandment
adopted an ingenious and efiectual method
of rendering them abortive.
ain digging laterally in the ground, at
S%0I-aaAf thirty. or forty feet the air
becomes 80 foul that lights will not burn
and men breathe with difficulty. In the
great tunnel sixty five feet long, by which
Colonel Streigbt and many other officers
escaped from Libby Prison, this embarrass-
ment was obVisted by a bit of Yankee in
genuity. The officers, with tseks, blankets
and boards, constructed q pair of huge bel
lows, like those used by blscksmiths.
Then, while one of them worked with his
csse-knife, progressing four or five feet in
twoivo hours. and a second nflad q his hav-
ersack with dirt, and removed 1t, (ot course
backing out, and crawling in on his return,
as the tunnel waAA Jingle track and had no
turn table q third a at the mouth pump
ing vigorously, and thus supplied the work
ers with fresh air.
"At Salisbury this was impracticshle."
AN EXECUTION IN LIBBY.
A loyal Tennessesan, Deston, had been
kept in prison until he was nasfly dead
and quite out OF his mind then he was
taken out TO be hanged:
HCsphsrt and Wardea Wiley hurried
through the dreadful affair as II 1t were
any ordinary engagement, and the scoun-
drel detective glOwered on the prisoners,
who had been Invited to witness the exc
cution, as if he regretted very much that
he could not perform the same smiable
office for them.
The estimable twain having borne
Destor 10 the scafTold, released their hold
of hin and told him to stand up. They
then descended, and ordered an underling
70 pull the drop. The fellow had his hand
upon the rope, when the Captain looked
around with q CHASTITY, hAlf-idiOtic smile,
msttered something, and sat down on the
Old Caphart few up the scafpld
again and shaking Deaton with great fury,
while his cracked wiry voice poured forth
cnrsps unon the Id Yankee son OF 3
caTiL Wiley again TO his assistant.
u6nce more Deaton Was held up; and
mat time he turned upon them, and smiled
q soft, sweet expression that trans
figured his whole face. Ali the old, unset
led look fed. Courage, love, pity, beni-
on came back TO him. He tried to nerve
to stand. The officers released
lim-as he seemed to desire. He stagger-
md he would have fallen. The momenta-
! inspiration passed; his head dropped
half grosT, q half sigh escaped him.
Hurry, hurryP cried out Caphart, in his
lsrsh broken tones; the id Yankee
will die in our arms if you don't hang him
uickl
"The drop fell, and the loyal Tennes-
WAS gWaVinO in the air struo0lin0