Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-07-14
"Prison Life of Mr. Davis

written by Rrevct Licut.: Col j. j. Craven,
late Surgeon u. S. Volunteers. Dr. Craven,
it will be rcco.lectcd, "was relieved from du.
ty' at Fortress Monroe, last December, for
exhibiting too much humanity towards Mr.
Davis. The work now published will do
much to awaken sympathy for the great
State prisoner, in the minds of the generous
and humane everywhere. Judging from the
extracts we have met with in the columns; of
our exchanges, the narrative must be one of
great interest
The following which Is talte, from DR.. Cra
.ven's Diary, July,1 y contains piece of
history which will prove generally interesting,
and serve to illustrate the extent and accuracy
OF Mr. Davs's information.
Mr.. Davis spoke Of the wrctchedncss of
being constantly watched --of feeling that
human eye, in1usitivc and pitilcss was fixed
upon his movements night and day This
was one of tue tormcnts imposed on Marquis
dc Lafayette in the dungeon of Magdcburgh
Olmutz Indeed, the parallel between their
prison lives, if not in some other respects, was
remarkable. lafayette was denied the use of
knife or fork least he should commit self
destruction. lie was confined in cascmatc.
or dungeon, of the two most powerful for.
trcsses Of Prussia first, and then Austria
While i'll Magdobur,h, he found friend in
the humane physician; who repeatedly repor-
ted that the prisoner could not live unless al
lowed to breathe purer air than that of his cell;
and on this recommendation tho Governor at
first answering that he " was not i'll enough
yct'--thc illustrous prisoner was at length
allowed to take tho air, sometimes on foot, at
other times in a carriage, but always acco npa-
led by an officer with drawn sword, and two
armed guards.
Mr.. Davis then narrated with great spirit
and minutcness, the efforts made by Count
L'lly-Toeadal, assisted by Dir. Eric Bollman,
of Hanover, and Mr.. Hugcr, Of South Caro-.
lima to effect Lafayette liberation. Mr IIu.
ger was young gentleman Of lIugucrot ex-
traction; and Lafayette, upon landing near
Georgetown, South Carolina, accompanied by
Baron De kalb, had first boc,i guest of Ma,
jor lluScr, the father Of his rcsclrcr DR..
Bollman's visit to Vienna, where he remained
six months, luins suspicion by pretending
to study or. practise medicine: His there
meeting with young 1Iuger, and the manner
mutually discovered to each other their sim.
ilarity Of object tho code Of signals which
they gradually established with the prisoner
and his final rescue for some brief hours from
captivity by their exertions, together with his
re-arrest and the capture and terrible punish.
ment inflicted on his rcscucrs- of these
points Mr. Davis rccied with yividncss
which made each feature in the successive
scenes pass before the mental eye as though
In the unrolllng Of panorama Huger and
Boman were heavily roncd round the neck
and chanod to the floors Of separate dungeons,
in utter darkness. Once every half hour
the Austrian officer of the day entered flash
cd dark lantcrn,into their faces to identi-
fly them and see that they still lived, and then
cnrefully examined every link of the chains
binding their necks to the floor and shackIine
their feet and wrists. This treatment lasted
!. night and day for six months, the prisoners
being almost skeletons when finally they Oh.
timed their release which was secured by
the representation of General Washneton
the powerful advocacy of AR. Fox and the
Liberals in tho British Parliament and the
humane sympa thy of the Count NIetroskic,
who welded powerful influence in tho Aus.
TRAN court. Lafayette, however, even IN
his second imprisonment was never shackled
and though treated with the utmost cruelty,
no indignties were offered to his person, save
that he was robbed of his watch and some
other trinkets on being rccommitted, reduced
toa single suit of clothes, and stripped of every
little comfort that had been previously allowed
nm, save such bottormcnts of food--his reg-
nlar diet being bread and water-as were cor
tlhad by his medical attendants to be necessary
TOR tho support Of life.
frtNbt ts1' ~ ---+~>. -
AN estimate OF the growing cotton Drop,
based upon reports Of Sheriffs and nrominent
persons IN every county Of the cotton States
has been madc. It's reported tho AVERAGE
& crop is between onc-fourth and ono.ffth of
= tho cron nf1Sf0F