Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1866-05-31
RELICa OF ANDERSoMvILLE.
Clara Barton and her Work Of
Mercy.
From the New York independently
BY MRS. FRANCES ID. GAGE.

From the New York Independent.l
BIT MRS. FRANCES d. GAGE.
In small room on the third floor Of building
Ia w Wssitington, d. c.. sit me down to pen th
letter. No mirrors fash back light and beaut,
from these walls. no Vandykes Raphaels, or Reu
bens create envy in the bosom Of the passer by.
Its plain. cheap carpet, its chairs, ito tables-fO
use. not Ornament-~ear no gorgeous coverings
but bear the burdens Of days OF toll and nights o
watching and weafness, in the form Of ledgers, and
boxes filed with documents, that have been tie
coinage, every one of them, of aching hearts.
Yonder, in the corner, is cabinet. few plain
board shelves set sgainst the wall, containing
the most uhque, priceless treasures in the world
No costly gems glitter there; no exquisite shells
from the depth OF the entrance with theit spen
dor of color and form; no birds with gstdy plum
age 10 remind US OF natures magnicetce in some
far off isle of t.e ocean. NAY. none of that Oh!
pen of mine, write quietly, OH eyes, put back your
tears. Cease, thtObbibg heart, totr painful pul
sations, while tell the painful story best can
Como hearerI let us look at these things. The
bits Of tin. perforated with holes were once bot
tom and sides OF cantesns. or oyster cans, grown
old and rusty with gathered up by weary hands
and pierced by nails TO make sieves through which
to pass the meal made Of corn, "gtohnd cob and
ALL" which formed the ratious of our soldier pfis
oRers at Anderscnville.
lHefc Iusty O1sktF CAlls. WIN u UIll VI Oiu NiEt
rudely djustcd, were the kettles in which they
gathered the bones. and reboiled them TO make
soup. Those paddles, soiled and grim at the han
dies and secured at the base with constant use.
stirred the coarse meal aud water together in a
mush for starving men. Those splits Of wood,
woven together like chair bottoms, were the plates
Trey used.
See YOU these little wooden troughs, Whitfield
with a jack knife, rough, tiny, some not holding a
hall mir haV hotH u,aa al - whe0o
ed. These are the spoons o wood that conveyed
the loathsone food 10 their famished lips. These
cows horns. wrough. into drinking cups; these lit
tie tubs Of chips of wood. hooped about with tow
strings, served the same purpose. One oyster can.
for which no bail could be found, has strip o tin
cut from the top, with short bits for hinges,
and thus. as kettle for cooking, WAS made to do
its noble service.
Those bits OF board. Some careless, untaught
eye might take them for kindling wood. As
write ask SELF j. the theory that spirits OF the
| mgr around the s'enes Of JOY and sorrow that
they knewi this life. true onel If so, how
many thousands are looking down to night at the
thoughts am tracing with nv pen Those bits Of
srsntling, rokcn implanted five inches wide. and
two or three feet long, are fragments Of the dead
line" at Andersonvil'c.
He Who starved. maddened, reckless. preferred
death to continual torture, had only TO pass this
brittle boundary to be ushcred instantly into the
presence of Him who has said. vengeance is mine,
will repay"
Turn this way That board. leaning in the cor
ner with its black figures al 606 at the Top, is the
head board which Wirz--he has gone to his ac-
count, will use no adjectives with his name-suf-
fered to be placed where one dear and nearly akin
10 her who gathered these relics was laid away in
that vast cemetery OF murdered men.
Seven thousand six hundred and six. Can you
realize it7 7606 prisoners. who. starved, scorched
in the bur ming sun, madicned, hopeless. prayed for
leaih ard found it in their shallow graves surcease
fromanguish. Aud 7.616is sc,rcn h,lf. On. on.
on-up, up, up 60 the numbers to l2, 800 that have
been found recognized and marked. Oh! God Of
mercy, i. there. there be produced such anoth-
cr record OF the results Of slavery as this.
But let US look further. These bayonets were
picked up in that Golgo'ha, and this lett, box into
which thousands, ave, tens OF thousands of letters
we're dropped. but never one went out TO gladden.
the oppressed hearts OF friends. Perhaps no five
pieces Of timber were ever nailed together that
have enclosed many tales oil distress, or 20 lew
Of happiness or JOY, as these.
This is the worn out stump ola hickory broom
With which the skeleton hands tried to keep clean:
his ball from one of the many guns that we're
on the seven fort. surrounding the prison.
A paroed prisoner asked Of Captain Wirz one day:
"What will you do with US if Sherman comes to
the rescueT'
"By tam. puts YOU IN tDc STOCK nue. turn oe
guns on you, aud blow the tam brains out Of every
one.
But. let me stay this fearful record and tell how
these things came 20 be here in Washington
Miss Clara Barton. in whose little parlor | find
Them, brought them with her on her return from
her expedition to Andersonville, when she went
By request Of Secretary Stanton, in company with
Capt. James Moore. A. Q NJ. to enclose The
grounds of the Andcrsonville cemetery, and iden-
70 tha md arb them with hpaihOa ar15.
which expedition was inaugurated at her request,
,y the heads of the department.
81 gathered these things No." said Miss Barton
% me- ''and was told their ut the places where
found them. brought out some from the deep
burrows our men had mide--thOse caves dug out
~ their weak hands to shelter them from burning
leats and chilling dews. and into which many
rept never to emerge again till their fellows bore
hem to their last resting place"
Was wrong in saving her cabinet contained
he unique and priceless treasures IN the world
Many mother. wife or sister, would gladly ex-
hange her gold or jewels for those records OF the /
ast davs of some loving heart so frightfully stled
)ne lady. looking at them with tears coursing down
Ter cheeks, exclaimed: 81 would exchange my
diamonds for these"
"Your diamonds could not buy them" the
nswcr OF the heroic woman who had done % much !
O ease the sorrow OF nation.
As I said, these tables bear tho burdens OF ach-
ne neartS. DIX tnoHsand ietters from DereaHea
riends who have asked her TO help them find their
Missing dead! And still they come! Still the
neither cries out in anguish and suspense. 'W hat
as become OF my boyl" Still the wife pleads 10
NOW of him who was her all. whom she gave 10
er country to die for it, If need be; but not to be
ost, uncared for and unsonght. One hundred
etters day often lay upon Miss Barton's table.
very one freightcd with sorrow.
Do you wonder that sit in awe in this almost
ublime room. Do you wonder that | ask. "Is
he theory true that spirits can iinger among NOR
ais on earth7" II so. will they not be here
reathng over this kind gentle woman, 10 hel
Ter in her benevolent work7 Do they not long .
ave thoee they loved, and who still linger in life
skiing tor them let into the secret OF their fate?
Six thousand letters! Some Of them giving the
amss OF twelve or fifteen missing men and each
equiring sn answer TO the individual who wrote
); and Eve. ten. twenty thirty, even seventy -fve
pttsrs Of inquiry 10 gain the Information needed
|, ~crlv IN ita uuqrioa