The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-02-09

fIo- eUuoH mora yqAn y0u Qoss00wysef; Ihe
Halter, then ,sfsnt on TO gipeak sof hia
i kiodness TO the poor when: no lived 81
lLexington. ahd coRcln by Agaip OK.
thortiDg :hiH To trust In God and wait
Ihis time What eould this mean? No
human being on the outside had been
Uniformed of his intention to escape, aud
yet just ~ al things were ready for
him to make the attempt. here comes a
letter from Winchester, Kentucky, adj
vising him not to try it. This letter
had passed through the examining office
Of Geu eral Mason, and then through the
hands ofthe lower officials. What if it
should excite their suspicion. aud cause
them to exercise an increased vigilance
Their situation, however, was desperate.
Their fate could not be much worse, and
they resolved to go. Nothing remained
now to be done, but for the General aud
Colonel Dick Morgan to change cells.
The hosr approached for .hem to be
locked up. They changed coats, and
each stood at the others cell door with
Ais back exposed. and pretended to be
Engaged in making up their beds As
tho turnkey entered they "turned in"
aud pulled their doors shut. Six, eight.
ten o'clock came. How each pulse
thrcbbed as they quietly awaited the
approach oftwelve! 1t came-thc sen.
tinel passed his round-all we'll After
waiting few moments, to see if he in.
tended to slip bask, the signal was giveu>
oil quietly slipped down into the air
chamber, first stufiug their flannel shirts
and placing them in bed as they were
accustomed to lie. AS they moved quiet.
ly along through the dark recess to the
terminus whore they were to emerge
from the earth, the general prepared
to light match. As tho lurid glare
fell upon their countcnanccs, some
was presented which eau never be for
Cotton. There were crouched seven
brave men who had resolved to be free.
They were armed with bowie. knives
made out Of case knives. Life, in their
condition was scarcely to be desired,
and the moment for the desperate chance
had arrived. Suppose, as they emerged
from the ground, that the dog should
give the alarm-they could but die.
But few moments were spent in this
kind Of apprehension. The hour had
arrived, and yet they came. Fortuna
tely-yes, providcutially. the night had
suddenly grown dark aud rainy; the
dogs had retired to their kennels, and
the seutiuols had taken refuge under
shelter. The inner wall, by the aid Of
the rope ladder, was. soon scaled, and
now the outer one had to be attempted.
apt. Taylor. (who, by the way, is a
nephew of old Zack.) being very ac
tive man, by the assistance of his COM
rades, reached the top Of tho gate, and was
enabled to get tho rope over the wall.
When the top was gained they found "a
rope extending all round, which the
General Immediately cut, as he suspected
that it might lead into the Wsrden's
room. This turned out to be correct.
They then entered the ccntry box on the
wall aud changcd their clothes, and let
themselves dewn the wall. In sliding
down the General skinned his hand very
badly, and all were more or less bruised.
Once down, the scparatcd-Taylor and
Shelton going one way, Ilokersmith,
Bennett aud McGee another, and Gene
raj NJ. und Capt. Hines proceeding i'm
mcdiately towards tho depot. The Gene-
raj had, by paying fifteen dollars in
gold, succeeded in Obtaining a paper
which informed him Of the schedule
time of the different roods. The clock
struck one, and he knew by hurrying he
could reach the down train for Cincin
natl. He got there just US the train
was moving off. He ut one looked on
to see if there werc any soldiers on
board, and espying Federal officer, he
boldly walked up and took seat beside
him. He remarked to him that, "as the
night was damp and chilly, perhaps he
would Join him in drink" He did so.
and the party soon became very agree
able to each other. The cars in crossing
the Scloto have to pass within shortdis
lance Of the Penitentiary. AS they passed,
the officer remarked "Thcre's the hotel
at which Morgan and his officers are
spending their leisure" eyes," replied
the General, sand | sincerely hope he
will make up his mind to board there
during the balance Of the war, for he is
greet nuisance" When the train
reached Zepia it was detained by some
accident more than an hour. Imagine
his anxiety, ns soldier after soldier
would pass through the train, for fear
that when the sentinel passed his round
at two O'Clock their absence might be
discovered. The train was due in
Cincinnati at six o'clock. This was the
hour at which they were turned out Of
their cells, and OF course thoir escape
would then be discovered. In few
moments after;: would be known all
over the country. The train, having
been detained at Zenia, was running
very rapidly to make up the time. 1t
was already past six o'clock. The
General said to Capt. Hines "It ts
after six, if we 80 to the depot We are
dead men. Now or nevcrW They went
to the rear and put on the brakes
"Jump, Hines !" Ofbe went, and fell
heels over head in the mud Another
severe turn of the brako, aud the Gen.
eral jumped He was moro successful,
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