The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-11-22

shadows re-appearng upon the opposite walk
t and the sentinel at his post, with voice tina
r rang out upon the evening air, announcing
J., Eight O'Clock, Post No. One" aud "All i
2 well - and al the same time a Yankee sodie
+ was passing in his front, AID IA line of Yankee
/ soldiers were crawling under his feet. tn,
passage was so small that the process of de
| parturc was necessarily slow; "A few inches o
progress only being made at each effort, anC
{ To facilitate lOC0mOiiOn outside garments wcIt
, taken off and pushed forward.
Bv tins time the proceedings had become
known to the whole prison, and rs the fir,
| men emerged upon The street and quietly
walked away, seen by hundreds of their feel
lows, who crowded the windows, u wild eX
cilcmCht and enthusiasm were created, and
they rushed down to the chimney clamorlnq
for the privilege Of getting out 1t was the
intention Of the parties, organized by those
Iwho constructed the tunnel, that no others
should leave until
THE NEXT NIGHT,
as it might materially diminish their own
chances Of escape But the thought of liberty
and pure air and the death damp Of the dark
Iloathsome prison would not allow them to lis.
ten 10 any denial. Major Mcdonald and my
self then held Il parlcy, and 1t was arranged
that the rope upon which wedcCended into the
basement, after the last of the two parties had
passed out, should be pulled up for the space
of one hour then ii should be free to all IN
prison.
Having joined my fortunes with Col T. 5.
| West, of Wisconsin, we were among the last
! Of the second party who Crawled through
About nine o'clock in the evening we emerged
from the tunnel, and cautiously crossing an
open yard to an arched driveway, we stepped
out upon the street ana slowly walked away,
apparently engaged in IN earnest conversation,
As soon rs We were out of Iange of the sen
Itinel's guns. we concluded il would be the
safest course to turn and pass up through one
OF the man streets Of Richmond, as they would
not suspect that prisoners escaping would take
that direction. My face being very pale, and
my beard long, cIinging to the arm Of Colonel
| W, assumed the part of IA decrcpit old man,
who seemed to be in exceeding i'll health, and
badly affected with consumptive cough.
In this manner we passed beneath the gar-
ing gaslights, and through the crowded street,
without creating a Suspicion us to our real
character. We met the police, squads Of sol
dlers, and many others, who gave me a sym
pathlZing look, and stepped aside on account
Of my apparent imiirmitles Approaching
the suburbs Of the town, we retreated INTO the
ravlne, which enabled US to leave the city
without passing ont upon one of the streets.
While in prison | copied McClelan's war
map of Virginia, which aided US materially
in this escape.
OUR OBJECTIVE POINTS
were to cross the ChiCkahomIny above New
Bridge then cross the Iorkville Railroad then
strike and follow down the Miamisburg pike
After resting and breathing pure AR the
first time for more than four months, we re-
sumed our Journey, agreeing not to speak above
whisper, avoiding all houses and roads and
data i,,ir nv no In,
crossing roads, we travelled backwards, that
the footsteps might mslead our pursuers.
We soon came in sight Of the main fortified.
tons around Richmond, and instantly dropp-
ing upon the ground we lay for Il long time, |
listening and watching for the presence of sen.
tlnels upon that part of the line. Being salts
fled that there were none IN our Immediate |
front in the most silent and cautious manner |
we crossed over the Notifications and pursued |
our way through tangled forest. Coming To
piece of low ground, tired and exhausted, |
we lay down to rest Our attention was soon
attracted by the presence of a series of eXcava-
tons, and on q close examination we found
we were resting upon the battlefield of Fair
Oaks, and among the trenches in which the
Coniederatcs had buried our dead; and, al
though it was the midnight hour, strange
feeling of safety stole over me, and felt as if
we were among our friends. 1t was the step
and voice Of the living
THAT WE DREADED.
At early dawn "wednesday we crossed a
brook, and went upon hillside of low, thick |
pines to conceal ourselves, and rest during the |
day. The Valley of the ChiCkahomlny lay be
fore us. While in this COnCcalmCnt we saw a
blood hound seeming our steps down to the
place where we jumped over the brook; 1t
then went back and returned two or three
times, but finally left without attempting to |!
cross the little stream Late in the evening, |
we went to the river and worked till after mid
night to max or find crossing. The water
was deep and cold, and failing to accomplish
our purpose, we turned back to a haystack,
and, covering ourselves with hay, rested until
the first light of morning CThursday)
Going back to the river, we followed down
its course until we found a tree which had fall
len nearly across the stream. Discovering II
long pole, we found that it would just touch
the opposite shore from the limbs of Its tree. |
Hitchlng ourselves carefully along this pole, |
we reached the left bank of the Chickahominy
River.
We now felt as If escape was possible but,
hearing a noise like the approach of troops, |
for we were satisfied that the cnemy's cavalry
must be in full pursuit, we fled INTO neigh
boring forest, AS we approached the center OF
q thiCket my eye suddenly caught the glimpse
of II man watching us from behind the root of
fallen tree | concluded that we had fallen
into an ambush; but our momentary appre-
henson was joyiuly relieved by the discovery
that this new-made acquaintance was Col w.
b. McCreary, of Michigan, and with him Ma,
jor Torrance Clark, of Illinois, who had gone
through the tunnel with the first party that
went ont and were now passing the day in this
secluded place. The Colonel was one of my
intimate friends, and when he recognized me
he Jumped to his feet and threw his arms
around me in an
EsTACY OF DELIGHT.
BY this time the whole population had been
informed of the escape, and the country was
alive with pursuers We could distinctly hear