Louisiana capitolian., 1880-09-04

any other. I had conceived deep in
terest in the man, and the days were
not many ere we were bound one to The
other by the strongest ties Of friendship
He gave me the full story Of his life
reservation. Of his family connections
he loved particularly to speak-having
most to say in honor of wife and
daughter, then residing in New Jersey
The time came when those two rela-
tives were allowed, by special permit
from the Secretary of War, to CORE
spond with the prisoner, it being only
provided that carefully examine and
read all letters received and dispatched
Wife and daughter were in ignorance Of
the whereabouts of him whom they ad-
dressed, only knowing that he was un-
der my charge, and probably in Rich
mond. One other correspondent of the
prisoner was a brother, the head of one
of the heaviest firms doing business in
the celebrated Swamp" OF New York.
1t was through the influence this
brother brought to bear at Washington
the favor of correspondence with his
family was allowed McCulloch and to
the brother also were due other indul-
gences granted at a later date. "You
will draw on me for any sum necessary
to meet the needs Of my brother" wrote
this great dealer in leather to me. "Do
not spare money in providing for his
comfort. Attend to his every request
without regard to cost" So far as was
within my power l complied with these
instructions, and all the luxuries in the
market were at the prisoners command.
At the close Of each month | submitted
a bill to a Richmond commission mer.
chant (Nelson, if l remember Alright,
was his name), for expenses. Never
were items called for; the cash was
always forthcoming Oh the instant.
Occasionally gave Prof. McCulloch a
ride in the open air, not, however, with
out the authorization of the powers
above me. The excursons-enjoyed be-
yond all other privileges by the prison.
er-were variously timed from, though
always made after night fall He al
ways rode masked, and, except late in
night, in closely curtained ambulance.
lie was under parole to give neither
word nor sign to any persons who, by
chance, should be met. and about the
conveyance l always had mounted
guard of my most trusty men; three
rode about twenty PAGES ahead, three
the same distance in the rear. Some.
times l would occupy seat in the
carriage beside the professor, while at
other times rode horseback at the side.
Usually our jaunt would take US FIVE or
six miles into the country. and when
safe, beyond city limits, tho carriage
was opened and for a time the fresh
country air and scenery allowed the
prisoner. Sd ~ y
Naturally, it soon became current
gossip that had a mysterious prisoner
in charge, and frequently parties over
curious made strenuous efforts to obtain
information concerning the matter.
"rhe Man of the Iron Mask he was
called by some whose loosed imagina-
tions oyerdrew reality. mo. lO,7 how
ever, for reasons I was never able to
comprehend, was the title most gener-
ally accepted. l was besieged on all
hands for data relative to the prisoner;
representatives from Cincinnati, Chica-
go and New York newspapers besought
me repeatedly to tell the story of the
mans life and furnish al outline of the
cause of his Imprisonment. 1--WE will
give you 5000 simply for his name," SAID
one newspaper man. But, of sourse, l
was obliged to turn deaf ear to all en-
treaties and was not a little amused
some time subsequently to find in the
columns of Western journal that the
"celebrated NO. l0,' under confinement
at Libby, is no less a parsonage than
John Wilkes Booth, whose reported
death was a sham Then followed a
lengthy imaginative article, the gist of
which was what purported to be the
result Of an interview had with me, in
which many statements made were
most interestingly ridiculous.
THE RIVAL LANDLORDS.