The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-12-09
. STORY ABOUT LIBBY PRISON.
4 "Yan!kee Trick" which Caused n Confcd-
crate Sentry to Smile.

A STORY ABOUT LIBBY PRISON.
a "Yan!lee Trick" which Caused n Confcd-
crate Sentry to Smile.
Captain Joseph Wingfed, an ex-mem.
Der of the City Council of Richmond,
tells story of the time when he stood
sentinel around Libby:
$50, the old prison is sold, is it?" lie
said, "!Tell, gentlemen, I never 60 by
that place without laughing, now. can't
help thinking of the cute trick played
by lot of yankees there. The fact is it,
was so good that, although I had been
ordered to shoot in among them, I dis
obeycd orders. It WAS about '63, and
the Libby building was so crowded that
it wouldn't hold any more prisoners, so
they put 4 large lot of them in the second
story CT the building across the street.
Soc" after these prisoners came the prison
officials got a large lot of sweet potatoes
Irregular yan,s) from North Carolina, and
stored them on The first floor of the build
ing in which those prisoners were con-
fined. Big sweet potatoes were luxuries
in those days, and Turner and those fell
lows kept strict watch over the building,
l can tell you. The third day after they
had been slowed away it was noticed that
they were disappearing at the rate of
about bushel day. At first
it was thought that the rats took
them, but second thought showed that
the idea was absurd. Sentine,s were pos
ted all around the building with orders
to shoot any man they caught stealing
those yams, but they didn't see anybody
to shoot, and although they were posted
there day and night, and no one were al
lowed to enter the room in which the
potatoes were kept, they continued to
disappear at the rate of bushel day.
The Confederatcs saw their yams disap-
pearing in this way, and were furious.
The thing was an unacoountable mystery.
The doors and windows of the room were
sealed and private marks were put on
the wax, so that if any one Of them was
opened it woald be known. The next
morning the officers went into the room.
The wax was all right, but another BUSH
ell of potatoes had vanished. Well, sir,
it was the maddest crowd you ever saw.
They came to me an ordered me to take
my stand in tile room. They locked me
in, and lighted candle was put at each
end of the room so that | could see. |
was ordered to shoot on sight anybody !
saw stealing those yams. 1t was terribly
lonesome in that room. Just as fast as l
would light one candle and 90 to the
other end of the room to light the other
the rats would cut the first one down.
They were regular Confederate rats, and
a candle was godsend to them. After
lot of worry I got the rats out of the way
and sat down near the door waiting for
developments. There I stayed till u
o'clock but though I kept my eyes on
the potatoes all the time, couldn't see
any of them going Shortly after twelve
J. heard a creaking, grating sound, which
seemed to be all over the room at once.
cooked my gun and held my breath,
but still 1 couldn't see any sign of life
except the rats creeping about the floor:
by Georgep 1 thought, this darned
place is haunted, if there is any such
thing as place being haunted The
sound stopped, but about ten minutes
after it began again. Hooked attbe pile
of potatoes, and presently saw something
shoot from the ceiling and fall on them.
1 saw it was brick, and could distin-
guish rope tied to it. crept little
nearer to get q good look at the thing,
but before 1 could examined it, it was
drawn slowly up, aud there were about
peck of yams sticking to it. 1t went
up through a hole which had been cut
in the floor above, and presently came
down again with thump right among
the potatoes. 1t was the most artful
arrangement you ever saw. The brick
had about fifty holes drilled in it, and
through each hole a sharpened tenpenny
nail had been run, so that when the brick
fell among the yams, the nails stuck into
every one they fell on. 1 couldn't help
laughing at the smart dodge those Yam.
KEGS had taken to get at the yams. /
gently put my hand forward and caught
hold of the rope. Pretty soon they began
to draw on it, and when it did not move
heard one fellow say : Steady boys;
the bricks hung in something. Pull her
steadily without Jerking They did pull
steadily, and fairly lifted me up from the
floor. No jerk, easy, boys, easy the
director said, and they tugged away. l
cot pretty red in the face. Holding to
the rope. was afraid to let 60, because
I thought some of those spiked nails
might strike me in passing. Thought of
my pockct.knife, and hauled it out justas
they were putting all their weight on the
other end of the rope. cut it in two,
and the end shot back through the hole
in the ceiling, and could hear rolling
and tumbling on the floor above, showing
that the sudden giving away Of the rope
had disastrous effect. I heard another
voice say: There, now, I told you so.
You've broken the rope. We've lost our
brick, and tomorrow we'll be found out
Then another voice called out Can't you
see it? We might hook it up Next l
saw long neck protruding through the
hole, and a fellow peering down. Then
I called out: If you trouble any more
of these potatoes III shoot That
fellows head shot back through that hole
just like terrapin, and it was as still as
death up There. l hated to tell on them
because it was such sharp scheme of
foraging on the enemy, but had to.
When the officers went up next morning
to examine the room it took a. long time
to find the hole. Those Yankees had cut
hole about foot square through the
floor, and it was done so neatly that tat
took good eyes to discover it. That was
where the officers yams went to-"
- There is more building going on in
New York at the present time than was
ever known before.
r. - ,ort,-of tLo South email