The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-11-16
. THE CLARION.J
LAST DAYS IN PRISON.
en,ipiscenees of Life on JOhnsOn's Island.


ned Is prisoners on Johnson's Island.
hi. island IS in Lake Erie, three miles from
snduskv City, Ohio, and thirteen miles
-,m the Canada shore. 1t is about one
nl q half miles in length and half a mile in
Eilth.
The prison was simply stockade some
Iveive feet high, with balcony on top for
h. Guard. and incIosing about ten acres of
Ind Within this ''pen," were two rows of
lyo--tory buildings, each with a capacity
r about three hundred men. The space
b-,seeu the buildings constituted the
E-fr-ef -" where the prisoners met and prom
sna,Ied. played base ball, or other games
kbcn 80 disposed, and discussed the situa-
ion They were not allowed to cross the
bircl or dead line" which was fifteen feet
Er9m the fence; the hapless wight who
rs-5ressed this law was shot down in his
track. bv the guard from the balcony above.
T,e entire ''pen" was covered by artillery
from the po-l-holes of two block-houses, one
hear the principal entrance, and the other
Cn the opposite northeast corner. The gar
|ai..p consisted of one, and sometimes two
or more regiments of infantry, and the
.conlmadant of the post, at the time Of which
II write. was Col. Charles w. Hill.
a little steamer piled daily between the
|I.and and Sandusky City, but in the
coolest of weather, Sandusky Bay was
frozen over a foot thick aud communication
was bv means Of sleighs and wagons on the
Ice. When I entered this prison in the
winter of 90, we walked, Sided and rolled
across the bay as best we could Some OF
Il. we're almost as destitute of clothing as
Adam before the fail, and l am indebted,
70 this dav, to Lieutenant Lanier, of Colum-
bus. Miss, then of Gen. Gardner's staff,
for the loan of clean shirt which 1 have
never returned.
Everybody has become familiar with the
different pastimes of men in prison; and
nearly everyone has seen the ring, breast
pins cuffbuttons and other trinkets that
they made. There were classes of law stu
dents theological students, and students OF
mathematics, who recited lessons very day
TO eminent instructors; for we had here as
comrades. learned lawyers, scientific profess
sor, and distinguished dlVlnes. These
studies, however, were pursued under very
uuprOmislng aspects III such hlotely anu
boisterUu5 crowd.
Escape was the next thing to an impossl-
bilitv: rendered so by the distance from
the mainland, and the extraordinary
strength and vigilance of the guard In
addition to the regular garrison, home
Guard companies were formed by the citizens
.,lonp the coast, who were notified by the
discharge of cannons, whenever 1t was dis
covered that prisoner had escaped from
the Island. 1t is needless to say that these
Lomr-suard soldiers were especially active
and ylgilant in the pursuit OF unarmed ana
defenseess prisoners. n colonel whose
name have forgotten, escaped during the
winter in the following manner: Every
morning about fifty of the garrison came
into The "pen," aud the prisoners were
formed i'm front of their respective quarters
f,x roll call. The colonel had supplied him
self in some manner with blue regulation
uniform and blank book; when the roll
caller was going out, dressed i'll his blue
uniform with his book under his arm, he
rassed out unnotiee eed, crossed on the ice tt
Sandusky City, and from thence made M
way toa little town, fifteen or twenty miles
in the interior. Here, overcome with coid
hunger and fatigue, he went to hotei, go'
something to eat, took room ana Went u
sleep. He was aroused by the nome
guard fellows who had found him out, ant
who carried him back to prison, where M
was placed in solitary confinement, ON orea'
.A4rrT Il e2Gt
dav. was brought into the "pen " and com
peiled to stand for several hours on the heat
of barrel.
At an earlier period of the war, man.
prisoners had escaped on their way to prison
and some from this Island, nearly all o
whom had made their way into Canada
Tbe,. we're the men amongst whom ID
Hon. Jacob Thompson attempted to periec
an organization having for It's object III
release of the prisoners on the northern
lakes. and they actually did make an az
;empt or Johnson's Island, which woul'
have been successful but for the treacher.
ofoue of their number who disclosed Tn
plot on the day before it WAS to have bee
consumated, and at the very time when a
armed steamer seized by the escaped prs
oners at Detroit was bearing down on tn
Island The garrison was reinforced, an
after that the United States gun-boa
Michigan" with IA guns, lay CONSTANT
off the Island.
The government at this time was retalia
ING for what they termed the mlstreatmeI
Of their men at Andersonville, and the:
were consequently the hungriest Gays 81 u
whole war. The truth was, that the men men
Andersonyille got the same ratiohs as % %
men in the field, but these were 20 MIs .I
inferior to their own army rations' ~, ~
tbey very naturally cried out seil 3, So go
and said that they were oeIng crueiiy ss,i Ell
ed. IF they were, then they were iGi ,e5 -. ,
,1.,,,r.ad in the winter of '64 and %
I,bpson,s Island. The officers oil the 81
s;l,1 Who were generally courteous al
,n,,siIarate told us that they could not ne
- tbst the War Department had prescIlO'
nnr rstions. and that they dared nos
6arond the limit: and, moreover, tnat tue
1Tc,,I5 he NO ssIet up" until their men
An5arsonville received better treatnlel
:, rssI 7 have since been able 70 leal
tbis act of retaliation did not extend ~ IA -
very great degree, to the other No.tnei
rr;:ons Our rations consisted OF Piece
mess beef and part of loaf OF baker l0- oIe@,
have forootten the exact number OF oule' =
but we ate it all at one meal. lhIee :,
'smessed" together, and we USED 70 P1s
meat into tin bucket OF water anu % :
on the stowe to boil; then We divided tn =.
water and meat, with mathematlcn Z;
cision aud sitting down, under the VAN .l..
Iusion that We had soup for dinner, gu sss' I-s
rations disappeared in 3 twinkilngs !. -, s.
seen colonel, the scion Of one Of tne p1og y,
estof Southern families, who had gaaaa.a. .ls1s
led his regiment through twenty alnels -,
battles. watch Il rat-hole with the same ~ y.
Gus look that Scotch terrier puts On, a.. Ml,
engaged in a like occupation; 1oe'..g
livions Of outside objects and occnLEShns ~,
he sat with uplifted club, hour attsl NJ
Watching with remorseless vigilance loL :. :
appearance of his victim. At the tlne '.l ~
this system of retaliation was lnsus s.'.ss 8,
thousands Of rats infested the prison y y
raced over the doors, climbed on the g 8.
and galIoped over the sleeping pFlson'
With areckless audacity peculiar only q
prison rat in flush times bat ~ snoss -. 8
the last one had disappeared, ana z ny ~
that had been 8 favoriIe with one g
messes, finally furnished the pElnelpz1 s
for their Christmas diuner nstes - &
then without dreaming, ana ~ .s -.
we're peculiarly luminous. ana asssss g r.