The National tribune., 1882-09-02


treIaity, where the cold wind will have
good chance at them. Our old detachments
have been broken up, and we are now di-
vided into hundreds, squads and me5ses.
This removal has seriously incommoded
men who had mud shelters on the other
side, and who must build new ones over
here. The North hill looks curious, with
its holes in the ground and its remnants OF
deserted shebangs" What thousands OF
men have died over there!
Oct. 10N-Yesterday was cold. To-day
has been pleasanter / have been poetizing,
in order to kill time, and have sought to
portray the epicurean tendency Of our
dreams. have entitled my eflusion "T The
Dreams of the Starving" and here it is:
Fitful sleep is purchased by exhaustion,
And like the trance brought on by subtle drugs
Teens with strange, vouptuous fnncies.
No more n starving wretch the dreamer seems,
Nomore the bitter taunts of heartless foes
Set hafi,cd hatred ranking in his soul,
Hopeless of the day when vengeance may be won;
But, like an Oriental king, he treads
The halls of gorgeous palaces, spacious,
Fantastic and unreal, yet wherein
Are banquet. spread of such luxurious state
The gods from high Olympus might descend
And gorge themselves like needless wantons.
Anon he loll. on beds of dying flowers,
Whose cdors through his drunken seuscs steal
Like soothing and sensuons narcotics.
And music falls and swells upon the air,
And around him thronG more beautcous nymphs
Than e'er were bred on famed Circas.a's hills,
Laden with luscious fruit, from many lands
Yet when, at length, in Incidence he smiles,
And lifts his languii hand to pluck and eat,
The vision vanshes and he wakes 10
With growing madnes.-to beat his breast,
Or from his crown TO rend the matted hair,
Or like demon to yell till the Wales
And silent, solemn woods give back reply.
Oct. 11H-A prisoner was shot and killed
to-day. A sentinel improved good chance
at him. There has been more or less kill
ing of this kind right along ever since /
first entered the stockade. 1t has been
so common that have paid little attention
to it in my journal. After all, a man who
gets musket ball put throught him in
first-class style is far better off than We who
remain to starve, freeze, wear rags and be
eaten up by graybaclls.
Get. 12h.-Last evening 375 of Sherman's
soldiers, captured at Big Shanty Station, north
of Atlanta, were turned into the stockade.
They brought the dreary intelligence that
no exchange has been negotiated. Utter
dependency prevails. One thousand pris-
oners left on the ears, last evening, bound
for some other bull-pen."
Oct 13tb.-Wirz has had another fit of in
dustry. To-day he has reorganized us again.
If he keeps on we will be the best organized
force the war has produced. There is re-
marlable contrast between us and Sherman's
men who came in night before last. The
latter have been doing guard duty, for
long time past, ON the railroad at the rear OF
our army, and appear to have been able
foragers. They are ruddy with health and
strength, and submit to their fate as captives
with devil-may-care" nonchalance. Con-
federate rations, however, win soon thin
them down and give them more serious
cast of thought. They say that General
Halleck or somebody else calls us "coffee-
coolers and ackberry- -pickers," thus in
sinuating that we were not captured in the
legitimate line of duty. l was captured
within six feet Of a rebel line of battle,
which was drawn up at the rear Of rifle
trench we had been defending, and which
two heavy storming columns failed to carry
by front attack. | presume that most of
my comrades here were captured under just
as honorable circumstances, and large por-
ton OF them personally assisted in gaining
some Of the most brilliant Union victories
of the war A coffee cooler" is fellow
who gets very tired when he hears heavy
skirmishing ahead, and stops at the roadside
"to boil a little Coffee and then waits
terribly long while for it to cool doubt
if Halleck ever got close enough to the
enemy to even see a Union "cotfee-cooler
through a powerful feld-glass.
Oct 14h.-When the stockade contained
more than 10000 prisoners there was some
excitement almost daily. Now time drags
very tediously. This Georgian October is
delightful. / have never seen more beauti-
full, sunny weather. 1t is Indian summer in
most enchanting guise. The fierce heats Of
this semi-trOpical region are past, and the
nights, though bright with moonlight, are
becoming very cold. Many lives are de-
stroyed in consequence. For week past
we have only drawn wood enough to cook
our ratiOns with, and an increase of suffer-
ing ha. resulted. 1t tisnow generally conceded
that the 10000 or more prisoners who have
been shipped away must have gone to some
other prison. The pretended exchange was
humbug invented to keep our men from
trying to escape from the railroad trains.
There seems to be n necessity for mankind
to denounce and abhor brutality on all occa-
sions, for the abyss between human senti-
ments and barbarous actions is narrower
than we have been taught to believe. A
great deal is said concerning the enlighten-
ment of the nineteenth century, but doubt
if the world, in thousand years, has ever
before witnessed the like of what has oc-
Cured in this prison. A monstrous crime
has been perpetrated against humanity.
oct. 15h.-I am informed that a consider
able number Of prisoners have escaped from
this stocllade at different times, through the
encouragement and connivance of rebel
guards, both they and the guards being
members Of the secret Order of Free Masons.
Even when a rebel officer is not Mason
himself, because his friends are, he will give
an imprisoned Mason better treatment, if he
| con than fhe rest of us receive I often hear