The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1882-07-22

5windliDg and stealing the fresh fish and
new issue" ont Of everything. they possess
Te rid ourselves if possible, Of ants, BUGS
lice, and maggots, we have covered our lot
with fresh saad from @ wei being dug near
us, and to get half a dozen sticks to stretch
/ q blanket on paid ten dollars in rebel scrip.
/ We have q rubber p0Dcho to lie on, and the
/ blanket stretched overhead shields us from
the sun and dew. In sleeping we have no
! covering but in having an eEtempore tent rve
/ are Iuc5Jer than thousands, although, to &C.
commodate six persons, its capacity IS some
/ what oyertaxed. The journals / kept during
the Atlanta campaign narrowly escaned
/ coniscation the day we arrived at tbe
/ headquarters of Wirz. The regulation
/ blouse Of the Union army has q pocket on
the left side, in addition to which l had
made an inside pocket on the right side OF
my blouse and IN it, in q rubber covering, I
I carried my much-prized literary material.
DESPAIR AND DEATH.
/ When we were searched, the task was prose-
cuted as rapidly as thorougness would per
nit The militia sergeant who investigated
me rammed lis hand into my left blouse
pocket, but much to my qualification did not
perceive the other one. He rot my money,
however, but when I informed him that it
bad been given to me by a confederate officer
who knew me, he handed me back $50, and
allowed me to keep my haversack and the
rubber pOncho we are now using. The latter
was the only article I still retained that
would answer for sleeping purposes. The
members Of our little squad have agreed to
stick by one another through thick and thin,
/ and above all to see that none OF cur number
fall into a certain deblitateG Iaziness which
in this place leads to death. have no doubt
but that hundreds have died in this prison
who might have lived had they preserved
/ courage and tried to keep clean. From my
seat at this time I can see all stages of the
prevalent disorders from the beginning to
the end. can see the man who is bec0m-
ing disheaTtaned; the one who has lost re
gard for his personal appearance; the one
who has been lying in the streets for several
days; the victim OF horrible scurvy and utter
! flthines3; and the loathsome, decaying
corpse. Observing young man dancing
and singing in front Of my hovel last even
ing, and noticing his comparatively clean
/ appearance, I asked if he was not a "new
issue" He sat down beside ne and told his
story. He had been a prisoner over q year; ;
had been confined On Belle Island, near
Richmond, OF which lie told fright:ul
stories; had suffered from starvation, cold,
and lack of clothing; once he had been at
the point of death from disease, and had
recovered and to-day he enjoys as good
health as he ever did in his life. I expressed
wonder at his endurance. He replied that
all that had saved him was his good courage.
Ycu are not q veteran ?" I asked. "No!"
he rarEed, ard I never viii be. \ Govern
nert that viii let its soldiers he shut up in
this way and starved is not worth fighting
for.' AL The clothing he now has is a
shir5, p pair Of drawers and q cap, and he
sleeps On the hare ground without q blanket,
keep tolerabIy clean. Tie
an officer in the Foreign
the confederates from among
as, ard eomposed Of Union
terred to fight for their enc
starye to death
ARRANGEMENTS.
d of into detachment5 Of
go men each, with three messes Of ninety
men to each detachment. Each mess is
su5divided into three /" thirties." My imme-
diate companions and are IN Mess ,, De-
tacllment One Hundred and Eleven. 4 cen