The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1882-05-18

North would certainly not succumb,
IL 1t took fifty years, we had the
money aud men to do it with, and
intended to make them give up and
acknowledge their wrong; or we
would extermiuate every man, WON.
an and. child in the Sunny Sonth.
Some two thousand prisoners ore
added to our number from Salis-
bury during September. They bad
been better fed than ourselves, and
we're much dirtier having been de.
prived Of the advantages OF water,
which We had from the river, and
from little shallow wells from six to
eight feet deep. which we dug all
over the prison grounds. Several
officers accompanied them, among
whom was Colonel Corcoran, who,
with otbor commissioned officers,
was sent over to l,ichmond.
After this arrival Of prisoners, we
were again crowded for room and
the hopes Of another exchange had
almost died out, when our camp was
flooded with rumors of release by
parole.
Day after day passed. Hunger
stricken and pinohed with cold,
these walking spectres wandered
around camp, gathering in groups to
talk Of home aud exchange. About
this time got hold Of o Rich.
mond paper, which argued that dir
ty people required less food than
people who were clean, instanciug
tue yankee prisoners Of Belle Island
as an illustration Of the truth Of the
assumption. Another paragraph
announced that prisoners at Bell ls-
land would he exchanged Oh tue
coming Tuesday.
Tuesday came, but no parole or
exchange We waited patiently, in
hopes that something might turn up
to relieve u but no relief cam, :.
1t was 81 uarl to wait, erea u f.w
days, for relief from our condition,
that the uncertainty to which every
thing IN rebeldom seemed condemn. o..
cd was excrucatlns mental torment,
added to tue PHYSICAL misery endur-
cd.
This junbling together Of 30
much OF hopeless mortality, this end
Iess crash Of matter aud ceaseless
shock Of tortured humanity, is u
curse to the human mind. Some
were on the "tiptoe," Of expectation +;
others, in their gloomy dependency
we're resigned to their fate Of max
InY u winter Of it in this dreadful
place, when a bow Of promise ap-
peGred upon the dark background
Of adversely that over shadosei the
prison, and II bright day of deliver
ance dawned upon US.
The dark night Of misery passed
away, and was called out to write
the parole for the prisoners. With
eager, trembling hand, l wrote fret
my own parole, and then worked
hard all night. This was then yet,
as a dream, could not comprehend d
such 60 ID news for as 10 be a reali-
ty. But thank God it was reality,
There were some funny descrip-
tions accompanying these paroh
for instance, red hair, blue eyes, and
dark complexion.
Before morning the blanks of lib.
erty were made out, and as morn
ing dawned, We all hurried out of
prison,-a motley crowd, ragged,
dirty, and famine stricken.
Tbs sick took fresh courage. and
under Freedoms inspiration the
lame walked, and rejoiced that their
term of captivity was ended that
once again they were to be under
the protecting folds VI Liberty. STAR
ry banner.
Again we entered Richmond; and
as We passed through it's streets,
skeletons in form, from which al
most all SEN blance of humanity had
fed under torture OF Imprisonment,
We excited pity among even the vir-
ulent women OF the capital.
They filed our can teens with wa
ter, aud their kind faces showed
that they we're not dead to all pity.
This revulsion OF feeling in our
favor since first passing through
the rebel capital, was caused. per-
haps. by their own sufferings-the
loss Of some father or brother. Be
It AZ it may, 7 know that while the
expression OF hate we're few, the