The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1882-11-02

belong 10 ~ / inquired OF one c
hem on the morning Of my arrival,
al belong to the fifth Georgia
Cheatham, he's cur adiutaut"
| | afterwards found out who Cheat
,am was-a comical, July, graybuc
IS ever graced the Confedeincy.
Four others, With myself, formo,
q mess, aud commenced constructing
a shelter. For this purpose we dut
q hole in tho hillside, about thre
feet deep, Two sticks were thon &c
into the ground, across which wa
placed third stick to answer for
ridge pole. Over this was stretched
m army blanket. Tho front ant
rear ends, Of course, were open, a
we had nothing with which to shu
thom mp.
When it rained, we sometime,
shnt up ono end of our house will
our garments. in this grave-lik,
place four human beings lodged
kept their "household and kitchen
furniture" aud called the place their
home. As q matter Of course we did
not have any spring bottom chairs,
no Brussels carpet, no largo looking
glass adorned our walls II was a
home, bat sad and lonely home to
us four men. who were raised in
good and comfortable homes, and
never know what want or hunger
meaut.
We found sufficient wood for cooh~
ing purposes by nealino the bark
from the stumps of trees, while those
who had the implements cut and dug
at the stumps for fuel,
A week or two after my arrival, |
oil tained permission to go outside
the prison under guard: and get mas
terial for completing our apology for
a tent, and returned rejoicing with
rs mnch untrimmed pine brush as l
could lug along.
We stripped off the pino piua, aud
put them in tho bottom Of our house
making very aristocratic bed. which
few inen iu this prison had the pleas
uro to enjoy. We then patched mp
tho rear end of our tent. with pine
limbs, wLioh made altogether quite
comfortable quarters, compared with
what We bad formerly enjoyed
But we needed all this and more
besides, TO make up for want of cir-
culation and vitality in our scurvoy-
stricken bodies, aud for the inc,em.
ency OF a South Carolina winter,
which, bowever sunny tho winter is
said to be, was still very cold. |
never suffered moro with cold than
at this time.
The days were unusually quito warm
but, from sundown to ten o'clock iu
the morning, it was, to our poorly
clad. emociated bodies, bitterly cold.
My clothes, which | already de-
scribed, were full of holes, aud my
feet were bare. The frost in the
mornings were like snow on the
ground, and often, through fear of
freezing or being chilled to death,
longing, through intense suffering,
for morning to make its appearance.
Often in the dead hours OF mid
night, l walked the frosty ground,
pierced with the sharp winds, which
mercilessly sought out every hole in
my scanty wardrobe. aud the next
day took my revenge by sleeping in
the sunshine to make up for lost
sleep.
From the day of my arrival in this
camp, commenced making uso Of
bard wood-ashes and water to clean
and rinse my month, and soon had
the satisfaction to know that it was
counteracting the effects of the
scurvy.
Our rations at this place were
very scant, aud very poor in quality
Our divisions for the issue OF rations
were the same as at Andersonville.
In no place did prisoners suffer 80
intensely, and yet in no prison was
tho commanding officer so inclined
to mako no comfortable.
Nothing, however, short OF com
plete change in their mode OF living
could now benefit the majority of
the prisoners. Because hundrede Of
the men were too far gone to be re-
vived by food alone.
A large number OF men, after a
few weeks confinement, we're parol
ed to remain outside Of the prison
during the day to cut wood for the
.,, - ,.,h;Ia nur nnIiaa