The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-01-29

/ as Il member of the railroad party.
The message from Ringgold ended all uncer
| tainty in my own case. | was at once con
Quoted. under strict guard, to the County Jail
The little Major Was my escort. He took
| advantage Of his position to puraoin my money
! and then turned me over to the county .Ialler
/ That parsonage took my penknite and ofheI
little arsi cles of property, then led nae upstairs
| Hnfastened door to the right, which led into
large room with barred windows, and having
a cage, made of crossing iron bars, in the center
He unlocked the small but heavy iron door o.
the cage and bade me enter For the first time
| in my life / was to be locked in jail! My
reflections could not have been more gloomy il
the celebrated inscription had been written
over the cage that Dante placed above the gate
! of hell, "All hope abandon, We who enter here
There did seem absolutely no hope for ME
| ! was there as criminal, and knew that life
was held too cheaply in the South for my cap
tors to be fastidious about disposing of an un'
known stranger. l had heard the message
! from Ringgold, and at once comprehended its
| bearing against me. Nothing save confession
! of my true character as a soldier and my real
business in the South would be credited. The
! probability was that even this would only
make my doom the more speedy.
In that hour my most distressing thoughts
| were of the friends ut home, and especially ol
| my mother,-thinking what would be their
sorrow when they heard of my ignominious
| fate,-if, indeed, they ever heard; for l had
! given John Thompson" instead of my own
name. That all my young hopes and ambi-
! tions. my fond dreams of being useful, should
perish, as then had no doubt they would. on
| a Southern scatfold. seemed utterly unbearabe
| But one moment only did these thoughts sweep
over me; the next they were rejected by a
! strong effort of the will as worse than useless,
and were followed by sense of unutterabe
! relief. for L could now rest. / had found a
refuge even in prison, and needed no longer to
| keep every failing faculty at the utmost ten
! sion. The sweetness of rest for the moment
overcame every other feeling save hunger, and
! that too, was soon satisfied The Jailer brought
! some coarse food, which was devoured with
exceeding relish. There was another prisoner
in the same probably detective, put in
| for the purpose of gaining my confidence and
leading me to a confession. His first step was
| TO plead i'll health as an excuse for not eating
his share of the prison food. l excused him,
and ate his allowance as well as my own with
( out difficulty.
He then wished to talk, and asked me some
! questions; but / was in no mood for further
conversation. Being cold, borrowed his prison
! blankets, of which he had plentiful supply,
and, wrapping myself up in them, soon sank
! into deep sleep-profound and dreamless-
such as only extreme fatigue can produce. The
| quaint advice contained in the last words OF
my companion however, fingered in my
memory. Said he,-
"If you are innocent of the charge they
! make against you, there is no hope for you.
You are much worse off than if you are guilty,
! for they will hang you on suspicion; while, If
! you are soldier, You can tell them what rcgi-
ment you belong to, and claim protection as a
! United States prisoner of war"
| My sleep lasted till long after dawn OF the
next morning. This repOse, with the break
fast which followed, completely restored my
| strength, and with the elasticity of youth l
! began to revOlye my situation and plan for the
future. was not long left in loneliness. The
people of the village and surrounding country
came in throngs to see a man who was sup
! posed to belong to the daring band of engine
! thieves,-one of the most common names by
! which our party was recognized during our
! imprisonment. They were very free in their
| criticisms of my appearance, and some were
! very insulting in their remarks. But | would
! not allow myself to be drawn into converse
! ton with them, for / had momentous ques-
! tion to decide in my own mind.
| The more l thought of the advice Of my
! fellow-prisoner the more weighty did it appear.
! l did not value it because it was his opinion,
/ but because it seemed reasonable l also longed
! TO assume my true name once more and my pO-
| sition as soldier. The thought of perishing
! obscurely and in disguise was most revolving.
! Besides, | felt that soldier had more chances
!
/ ernment might put forthSnergetic efforts to
save those whcNvere in such deadly peril. /
remembered, with increasing hope, that the
! Federals, at this very time, held a number OF
rebel prisoners in Missouri, who had been cap
/ tured while disguised in Federal uniform in
! side OF our lines, engaged in an attempt very
/ similar to our own-the burning of some rail
road bridges. Why might not these be held as
/ hostages to assure our safety or even exchanged
/ for US? To entitle me to any help from our
! Government, | must be William Pittenger, of
| the I'd Ohio, and not John Thompson, of Ken
! tnclzy. Ny mind was soon made up, the more
readily that / heard my citizen visitors talking
about the capture of several others of our party,
4 who had all admitted that they were United
! States soldiers. They were influenced, no
! doubt, by the same course Of reasoning that /
/ have indicated. ! believe this decision ulti-
I mately saved my life.
4 But there was room Cor choice as to the man
/ ner of making my confession. j told the jailer
I that had an important communication for the
/ authorities, and he reported the matter to some
/ person of influence who summoned vigilance
j committee and ordered HE before 1t. | found
j them prepared TO renew the examination Of the
/ previous day. They had the same lawyers in
waiting and, indeed, all the principal men of
4 the town. When their preliminaries were over
/ they asked the nature Of the communication |
! wished to make, and hoped that ] could throw
! some lSHG on Tue mysterious capture OF the
| railroad train. j said;-
/ Gentlemen, the statements | made yester-
/ day were intended TO deceive" e. So we sus-
pected," said one Of the lawyers, soto rOce.) Il
/ will now tell you the TRUTH
The clerk got his pen ready to take down the
/ information, and the roomful of people assumed
| an attitude Of deepest attention.
go on, sir, go on" said the president.
81 am ready" said |, " to give my true name,
1 and the division and regiment of the United
4 States army to which l belong and to tell why
/ i came SO far into your country"
! Just what VIC want to know, sir. Go on, y
4 said they.
But" returned, "I will make no state
lnent whatever until taken before the regular
military authority Of this Department"
/ Their disappointment and surprise at this
4 announcement were almost amusing. Curi0s-
i ity was raised 10 the highest pitch and did not
4 like to postpone its qualification. They EN-
4 ployed every threat and argument i'll their
/ power TO make me change my decision, some
4 of them saying that ! should be hanged to the
4 nearest tree if / did not. But | knew my
i ground. told them chat though an enemy |
1 was a soldier, possessed of important military
! information, and, if they were loyal to their
/ cause, it was their duty to take me at once be-
/ fore some regular military authority. The
! leading men admitted the Justice of this view,
! and when they found that / would reveal moth
ing there they made arrangements to take me
/ TO Chattanooga. This was distant about %
/ miles from Lafayette. Ringeold, near which
! we abandoned the train was about the same
4 distance 10 the east. In that long and terrible
4 night of wandering had Travelled 20 miles in