The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1885-09-23

I
fear. 1t is not philosophy it Is a 'don't
care" which settles upon him. was not
afraid to meet the king of the universe,
and knowing that not a shadow of hope
remained, surrendered myself to an un-
just fate.
was not hanged The governor, on
account of my youthfulness, committed
my sentence to imprisonment for life.
Even this was indescribably awful, still,
after thinking it over, concluded that
it was better than being hanged.
Ishall never forget how 1 felt when 1
first put on my suit of stripes. The
thought that l was eternally disgraced
| took such deep root in my mind that l
doubt il l were, at the time any better
morally than the most hardened convict
within the walls. ! began to hate the
world, to mock, within myself, the very
idea of honesty and virtue. Sundays we
were compelled to listen to long SER
mons, delivered by preachers not dis
tinguished for cloquence. l sometimes
thought that, knowing we could not
leave the chapel, they took a peculiar
delight in lengthening their discourses.
One day Mr.. Gray came out, but he did
not pay any special attention to me. This
stung me, and as l sat on bench look
ing at him.-I won't say that | was listen
ing TO him-I cursed the old man. l
ought to have been ashamed of myself,
but l had forgotten the meaning of
shame.
The uppermost thought in my mind
was the thought of escape. l had lost
everything but my desire for freedom.
Oh, nNn sxrhk .,,Ls l. n
number of us were penned in stockade,
near n coal mine, into whose dark
vaults we were daily driven, heard one
of the guards say to a companion that
he was so sleepy he could scarcely hold
his eyes open.
$50 am l." the companion replied,
'and, to tell you the truth, 1 wouldn't
be surprised if do some little nodding
tonight.
Crawling over where several of my
vile associates lay, communicated the
intelligence which l had caught. They
agreed with me that our time had come.
We kept the secret closely guarded,
knowing that general rush would be
fatal to our plans We made our
stcalthy move about 2 o'clock in the
morning. We climbed the fence with
but little trouble. l passed near one of
the guards. He was sitting, leaned
back against a stump, and was sound
asleep. | took his gun and box of cart
ridges which he had deposited on the
ground near him. We spoke not
word until we were fully half
mile from the scene of our imprisonment.
Then we stopped and laughed. BY the
ha
ber of miles from the ''stockade," but
we knew that we would be pursued.
Hunger began to pinch us. This was
serious, for, dressed as we were, we dare
not go near human habitation. The
next day we stopped and held a con-
sultation. 1t was better to risk re-capture
than to go hungry, accordingly we de-
cided to call at the next house. We soon
came upon farm. Walking up boldly
we entered the house. There was no
one at home except a little girl, about
twelve years old. She was the most
beautiful child l have ever seen. She
was frightened at first, but soon recover
ing, she gave us something to eat. She
exercised strange influence on me. Her
sweet face at once reminded me that
purity existed in the world. She took
a special liking to me, and when limited
that would like to have an old suit of
clothes, that l was tired of wearing ugly
stripes, she-not knowing that she was
committing crime-procured for me an
old suit of clothes At the gate Kissed
her hand. My companions, three vile
wretches, were not impressed by the
little girl, and had not possessed gun
/ am sure that they would have robbed
the house.
We had not gone much farther when
pursuers came within sight. Then there
was race for liberty. l was fleet, more
so than the wretches. About the time
night set in two of my fellow convicts
had been captured. The other one kept
close to me. A gun fired. | heard a
yell. Looking around, l saw him fall.
The darkness and the dense woods pro-
tected me. Iescaped. Finding a canoe,
! crossed the river. The face of the lit
tie girl was constantly before me.