Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-04-02

or faulttinding. no Blaming anv mo
either Federal or Confederate I was
maGh Interested and moved by the re-
cl,al' put that l might understand the
ease better, 1 asked to be shown to the
room OF the sick mother. I found
the condition of things was eve worse
thar L had expected. Every thino
indicated that the family had formerl7
ilved IN luxury. but aside from articles
OF furniture, the house was desolate
indeed. Tho mother was unable tn
leave her room. Her face was ycrv
thin and pinched, and Isaw at once that
it was not disease that had prostrated
>iher, but that she was suffering from
lack of suitable nourishment-that in
short she was starving.
Meanwhile, some Of the mon b.v;no
searched the outbuildings, getting, how.
ever, very little for their pains, come i'm
to the house to look for the meal of
which we had been told. The Young
lady, who had accompanied me to her
mothers room-on hearing the men
moving about below-wentdown stairs.
AT the foot of the stairway she met two
OF the men, who. having passed through
some of the lower rooms, were about to
go upstairs. They at once asked for the
meal. She told them that she had food
on hand for only q few days, and that
her mother was sick. Hearing the con-
%yersation, and wishing to a the in
valid as much as possible, 1 went to the
door. and then down stairs. Several of
the men were in the hall. Said I:
Boys. an old lady is sick upstairs, and
next thing to starving. They have
nothing fit for her to eat; the daughter
tells you the truth about the meal. In
stead of taking what they've got, let's
give the mother something in memory
OF our own mothers who are safe at
home. We won't lose any thing bv it,
for if we can't find all we need, Uncle
Sans supply train can help us out"
The boys needed no urging. I called
Miss -. who had gone to her mother as
l was talking. and asked her to receive
and take are of our gifts. Several of
the men had their havcrsacks with them
or entering the house, and all had either
there, or in the wagons, personal sup
plies in plenty. had some bread and
a bottle of wine. and we found two or
three quarts of salt that we could spare.
One of the boys gave a chicken that he
had picked up for his own supper, 9TH
ers gave other articles, and so the pile
grew until the family, colored people
and all, was provided with food for at
least a week, and the sick mother in
particular with provisions more suitable
for an invalid than unsalted corn bread.
OF course the young lady cried at this
new turn affairs had taken-that wa to
be expectcd-but when she thanked MS
specially for what we had given her for
her mother, and prayed God to bless us
for our kindness, there was a big lump
in my throat as I thought of my own
mother, safe in her Northern home,
with plenty about her, and happy as she
could be while her only boy was "gone
to the war" And when Miss ~ shook
hands with me at parting I felt glad
that we had been able to lend help to
the needy.
We went on our way, found pro-
visions and forage, loaded our wagons,
and in due time reached our camp in
safety. A day or two later we left that
locality. During the month that fol-
lowed, we We're constantly moving, and
had skirmishing and fighting almost
every day. Some of the boys lost their
lives and were buried where they fell,
were wounded, and were sem in
side the lines, or to their homes in the
North, to be cared for. l was taken
prisoner, and with a few others cap
tnred at the same time, was hurried off
to a prison camp.
Now, l am not particularly hard to
please, but 1 did not like the restraints
of my new quarters, and so, on general
principles, 1 registered a VOW that, as
soon as l could tear myself away from
the hospitality of my entertainers, I
would change my boarding place. The
opportunity was a good while coming,
but it came at last.
There was considerable sickness in
the prison and a number of men died
during my stay. The burial ground
outside the stockade and some hun
dreds of yards distant. From time to
time details of III men would be made
to bury the dead-a guard always ac-
c%ompanying and keeping careful watch.
/ had been in the prison several weeks
and though I had been on the watch for
an opportunity to escape, had thus
far been unable to see an s'open-
Others had in various ways con-
to absent themselves without
leave, but most of these had been recap
tured. One evening, with seven other
men, 1 was sent to the burial ground,
three guards going with us. The work.
was finished a little after sunset and we
sat down for a few moments rest before
starting back. A hundred yards away
was a creek and I asked the corporal, a
good-naturcd fellow, to let me go and
ill my canteen with fresh water. Leave
was given and I started for the water,
walking briskly. This privilege had
previously been granted to others, and
when l started I suppose that a guard
would follow me-indeed I thought it
likely that all my comrades would ask
leave to get some fresh water. Possibly
they intended to do it, but were a little
slow about starting, SC chat when 1
reached the water and glanced back
over my shoulder I saw to my surprise
that l was entirely alone, and that the