Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-02-24

vile, Ga, to my home in Illinois. The
day before New Years was very mod
crate, and rained good portion of the
day. [ left Nashville that morning on
the cars for Louisville. When we APP
preached the latter city about dusk, 1
noticed difference in the air, as though
it was about to clear Off. took supper
at the Soldiers Home, expecting to
stay there until the next day, but |
took sudden notion that [ would
strike out that night and cross over to
Jacksonville and seek the first train
north. When I started from the Home
on the south side of the city, the mud
was quite soft, but when / reached the
Jetfersonville ferry the wind was
gale and the mud was frozen SO that
it would bear me. I had to wait more
than an hour for the ferry-boat, and
when it came the captain refused to
make another trip, saying it was i'm
possible to land on the other side ow-
ing to the severe gale. There were at
least fifty passengers waiting for the
boat, many of whom were soldiers, and
they used such persuasion that the cap
tain consented to make another trip.
but he said it would be of no use. In
the meantime the mercury was getting
right down into the bulb, but the boat
started off as though it meant business
and rounded up against the wharf on
the Jetfersonville side, but before any,
body could land OF the boat be secured to
the wharf, the wind carried it out again
into the stream, and then another at
tempt was made to land. While making
the circuit took notion that if the boat
came as near to the wharf as it did be-
fore could Jump the gap by SPRING
ing from the upper deck. SO I
shouldered my knapsack and got every
thing in readiness, aud at the favorable
moment l threw my knapsack and then
jumped after it, clearing the gap by
about four feet. There were some per
sons who screamed as / jumped, being
sure that [ would fall in the water, and,
had they known my intentions, would
probably have prevented my jumping.
| picked myself up all right, but by
this time the boat was hundred feet
out in the stream and never landed un-
It'll near daylight the next morning.
That night l Rugged stove in the
depot, waiting to go ont on the next
train, but as I afterward learned there
had been wreck on the road, and be-
sides the drift of snow made it ilnpos-
slble to send out a train, but no ac-
commodatlng official volunteered us
this information, and so number of
us spenta miserable, anxious night in
that dingy depot, going occasionally to
the door and looking out in order to
bring out more wildly the comforts of
the waiting room by contrast with the
outside The next morning went to
cheap hotel and paid fifty cents for
one of the best meals l had eaten for
more than year, for now there was
butter on the table and milk for nv
coffee | then learned it was colder by
several degrees than ever before known
in Jet1ersonville. There were on the
cars standing at the depot some 200
rebel prisoners on their way to
Chicago, and in keeping up the
fires and standing guard over
these prisoners, the Union soldiers
really suffered with the cold, while the
rebels had better opportunity to hunt
comfort. [ succeeded after day or
two in getting through to Lafayette,
Ind, north of which place all trains
were now bound. It was on Satur-
day night, I remember, that the train
with the rebel prisoners came in. They
were out Of rations, and the officers in
charge were in quandary rs to how
to feed them. On Sunday morning
they We're endeavoring to raise money
enough to buy few hundred pounds
of meal to make some mush. I hit
upon a plan to give these starving
rebels something to eat, and proceeded
Quietly to put it into execution. T wrote