The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-01-02
Norm bennington
The Week of Prayer will be observed
10 the churches here, as usual.

1
Samuel Wright. who has fine pos
ton at Quackenbush's, with his wife
have been with their sitter, Mrs. Holt
on a visit.
A New Years dinner, given by Mrs
j. @. Houghlon and her daughter Mrs
H land Hall. was greatly enj Eyed by tn
families Of II. d. Hall, II. I. Cushmal
and that of F. G. Mattison of Beuning
ton, sixteen in number
Work at the stereoscope mill CT Il. G
White has been suspended for few
days to readjust and level up the shaft
ing and otherwise repair. ,.-. PES.
The plots about the depot grounds
which have for few years been uset
for flowers, HAYS recently been per
manently set out with evergreens
tt ey will require less care, and perhap
be quite as ornamental.
W. II. Ranney is spending the vaca
tion of Andover Theological Seminar
with his parents, with his sister, Mis-
Frances Ranny of New York, and othe
friends. The Christmas table wat well
filled,
The union praise service and concer
at the Congregational church last Sun
day evening, was largely attended. Rev
Mr.. Gilbert presided, and with the sing
ing of choice music by the schools com
bined, Of solos, duets and choruses, anC
short addresses by the pastors, with
some experience of mission work il
Boston by W. Fl. Ranny, the occasion
was made of interest and profit.
We are hardly willing to say that We
are glad to have our friends spend the
winter in the South. but do feel like
saying, that we consider them good
judges OF oranges, and have much en-
Joyed the generous specimens we have
been privileged to partake of. We hear
OF Mr.. Z M. Henry and wife enjoying
themselves, as the climate agrees well
with the health of Mr.. Henry.
During the high wind on last Thurs.
day night Hiram Cole went upon lis
piazza to adjust window blind that
had blown off, when the wind took both
him and the window blind, which he
chung to, hurting them to the ground
and iDjuring his hip so that he needed
help to get into the house. He has
since been obliged to use a cane to get
around though the fall was rot consid.
cred very serious.
Rev. L. G, Partridge was installed
over the Berean church, Atlanta, Ca,
on December 10, by the same council
which dismissed the retiring pastor
Rev. S q. Mcdaniel, who goes into gen
sral missionary work. The services
were unusually intert sting, and the new
pastor was given the right hand of fel.
lowship by him who had been called 10
another field Of labor, The church il
quite large and Influential, and seems to
have entered upon a course of prosperity
which will be lasting.
A pleasant affair was had at the Con.
gregational church on Monday evening,
when the Society of Christian Endeavor
gave supper to the Junior Endeavor
Society. The time was spent in CONVEX.
sation and amusing the younger portion
In not Improbable games and plays, and
in listening to reports from other like
&c cieties, a number of members from
abroad being present.
A number of the parishioners of Rev
Q. Ii. Peck. in making a call on New
Years day evening, left a substantial
token OF their friendship in placing a
nice lamp upon the parlor table, and
presenting him with a small purse.
which was dextrously passed over to his
wife, as being the most eloquent in re
spending n such an occasion. 1t was
considered pleasant call. On account
OF the rain, all were not present who de-
sired to be.
"REMINISCENCES OF THE REBELLION.
Oliver Green was taken prisoner al
Brandy Station, Va. in March, 1884,
and in May while in AudersonvIlle
prison he, with two others, Davis,
famlliarly called Yankee" of Co. II,
FIRST Vermont Cavalry, and Butler OF
the TweDty-second Ohio Infantry, con-
ceived the plan Of tunnelIing out and SO
regain their liberty. Davis was chum
with him, occupying the same dug out,
which was on the side hill and about
thirty feet from the stockade, or outside
OF the prison boundary. In his own Ian
guage, as near as may be, he says: Our
nest or dug-out was about six by four
feet and about three feet deep, in which
we laid pine boughs, which we were per
mitted to bring into camp once a week,
on our return under guard from out
side the stockade, for pine knots and
rubbish to use for fire wood. Others
had got away and had been pursued and
captured by blood hounds and brought
back bitten up by the dogs, and some.
times 30 horribly bitten as to end in
death. We had covering to our dug.
out made by setting a crolched stick VI
each end OF il and placing a side pole on
them, and then by tying on the small
pine boughs to sticks we used for
rafters, we would be shaded from the
scorching sun and from winds which
were sometimes cool, though the rair
would manage to find its way through
the matching. IL will, be remembered 9
small stream ran through the grounds
and just above was a rebel camp, the
refuse Of which we were obliged to hav,
mixed in the water which came 10 III
for sill uses. Our plan must be KEEP
very private and we only took into ou
company Butler, and began digging
which could not be done in the day
time. We first dug hole three Feet il
diameter under our dug-out, three
feet deep, carrying the dirt as fast as W,
excavated with our hands and a scooI
made OF canteen,a side of which WI
melted off, down to the little brook
sitting IL in so that there would be nj
accumulation to show that dirt had beef
emptied there and thus we should be de
tected. We were obliged to carry tn
dirt in email packages. or bags, which
we would make by tying up an old shir
sleeve or leg Of overalls, and sometimes
by tying q string around GU
overalls fill in around our legs and thu
get it to the stream. The guard wa
within thirty feet OF US, and our tunne
went right under him, and among th,
rs 900 to $4,000 prisoners there woult
always be some stirring about tn
grounds. The soil was clayey, with n,
stones, and kept its form without Gavin
of as we dug tunnel about twent'
inches In diameter, being obliged whel
we got our package full TO crawl back
ward to the mouth, as but one coul,
work at q time. In addition to our can
/ teen scoop we had an old case knit
which assisted much in cutting the soil
We were about two months digging il
and when we came to the stockade tn
piles were driven lower than our tunnel
so we had to dig around under an,
come near the surface just beside an oil,
pine stump about ten feet outside tn
stockade. We knew we were near tn
surface by the soil being 40 different
We now waited for dark night befur
opening the mouth Of the tunnel, an,
succeeded 10 getting away without de
lection about IL o'clock. Getting each
stick answering for a cane. we went Il
the railroad station about a mile distant
and thinking IL would trouble the dog
in following Us, we balanced ourselve
on the iron track and walked nearly tw,
milaa and then nnrind annh 70 lnnlr On,