The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-07-17

volunteers, who had been prisoner or
war five months and an inmate during
that time of three different prisons-Libby,
Macon, Ca, and Charleston Although ne
had been foiled in many attempts to escape
he resolved on one more effort, and having
had little warning of the trip to Columbia
was prepared for any emergency that
could favor the enterprise. The story OF
his adventures, in breaking guard near
Charleston and reaching Knoxville, Tenn,
after forty-nine days of wandering, is told
in the history of the Ninth New Jersey, re-
Gently published.
Drake induced three fellow prisoners to
Join him, Capt. H. II. Todd, Eighth New
Jersey; Capt J. E. Lewis, Eleventh Con-
necticut, and Capt. Alfred Grant, Nine
teenth Wisconsin. While the train was
crawling slowly on toward Columbia the
bold protector of the scheme managed to
remove the gun caps from the nipples of
the muskets of several guards on the car
where the four friends were, and as soon
as dusk came on the party at signal
took their daring leap. They landed in
e. cypress swamp on Congaree river, and
found themselves waist deep in water and
mud. A volley of shots from all the
guards followed the fugitives, but no one
was hurt, as the train was running under
good Roadway. A night and day were
passed in the swamp, and although the
barking of dogs and shouting of men lndl-
Gated that pursuers had been sent out, the
runaways were not disturbed. The second
night bright new moon arose, and they
started on a systematic journey toward the
Union lines in Tennessee.
Before leaving Charleston one of the
party had found a school map of South
Carolina and with this guide course had
been studied out. They decided to hug the
swamps and woods by day and at night use
the fields and roads, and spend as little
time as possible in sleep until the noun
tains of North Carolina were reached.
Their chief guidemark in South Carolina
was the Wateree river. On the morning
of the second day the fugitives struck
high road, and milestone told them they
were within twenty-seven miles of Colum-
bia. Alarmed at this discovery they
hastened toward the river and were soon
further alarmed by the barking of dogs.
apparently in pursuit They then took to
the swamp and remained all day in hiding.
With some difficulty they got out of the
jungle at nightfall and shortly came across
a patch Of sweet potatoes and enjoyed
good feast.
AT the end of week their ratlons had all
been consumed, and even their cooking
utensils had been lost in a stampede that
occurred one morning when party of
horsemen surprised them at breakfast. The
wild food of nature-grapes, persimmons
and berries, and raw corn from the stalks
soon produced graver evils than hunger,
and in desperation the wanderers began to
think of food to the exclusion Of all else.
Capt. Drake says that in these times they
heartily yearned for the government "hard
tackn and the contractors beef they had so
often mathematical on the march and in
camp.
But fortune will favor the bold, and one
night, as they halted on a roadside to debate
whether it should be a quest for bread
or for a road to liberty, dark form came
stumbling along the road, and in the moon
light they saw at distance that it was an
old negno with basket on his arm. With