The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-02-14

was in in the prison and the name Of his
sergeant and after doing what | could for
him, left him. Early the next morning
in crossing the camp l saw what remained
of him. He had dled during the night and
he was little more than a skeleton. AS l
walked away from him the thought came
to me that might
GET OUT OF PRISON
in his place and at once went to my
friend ana told him my scheme. 1 wrote
out my own name, my regiment and my
company on piece of paper and pinned it
to his coat, then my friend, Johnny
Campion and myself lifted him up and car
ried him and placed him among the dead
bodies ut the side of the gate of the prison.
This was the custom and the bodies were
regularly carried out and buried and the
names upon them were recorded among
the dead of the prison. | then went to the
sergeant of my own prison company and
arranged to have him report me dead. He
agreed to do so and [ went to the sergeant
of the company to which the dead man be-
longed and tried to get him to let me pass
out in this mans place. He at first refused
and wanted to put in one of his own
friends, but [ told him that the scheme was
mine and that would expose anyone else
who tried to be exchanged under it. He
was ugly and would not consent to it and
was in despair until at last thought of an
old silver watch which had with me. It
was the only thing of value l had saved
and il was worth perhaps $40. l pulled
this out and offered him the watch saying,
Il will give you this watch on this condi-
ton. If l get out of the prison you may
keep 1t, but if [ don't you must give it back
to me- He grumoled a little but took the
watch and was now ready for the ex
change. l made myself look if nything
MORE RAGGED THAN EVER,
l drew in my shoulders, affected an ex-
! travagant limp and succeeded in passing
! the officers and getting out where we were
put to wait for the train. The train did
not come in on time and had to pass a sec
ond examination and this time l was near
being csught. | had gotten past the Off
GERS and was in the gate just ready to go
out when the inspector called Halt l
halted, for a move l knew would result in
my death. The sergeant, however who
had my watch in his pocket spoke 8 word
to the man, telling him it was all right and
/ was permitted to go on. My name was
now John Fraut3 instead of John Tarsney,
and | kept that name until ] got through
my exchange and was at the north. The
man | represented was John F'rantZ of
company K of the Fffty-forth Pennsyl-
vana regiment and had to answer to this
and TO where l was captured before they
would let me through. AT the Detroit re-
union last summer man rushed up to me
| and pretended that he was going to fight
me, saying that he had little matter 10
settle with me. l was just getting ready
to defend myself, and 1 had noted the
twinkle in his eye and l found it was my
old friend, Johnnie Campion who had
helped me to carry the dead body to the
gate and who after the war had gone to
Iowa to live"
Representative DUNCAN of Ohio, had
several most remarkable escapes during
his career in the military prisons OF the
southwest. He went into the war in the
Nineteenth Iowa infantry, was captured
at the battle of MorganZa near Baton
Rouge and he was confined at first in the
prison near Tyler, Texas. The stockade
about this prison was made Of huge square
posts set about six feet deep in the earth,
one close to another forming wall or
fence around the enclosure. Some of these
posts were very large and at first there
was
NO GUARD INSIDE
of the enclosure and no guards on top as
there were later on. MIR. DUNCAN and two
of his companions concocted a plan of es-
cape. They dug the earth out from one of
the larger posts so that they could pull it's
bottom inward without disturbing the wall
and could move it back and forth. They
then watched the guard and when he had
turned on his way past this spot the three
of them slipped out and rushed for the
woods. They got into the underbrush and
safely away without discovery that night.
When it was discovered that they had gone,
the country was secured for them, and
some days later they heard the bayipg of
the hounds who were on their track. They
were at this time near a river and they
jumped into this and swan several miles
down it to an island which was covered
with bushes They crawled painting in
LON md 1oy hnr nr1rhi 10 no dc
beat up and down The banks, hut failed to
locate their trail. After their pursuers
had gone away they crawled out and made
their way north, following the north star
ard at last getting into the Indian Terri
tory. They were thinly clad and it was
very cold. One night Northwestern or a
cold blizzard came up and they thought
they would perish. The cold rain beat
down upon them but they saw in the dis
lance spark and they thought this might
be a camp of Indians They hurried for
ward to it and found it was a burning
} stump from a clearing which had been
burned over by the Indians. DUNCAN
whipped off his coat and sheltered the blaze
from the rain, and the other two gathered
logs of wood, and they soon had big fire
which warmed them and about which they
lay all that night. 1.-The next day." said
MIR. DUNCAN, 1--WE pushed our way on
northwerd and we were almost famlshed
when we saw an indian nut Upon com
: ing into it we found it empty. The other
two men rushed for the cupboard while |
picked up copy of Virgil which was lying
on table, and looking in the front of it, ]
found the name of man with the words
J Marietta, Ohio under it. 1t seems we
were in the hut of civilized Indian who
had gone to school at Marietta. The In.
dian came in soon. l told him who we
were and where we had been. He said
: that he was an Indian, and that he was q
, confederate, but he was more than that
1 he was a Christian, and that as we were il
need and had called upon him, he would
t help US. He then got up good dinner an6
, took US to a trail leading over the noun
tains. We followed this and were soon il
Arkansas. Here we were captured by
| bushwhackers and we were kept with
| troop of these for several weeks. They a
last handed us over to the Jail at Washing
5 ton, Arkansas, and
WE WERE CROWDED
a with lot of confederates and Union sym
) pathizers in the second story of the Jail
q We made plan of escape from here.
t had knife which l carried in my boot leg
) We made file of this and filed one of th
bars Of the Jail window so that we coul
q ain down and crawl out. Now the thin