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

Hard luck still pursued him. He was in
the swamps for two weeks, and one night,
overcome by fatigue, he lay down to sleep
on hummock. This was within twenty
miles Of Pocotaligo, then held by our troops.
lie was putin in his best ticks a sleepin','
for he was fright smart petered out, "when
be was awakened by loud laugh and
''suthin' a-proddin' of him. The laugh
came from a body of Confederate scouts,
and the prodding was done by their bayou
cts Bell told them he was an escaping
Yankee, and his captors sent him on to
Charleston, where he had been ever since.
The prison authorities knew he was
mountain man, land, doggone 'em, they
made hit all the harder on that account,
but they amt nigh done with me yet. Pm
q gwine to live Jest SOS to kinder even
things up back there in the mountains Of
ole Buncombe, and the ID sneak ez
sold me out will larn hit was bout the
worst trade he ever mixed up in since he
was BON. The Bells amt much on talk,
but 'uns Is got powerful long mem'ries and
amt given to fAhgittin' trends noh foes:
no, not, praise de Good Mastah, If hit takes
fifty thousand yeahs. Now, you 'uns had
bettah watch out"
The last sentence was rounded of with
one of his fluent oaths, and was evidently
intended for the enemy in Buncombe
county.
Tom ellis narration did me great deal
of good, for it was a capital story. full OF
vim and action, and with all the thrilling
situations of q melodrama. And then his
deliberate way of telling it, as if his were
weighing his thoughts or trying to IND
words in which to express them, and his
quaint phraseology and not unmusical voice
gave an added charm to the telling.
Have you given up all thought OF es-
cape, Bell!n
t[3iven UP all thought of uit?' he repeat
ed. by the great iumpin' lingo! L don't
think of nothin' else WY, dream Of hit.
Hit was hopin' that this id place would
give one better show that made me- play
dead sick, and got them uns TO send me
heah. But you see what it hit-iust death
and sufferin' and sufferin' and death. we
uns, reckon, has seed lots of men a-lyin',
without breathin', on the field, and I'll al
low, when we amt downright mad, hits
mighty touchin' sight. But, my God, to
see the dead that's took out of hesh every
mawnin', hit cuts plum into the heart, and
lhar's no gittin' ulster hit. The heart aud
the stomach is bound TO have thar own
way" and l could feel that he shuddered
as if he were cold.
The guards announced. Twelve clock
and aIrs wellr" before Tom Bell and 1
thought Of going to sleep. 1t was daylight,
and the flies had been at work Tor some
time, when we got up and put on our boots
and coats, then rushed to the window for
breath of air that had not in it the sicken
ing odor OF that charnel house.
''Eive this morning; there were seven
yesterday" replied Muth in answer to
Belrs question as to the number of deaths
What mattered it! The sooner 1t was over
the better, for, even if at once attended
with the greatest care, it is doubtful If one
in ten of the men on that floor could have
pulled through. AS it was, there seemed
not the faintest hepe Tor the strongest OF
them. Soon after this yellow fever was
added TO the other horrors of the Charles
ton prisons, but Black Jack showed great
impsrtiality, for he carried off q number of
the prison officers as will as the Yankees.
After being week in the workhouse
asked to be returned to the jailyard, Bell
joining his application TO mine. and this re-
quest was granted twenty minutes after it
was made. We had purpose in wishing
10 return to the Jail. OF course, we wanted
10 get out of that abominable hospital, but
the day before one Of the guards, man
with heart in him, placed paper on tie
point Of his bayonet and pushed il up TO the
window where l was standing. Inside the
paper there was loaf OF white bread and
d piece of boiled bacon, which was shared
with the men lying near. The paper was
was Of that cate, the 10th Of June, and IT
contained an item saying that as the jail
was getting packed ulcomfortablY it mac
been decided TO send q lot Of the Yankees
on 10 Camp Oglethorpe, at Macon, Ga.
We were puzzled by another paragraph,
which stated that 600 Yankees were coming
on from Macon, and that the fair grounds
were being fixed up so as to accommodate
any number OF prisoners. Bell and
wanted, If any prisoners were sent away,
to be among the number, and we made up
our minds, If forwarded 10 Macon, to es-
cape before reaching there or TO Idle airy
in"
The third morning after my return from
tie poorhouse two officers, accompanied by
s guard Of about twenty men, entered the
Jail yard, very unusual proceeding at
O'Clock in the forenoon. The prisoners
were Assem- bled-that is, those who were
tented IN the yard-and were told to step
forward when their names were called.
Among the sixty names were Bell's and
mine When the list was finished we were
told to pack up, and were Informed that we
were going to be sent on to Macon.
AS we had been moving Ia the lightest
kind of marching order since our capture
there was but little packing to do, but
every fortunate owner of a blanket rolled
il up and slung it over his shoulder. We
were marching ont and down through the
heart of the city to the station. On the
way we afforded a great deal of amusement
10 some of the white women still left in the
city. They came out from their shruboery
surrounded villas to the street, ana il
strident voices made comments on the ap-
pearance of the Lincoln hirelings.n We
certainly were what Bell called "a ID
sorry lookin' crowd and no gittin' around
hit, and it is not to be wondered at tha
these southern danes contrasted US favor
ably with the good looking officers and wei
fed guards who had Us in charge The,
firmly believed, as they pointed out to theil
children "the wretches who had come dowr
TO spill the best blood OF the south, u that il
dress and appearance we were very fail
sample of the whole northern army. o
course, we took no notice OF these women
but it should be said to the credit OF oul
guards that they tried to stop them, aud il
snumber of cases used language more forci
bic than polite, but without having tn,
slightest effect
at the station we were put into box car
that were comparatively clean In othe
cars there were other prisoners just brouk b
down from the north, but we had no oppor
tunity of communicating with them at tina
time. When we started FROM the Jail
was evidently the intention of the authorj
ties to send US to Macon by way of Column
bis, Augusta and Atlanta, but Sherman,
operations in Georgia compelled them {
change the route at the last moment. 40,
we were sent on TO Savannah
In each car there were two guards an,
as the day was very hot the doors were lef
open, and about these all crowded VIII
could, to get breath of cool air and
glimpse of the low, swampy country owe
which hat road IL nuilf We bod -