St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-29
their liberty could be gained, to go to the

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front once more.
The prisoners did not whine and nope, but
made the best of situation that did not
seem to have one redeeming feature in it.
Before reached Libby, it seems, meat ra-
tions had been occasionally issued. They
must have consisted principally of bone
judging from the large quantity of osseous
matter that remained; and on my first in
specton Of the prison it seemed to me that
every other man was cutting away at piece
of bone, trying to form it into a napkin ring,
paper cutter with the name of some loved
one on it, or most sacrelgiouS looking cru
cifix. The men who put in their time in this
way were said by their comrades to have
''bone on the BRAIN" One of these carvers,
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry, of the Fifteenth
Kentucky cavalry, carved some bone articles
that were really exquisite and which sold for
very high prices, in confederate money, to the
art connoisseurs of Richmond. Colonel
Henry had the advantage, however, of having
been a sculptor before the war, calling
which he subsequently practiced with sue
cess. Before my coming boxes from friends
in the north had been received by prisoners,
under flag of truce, and as these contained
NOT Oily lOOU duU TdllileIt, puC nlttily DOOAS,
there was not a dearth of reading matter in
Libby, but it was so cold that, unless man
were the owner Of an overcoat and a couple
of blankets, which few We're, it was imposs;-
BILE to sit down and read for any length of
time.
We had moot courts martial, in which men
were tried for offenses, real or imaginary,
and invariably convicted; the penalty being
imprisonment for life, unless sooner ex-
changed" In addition, we had literary and
debating societies and chess clubs, and have
even seen bearded men shouting like boys
over a game Of tag. We had also a minstrel
troupe in Libby prison, the talent of which
would have done credit to the regular stage.
This troupe was permitted, now and then, to
give performances in the dining room, where
the tables were fitted up as a stage, and
among the audience We frequently had not
only the pris2a authorities, but many promi-
nent confederate officers from the city, Who
seemed to enjoy the Jokes, even when they
were at their own expense, as much as did
we. The leader CT this minstrel troupe was
Captain ED" Mass, of the Eighty-eighth
Pennsylvania, a man whom. every prisoner
remembers with loving gratitude, for al
though ordinarily the mostoquiet and retiring
of mortals, he often caused us forget the
hunger and cold and filth in a hearty laugh.
He is now Colonel Mass, and is I under
stand, connected with the custom house at
Philadelphia. 1~;-.
One of the most picturesque characters of
the prison at this time was General Neal
Dow, of Maine, who had been captured in
the summer of 1858, in. Port Hudson. saw
General Dow IA few months ago, in Portland,
Maine, and he did not look to be one day
older than when I first met him, in Libby
prison, thirty years ago; though. must say,
he is at present much better dressed, and
decidedly cleaner. In those days General
Dow was very slender, and he looked like a
retired Turkish pasha, with the leg of a red
flannel drawers drawn over his head like a