Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1896-03-17

the Tuckasegee our fugitives looked
down Oh the sheriff's party riding the
river roads, near enough to identify in
dividual members and overhear their
plans as they shouted to each other. The
Hoopers and their companions Were
armed with rifles and revolvers, and,
with their knowledge Of the mountains,
had no fear Of being taken. Monroe i.
described as standing out in bold relief
against the bare face Of the mountain,
rifle in hand, despite the remonstrances
Of his comrades, and threatening &c
draw q bead on survivor Of the Ill
fated Watsons who was conducting the
sheriff.
As the Yankee officers were neither
safe nor comfortable in such a desper-
ately pressed party. they were sent on
to friends Of the Hoopers at Shooting
Greek, near the Georgia line, and from
there with experienced guides they
passed over the Wacheesa trail into
Tennessee.
Our party passed the following night
in waynesville Jail, and failing with
another days march 10 reach Asheville
we slept ON the floor Of little school
house, few miles short Of the crossing
of the French Broad. We must have en-
tered Asheville close 10 where the Bat
terry Park hotel now stands. Iwell re-
member that we passed sort Of f0rtri-
cation and that a wide belt Of timber
was slashed across the hill in front Of
the guns. Captain Smith and were
quartered in the courthouse, and old
man Tigue and the Vincents were taken
to the Jail.
At the end Of week our party was
augmented by the arrival OF four Fed
eral officers who had been captured on
the snowy crest Of the Great Smoky
mountains. II remember rightly. some
Of the same guards who had brought us
TO Asheville conducted Us 10 Greenville,
in South Carolina, distance OF some
go miles. Our road took us through the
summer settlement Of the South Caro-
lima -Four Hundred at Flat Rock. We
must have passed here nc an early hour.
for only remember q string of hand
some villas standing well back on the
hillside, with gatehouses bordering the
road, and picturesque brick chapel
covered with ivy vines.
The night before we reached Green
Vile we were quartered at farmhouse,
the prisoners and the privates Of the
guard occupying one large room which
contained but single bed. As all
couldn't sleep in this one bed no one
was allowed 10 do So We found other
means Of employing our time. As We
entered we had observed flock Of fat
white pullets going 10 roost in the
yard. The negroes readily loaned Us a
kettle and looked ON in grinning ap.
proval as We wruDg the necks of half
a dozen Of the finest fowls and dug into
the side Of q sweet potato mound for the
necessary vegetables. We took down one
IF The pictures from the wall 10 dress
The chickens on, having skinned instead
Of plucking them. The guards were
equally interested and equally active in
this enterprise. and we shared alike in
the spoilS. This circumstance, however,
did not prevent the angry farmer from
following us to Greenville and laying
all the blame 10 the Yankees.
Shortly before this time the bridges
on the railway 10 Columbia had been
swept away by freshet, and II was
while awaiting their reconstruction that
we were held at Greenville. The Jail
into which we were taken was two
story brick structure standing flush with
the street and having 10 fence or wall
surrounding it. Each floor was divided
by transverse hall, aud the large,
square room in which our party was
quartered looked down the street through
two barred windows and into the hall
by square hole in the door cut large
enough for the passage Of a plate. OPP
posite 10 the door was stone fireplace
and in the farther corner stone Sink.
The jailer had four or five well grown
interest in our arrival, for the door had
hardly closed upon Us before they began
to appear on the outside Of the peeph0le
with their autograph albums. On our
approach their blushing faces retired out
of sight, but the books held on for our
signatures. They became better ac-
auainted soon, and as our onl y visible
jailers knitted Us stockings and sup
piled Us with many luxuries not includ-
ed in the prison fare, such as wood for
a fire, planks and bee gums for seats
and well thumbed volume Of Bulwer.
At the end of week we were join d
by party Of seven enlisted men " o
had also been captured while attempting
to get through the mountains. One OF
the new arrivals had case knife III his
haversack and another gun screwdriv-
or of tempered steel. With these imple-
ments in our hands | saw chance OF
escape. On the very evening Of the ar
rival of these men, down Oh the hearth
stone by the light Of the fire, | managed
the construction of saw by nickins the
thick edge Of the knife with the screw
driver, using u bone for mallet.
A pane of glass was missing from the
lower sash Of the window by the door,
and piece of carpet had been supplied
to us, which hung outside the crate to
protect Us from tho cold wind. Here
was an excellent cover for our proposed
operations. The upright bars were
square, an inch or more in diameter,
and Of cast iron, moving loosely IN tho
stone mortises above and below, but
steadied by frequent fiat cross plates OF
wrought iron.
Just above the second Of these plates
We began our cut, calculating with a
tough stick Of firewood to separate the
plates after saving should be accom-
plished. It was slow process, at first
prosecuted only in the daytime behind
the piece of carpet while one Of the par
ty listened at the hole in the door. Aft
er a whole hours hard work only few
feathery filings showed ON the cross
plate. We kept the work going, how
ever, at all available opportunities for
two days, and regular hourly reliefs
worked throughout Friday night, by this
means SO deepening the cut that the bar
was severed in the early evening of Sat
urday.
l was at the saw when the supreme
moment Of success crowned our efforts,
and prying up the cross plate above the
cut I lifted out the short piece and
rushed to the crowd crouching over the