The National tribune., 1897-12-09


successful bartering. 1t was generally
believed that they gave every cent to
Bowes for the privilege of leaving. !
know nothing of the truth of this, but l
am reasonably certain that they paid
him very handsomely.
Soon we heard that $3.50 each had
been sufficient to buy some men out
then 500, SIS, $50, $50, $40, SO, and
at last So. Whether the upright Bowes
drew the line at the latter figure.
1t was the lowest quotation that came
to my knowledge, but he may have gone
cheaper.
TIE cheapest Lever knew rebel Off
Ger to be bought was some weeks after
this at Florence. The sick exchange
was still going on. | have before
spoken Of the rebel passion for bright
gilt buttons. 1t used to be proverbial
comment upon the small treasons that
were of daily occurrence on both sides
that you could buy the soul Of a mean
man in our crowd for pint of cornmeal,
and the soul of rebel guard for half
dozen brass buttons.
A boy of the 54th Ohio, whose home
was at or near Lima, O., wore blue
vest, with the gilt, bright-rimmed but
tons of staff officer. The rebel Sur
geon who was examining the sick for
exchange saw the buttons and admired
them very much. TIE boy stepped
back, borrowed a knife from a COM
rade, cut the buttons off, and handed
them to the Doctor.
Call right, sir" said he, as his itching
palm closed over the coveted ornaments
"you can pass" and pass he did to
home and friends.
Capt Bowes's merchandising in the
matter Of exchange was as open as the
issuing of rations. His agent in con-
Quoting the bargaining was Raider-a
New York gambler and stool pigeon
whom we called Matte" He dealt
quite fairly, for several times when the
exchange was interrupted Bowes sent
the money back to those who had paid
him, and received it again when the ex-
change was renewed.
Had it been possible to buy our way
out for five cents each Andrews and l
would have had to stay back, since we
had not had that much money for
months, and all our friends were in an
equally bad plight. Like almost every
body else, we had spent the few dollars
We happened to have On entering prison
in week or so, and since then we had
been entirely pennies.
There was no hope left for us but to
try to pass the Surgeons as desperately
sick, and we expended our energies in
stimulating this condition. Rheuma-
tism was our forte, and / fatter myself
We got up two cases that were APP
parently bad enough to serve as illus
trations for patent medicine advertise
ment. iea9
But it would not do. Bad as we
made our condition appear there were
so many more who were infinitely worse
that we stood no show in a competitive
examination. / doubt if we would have
been given an average of "50". in a
report. We had to stand back and see
about one-quarterof our number march
out and away home. We could not
complain at this-much as we wanted
to 60 ourselves since there could be no
question that these poor fellows deserved
the precedence. We did grumble saw
agely, however, at Capt. Bowes's venality,
in selling our chances to moneyed men,
since these were invariably those who
were best prepared to Withstand the
hardships of imprisonment, as they were
mostly new men, and all had good
clothes and blankets.
We did not blame the men, however,
since it was not in human nature to re-
sist an opportunity to get away, at any
cost, from that accursed place. Cali
that man hath he will give for his life,"
and / think that if I had owned the