The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-03-09

LuE uQEAEA HAAuAA pHAAA AAlAlA W VIZ
Rhythmic mQtronome while the weird
echoes sang dlrge Of the departEil'
day, Sitting upright without change
OF position for fourteen hours travel
ing over rough roads, WIS an ordeal
Ia itself 70 Try une'b soul as We'll a.
body: no long was the night that u
seemed the sun had again violated ma
lures law und stopped In the neither
zone Of his orbit, but morning daWned
at laSt. and never was It's coming more
welcome A light ration was serVetltI
and we were then put aboard a train
which offered ease and comforts that
were In cheerful contrast TO the tor
ture suffered IN the conveyance from
which we had just been delivered ~
IAN day and far Into the night the
trnin sped Nl0nu. the guards utterly
ObllVlOuE 10 the mental protests and
literal anguish OF Us helpless prisoners,
whose every heart-bcIt was accompa-
nlcd'by,n fervent PRAYER 60 God for de-
ilVerance. During the night we had Il
walt uf an hour or 80 nj a station for
another train, which took uS "a the
end of our Journey, as we found out q
few hours before noon the next day,
when we entered city and were
promptly marched down one street.
out another, then M to large two
story warehouse, which had evidently
seen service for several decades, but
was NOW used as prlsOn-house for
'pettICoated spies. as some called us.
Six women were locked IN an upper
room entirely barren Of fixtures ana
furniture. except small imprOViSed
beds made from rough boards, ana
thin mattresses OF straw. The floor
was bare, uneven and dirty, showing
no appearance Of ever having come In
contact with broom or brush; the
walls were irGsCOed with cobwcbS and
ElgEag stains from water leaks; the
roOfrCelling was festoOned with spi-
ders' webs. and Wasps' nests IN relief;
two windows, partly glazed, permitted
light. ventilation and rain. az well as
bats. bugs, mosquitoes, and the INST OF
their four hundred relstives and as
soclntea to come In Our 'claperone'
said this would be our home until FUR
ther notice suggesting by infercnce
that we might either hope for or fear
a change.
In Strange Land,
what home! A very mochery on
the most humble hoyel. a libel ON the
name, an outr0se on the thought as
memory went back to my own sweet
bone. hundreds of miles away, ]
wanted to cry, but the fountain of
tears, which had often lifted burdens
from my bosom, refused to lend relief,
did not know where was--indeed.
scarcely knew whether l was myself.
so distracted were my thoughts /
was the youngest woman In the room
mot yet twenty Gvr-Hnd they tried
to console me with thoughts Of free
dom which better days would bring,
but | could not DE com6orted.
"HoW could forget the darling
children whom had borne and nursed
and puftcd, and whose tiny arms chung
so teaderly and ufIectionatClV about
my neck as they lisped their loving.
Goodbye. mamma: hurry bnck?' Pos
sIbly they were ratherless now. and
felt that II might not be long until
they would be motherless, too. ] was
hungry, but could not eat: weary and
tired. but could not rest. Cold sweat
broke out from every pore. followed
by hot flashes Of blood, The pulsationS
Lncrea sed faster and faster until my
sensibilities were numbed,, and reason
gave way to the strange vagarles and
mysterious frivoltieS which haunt the
feyered brain
"'One touch OF nature makes the
whole world kin. When consciousness
returned II WAS evident that my pitiR-
BILE condition had awakened the sym
patilies Of some good women OF the
city. who kindly mlnistered 10 my
needs for many days. While they
knew l was foe to their cause In
spirit, they could not forget that | was
human-a sister. whom their woman
hood would not allow them 10 con
denim because OF the accident OF birth
and the environment OF location; so
they gave assistance TO the limit OF
their opportunity and ability.
Not until now lid ] find out that
We were In Macon, Georgia.
Gradually my strength came back,
and II was not long until I could walk
about the room. The ladies, whose
sympathy and kindness, no doubt.
saved my life, were not permitted to
render further assistance or see me
again. because OF change ln.the prls-
on rules. 80
Food was served on tin plates or
pie pans, and no matter Ia what form
II had TO be conducted 10 the mouth
with spoon handled fork, or with The
fingers: as they said thei:' commissarg
department was barren OF SPOONS;
POSSIBLY they had been stolen by some
Yankee generally While hunger Kept
us company continually, the quality "
the cooking, and the stun cooked, was
so miserable, often, that our appeiltf'
rebelled and refused to admit the un-
GuNOTE NlCNuulN lKlku NLt ELlHlhClSs r"dAi9
a time | wished for such luxnries as
the crusts OF bread. scraps OF meat and
other refuse which went from thn TIA
bic to the dog and pigs at home.
sernbblnE NEa'H Relief
I'VE we're not allowed any books or
papers to read, which employment
would have been very valuable mental
exercise. for "tis the mind that makes
the body rich:' neither would they give
us any sewing or other work. except
the. privilege OF scrubbInG the iioor,
which we were glad 10 do; but this
was gone through with all too soon.
then nothing 90 occupy our hands or
minds except to think OF our suffering,
lament our misfortune and wonder
whether we would ever be permitted
10 see our friends and relatives nEalu
this side OF eternity. The human mind,
no matter how strong and vigorous,
cannot endure the strain and pressure
of enforced idleness. asked for paper
to write hnme to father and relieve
him OF his anxiety as 70 what had be-
come Of me- but, like every other re-
quest. this was refused
From our Windows we could look
down into the stoCkadc where scores
Of Union soldiers were coopeh In, and
had no protection from the elements
whatever. Owing to the exposure and
bad food, or lack OF II altogether.
many OF these brave boys In blue fcll
sick, with no bed hut the bare ground,
no doctor but an armed rebel guard
no nurse but helpless cOmrade, no
medicine but grlmy nth and no hope
Of rescue but death, which relieved
many heroic soul from the toGtnres
OF It's wretchcd hIbitation.
There arc things OF which / may not
speak:
There are dreams that cannot dc
There are thoughts which make the strong
heart weak.