The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-22

tent and proposed to take advan age of that.
We knew that if we could stay cut Of the
prison pen during the right we could get
over the fence somehow.
We'll day the four of us who were in
the deal to get away fixed up four bundles
of blankets in the space along the side Of
the building in tee rear Of the line where we
were counted. Then we crawled Up under one
of the houses, that 1 hive described as being
partly built on piles ard waited for dark
ness. We could hear the sergeant lining the
rest of the fellows up and presently heard the
break in the count. A few minutes later
there was tremendous row and an alarm
announcing the absence Of some prisoners
told us that scheme had not been sue
cess We could hear them locking the other
fellows up and after a while the search was
begun for us. They hunted everywhere, and
it finally occurred to some of the more in
dustIious of them to look under the house
where we were hidden
Now, their idea OF investigating under
the houses>was to shout first for som ebGdy TO
come out and be to them. When tat
did not have the desired result, why, they
crawled under the building with fixed bayo-
nets and proddsd into the darkness. Under
the circumstances it didn't take long to dis
lodged US and were dragged cut.
Gust as they got minds
lieved as to the manner of their discovery Of
our escape for q guard came cut OF enc OF
the houses leading a couple more FLOWS.
They had been hidden in the chimney ard had
come down after being prodded with bayonets.
1t seems that these other unfcrtunates had
got the idea of escaping about the time that
we did. but they didn't know enough to
cover their tracks. The sergeant had &C.
counted fer the absence of us four By the
bundles Of blankets that he supposed covered
as many ferns Of prisoners. The other lows
had made no such provision for stepping the
discovery ard it was their fitting that was
found out. not ours.
well we were marched off to the Old
engine house of the mill. Underneath this
there was dark hole some five feet square.
too small TO permit us to lie Down anyway,
and into this we were showed. AS we con dn t
sleep we made night hideous by singing. and
the songs that most of us knew had something
to do with what Grant, or some of cur
generals would do to the johnny Rebs when
they caught them. i must even admit thai
some of the songs lacked the nicely Of the
drawing room ballad.
..sIn the morning we were hauled before the
eonlnandant-a man who lad been an eff cer
in the Confederate army, and who had been
given this command because OF wounds. He
was not so sore about the attempt to escape
had INDUCED in during the night. and he read
us long lecture the disrespect we had
been guilty of towards several very eminent
Scutherners. After he had scored US enough
he ordered to be trussed up ard sat down
outside of his quarters for six hours. We
were gagged by having bayonets forced side
WAYS into our mouths and dashed on each
side by strap going around behind the
head Then our hands were fastened in front
of US and we were seated with our knees we'll
I'D to our chins and sticks of wood showed
through under our knees and over our arms.
We simply couldn't move nor utter SOUND.
To make matters worse they sat down
in a spot that had been muddy TIE night be-
fore. but which had become hardened in the
frost of the night AS the sun came out
stronger the frost went out and in an hour
we we're all sitting in a wailow Of mud.
1.-The torture from the position In which
we sat and from the gag was something awful
and II that fellow wanted to cure US OF try
ing to escape he certainly succeeded, for we
didn't think Of trying 1t again-for month
at least