The National tribune., 1900-02-22

Iu J"|
CANT You LET Us HA
one or two, I'll make hit worth yer while
I'll give yo' the fust So greenback com,
acrost when / git ter searchin' prisoners"
Shorty's natural hot impulse was tC
rise in wrath and break into several pieces
the fellow who could offer him such al
insult.
Well, of all the roosters 1 ever met" ht
gasped internally. Wants to bribe me Il
turn traitor with money that he'll stea
from my own comrades. Wants to ketct
me. too, with a measly SIS bill. Wonder
how much he'd expect to pay for Yanket
that's high compared to the goin' price
for rebels. He'd do all that, and more, too
for 50 Confed. But there's no Use in eettin
| mad. Like the rest O. them, that feller's
got no more sense o decency and right
than woods hog. He won't understand
my gittin' mad at him any mC.re'n q hog
would my bein' sore at his comm into the
house and layin' down to git out O. the rain.
III make more by playin' with him"
Then aloud:
We'll, don't see how kin help you now
You see. | hain't bin in here really long
enough TO git on TO things. I've bin busy
gittin' our house up. I'll tell you wfat
what you find. Then you let me know
before you go out. and III keep a watch
on 'em. I'll keep my eyes peeled, too, for
signs. Then you go out and fix up that
conjure, Jest as | told you. and come in to-
morrow, and we'll be in shape to do some
thing"
To this reasonable proposition Tibbetts
assented, and left on tour of inspection
of the inside Of the prison.
SO long as the minds of the boys were
filled with the need of getting their tent
erected and providing shelter. they man.
aged to get along on the meager. unappe-
tlzing ratiOnS of coarse corn bread, baked
on the outside as hard as a brick and fire.
quently almost raw inside. But as they
contemplated with satisfaction the com
pletion of their work, which gave them as
good a Shelter as WIS to be fond IN the
prison. and infinitely more than had thou
sands, who either had very little or were
absolutely destitute. and compelled to lie
out on tie sand, hot at one time, drenched
with dashing rain at another, they began
to think of the next prime requisite of life,
proper food. Had the bread been clean.
good and wholesome, the half-loaf issued
as daily ration, without any meat or other
accompaInments, would have been scanty
support for vigorous young men accus-
toned in the field to three pounds Of strong,
nutritious food daily. But the bread
issued was made of the coarsest possible
cornmeal, unsifted and unsalted. merely
mixed with water to the consistepce
of dough, and then the outside burned to
hardness i'll the quickest possible time.
The bakery was excessively overworked,
and had to be rushed night and day to
furnish half-loaf of the wretched product
to each Of the $4,000 men then confined i'm
the pen. To add to its umpalatablene
the swamp in which the bakery was situat-
ed was indescribably filthy, and the filth
bred innumerable maggots, which crawled
around awhile until they developed wings.
They added inconceivably to the other
insect pests of the prison, for they filled
the air, fell everywhere, and when they
dropped on an exposed part of the body bit
painfully. They Swarmed about Tho.
bakery, and every loaf of bread issued
contained some of the disgusting great
maggot-flies.
Sandy Bakers mechanical Ingenuity
had provided the squad with a fair equip
ment of cooking utensils out of the tin
plates from the wrecked car-root. They
used some of the plates flat upon which to
bake their hOe-cakeS, as long as their meal
lasted. Others We're turned up into square
pans. in which they boiled and fried and
from which they drank. With no other
tools than his pocket-knife, Sandy con
structed bucket from bits of pine. and this
served to bring and hold water He carved
out wooden spoons, and was fertile in other
devices. Gid Mackall was quite AS inja
fatigable il culinary makeshifts to make
their rations more palatable, and initiated
the other prisoners Ill parching the crtsts
on the bread TO make substitute for coffen
But there was a question whether more
was gained in this way than by eating tbe
crtIstS. His best scheme was to break H.
bread into crumbs. and boil il with ~
pepper. the only food product that r.as, -m
tolerably easy to procure about the prison
The holiness OF the pepper helped to dis
elise the unpalatable often nausn.,, ,,i.He I.s
Of nlt
thoroughly cooked, and for the noment
the rations seemed more filling than wban
eaten in the form 1t came from the hakar,
81 and Shorty got along on their rations
for several days without complaint, and their
boys, initiating their example, did no
grumblng But as they We're sitting in
the proud enjoyment of their house, the
partners noticed ALI Russell squeamishIy
picking the maggot-fiies out of his bread
with a pine splinter, his face wreathed
with disgust, while Pete Skidmore was
evidently trying to force himself to take
the first bite OH the brick bat-like chunk
which he had just drawn.
Great Scott, Shorty" said ST. Eve NAV
stand this grub but them poor boys can't
They aint as tough as we are. There s
poor little Pete, who hain't had his growth
yit. He won't live a week unless he gifts
decent to eat. Anyhow, he's
likely to be stunted for life"
JUST WIlat L We Dit tulhhiH, 81 wei
can't let them poor boys starve. on no ac-
count. Well try to worry it out, but they
must have something. The expenses o
buildin' this tent We made a pretty big hole
in our cash, but we still have something
left. When it's gone, Providence will |
provide for more, same's He did before. |
Les go over on to Broadway. and see what
them pirates over there have 10 sell"
Leaving the boys to look out for the |
precious tent, with strict injtinctions as to |
: hat to do, the partners made their way |