Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-02-19
PRISON EXPERIENCES.
NO. 8.

NO. s.
The next day was to be our first
confederate Sunday; bat the distant
spires, the antique towers, the happ y
hills, the pleasing shades, the charm
ing bells of Richmond were of little
comfort to us. I rose early for the
floor fairly groaned beneath me, such
dents had my hip bones made on its
surface. I rested my back against the
brick walls of the ''yon side," of the
prison, looked through the iron grated
windows and commenced to hum s'In
the prison cell sit,' but my under
Jaw fell down and couldn't 'sing the
old song". felt in the corners of my
haversack for something for break
fast, but few grains of coffee was the
sum total of ali there was left. These
1 scraped into my cup, filled it with
Petersburg water from my canteen,
stepped it in the checkered light Of
the sunshine, and off it dined, wincd
and supped for the day.
About ten O'Clock while the bells
were calling the rebel sires and DANES
and damsels to their several places of
worship, we were called down and out
of that horrid hog hole, and soon
stood filling our lungs from a whole
street full of fresh air. Some one said
they were going to take us ''to meet
ing" but whoever it was was misin-
formed, for they only transferred US
across the street and initiated US into
the mysteries of the top story of Libby
Prison.
Nearly all descriptions that 1 have
seen OF the inside of this prison, are
about the same as I have described
the inside of the Pemberton to be; but
when we entered it the floors had just
been washed and were quite clean.
The room was 40 feet wide by 1O5 long,
and we felt our condition was materi-
ally bettered so far as cleanliness and
space were concerned. Inon corner
was wooden trough with plenty of
James River water for washing pur-
poses, but when we first attempted to
drink it we recoiled from it as dog
would from kettle of lye.
The walls were of brick, neither
lathed, plastered or papered. The
windows were narrow and dingy with
now and then broken pane Of glass
clinging to the sash. 1t was not a
nice place to invite company, but if
we could have obtained good square
meal, we wouldn't have minded the
rest, but we were destined to want till
the middle of the next day for that.
When we were in our lines, if our com
munication was cut off for few days
from the commissary wagons, some of
the boys used to get green persim
mons, as they said, to pucker up their
stomachs to make them fit their ra
tions, but here we could not even
obtain supply of these.
Soon after noon it was rumored that
they were examining the prisoners O n
the floor below and taking away their
money and everything else. This
created general confusion as no one
had the least idea we would be robbed
of our own money. AT once there was
a lively hustling among the boys who
had mo oney-and some had considera-
able sums-to contrive how they
might save it. A favorite method was
to sew it in the lining of their coats;
some pried apart the layers of leather
jim the soles of their shoes, tucked in a
few bills and pressed the layers to- !
|gether again as best they could; others
tried to conceal it in the tops of their
|caps. It was not very long before the
|rumor was confirmed by the appear
|ance of an officer who ordered down
la few at time into the second story.
After the investigation we were put
still lower down on the first floor, and
|a few more were taken from the top !
ktory, after the manner farmer takes |
his sheep from the pen to be sheared. |
Fhey had US stand up in row, toeing
IA crack in the floor just as we used to
do at the little white schoolhouse !
when we were called out in the spell |
Ing class. The officer then made