The National tribune., 1900-07-12

'RIsoN ONCE MORE.
recovering from the wear-and-tear of their
long. hard journey.
! They did not know how fearful the
strains and fatigues had told on them, uIi,
| til they lay down in their shanty and
gave themselves up to Il total cessation
of effort. For days then they seemed be-
reft of all energy and ambition, and did
| little else than lie around and rest and
sleep. Their hurts did not heal prompt
| ly in the vitiated air of the stockade. and
| 81 and Shorty We're alarmed by signs OF
| the deadly gangreuc in Pete's foot and
Sandy Bakers leg.
Shorty resumed his instructions to Tib-
belts in the fine art of card-sha:ping, and
managed to get Il few dollars out of him
every little while, which he spent in peas.
sweet potatoes. flour and other articles. to
piece out their rations, and tide them
along until the anxiOuSly-eXpected day
when Sherman should bust Hood wide
open," and his rescuing army sweep down
over the Georgia plains.
As their animation returned some inter
est in Shad Graham's tunnel developed,
| and they began to work at it spasmod-
ically. But they could not get up any
thing like their former zeal. The critical
condition around Atlanta was too en-
crossing. 1t was in the air that some
thing might happen up there any day
WHICH would render IulllieI-ulSSiUS entire
ly superfiuOus. The absence of any d.
rect news from the front was maddening.
No prisoners had been brought in from
Sherman's army for many days. Every
body WAS full of rumOrS. reports and Stor-
les, gotten from the negroes employed
outside the prison, who had overheard
white men talking. gotten from the pa
rolled prisoners who had caught words
let fall by rebel officers and soldiers. got
ten no one knew where. These covered
the entire list of possible happenings, and
gave the hearer his choice of everything,
from Il desperate drawn battle, with
thousands killed on each side, to an utter
smashing of the rebel army, Sherman's
triumphant entrance into Atlanta, and our
cavalry chasing the dismembered, frag-
ments of Hoods force even to the gates of
AnderSonville.
Meanwhile the rebel papers overfiowed
with stories of how the gallant young
Texan leader was winning crushing vie
tories every day over the ''insolent Yam
KEGS" whose utter destruction was only
a matter of Il few days, or hours, even.
They We're such palpable fictions and eX-
aggerations that it seemed amazing they
should deceive even the rebel people.
Every day Shorty spared one of his
dearly y-begrudged dollars from its purpose
of purchasing food to buy one of the
fiimsy, dingy, rag-like Atlanta dailies.
which were, from the first page to the
last, yclls in big, battered type. muddy
ink and hysteric English, of denuncia-
tions of the Yankees, and accounts of dire
disasters Detailing them everywhere, but
more especially in front of Atlanta.
Yankee army smashed all to flinders
agin today" 81 would remark after Monty
Scruggs had read aloud the contents of the
latest paper. Thought they hadn't left
any alive yesterday. l take notice that
all the fighting is right around Atlanty.
just the same. Our men are not gigging
back anywhere. Monty, read over agin
that part about the shells falling in the
city, and knocking down buildings, and
that there was more o that than yester
day"
One day, however. they got a paper
which gave them real concern. All the
big type in the job Office had been pressed
into service to announce:
"DELIvERANCE At LAST.
THE LONG SIEGE RAISEDm
THE BAFFLED YANKEES IN
FULL RETREAT!
''THEIR MAIN ARMY BACK ACROSS
THE CHATTAHOOCHE RIVER.
"ONLY SMALL REAR GUARD STILL
LEFT THIS SIDE OF THE
RIVER.
GLORY TO GOD, AND OUR GAIL
LIANT SOUTHERN SOLDIERS. ~
The reading matter stated with ioy-
full hysteria of eXpletives. that that morn,
ing Il reconnaissance had developed that
the whole long line of Yankee breast.
works, encirclng the city on the west.
north and east, had been abandoned, and
all the guns and camp equipage removed.
The reconnaissance had been pushed on
through all the camps lately occupied by
the Union forces, every one of which was
empty, even of the sick and wounded
until the Chattahooche River was nearly
reached, when a force was discovered.
consisting, it was thought, only of the
Twentieth Corps, stationed as rear-guard
t. cover the crossing of the river and Sc
cure the passage over it of the last of the
wagons and supplies. This force was now
being sharply attacked, with the confident
expectation that it would be destroyed or
captured, and the whole of Hoods forces
would press on in relentless pursuit OF the
flying Yankees.
AS never before their hearts sank while
Monty read the long story. They had him
read it over several times in the vain ex,
pectation of finding somewhere giimmer
of hope. But there was none The story
was too full and circumstantial to admit
of any doubt as to its truth. The newer
prisoners. who had been captured in the
July and August fighting Immediately