The National tribune., 1901-02-14

this possibility of detection. figure had
been made OF straw, stuffed into the gar
| ments of theI men, and Ind upon the bed,
in order to look as much like a human
being as possible.
This precaution proved to be good one
flor just before the time of closing up the
prison arrived, the Iglimmer of the old turn
| keys lantern was seen in the corridor, and
shortly after bis, face appeared ut the door
! as he eagerly scanned the occupants of the
various cells4. Apparently satisfied with
! his scrutiny, the jailer went his way, the
| heavy outside doors were closed and
| locked, and the iretreating footsteps of the
old man could be distinctly heard.
| The critical moment had at last arrived,
| and they awaited in breathless silence the
| appearance of Stanton. Fortune favored
| them in a peculiar manner this evening.
| As the old man was passing the pile of
| ashes under which Stanton was concealed,
| he noticed the unusual appearance of the
straw. Stopping for moment, he drew
n match from his pocket, lighted it, and
then walked toward the heap as though
with the intention of setting fire to it. The
match fortunately was eXtinguished by a
blast of wind, and after searching in his
| pocket for another match, but finding
| none, he slowly turned and walked out of
| the gate, locking it securely behind him.
Stanton's feelings, under this ordeal,
may be imagined. If the old man had sue
ceeded in igniting the straw, under which
he was concealed, detection would have
followed instantly, and no doubt serious
| injury would have been inflicted upon the
brave fellow, who had willingly suffered
the discomforts of his unpleasant confine-
ment for the purpose of assisting his COM
radeS to escape.
No sooner had the gate closed upon the
jailor than he crawled nimbly out from his
place of concealmeDt and hastily made his
way to the door. He at once began his op-
erations upon the lock. The appearance of
Stanton at the door was the signal for the
others, and in less than an hour the locks
upon the cell doors had been removed.
Stanton had wrested the lock from the out
side door, and only the iron inside one was
now to be overcome. This barrier resisted
all their efforts, and it was at last decided
that the lock must be removed by main
force. This was Il proceeding which neces-
stated great. deal of noise, and they
were i'll an agony of apprehension lest their
clamor should attract the attention of peo-
pie passing on the outside and thus lead to
their detection. To prevent this, the col
ored men, without any solicitation or in
struction, came TO the rescue in very i'm
portant though unexpected manner. They
commenced TO sing i'll concert, at the top
of their voices, snatches of plantation and
camp-meeting melodies, which effectually
drowned the sound of the blows, and en-
abled them to work without fear of detec-
ton.
OUTSIDE THE PRISON WALLS.
The lock at last yielded to their COM
bined efforts, and the men issued silently
forth into the darkness of the night
breathing once more the stimulating at
mOsphere Of hope and promised liberty.
only the wall around the prison yard was
now to be surmounted, and with the aid OF
some old planks that were lying around
they nOiselessly dropped to the ground. Al
through this wall was very high, they all
reached terra firrna'in safety, and with one
for the success which had thus far at
for their success which had thus far at
tended their efforts.
Silently, and walking in couples, at long
distances apart, they started out to leave
the city. The sky was clear and the moon
was shining brightly overhead. The stars
were. twinkling nerrily, as though enjoy
ing the success which had attended these
brave, patient men in their labor and toll
of days aud weeks.
This was ON the 18th day of March, and
martial law had been proclaimed some
time previously. 1t was now nearly s
o'clock, and by the provisions of the law
any one found upon the streets after 8
o'clock must be in possession of pass or
be liable to- arrest. Great haste was
therefore necessary, in order to leave the
city before that hour. With oIfiy the stars
for their guide, tiey set ont in nOrtherly
direction. Not one of the men was ac-
quainted with the country, and their jour
ney was all the more perilOus OH that ac-
count.
BY midnight they had reached the
Chickahominy, having succeeded by the
greatest good fortune in escaping any one
who was disposed to make inquiries or to
molest them in any manner whatever
Across this swamp their way led through
quagmireS and deep pools, and was dan
gerous i'll the extreme. Sometimes waist
deep in the soft mud and water, and
scrambling over slippery places which fur
nished insecure footholds and threatened
instant danger from falling back into the
pools through which they had made thei |
way. Their journey was full of hardship |
and suffering. The air was cold and frosty. |
and their wet garments clung to them like !
ice; their limbs trembled, their teeth chat
tered with the cold, and their condition
was really pitiable one indeed.
At length they reached the woods upon
the opposite side. Here they were obligeti |
TO stop and rest, completely exhausted
Some Of the harder of the party removed
their dripping garments and attempted to
wiring the water from them; while others, |
unable to stand the chilling air any longer, |
built q fire, around which they gathered
dry their water-soaked clothing
They rested for about two hours, and
then pushed on again until daylight, when
they sought shelter of the woods and lay
down, hoping TO get some sleep after theii |
laborious and fatigGing journey of the pre-
ceding night. Sleep, however, was i'm
possible; their clothing was wet and the air
was cold. Their sufferngs became intense,
and at length, finding it impossible to en-
dure the freezing atmosphere longer, they
determined to build a fire, regardless of the
consequences. Proceeding further into the
wood, they gathered some boughs, and
soon the cheerful blaze afforded them suf-
ficient heat to dry their frozen clothing
and to warm their benumbed and freezing
bodies. Thus passed the day, and when
darkness came ON again they resumed then
journey.
Already they began to experience the
pangs of hunger. They had eaten moth
ing since the evening before, and had
walked many weary miles. They were
footsore, tired and hungry They had
provided themselves with the remnants OF
the corncakes which had been served for
their supper on the previous evening" but
these had become thoroughly soaked with
water on their journey through the
swamps, and had crumbled to pieces. Not
withstanding their pitiabe condition, their
strong wills and brave hearts sustained
them, and they plodded on.
The night was intensely dark; the stars
were obscureU, and a pail of inky black
ness hung over them, which rendered their
journey exceedingly hazardous, as they
mot ha h..F hos, \