The National tribune., 1902-12-11

freight. My two comrades, Hill and
Cramer, and myself kept near one another
and boarded the same fiat, whereon was,
among other things too numerous to men
ton, a hogshead or two of unrectlhed
Southern plantation sugar. My comrade.
Cramer was a good forager, if he had
half a chance. When we We're in the
woods of North Carolina trying to make
our escape some of our party considered
him of little account and when Afflick and
Steuben left lis they barred Cramer out
of their party. Cramer was only boy
1S orb years old, and when he learned
that the two comrades named did not
want his company he thought we were all
about, to desert him, but 1 said You can
stay with Hill and me. and We'll stick by
you, land the boy paid us for it. fourfold
LUCKY FIND.
We had hardly stepped foot on the fat
when Cramer discovered the sugar, and
coming back to me. he said: Give me
your haversack. quick; l know where ]
can get some sugar" The boy had no
haversack of his own. but l was more
fortunate. and gave him mine without
asking any questions. Within FIVE min
utes after, Cramer returned the haversack
well filled with sugar. A moment later l
noticed a Confederate guard over the
hogsheads. but we had drawn our rations
vi sugar loG tntl NHole TRIP.
/ have ridden many times, both before
and since, on freight and accommoda
tion train, but invariably such trains were
long on freight and short on accOmmoda-
tiOn. This was the only train of the kind.
SO far as my experience goes. where the
accommodation was of the first order and
superior to the freight This. however,
did not apply to all the passengers and the
fact that it applied to our little party of
fhrQp all owing IN fhp ability of tht.
kid Cramer as a fOrager.
Our journey from Salisbury to Colds
bOrO was long and tedious. The distance
is not so great-somewhere from 100 to
$50 miles. but we did not reach Goldshorn
until the evening OF the 9th day OF Feb
ruary, during which time no rations of
any description were furnished us and we
lived on what We could get, so that the
haversack of sugar proved godsend to
us.
The first day ont from Salisbury, Feb.
%. our train broke down before night
near little station called High Point.
and after waiting until dusk for it TO move
again, we three, who had sugar TO
spare. started out to find restaurant and
lodging house. In my experience with
negro soldiers i had learned that sugar
was an article of priceless value among
the c0lored race, and we all knew that |
with or without sugar our hest as well |
as our most numerous friends in North |
Carolina We're negroes, so We hunted mp
a negro cabin.
When / asked the old auntie who met |
us at the cabin door if they could furnish |
three Lincum soldiers with supper, break
fast and lodging and take pay in |
sugar, she replied: ''De Lo'd bless yon |
honey. is you-all Lincum soldiers? Come |
right in and I'll get you some supper
So We received the best the house afforded |
corn dodgers and bacon for supper, |
chance to sleep on a shake-down on the
cabin floor, and bacon and corn dodgers
for breakfast-which was far ahead os I
sleeping Under the stars, supperless.
We left the cabin at an early hour the
next morning. paying for our accomm0da-
tions with three teacupfuls of sugar.
which was considered ample payment by
our hostess, and thereafter. although a
hayersack of sugar was large and cum.
bersOme purse to carry, We found that the
purse contained legal tender anywhere
among the colored people We lived oil
the fat of the land during the whole trip
and had sugar left when we reached
GOldsboro.
When we returned to the point on the
railroad where we left our train the night
before, 10 and behold, the train was gone.
Then we took a tie-pass and rode over
the same road more rapidly than our
train. moved. for in about two hours we
came up with it and climbed onto our fiat
again. q, the accommodation part of that
train was perfect. Thus by slow stages
we advanced toward our freedom, riding
upon our train when we were not in
search of food. We reached Greensboro
that evening and again found hotel ac-
commodations with our coored friends
Tor which we drew our usual check.
.Ihe next morning our old commander
Mag. Griswold, put in an appearance
among rs. having established headquar-
fers at Greensboro. where our fellow
prisoners whom we had left at Charlotte
had assembled before US and had been
regularly paroled by the Major Here we.
recaptured prisoners, were also regularly
paroled, and from this point we all
Travelled together toward the sea. Here
another train was made up from which
the freight was eliminated and which car
rled our whole party of paroled prisoners.
We left Greensboro in the afternoon and
passed through Raleigh about noon the
next day. We made no stop in North
Cardinals capital city, but rode right
through, without feeding toward Colds
boro. The road from Raleigh to Colds
boro seemed to be in a somewhat better
state OF repair, but there were many de-
lays and breakdowns, thus affording the
opportunity TO gather supplies. We final
!y reached Goldsboro on the evening of
Feb. q. 1865.
SALISBURY DESCRIBED BY A coNFEDER
ATE.
After our recapture, and while we were
waiting at the little station among the hills
OF North Carolina for q train to carry rs
back to Charleston, fell in with a Con-
iederate Lieutenant who entered freely
into conversation and gave me some in
formation not written down in their ar
chiyes by Southern historians.
This Lieutenant was q middle al sed man.
probably between 45 to so years old. He
mad been, as he Informed me, on duty at
salisbury, in connection with the prison
guards. ever since the stockade was estab-
lished there. He also stated that the
prisoners had all been paroled and the
stockade was then vacant and, therefore.
be was on his way home-which was near
by-on short leave of absence
The statement which this Confederate
Lieutenant made in this confidential con
yersati9n regarding the Salisbury stockade
was as follows: Il reckon, sab, you Off
GERS received better treatment in Colum-
bia than those poor fellows at Salisbury
got; at least / hope you did. Ny God,
sab. Salisbury was a horrible place; it |
was just awful, and no mistake
Il would not believe that menxcould be
treated SO inhumanly il l had not seen il
myself, day after day and month after
month, until the horrors of that stockade
will haunt me TO the day of my death.
When the wah broke out, sab, believed. |
as all Southerners did, that we We're in the /