The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-11

ceeding stand. In all its branches. with is
false swearing. subornation of perjury. its
hireling Witnesses towering monument
OF infamy. conmemorating the corruptness
and baseness of the hour. I deal alone
with truth. acts of heartless inhunaanity.
cruelty and tyranny melted me by the gov
eminent Of the United States. before any
charge as yet had been preferred or guilt
with all the base measure adopted 10 Sc
cure IT'D had been established in the case
OF any.
From the period of my arrest until April
Is. 1866. whilst I was under the charge Of
and custody of Colonel wooley. my treat
ment was conducted upon principles Of hu-
manity and kindness II was not until
was turned over to the custody Of the COM
handing officer at Fort McHenry that
harsh and cruel measures were resorted 20.
from orders no doub; emanating from Ed
win NJ. Stanton. secretary OF war I was
placed in loathsome and filthy cell. brand
ed by suspicion as a felon. robbed Of my
liberty. resting under the grave charge of
being implicated in the assassination OF
Abraham Lincoln.
A CONFEDERATE PRISONER.
This of itself was sufficient torture 10 one
who possessed a sensitive nature. without
the additional acts of inhumanity heaped
upon me. There happened to be a Confed-
crate prisoner o: war occupying one of thu
small cells back Of the one IN which l was
confined. ] recognized his voice. we having
eeen friends and companions from our earli-
est youth. and entered into conversation
with him. This fact was reported by the
sergeant Of the guard TO the officer Of the
day. and forthwith 1 was taken from my
cell, brought before the one he occupied.
carefully searched. this making some half
dozen times in all. thence conveyed to the
quarters OF the commanding officer, who in
terrogated me to his hearts content. beccnl-
ing as wise in the matter wherewith was
charged as 1 was myself. which seemed to
displease him. il actions afterward may be
a criterion to Judge by
Calling his orderly. who was in attend
ance, l was committed TO his charge con-
Quoted 10 the guardhouse. stripped and
thoroughly searched again. / was then
thrown into a dungeon. beneath the earth
work of the fort. heavily ironed. hand and
foot, where not ray of light could pene-
trate. and left TO muse with myself in total
darkness, no place TO lie but the damp.
Shiny floor. void of covering of any de-
scription beneath or above. Looking upon
the rough visage OF my guardian or jailer
as the door opened. 1 attempted to read
his heart by the expression of his face, but
found as callous and as cold as the other.
from which but little could be expected
He was a soldier every inch. / requested
a blanket be furnished me, to keep myself
warm, which request was Unexpectedly
f4..I HI
or so. The massive doors of iron creaked
on their rusty hinges. as it was again
closed, shutting out every ray of light. ieav-
ing feeling like unto one buried In a
grave. Food soon after, in the shape OF
bread and coffee. was brought as reported
by the sergeant, it being impossible to pene-
trate the darkness, and L was then left
alone, a sentinel, like unto a bronze statue,
keeping guard before my iron-doored cell.
REPTILES FOR BEDFELLOWS.
Covering my person, head and foot to
prevent rats and poisonous reptiles from
coming in contact with my body. soon
was wrapped in sleep, out of which, at mid
night, was rudely aroused, brought again
to the guardhouse and ordered to dress my
self in quick haste. Surprised at such
movements and utterly confounded, at
tempted to fathom the surroundings to
these mysterious actions. l thought the
days of the French revolution. with it's
h.deous and barbarous murders, were going
to be re-enacted in the republic, and that I
| was thus taken to be either shot or
hung Callous and Indifferent TO my fate,
| with my usual haste / dressed myself as
| instructed.
| AS soon as / was in readiness an ambu-
lance was driven UP to the door OF the
| guardhouse and / was placed within II,
weighted down with heavy irons. and. with
an armed escort, was driven TO the Cam
| den-street depot, where / was turned over
again to Marshal McPhail and his accom-
paying detectives, who transferred me
latter the weighty irons had been removed
and those of lighter material placed upon
my wrists to a special car in attendance.
whence / was transferred to Washington.
| MAINTAINED SILENCE.
During my trip there my lips were sealed
| to those by whom I was surrounded, be-
ing determined not TO let them manufac-
ture testimony against me. On arrival in
Washington / was placed in a hack and
driven to the navy yard. where / was in
the hands of the United States government
They confined me in a narrow and limited
apartment, used as a closet aboard an
ironclad monitor. and irons of torturous
manufacture were placed upon my wrists
and l had nothing but the hard, uneven
| surface of the closet to lie upon.
The irons were so tightly fitted that the
blood could not circulate and my hands be-
come fearfully swollen, the outward skin
changing its appearance to mixture OF
black, red and purple color. This fact was
reported to Captain Munroe. who kindly
had them changed and pair that fitted
easier placed upon me- The heat was in.
tense. The atmosphere breathed was OBJ
tanned through a register. as II was puffet
up by fans used for this purpose. 1t more
frequently happened than otherwise thai
the machine was not at work. which caused
| a suffocating sensation TO creep over me
To sleep was an impossibility on account
of the extreme pain accruing from the tor
! turous irons used.
ITO Be Continued Tomorrow
1