Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1903-03-19
SOLDIERS AT HOME.
THEY TELL SOME INTERESTING
ANECDOTES OF THE WAR.
How the Boys of Both Armies whiIed
Awhy Life in COMPROMISING EK-
periences, Tiresome Marches-Thril-
ling Scenes on the Battlefield.

Mcpherson fell. In making a charge
with about a dozen comrades we were
surrounded by Confederates and made
lprisoners. We were taken to two or
three places and finally to Anderson
vile about the LIST of October 1864. l
remained there until the latter part
of November. | was out one evening
with a detail of felow-prisoners under
a guard, to get wood with which to
cook our scant rations. | had been
subject to occasional spells of sick
headache ever since | could remember,
and Southern prison life did not help
them. l felt deathly sick at starting,
but managed to stagger along with the
others until we got to the place to get
the wood. Here | gave out entirely,
and l have since been told | looked as
if dead. Two of the guard came UP
to me two or three times, and one of
them gave me a punch with his bay
onet which fortunately did not go very
deep. They then left me, thinking l
was dead. l lay there until some time
in the night, when l came to, and af-
ter sitting up a little while found the
dizziness gone, but felt terribly weak
and hungry. l was very much confused
at first, but as my head became clearer
the hope of escape entered 1t, and |
determined to use my little strength
in getting as far from Andersonyille
as possible. So I rose to my feet, and
getting a dead stick to lean on, stag
gered into the woods quite a distance.
Then, as the moon was past FULL and
now getting pretty well toward the
West, l determined to guide myself
by it to keep from going in a circle.
SO, going very slowly, l kept on until
daybreak, when l again dropped, this
time from exhaustion. | lay about
an hour, when l again rose and went
slowly on, chewing twigs as l went,
to try to stop the cravings of hunger,
until | came to creek, not very wide,
but deep with a strong current. After
bathing my head and face l followed
its course a while, to find means to
cross it, for the weather was quite
cool, and l shivered in my rage. While
keeping along the stream l found a
vine with wild grapes that had hung
on it and dried l commenced eating
them, and while doing so, l heard a
sound that fairly frooze the little blood
left in my veins with terror. 1t was
the distant bay of a bloodhound.
l. They had gone to look for my body,
and not finding any, had realized that
l had given them the slip, and were
now in pursuit. All this flashed
through my mind as 1 stood there,
fairly perspiring in my terror.
Then, with the strength of despair,
1 rushed to the stream, ran along the
bank until 1 found a small dry log
which | managed to get into the water
and sprang in after 1t. 1t seemed to
chill me to the bone; but it was my
only chance of life, and l chung to the
log and tloated down stream for a
while; then, when l came to broader
place where the water was not so deep,
| let it go and worked across to the
other bank. This would have been
easy enough when | was myself, but
now | was so weak that it was hard
work But l got there at last and was
about to land in a thick bunch of
bushes close by the edge when they
were parted by a large bony-looliing
, man, who must have been over six
feet in height and who seemed to be
all bone and sinew, without a pound
of waste flesh on his frame. | started
and gave it up for lost, but he said:
, "Well, boy, guess you have give them
, the slip over at that rebel hell-hole''
! l;pointing in the direction of the pris-
q ION PEN, land if you want a friend l
am yer man; but hurry or the hell
. hounds will ketch ye Go to that log
thar with the end in the water and I'll
+ git We on my back and tote We away
p $50 the hounds Ill lose yer scent" |
o ibid as directed and he took me on his
+ shoulders and started off at rapid
v pace through the woods. And there
was need of haste, for the fearful yelps
of the hounds could be heard coming
perilously near. He also gave me his
/, coat which he had removed to wrap
n around my shivering body, and hur.
: ried on while l chung to him, feeling
more dead than alive. Now 1t sounds
|. like a large tale that one man could
S take another on his back and carry
a him any distance, but he was power
n full man and was always small, never
/ weighing $50 pounds in my life anG
do not suppose | weighed more thar
100. Well, we kept on until we mas
have gone five or six miles, he carry
,, ing me most OF the time, We heard NJ
;. more sounds of pursuit after gettinl
- away from the creek, and my new
- friend chucked and said, 'They've giI
We up, boy; they think yer drowned.
! Then he turned up a deep hollow ant
came to huge rocks with kind o.
halloween at one side of one of them
Here he stopped, and said: "Hyars
W whar | roost when I'm in these parts
It Now, take Off them wet rags and In!
down thar" pointing to a pile of dry
IS grass and leaves and couple of blan
n kets), and wrap up in the blankets
.e and sleep, for yer safe" He then CAV,
me a little food and drink; giving M