The National tribune., 1903-02-26
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE: wAsHNGN O. THURSDAY
APPEARANCE OF THE DEVIL.
A Startling Apparition to FrieAtsn the An
dersonvtle Guards. 1

hG kht<1lNOkS VI
A Startling Apparition to Frishtsn the An
dersonvtlls Guards. 'i.'
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Occa-
| sions for merriment Mt AndersOnville were
few and far between. Some of them,
however, are worthy of being recorded,
and among those which fell under my OBJ
servation, that which i am about to relate
is not perhaps the least amusing.
At the time when it took place, I was
employed in the bakery outside of the
walls of the stOckade.
The four or five regiments which were
intrusted with the duty of standing guard
around the st6ckade were composed of
Georgians. Many of them were mere boys,
and the others, old men. who had never
seen an enemy in the field. They were an
ignorant and superstitious lot of fellows.
Every evening they were distributed by
groups around the stockade, each group be-
ing a section taken from the various COM
panies of the four or five regiments, as
they were detailed in turn to do guard
duty. Those groups composed the "corps-
de-garde" from which the sentries who
stood on the little square platforms on the
top of the wall Of the stockade were to
relieve each other.
as night fell smoky fire built with
pine knots was lit by each one of those
groups, and the members of the sections
of companies thus distributed around their
camp fires would while away the time by
talking and testing among themselves.
In the month of June, the second wall
of the stockade had not yet been erected
and tunneling was going on from the in
side on grand scale. Each tunnel had to
start from deep well dug as close to the
underneath the dead line" then under
meath the heavy logs standing side by side
at depth of seven or eight feet in the
ground. which formed the wall of the
stOckade; and when it was calculated
by the cOnspiratOrs that they had reached
a sufficient distance outside the wall, the
tunnel was given a slight bend upwards
until it reached the crust of ground, some
80 feet outside of the wall.
The bakery was being worked day and
night without any interruption. We were
divided into two squads, one of which
worked during the day and rested at night,
and the other began work at 6 p. m. and
kept at it until the following morning.
In order to make the labor less onerous,
each section would divide the task among
its members in such manner as to alter
nate in doing the heavier work.
One night in June it was my turn to
carry in water from the little creek adj
joining the bakery. Section / of Co. A
of the 4th Ga, had their campfire ON the
top of small hill right across the creek,
at a distance of about 80 feet from the
southwest side of the stockade. The night
was pitchy dark, and the reddish, smoky
fire that burnt at each section gave to the
scene n weird appearance.
1t was about midnight. Several of the
boys around the campfire across the creek
were lying on the ground, apparently
asleep; others were roasting sweet pota-
toes and chatting whilst sitting around the
fire.
l was just returning from the creek,
carrying pail full Of water in each hand.
The air was sultry and l felt sleepy.
Suddenly my attention was awakened by
shouts or rather shrieks from the direction
of the campfire across the creek, not
more than 25 PAGES from where l stood
in a straight line. On turning my head
in that direction, l noticed that the pile
of burning pine knots was heaving up and
being moved from underneath by some
mysterious power. Sparks and embers
were flying in all directions. At the same
moment l was Mortified to see dark, dis
heveled head emerging from the ground in
the very MIDST of the campfire. No sooner
had this head made its appearance among
the flying embers and the dark, rolling
smoke, than it let out yell-and such
yell!-the most unearthly one l ever
heard in my life.
This was responded to by shrieks of ter
ror on the part of the youthful guards,
who, taking this apparitiOn for that of the
Prince of Evil breaking forth from the
depths of hell itself, had taken to their
heels and were running away for all they
were worth.
In less time than it takes to mention it,
the vary Yankee flor he was one) had
pulled himself out of his uncomfortable
position, and was making for the woods
close by without any one trying to impede
him in his flight.
None of his comrades made any attempt
to secure their escape by following him
out of the hole from which he had just
By a strange coincidence the tunnel-dig
gers had happened to strike right under
meath the spot where the group of Section
/ of Co. A, 4th Ga, had built their camp
fire.
1 never heard of the daring Yankee
after that date, but the strange incident
Of his escape was long remembered by the
Georgia regiments. For many days
nfterward it proved source of consid-
cradle merriment, and gave rise to fire.
luent comments of n rather sarcastic ma |
ture at the expense of the group of Section
| of the 4th Ga. Whenever one of them |
was met by any of his comrades of the |
other sections, or, even, of the other |
regiments. he was sure to be hailed /
with: "Well, Joe, did you see the devil |
last night ?"-Judge H. C. SAINT-PIERRE,
Corporal Co. f, 10th N. Y, Montreal,
Canada,