The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-10-25

III my bo0y.
MONEY.
1 used my knife to make srakes and
rings ard baskets from peach stones aid
books from pine wood, and whlled away
many hours in euchre or whist. Down III
the part Of the camp that gave splendid
view OF the bay. l would wa tch for hours
the waves chase each other. thinking
Of home, the dear old mother and father,
mourning their only son as dead.
Often had settled down to endure this
dreary life, commenced writing TO rela-
ttves and connections In the North, anu
pretty soon, my name was In the bullc-
tin for money--the most precious amount
that this old rebel ever handled. With this
was permitted to buy, with parsiino-
Nous severity a few edibles, which !
shared with my mess.
| had a dear friend who had been a
prisoner many months, and who had got
ten into the run Of things. and was a
sort OF sub-oficial In the cook-house.
Each day he would adroitly and clande-
stinely slip me an extra ration, which
added to my little purchase Of extras.
furnished mo a royal prison menu.
That good friend Is still living in Rich
mond, Va, and belonged to Captain John
Lambs company
a CLERK.
From a source I never knew, the re-
doubtable major In command of tho camp,
got information that could handle the
pen, and so had mo detailed to make
q list from tho division was located
In. So under Yankee sergeant, these men
were marched to my tent and n roll was
made.
The spelling OF great many Of the
French Creole names was more perplex-
Ing. So II In the future, our Virginia au-
tliorites over get permission to copy from
the Washington prison registers, am
afraid they will find in the roster pre-
pared by this scribe q badly spelled list
! NEGRO GUARD.
One of the most nggravating burdens
I was called on to bear wa sthe negro
guard. Often without provocation, they
would shoot promiscuously into tents and
several men were murdered In THAI way.
with tho insolence of fiends they would
by taunts endeavor to provoke the pris-
oners tn order to show that they no
longer recognized us as masters. Their
savage conduct became SO unbearablc
that petition signed by many thousands
of prisoners protesting against being
guarded by our former slaves was pre-
sented to tho general commanding the
camp, who, to his credit, be 1t said. re-
moved tNlS DldCh ClUuu tEO'H Jul S16hl'
The wild and demoniac passions that
were swaying everybody In Washington
and the North at this period. were visited
upon the victims In prison. More
stringent orders were given and less Of
the few privileges granted us were at.
forwards allowed.
LIBERTY. ~
(Our contributor then goes on to de-
scribe the temptations and cruelties to
which the prisoners were subjected to
make them take the oath; how nobly
most of those poor starved men resisted
these advances, and how he got his
liberty. We quote furthero
One day a sergeant approached me. and
IN hating speech intimated that for q
consideration my name could be placed
in the sick list and could be released.
I was hale and healthy In spite OF COP
peras water and tho vile broth, and had
a few dollars to my, credit.
Mr.. Editor, YOU cannot enter into the
environment unless it was your msfor-
tune to be prisoner or war. If st. Peter
had offered me a key to Paradise. l doubt
If at that time could have been moro
clated. And so, Mr.. Yank and struck
Il bargain. His greed for greenbacks
was my opportunity, and the conditions
demanded by the party OF the second
part were that one member Of my old
company-and he was" sick-should
share with me the benefits of the con-
tract.
Tho lovely Sabbath was closing, when
the poor, totterlng and wasted forms
of once hale men were lined UP, and the
march to the boat, a cattle transport,
was begun. 1t was dark when
the crowd reached the wharf.
A cry like Il fire bell came
sounding down the line that some rogue
had stolen a large amount from sick
rebel. Our doughty major put on his
war paint, and with vitriolic and sui
phurous oaths denounced the whole crowd
Of us as thieving rebels. He ordered his
guards to strip us to the skin and search
every mothers son OF these poor, starved
and sick soldicrs Filed into his august
presence singly, each man was stripped
OF his vermin-infested clothes. When
my turn camc l commenced disrobing
and remarked: Major ! was raised
honorably, and the demoralizations Of
war have not made me q thief" For
some cause or other never knew, he
rolentcd towards me and ordered the
sergeant to des!st, saying: THAT is an
honest rebel" After all this shammery
to divert attention from the real thief,
who no doubt wore y blue uniform, the
major ordered the Inundated bows into
the boat. The powers that controlled
landed the suffering band OF rebels at
Ci'v Point, and there they scattered to
look for their loved ones and to reach
homes desolated by the ruthless hand OF
/ war, j. e. c..
comnany Ct. Third Virginia Cavalry.
Sunnyside. Va,
HE STOLE a SHEEP