The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-31
Prison on JOhnsOn's Island
BY CAPTAIN JOHN WHITE.

Johnson's Island is situated on the Bay of sandusky at the extreme western end of Lake Erie. It is about mile long and one-balf mile wide at it's broadest point It Is underlaid with an almost solid strat- um or rock, which at the place where the military prison was located, is only one or two feet under the surface, except at one point which I shall hereafter mention
 On this island there was a federal mili- tary prison intended for commissioned officers only. The prison grounds were To- cated on about forty acres and were en- closed by a high plank fence, about four feet from the top. of which, on the outside, was platform where the guards were stationed. On the inside of the fence was ditch which was dug down to the rock and large refiectors were placed against the wall about ten feet from the ground and twenty feet apart so that the guards could seen even rat that attempted to cross the ditch. All this was of course to prevent tunneling or digging out. The nearest point to the mainland was mile and a half. The prison was guarded in the spring, summer and fall by about 800
 
 roat- In the winter, while the bay was frozen over, about 5000 troops were brought from the front for that purpose. These arrangements made 1t almost im-. possible to escape. Though l was there about twenty months and there were about 5000 in the prison, only or es- capped. Most of them got away by pass ing the guards dressed in federal uniforms which they had clandestinely purchased.
 Escapes Under Straw.
 At one time about forty of us were taken to sailing vessel to fill out bed ticks with straw. We left a little straw under which we covered up with one of our number and in this way he escaped. He wrote us afterwards that the straw he was in was examined by plunging a pitch-fork repeatedly into 1t, which of course was a severe test of his nerves but he remained still and was not hurt.
 Two prisoners left the island one night when blizzard was blowing and it was so cold that the sentines all left their posts. In leaving at such a time they took the chances of freezing and of the ice not being heavy enough to hold them They succeeded in getting across but one Of them was brought back the next day so badly frost-bitten that the flesh came off his fingers, leaving the bones par terly bare.
 As to the maner in which we were trea- ted. the barracks consisted of a number of two-story houses weatherboarded with upright blanks and with narrow slats These buildings were divided into four rooms each (one above and one below) about thirty feet long and warmed in the winter by large stoves which were placed at one end of the room with a pipe ex- tending to the other so as to economize heat. We were furnished with slim supply of fuel With the exception of beds filled with straw, we, so far as I know, furnished our own bedding, or it was sent to us by our friends on the out side.
 For the first three or four months those of us who had money were allowed to buy anything we wanted to eat from the sutler but this was soon forbidden and we were confined to the food furnished by the government, which consisted of bakers bread and aIternations of beef. bacon and dried white or cod fish Of those, we had about one-half enough to satisfy our hunger but we were not so stinted as to affect our physical condition unfavorably.
 Attempt to Escape.
 I must tell you about an attempt some of us made to escape. There was only one place where the rock was far enough