Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1909-10-01

: bed bugs. We could get money from
: Memphis; there were several prisoners
from in and around Memphis. They al.
lowed us to buy cook stove and any
thing we wanted to eat or wear. We
hired man Ga Germany 10 cook. Our
quarters faced the river and we could
see the men, boys land ladies skate.
While in Alton l had smallpox, or
veriloid; l had been vaccinated when
} about ten years old.
Some OF the Confederate prisoners
caught the guard and cut out at the ton
OF the prison, on one side of which was a
high hill, as high as the building. Some
twelve or more escaped, and the next
few days there was quite stir in the
city because of the copper-heads. South
ern sympathizers were plentiful near Al
TONI
Some OF the prisoners dugsfrom- an out
house in the yard to the outside of the
wall and then up, but before any could
make their escape the guard discovered
their work. had a little experience in
bribing the inside guard, but the outside
guard told on him and then there was
court marshal and l was d witness, and
the ColonePs verdict was that the poor
fellow was to be shot. We were then
sent over to Fort Delaware, in the Della
ware Bay. On our way across the State
OF Indiana some of the boys jumped off
the train. When we were going through
the City of Philadelphia the people were
on the lookout for our train. heard
some OF the children say, ooh, mamma,
those are not rebels, they are folks, they
have no long ears like a mule"
After we were sent down to the fort,
on an island in the Delaware Bay, we
had the retaliation rations. A cup of poor
coffee, small piece Of bread and some
weevil-eaten rice was breakfast. A cup
OF soup covered with weevils, a very
small piece of bacon and small piece of
very rough bread was dinner, and our
supper was very light. All three meals
would hardly make one, but most of the
prisoners fattened like pigs in the pen.
/ spent most of the time in the hos
pital, learned to eat eggs that had been
boiled for half an hour. l had wasted
away until l was only skin and bones.
Then came time when there was an
exchange of the sick prisoners. / asked
the doctor to let me go on the first trip
to Richmond, Va. He told me would
be dead when he came on duty in the
morning, but he found me yet on my
cot; then he said could not last through
another night, and the third morning
promised might go on the next trip of
the New York. And sure enough was
called, and we went down to the break
water the evening of the 22nd of Sep
TENDER, 1864. The tide was running very
high the next day when we left the bay
for the Atlantic. When a good ways
from the land we had liberty on board
the ship. craved fruit and went to
the butler and bought quart can of
pine apple and seated myself by the
main mast and ate the whole of the
purchase. By that time the deck was
covered with sea-sick prisoners. ] was
spared that spell and did not become
sea-sick at all on that trip. We had our
coffee made in two whiskey barrels.
They put the sugar and coffee in one
barrel and then put in water and turned
q pipe in, letting the steam boil our
coffee in the barrel. The other barrel
had no sugar. We were one day and
two nights on the Atlantic, then were
put in a pen at Richmond to be cured.
There was another man in the same
plight that ! was in, and the doctor said
he thought if he would hang both of us
up we would probably make one shadow.
l asked him if we had to stay in that
pen, and he said we could not get out.
But / ate my dinner down the James
River, half-mile off. Had a quarter
of big cabbage and big yam potato,
and went back and in at the front gate.
The doctor would not give me furlough,
said he could cure me in two weeks. /
had to wait his time, then come by train
around the Southern route-North Car
DINA, South Carolina and Georgia.
In Georgia they sold us those famous
Georgia Pies" You take one end in
your mouth and the other in your hand
and pull, and the arm would straighten
out full length before the pie would
break. In Alabama we came to two big
engines that had head-on collision.
They stood up like two dogs in fight.
We changed cars, got out of one and
walked around the wreck to and got
aboard the other train. When between
Selma and Jackson, was in the last
coach and the coupling broke and the
engine and forepart ran several miles
before they found out that we were left.
/ never had such humping, our coach
ran on the cross-ties some distance. /
do not remember anything more worth
relating before reached home.
The Lord has brought me through all
my troubles, even to this day.