The Prescott daily news., 1909-01-05
"Pilgrim s Progress ;

Copyright, 19OS by Amercan Press Asso-
 ciaton.1
 One day soon after the close of the civil war, while in Savannah, Ga, 1 drifted into a secondhand bookstore in search of something with which to while away the time during an en- forced sojourn in that city. While there the proprietor told me this story:
 "One day during the summer of 1863 Tom Clark, a man whom we knew to be opposed to secession, but who had always lived here and pro- posed to stay, he said, at least till the Union was restored, came into this store and began nosing among my books. He said he wanted some thing for an old aunt of his who took no interest in anything except religion. 1 had Baxter's Saints Rest Head ley's Sacred Mountains, Pilgrims Progress and several others the names of which l have forgotten. He told me that he would like to take the lot to his aunt. let her pick out those she
 
 rest, paying for those he kept. let him take all he wanted, and he went away with them. In few days he came in and paid for all except 'PH- grim's Progress which he returned, saying that his aunt had copy and had read it through many times. Be sides he added, the book is too heavy for an old woman to hold anyway. The covers alone must weigh a pound.'
 "Soon after this a mulatto, came into the shop, handed me scrap of paper with the words Pilgrims Progress written on it and asked if l had the book, saying that his mistress who lived on plantation between here and Augusta had sent him for it. showed him the book. but he said he couldn't read and asked if there were any pictures in 1t. I showed him pie lures of the giant Despair, Apollyon, the Celestial City and other illustra- tions, which satisfied him, for his mis- tress, it seemed, had told him that in this way he might identify the book. He paid me $10 for it in Confederate money-less than a dollar in green backs-aud took it away with him.
 Somehow or another the darky ex- cited my distrust, While l had been at the other end of the store I had caught sight of him turning the pages of "Pigrim's Progress" as though he was reading it. When I joined him 1 asked him if he wasn't deceiving me about not being able to read, but he denied doing so with all the voluble "Fo de Lordsr' and "On ma wo'd of honahs!' for which the colored race are noted However, l didn't care whether he could or couldn't read, and five minutes after he had gone l for got all about him.
 There were a few Yankee prisoners of war in this town at the time who had been captured the autumn before at a big fight that had occurred on the railroad between here and Charleston. They were confined in the jail that had always been used for criminals. Captain Dan Mobray, popinjay, had charge of them, and he boasted that if any Tank could break jail when he was in command he was welcome to do so. He had theory that most es- capes of prisoners are effected by some one smuggling in to them articles to assist them in getting away, so he wouldn't let any one get near them without being first searched.
 Despite Captain Dams precautions one fine morning when the guard went to feed the prisoners he found every mothers son of them had gone during