The National tribune., 1910-07-14

side. It had good spring in the south
west corner of the stockade, its only
redeeming feature.
The stockade was made by digging a
trench about three feet deep around
the place, and then logs split in two
were set on end close together and the
dirt tamped around them, leaving eight
feet above the ground. On the outside
Of this the dirt was thrown up high
enough so the little boys and old men
armed with shotguns and any old thing
could see inside the pen and shoot.
There was a dead line inside 10 feet
from the stockade. 1t was told us that
when a boy killed a Yank he was pro-
moted to Corporal or got furlough.
This stockade was built more espe-
rially for the accomm odation of Banks's
and Steefs army on the famous Red
River campaign. I was captured near
Alexandria, La, on April 2S, 1854, and
was exchanged at the mouth Of Red
River with about so Of my regiment
an6 16b0 from other commands, on
May 27, 1865, 13 months prisoner.
The happiest day of my life was that
,ame May 81, when the old rebel boat
.hat brought us down from Shreveport
was rounding up to land us, and We
Jaw the old Stars and Stripes for the
irst time in 13 months. Before We
anded we could smell the good old
Lincoln" coffee the boys were making
iOr dinner we nduH seen VI Siitutu
any for over year.
So ignorant were we when we got
put of that hellhole that we didn't
snow the war was over or that Lincoln
mad been killed two months before. II
mas always been a mystery why we
we're kept prisoners so long after the
war was virtually over.
When we got to Camp Ford the first
week in, May, 1864, we were told by the
rebels to just make ourselves comfort
able, and we did. There was not a
yheltsr in the camp of any description
except Two small cabins built by some
,unboatsmen who had been captured
1t Galveston Bay the year before. The
arst thing for us to do was to make
brush sheds to keep the broiling sun
from soorching us. We went to the
woods under guard and dragged in
brush and some poles and forks set in
The ground. This we covered with our
brush. This was our quarters to cook,
.at and sleep in from early in May un-
il late IN November, with mother earth
or our bed. We never got in there
with blanket of any description, and
Turing May and June, 1864, it rained
lvery day more or less for 40 days. We
would wake up in the night and find
The water running a good-sized
itream under us.
Many a night I have in my dreams
aeen with my family in my far-off In
llama home, giving them vivid de-
cription of my prison life, when, To-
rould wake up and find myself hun.
ireds OF miles away under the same
I'D brush shed, and hear the sentinel
IN guard calling out: "12 o'clock and
ilHs welli"
The Rcbs Were Good.
Some time in November they go
rood, and told us we could go out il
he woods a mile away with plenty o
Iuards, of course), and cut poles and
bring into camp each day until we go
,nough to build cabin about 10 fee
uuare which would accommodate /.
r Is of us. And then to cover then
ve cut board timber with an AK ant
sarried the blocks a mile on our backs
in this way we got us up some cabins
.hinked and daubed mud, and a stick
lnd-mud chimney, without a stone o
prick in sight. Inside we put VI
Board hunks two stories high. We go
The privilege to go out and pull old
ield grass to put on our hunks, an
then with one old piece of blanket t
Ihree men was our bedding that Win
.er, and we had some very cold wealth
tr, too Three of us on bunk, we nat
uraIIy had to spoon.
Our cooking outfit consisted Of on
pot and one skillet to 100 men, but tina
was plenty of cooking tools for all tn
grub we got.
Ihere was a mill at TyIer, 1Our nllIe
DIFF, that ground all the meal we 800
prisoners got Every week or so tn
old mul would break down, and thel
We would not get any meal for two o
three days at a time. But the rebel
wouldn't starve us, so they would brin
In a load of corn in the ear and give u
an ear apiece. Our rations of mea
when we got it was one pint a day an,
pf beef was one-half pound That wa
full rations. but we did not get ful
rations every day by a long sight Th
beeves they butchered were actually To
poor to walk straight to the butche