The National tribune., 1910-07-28

"1 escaped once, but was SO sick that
after / went 25 miles had to give my
self up. l was sent back to Macon. On
my arrival I was promptly sent to the
guard tent. There were three other
men in the tent for the same offense.
They were sent to jail, and kept there
% days on less than half rations, when
they were brought back to the bar
racks. They were SO reduced in flesh
that we could hardly recognize them.
1 was sent to the hospital again, for
tunately escaping punishment of any
kind.
zone night our boys butchered a
yearling calf that happened to get
within their limits. Maj. Rylander used
every exertion to ferret out the Offend
ers. Finally he arrested three of the
guilty ones, and tied them up to trees
by the wrists just so the ball of the
foot rested on the ground. They were
then ordered to tell who the rest were.
Two of them told all that they knew in
few minutes. but the third one, whose
name was Cora, refused to disclose any
names, but told them that he helped to
kill the calf himself because he wanted
some meat; that the bacon we got was
not fit to eat, as it was sometimes so
rotten that it would fall to pieces when
it was lifted up.
Preachers I'm Prison.
days without food, not even letting him
down to sleep. He would not have had
a drop of water but for the kindness
of guard, who would give him water
secretly. We had with us three preach
ers. One was private, one was a
Lieutenant and the third, Parson VIM.
Rogers, was a prominent Union man,
and was captured at his home in East
Tennessee. He was a Methodist. The
| private, whose name was Tabler was
a reformer. They used to preach TO
us and pray with us occasionally, but
as soon as Maj. Rylander found it out
he forbid it. He kindly sent a Secesh
preacher to preach to US, but as he
never had a large congregation he
found it wouldn't pay. This Rylander
is Methodist preacher himself Par
son Rogers would steal into the hospi-
tai once in while in the night, and pray
for the sick, and in low tone he would
sing psalms to them. A priest was al
lowed to come in three or four times
to administer the last rites of the
Church to dying Catholics, but after
awhile he was denied admittance, altho
there were many Catholics who died
1t was terrible sight to walk thru
our hospital and see from so to 50 pa
tients wasted away to shadows, suffer-
ing as much for the want of attention
and proper diet as anything else. As
I
the hospital and two in the barracks.
We buried 225 or 230 of our men in
about five months, and left about 80
sick men and eight or 10 well ones to
nurse them when we came away. One
night the guard shot crazy man who
got out of the hospital. They shot a
Lieutenant IN Montgomery under SINH
lar circumstances. He had been al
lowed to go a short distance with a
guard after milk. The lady was in the
act of giving him the milk when the
guard said: Come; let's go' Wait a
minute until i get my milk said he
The guard instead turned upon him
without a word and shot him in the
breast with a shotgun, killing him in
stantly. They shot one man in Tusca-
loosa for looking out OF the window In
the barracks and wounded another for
the same offense.
But to return to Macon. Every day
brought its own Affections for us. Dis
ease Of all kinds was rife and death
stalked thru the camp. The prison
yard had been used as a fair ground.
and was almost entirely surrounded by
sN'amps. The malaria from these
swamps, together with bad diet and
bad water. left scarcely a man among
us free from disease. After awhile
they began to talk about exchanging
us. Then they began to give us fresh
beef instead of the rotten bacon and
to treat us better generally. But it was
a month before they got ready to start
us home. When they did start us it
was in old box cars. some of which had
no seats in. Into these they would
crowd as many as AZ men. At Colum-
bia, ). c., We got out of provisions. and