Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1915-09-30
An lmprovised
Boat
BY JOHN TURNrEE

OF war 70" escape sound very SauZy
today. fifty years after they occurred
But when one considers the number
Of men under arms. then figures the
proportionate numher of prisoners and
re- .emDers that one in fifty Is not II
large proportion Of prisoners who made
attempts to escape. lie will see that
For example. suppose there were lOO.-
Uuo prisoners taken during the war.
400 men t.iel to escape.
Among the curious ventures nude
by Union prisoners In the south be-
t~'acn 1861 AMI 1850 was that Of
Ci!.r ies Dorance. a private in the
non army. Dorrance was wounded
earring the operations around NickS-
bu. Z and taken to a house on small
plantation. where he was nurseC by a
suui.g southern girl.
Every one knows how conducive to
love is nursing. Mabel Owen 'aptnred
her patient without any trouble and
he captured her the first time she saw
h.:n She was II country girl. and Char.
lie was II city boy. with clear, hon
Fest eye and pleasant smile. 1t was
no' to I've wondered that she Surren-
dereol on sight
Had the captive Of Cupid rejOined
his command us soon as he was well
enough to do so he would probably not
have been made captive of Mars.
He dallied. and II troop Of Confederate
cavalry came along and took him to the
camp Of an infantry brigade on the
bank OF the Mississippi river Mabel.
OH seeing her lover taken away from
her. was disconsolate. When he bid
her goodby. moved by the strongest
impulse in humanity, love. he whisper
ed In her ear:
BE on the lookout for me. for III
come back to you II l have to come
In my coffin
The day Dorrance was taken to the
Confederate camp two deserters were
tried by court martial and sentenced
to be shot. A carpenter was ut once
set to work to make the collins. He
was doing the job in sight Of the
guard tent where Charlie was confined
Charlie noticed that he was making
slow progress and heard an officer
berating him. saying that If he didn't
work faster he wouldn't get the job
done in time for the execution. which
was appointed for half an hour after
revelle the next morning. Charlie told
the officer that he knew all about max
ing cOfsinS- which was false-and
would help II permitted. The officer
accepted the offer. and Charlie went to
work
One Of the collins was very large
one and the other very small one.
Charlie worked on the large one. He
did not finish it till long after dark
and was permitted to 80 on. sentinel
being placed over him to see that he
remained in camp.
1t was about an hour after taps. and
the command was asleep. all except
the chain of sentinels surrounding the
camp. and SO was the guard Detailed
to watch the prisoners. There was
way open to Charlie-the river. Tn.
no boat. But Charlie conceived an
idea. Boring holes in the upper edges
Of the coffin. he drove pins In the
holes. then roughly shaped a couple Of
four inch planks into pair Of Ours.
The pins were the right distance
apart for rOwlocks. The blades of the
oars We're the right thickness. but the
rest was rather thin.
He was working within a few yards
Of the river. and. putting the oars In
the coffin, he carried it to the water.
launched it, got in. and the friendly
current carried him out into and down
the river. As soon as he had gone
far enough from shore he took up his
oars. thereby steadying his improvised
boat. which was topply.
Charlie had been taken up the river
some distance above the plantation
where he had been nursed and fioated
back to 1t. He kept awake till morn
ing; then. being young and the young
requiring sleep. he lay fiat on his back
and settled to slumber.
Mabel Owen arose early that morn
ing. got the breakfast for the family
and went out to mourn for her lost
lover. She was sitting on stump on
the bank Of the river when. looking
northward. she saw something like q
boat in the distance. As 1t approached
1t did not show, the curved outline Of
a skill. 1t was rather a parallelogram
with bulged sides. at an angle. When
1t came near enough to be distinguish.
ed she saw that 1t was coffin with
body In it.
Her first thought was that the ever
changing Mississippi had washed into
a graveyard and let out corpse. But
she couldn't understand why 1t had no
lid. The grewsome boat came on with
the current till it hoated directly under
the bank where Mabel sat A recog-
milton Of her lover and remembrance
of his promise to come back to- her If
he had to come in his coffin came to
her simultaneously. and she gave
shrek sufficient to raise the dead.
II certainly raised the living. for It
w"''ened Charlie. who opened his eyes
l.. saw his girl bending over the bank
directly above him. He sat up. grasp
ed the oars. turned his boat to shore.
and in a few minutes the lovers were
clasped In each others arms.
Charlie didn't stay long with her.
however. He rejoined his command.
hut after the war returned for his
sweetheart.
There Is no record as to how the big
icserter got on without n coffin.