Year: 1876

short time he returned with plug
of tobacco about a foot long and
gave it to me. So much for being
Graham's pet.


The boys found out 1 was flush,
and they assisted me in trimming
it down, and by next morning my
plug was fearfully small. I next
called on Wesley Evans, and he gave
me another plug of the same size.
So much for being has ''pet." About
that time another guard by the name
of Steve House discovered that 1
was good acquisition and claimed
me for has ''pet." He had been
claiming Billy Painter, but Billy had
got to be too much for him. House
said he didn't want any such little
devil as that. While I am on this
tack, 1 may as we'll say, that Tucker
had the impudence to claim me, and
through the respect he professed to
have for me and a couple of the
Michigan boys named Cook and
Gridsby, we escaped any direct per-
soDal insult from him during the
time we were together.


The only good that resulted from
Steve Houses claim on me was ex-
perienced at later period. The
room that we were confined in was
about 20 by 80 feet square, and our
numbers were increasing daily
There were % Yankees, 3 Confeder-
ates and two negroes, guards and
Tucker.


I will here give q brief incident
that occurred between Confederate
prisoner No. 2, Tucker and myself,
as we played the prominent parts in
the drama. No. 2 was a handbook
ing fellow, with bushy, coarse, sandy
hair, and would pass for an ignorant,
fourth-rate man. He asked me one
day to trim his hair, and 1 consented
to perform the job for small piece
of tobacco. He borrowed pair of
scissors and I went to work. He
wanted me to "shingle it, and l
was doing my best licks on it, when
Tucker got his lynx eyes on us. He
tip toed across the room and came
up behind us, and with look which
1 understood, he reached for the
scissors and motioned me back out
of his way. He commenced where
1 left off, and with a cut or two he
was clipping pretty close to the
scalp. No. 2 noticed there was
something wrong and looked around,
and seeing that Tucker had installed
himself in my place, he got up.


After Tucker had become engaged
in something else, No. 2 took his
seat again and called on me to finish
my job. I went to work, but Tucker
was waiting for the opportunity, and
the first thing 1 knew he had hold
of my wrist, and 1 had to transfer
the scissors to him. He went to
work like an old hand, and with a
few quick cuts he laid the scalp bare.
No. 2 jumped to his feet, gathered a
stick of wood, and made at Tucker.
He said, 81 have only got to die
once, any how, and I will just put
you out of the way first. " Tucker
backed to a guard, and the guards
stepped between them, or I believe
No. 2 would have broken his head.
They did some very tall swearing.
Tucker abused No. 2, calling him a
deserter, and No. would tell Tuck
er that he wasn't fooling with
Yankees.


The officer of the day heard of
the disturbance and ordered Tucker
to be kept out of the room. He was
removed to an adjoining room and
for short time it was "all quiet on
the Potomac. fuckers next move
showed that he was man that could
adapt himself to his surroundings.
He didn't like to be defeated or out
generated, so he examined the parti-
ton between the rooms and found
that it was lathed and plastered on
both sides. Then ne went to work
and dug q hole in the plastering,
tore off the lath and made an open
ing about large enough to admit the
body of man.


We were all expecting him to
crawl through, but after the hole
was made we had calm of an hour.
At the end of that time we were
aroused by a continued stream of
brick bats, stones, broken bottles
and bits of castings, thrown by Tuck
er through the hole. 1t lasted I'M
til his supply ran out. The missiles
appeared to be directed at No. 2,
but we all took our turns lodging
them.


As soon as the firing ceased, hos
tilities commenced on our side by
No. 2, who used the same ammuni-
ton, and sent it back through the
hole in the wall with a will. The
battle lasted two days. We had to
crawl under the hole in passing
from one side of the room to the
other, as it wasn't safe to stand or
walk before it. No. 2 kept his forces


n =. Io-l o,J pavo, lot oOnH