Part 11 (1/2)

And to those inhuman monsters it seemed a pleasant pastime--such is the brutalizing effect of the system of human slavery. Once in a life-time is enough to witness such a revolting scene as this; I have witnessed one such, and I trust in G.o.d it may never be my misfortune to be obliged to witness another.

After this exhibition of fiendish cruelty, I am ready to believe that the system of human slavery was capable of developing total depravity into the hearts of slave holders. What man in the North could look on complacently and see such a cruel punishment inflicted? And yet the Southern whites seemed to look upon this brutality as a matter of course, and even before the preparations were made for the flogging, knew what would be the punishment inflicted upon the poor black, for his unsuccessful attempt to liberate his white skinned, and white livered comrades; and while they seemed to feel a sort of sympathy for their black skinned, but brave hearted comrade, they offered no remonstrance to his cruel tormentors, nor made a plea for mercy in his behalf.

When they seemed to become exhausted with their violent exercise, in swinging that cruel strap, they began to question the poor, fainting negro thus:

”What did you do it for, anyhow?”

”Oh, ma.s.sa, dem white men dey told me to,” moaned the poor fellow.

”Will you ever mind them fellows again?”

”No, ma.s.sa; if you only let me go this time I'll never pay mo' 'tention to dem white trash dan I would to a fly,” he said in a pleading voice.

He was not put back into the jail again, and what became of him we never learned. Our plan for escape had been well matured, and had it succeeded, as it would have done but for the weakening of the rebel deserters, there is scarcely a doubt but that we would have safely reached our lines, as these deserters were thoroughly acquainted with the country around Ashville and knew every turpentine path through the pine forests, and all of the mountain pa.s.ses, as well as an old resident of Oswego knows the streets of the city.

Our plan was, to disarm the guard at the door, and then rush for the stack of arms belonging to the relief, who were not then on duty, and then fight our way through to Tennessee, where the loyal inhabitants of that state would join us in resisting recapture by the Confederates.

It was well understood by all, that once in Tennessee we were safe from molestation. This had been our objective point upon our escape from Columbia; and when we were unfortunately recaptured by d.i.c.k Hanc.o.c.k and Tom Hubbard, we were just intending, after getting something to eat at Mr.

Harshaw's, to at once go into the woods, and not leave them again until we had gained the river, which was only about two miles ahead.

Once at the river we were to search for a boat of some kind with which to cross it, and failing to find one, to build a raft that would float us over to the Tennessee sh.o.r.e. But it was destined otherwise. We learned after our recapture, that the officer we had seen sitting upon the stoop of a store at Fort Emory, was a paroled prisoner of war who was suffering from a wound, and by having been a prisoner at the North, recognized us as Yankees, and informed d.i.c.k Hanc.o.c.k and Tom Hubbard, who thereupon mounted and followed us up.

They had about given up overhauling us when they arrived at Mr. Harshaw's, and said that if they had not found us there or learned by him that we were near by, that they would not have followed us any further, as it was then almost dark and they had already followed us ten miles. They said that until they found that authorization paper upon me they did not believe that we were Yankees, but supposed we were deserters from the Confederate army, who were trying to make our escape into the Tennessee border.

CHAPTER XXI.

PLACED IN AN IRON CAGE--BREAKING OUT AND ATTEMPTING TO DIG THROUGH A BRICK WALL--AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE.

The next morning, we were all marched into a room on the opposite side of the hall, and to the south side of the jail, and were placed in an iron cage, made of flat bars two inches wide, and half an inch thick, firmly riveted together, and as I told the Sergeant, although we could not wear diamonds, we could look through them. We were packed into this cage like sardines in a box, scarcely having room to move. There were iron benches along the sides for us to sit upon, but lying down was quite out of the question.

When all was quiet that night, we thought as we could not sleep we would try and get out.

The door was fastened with a round iron prop that fitted into a socket in the floor, and was fastened to the door by a padlock. This prop we wrenched from its fastenings by reaching out through the diamond in the door, and then with it broke the lock, and the iron door swung back, giving us free egress to the room. The cage was about twenty feet long and eight feet wide, with a part.i.tion in the centre. This cage set in the middle of the room, and was about six feet from the walls of the room on all sides. With the bar thus wrenched off, we at once attacked the brick wall, and while some detached the brick, others held a blanket underneath to prevent the falling brick and mortar from falling to the floor, as they would make a noise that would attract the attention of those beneath us.

We had made an opening nearly halfway through the outer wall, which was large enough for a good sized man to pa.s.s out, when most unexpectedly two more prisoners were brought in, and our operations were discovered, and the attempt to escape was again frustrated.

A guard was then placed in the room, and as we could not sleep, we spent the night in singing ”Rally 'Round the Flag,” and other Union songs, and chaffing with the guard, who were nearly all, more or less, tinctured with Union sentiments, and only kept us from escaping, for fear of the consequence to themselves. Morning came and with it an order to get ready to go to Danville, Va.

I told the officer that I could not march on account of my inflamed legs, but he said that if I had got out of jail my legs would not have bothered me much, and he reckoned that it would do me good to take a walk anyway.

And he would put us d--d Yanks where we wouldn't bother him any more. So, after furnis.h.i.+ng us with two days rations to last to Morgantown, they started four of us, Captain Alban, myself, and the two Union prisoners brought in the night before, whose names I do not now remember, under a guard consisting of a Lieutenant and four men, for a tramp over the mountains.

Our march over the mountains was a tedious one, interspersed now and then, however, with some amusing incident. We were in good humor with the guard, and laughed and joked along the road in a free and easy sort of way, and succeeded in making ourselves agreeable to them, gaining their confidence as much as we could, and after we had been marching half a day, a casual observer would have hardly distinguished the prisoners from the guard. We straggled along much the same as a dozen rebs would have done on a march by themselves.

On the afternoon of the first day's march, we came along to a hickory grove, where about a dozen black and gray squirrels were sporting about on the top branches, gathering nuts, and I asked one of the guard to let me take his gun a minute and I would get a couple of them for our supper. He was about handing the gun to me, when the Lieutenant stopped him by saying: ”You d--d fool, do you know what you are carrying that gun for?

That Yankee might miss the squirrel and shoot you.”