immediate steps were taken toward that end. | storm came up, and we were soon soaked through, and remained so, unable to sleep, but consoling ourselves with song until the morning, when one hard-tack was issued to each man (for which, I venture to say, each man was thankful), and that was our breakfast. The order was to me unwelcome, for I knew another place could not be found where so much comfort could be had, so much kindness shown us, as in the Roper Hospital. On the 5th of October about six hundred of us were ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to move, and immediately a busy scene commenced, for every one was determined to take away every article of property he possessed. Fortunate it proved that we did so. The market-women turned out en masse when they got wind of the proceeding, and, as we made our last bargains, we were greeted with, "I'se right sorry you'se gwine, massa," or "Old aunty done used up now, mas," and similar expressions of regret; and well they might regret our departure, for our stay had been no small profit to them. sa, At about 10 A.M. we were marched three miles beyond the town, and turned into a lot of about five acres of what had been a pine grove, but most of the trees had been cut down. The guard and artillery-two pieces-were posted, and we were in our new camp-an open field without shelter or means of providing it; many without coats or blankets, and here we looked forward to the winter-especially those in ill health-as a cheerless, hopeless prospect. There was neither wood nor water to be had in camp, and only six were permitted to go out at a time Certainly no such motley crew as ours ever for either, and the same rule applied to attendpassed through King Street before. Moving-ing the calls of nature; and when it is rememday in New York is not to be spoken of in com- bered that there were some 1500 prisoners, the parison. Every thing we had purchased, or harshness of this rule will be evident. Later, that had been given us, in the line of furniture the guard was thrown out so as to take in the and of cooking utensils, were brought along. brook and wood. At first we had to pick up all Chairs, stools, tables, kettles, pans, and pots, the wood we burned; but after some weeks were strung upon poles, or thrown over our about a dozen hatchets and axes were furnished shoulders, while here and there appeared a dark- for the use of all, which were found very useful, ey who had been impressed and loaded for the although the largest portion had not strength occasion, and in the rear of the column followed enough to use them very effectually. Some, two wagons loaded with "sundries." At the who were very sick, were taken to the hospital dépôt we were packed in box-cars after the usu- in the town, where for a time they were well al manner-the whistle shrieked, and we were cared for; but one afternoon they were turned "off from Charleston." Many made their es- out to make room for some of their own woundcape that night by jumping out the doors, or ed, marched the three miles to the camp, and knocking the boards off from the ends of the turned in among us to endure or to die; which, I think, our captors little cared. cars. Early the next morning we arrived in Columbia, and were corralled near the dépôt, exposed to a scorching sun, from which we could find no shade. Most of us had no rations, and naturally were quite hungry, rushing eagerly after every lot of bread brought for sale. One young lady, who was looking at us from a house near by, seeing our desire for something to eat, burst out crying, exclaiming, "Poor fellows, they are so hungry!" God bless her for a kind, sympathizing heart! I saw in a box-car near by a family of refugees from Tennessee living, consisting of father, mother, five children (two of them young ladies), and an aged grandmother. The furniture and neatness of their poor shelter, as well as their conversation and manners, gave evidence that they were people of refinement who had seen happier days. I afterward found that theirs was no unusual case, and saw a train of thirty cars occupied by the same class of unfortunates. In the afternoon we were moved a short distance, and placed under the guard of the cadets from the military school, who, although boys, were well-drilled soldiers, reminding me more of our own men than any I had seen in the South. One of our number received a severe illustration of their discipline in the shape of a bayonet wound in the back, for passing outside the line to get a melon. At night a severe rain To provide shelter was naturally the desire and work of every one, bringing into play Yankee ingenuity, and what in the army surpasses even that in the architectural line-soldier's ingenuity, which resulted in the erection of shanties above ground and shanties below ground, of boughs, of limbs, of bark, of blankets—if men were lucky enough to have them to spare-and of old bedticks from the Roper, all thrown together promiscuously, presenting a singular although not unpicturesque appearance, and forming a labyrinth through which, I learned by experience, it was not easy for a man to find his way after dark. I should not omit to say that there were a few huts, built substantially of logs, by men able to use and understanding how to use the axe, in which were fire-places and chimneys built of mud and sticks, but they were few the palaces of the city of poverty. The shanty of "my mess" was a bedtick arranged over a pole in the form of a tent, the sides and back thatched with pine boughs. It was a well-ventilated chateau, and would leak when it rained; when we would rob our bodies of blankets to protect ourselves from the droppings-thinking cold alone was preferable to cold and wet together-turn in, and lie close to keep up the warmth, and, as we "let it rain," ponder the remark of Mrs. Partington, "This is a checkerberry life.” SHANTIES, COLUMBIA. We saw but little of people from the outer world, or heard but little from it. Never were we more isolated. Even "exchange stock" fell far below par, and only the freshest "fish" invested. "Escape stock" was lively, and up to November 5, 301 officers realized on it. Many more had tried their fortunes, but had been recaptured; in fact, they were escaping and being brought back every day. The chances of reaching our lines were very small, for the distance was very great and the people on the alert with blood-hounds ever ready for the scent; and for a man in poor health it was an undertaking not lightly to be entered upon, even though the prize sought was freedom, escape from the jaws of death. Yet almost every one pondered it more or less, and had sketches and maps, more or less finished, of the surrounding country. All the old dodges heretofore alluded to were tried; and many ran the guard at night, so that it was no uncommon thing to hear sharp firing at some part of the line for a few moments any dark night. Two officers were killed, and several wounded in their attempts, and one night they wounded two of their own men. Our favorite method of escape was for men, who had not taken parole, to go for wood, to mix in with those who had done so, and after getting in the woods, their friends would cover them with boughs or with leaves, and there secreted they would remain until after dark. I have known a hundred officers to go out in one day in that way, provided with rations and blankets, their parties and plans all made up. This led to the strengthening of the guard and the extension of their beats, making their distance from the "dead line" so great that to run the gauntlet was next to impossible. The following order was also communicated to us: "HEAD-QUARTERS, S. C., GEORGIA, AND FLORIDA, CHARLESTON, November 17, 1864. "Colonel Means, commanding Federal prisoners at Co lumbia. "The Lieutenant-General directs that you report to these head-quarters the name of every officer and man who escapes from your custody. Also, that you notify the Federal officers that they must give their parole not to attempt to escape, or they will be confined in a pen, in the same manner the privates now are. "Very respectfully, your obedient servant, "R. C. GILCHRIST, "Actg Asst. Adjt.-Gen'l." No attention was paid by the officers to this remarkable order, for we knew that although their power to abuse, as well as their disposition so to do, was limitless, they could not compel us to take such a parole, and we did not, although we knew nothing but the want of a "pen" would prevent the execution of the threat. Our rations consisted of three pints of meal, half a pint of rice, one pint of bran or grits, one table-spoonful of salt, and a pint of sorghum for five days, and while ostensibly for five days it had to last into the sixth, and sometimes the seventh, or we went hungry. Went hungry! that will convey no idea to the reader; for we went hungry all the time. I should say, we had to do without. Of meat I saw not an ounce during my stay. They gave us two ounces of soap for twenty days, and as I have lately seen a communication from a Confederate officer in our hands who complained of not being furnished with candles, I desire to throw some light on Southern customs, and say that, except when burning the gas at Roper, we knew no light save that which the common Father gives alike to the prisoner and the free. For a steady diet, day after day, for breakfast, dinner, and supper, corn meal and sorghum is not the most palatable of food. It was enough to make the well sick, for the sick it was almost sure death. Imagine a man sick with fever or diarrhea eating a piece of corn bread, or a dish of mush and molasses! And yet it was this or nothing, for although, as elsewhere, there was a sutler, we never had any money delivered to us if it was sent us from home, and of course could not patronize him for any luxuries. The treatment received by our prisoners at the hands of our enemies, although presented to the public in the papers of the day, has never been portrayed in colors sufficiently vivid, and the fiendish natures of those men who are set to kill them by inches, to torture them to death, have never been set forth in words. In fact, I doubt if language is capable of conveying the horrors of the sufferings of many. Our soldiers in the field say, and say truly, that those at home can never comprehend their hardships; what it is to march all day, to lie down at night wet and hungry, or be put on picket in the howling storm; and if these, which have become so familiarly talked of, are not understood, save by experience, how can starvation be portrayed in comprehensive sentences? The sight of some poor wretch, shrunk almost to a skeleton, and weak as a child, as he is brought on shore at Annapolis, may rouse the mind to the realities of what thousands are bearing; to the truth that day after day scores of our brave men, for whom no thanks and no rewards we can offer are too hearty and generous, are "passing the flood to join the host upon the other side." On the 8th of December the welcome news was communicated to a number of us that we were to be paroled; news we scarcely dared believe, even after signing the documents, so many had we seen disappointed, and never can I forget the despondency of one poor fellow, who had been eighteen months a prisoner and expected to accompany us, when he found his name erased from the list. At noon of the 9th we bade adieu to our companions and to "Camp Sorghum," not without feelings of sadness while thinking of the wretchedness they were left to endure. The very sick ones were put in muleteams, the rest trudged joyfully to the dépôt, where we packed ourselves in the box-cars with a good grace and were started for Charleston. On the 10th we were taken on board the steamer Laura, a boat which had run the blockade the previous week, and was intended (so a Confederate officer told me), as a companion for the Tallahassee, and was to bear the name of the Fly-by-Night. Never will any of us forget the moment when steaming down the harbor we came in sight of our fleet. We cared not for the rebel rag over our heads then, for we already felt that Freedom's banner was floating o'er us. We commenced to sing the Star-Spangled Banner, interlarding verses and chorus with cheer upon cheer, until the whole vessel was a scene of the wildest excitement, in which the invalids joined with superhuman strength, as if with the sight of the flag virtue had been inhaled, and their diseases had gone out of them. The excitement reached its height when Colonel Mulford appeared; and soon the exchange was completed and we were treading the deck of the George Leary, from which some of us were next day transferred to the propeller United States, and weighing anchor put to sea. To Captain Shear, and Mr. Hanning the purser, and to their wives who were with them, the entire number of passengers are indebted for the kindest attention. To the sick they were unremitting, supplying them from their own private stores, making them teas, soups, etc., and doing every thing in their power to render them comfortable until we arrived in Annapolis, on the evening of the 14th, and felt ourselves again in "God's Country." THE SONG OF THE CURE. W" ITH tresses disheveled and damp, A water-nymph to be sure, From morn till dewy night, To float through life, and to drown all pluck Till the starch is out of us gone; Till our hopes sink one by one; Sitz, and shallow, and sponge, Sponge, and shallow, and sitz, It is not linen you're washing out, But the color from our lives. Could Noah look in, he'd think Till our dispositions "rile;" Till some of us strike "ile.” Sitz, galvanic, and flow, To drip and drizzle no more- Set firmly on the shore! But no! this can not be; We're melting in floods too fast; No hope is left for you and me, But becoming Naiads at last. With tresses disheveled and damp, A water-nymph to be sure; She sang the song of the Cure. CLIFTON SPRINGS, 1865. W WASHOE REVISITED. [Third Paper.] HEN you visit a friend in the country he the back-yard, and shows you his fancy boar or usually displays his interest in your pleasure improved style of ram. Some hospitable genby inviting you to take a walk in his garden. He tlemen connected with the Ophir, having none shows you his fruit trees and cabbages; dilates of these attractions about their premises, invited upon the productive qualities of his soil; sur-me, on the occasion of a visit, to take a ramble prises you with the growth of his pumpkins; through their subterranean garden. This is a excites your astonishment by the magnitude of compliment paid to visitors from distant parts his squashes; and if you happen to be interested of the world, and is considered a satisfactory in stock, takes you by the arm, conducts you to substitute for the civilities available in other A SHAFT. ladder. All along the range of these various ladders was a shaft, in which a ponderous piece of machinery appeared to be engaged in hoisting out water from the bottom of the mine. The holes through which we descended were so narrow that it was sometimes difficult to tell which was the ladder and which was the machine; but I continued to keep a firm grip of the ladder and let the machine look out for itself. When we got into this last hole, we squeezed through a trap-door and went down still further by another ladder that led to another, and then another, and so on till we reached another. I have no idea how many ladders there All I know is, they stand very straight up, and keep fearfully close to the machinery that drags up the water. I saw a good deal of rock and earth by holding the candle close to the sides of the subterranean excavations through which we passed. Whether the rock contained the silver, or whether the silver was contained in the loose earth, or whether they both contained it together, is a matter not to be recklessly or inconsiderately divulged. The interests of this mine are so extensive and multifarious that no man who values his reputation will jeopard it by disclosing facts which must either elevate stock to the detriment of purchasers, or depress it to the detriment of sellers. I therefore keep my own counsel. This much I may state: that the scientific gentleman who accompanied me was continually holding his candle against the dripping rocks and banks of earth and ejaculating: "There! you see it; hornblendic, feldspathicgraniferous! Casings distinctly marked-Dip forty-five degrees. Here again- very rich! Don't you see it? And here! and here again were. places. It was a little trying to the muscles, they admitted, but would amply repay me for the trouble. As to risk, it was trifling. Visitors to other mines now and then got their skulls crushed, or tumbled down shafts and were mashed, or became nervous and fainted into the machinery; but nothing of the kind was common in the Ophir. As a preliminary measure I was kindly furnished with a suit of rough outer-garments, somewhat dilapidated by frequent contact with different colored ores, and the drippings of candles and whitewash, but good enough for general protection. Into this ancient suit I speedily dived, and was so disguised that when I looked in the glass my first impulse was to turn round and knock down the miserable satire that stood in my boots. I was next provided with a candle and directed to hold it between my fingers, so as to reflect the light-eh ?" I certainly saw something. The reader from the palm of my hand. Thus accoutred, we climbed a bit of a hill, and entered a hole somewhere, which we began to descend single file by means of a ladder. At the end of the ladder was a small bit of ground to stand on; and then another hole in the ground and another will kindly consider me speechless with amazement. What I did see in those subterranean tunnels; the gloomy passages through which I navigated in pursuit of the scientific gentleman, whose motions were frightfully rapid; bobbing my head against timbers and sharp points of |