shment for trying to escape was cruel. Those who were caught at
it were strung up to a pole by the thumbs, with the tips of their toes
just touching the ground. Sometimes the men would faint, and had to be
cut down.

Upon the whole, prison life was very monotonous. It was an unhealthy
camp; so much so, that the prisoners considered that they had a better
chance for their lives fighting in the army.

The water was brackish and unpleasant to the taste. The only water we
had was from pumps scattered about over the camps, and during the four
months that I was there the pumps were always surrounded by a thirsty
crowd of from 40 to 50 prisoners, each with his tincup, trying to wedge
his way in, that he might quench his thirst.

The food, while good, was very scant. Breakfast consisted of coffee and
a loaf of bread, which, under ordinary circumstances, with vegetables
and other food, would probably suffice for two meals. This loaf was
given us at breakfast, and if we ate it all then we went without bread
for dinner. If there was any left over we took it to our tents, laid it
on the ground, and saved it for dinner.

The dinners consisted of a tincup of soup (generally bean or other
vegetable), a small piece of meat on a tinplate, on which a little
vinegar was poured to prevent scurvy. My recollection is we had no other
meal, but my mind is not perfectly clear on this point. I do know,
however, that we were always hungry, and the chief topic of conversation
was the sumptuous meals we had sat down to in other days.

As I recalled the tables of former years laden with bacon, cabbage,
potatoes and hominy, I remember how I reproached myself for not having
eaten more when I had the opportunity. Delicacies never entered into the
discussion; it was always the plain, simple foods that we talked about
and longed for.

We were told that the short rations were given us in retaliation for the
scanty food supplied to their soldiers in Southern prisons.

The hospitals were crowded all the time, and there were many sick in
the camp waiting their opportunity to go into hospitals.

We lived in what is known as Sibley tents, shaped like a bell, with an
opening in the top about 15 inches in diameter.

There were 12 men to a tent, who, when they slept, arranged themselves
in a circle, like the spokes of a wagon, with their feet toward the
center. These tents were as close as they could stand on the ground,
with wide avenues between every