The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

324 THE MAINE BUGLE.
pinned it together with sHvers of wood. My pants were those
I had on when captured, only some the worse for wear. I had
mended them all I could but the holes in the knees would grow
larger and the seams around the bottoms of the legs were worn
off and the holes in the knees had torn downward but I pinned
or sewed the bottoms together and got along that way. I
mended the holes over the pockets by sewing the pocket to the
cloth where the cloth would reach, and where it would not I had
to leave a hole. I had quite a decent pair of stockings which
I had bought in prison, but my shoes I had to mend to keep
them on my feet. How do you suppose we could mend shoes
in a rebel prison? I will tell you. I cut strings (5fT the tops of
the quarters and bored holes through the soles and uppers and
tied the soles on in that way, and as fast as the strings wore out
put in new ones ;
by
that means some of us had exceedingly
low quartered shoes. I had an old regulation hat or a skeleton
of one and this hat completed my entire stock of clothing. I
was cold that night—chilled as I hope never to be again.
After a long time I arrived near the light and found it was a
fire out door instead of in a negro hut. Now when I got away
from the guards I had no idea that it would be possible for me
to elude the hounds if once they got after me and I did not doubt
they would, for every morning they used to circle around our
camp and if anyone had escaped they would take his track as
quickly as though he was a wild beast and soon run him down.
I hoped to stay out long enough to get all I wanted to eat once
more and get some other simple necessaries, such as possibly
an old rug or piece of a quilt or some rags I could patch my
clothes with, a spoon, dipper or knife of some kind. I had
traded while in Andersonville or Millen for what, I think, was a
cavalryman's saddlebag and I had made some preparation to
escape by trading for and obtaining some extra rations. I had
one and a half large round hard tack and a piece of boiled beef
and a wooden spoon in this haversack or saddlebag. Well, I
wanted to know what this fire was. It would flash up brightly
for a minute and then die down. I watched it, looking all the