第26章

CorporalCarriganwasthegiganticprizefighter,whowasuniversallyacknowledgedtobethebestmanphysicallyamongthewholethirty—fourthousandinAndersonville。TheRaidersknewthatGoodyhadcomeinbeforeweofhisownbattaliondid。Theyresolvedtokillhimthenandthere,andinbroaddaylight。Hehadsecuredinsomewayasheltertent,andwasinsideofitfixingitup。TheRaidercrowd,headedbyPeteDonnelly,andDickAllen,wentuptohistentandoneofthemcalledtohim:

"Sergeant,comeout;Iwanttoseeyou。"

Goody,supposingitwasoneofus,camecrawlingoutonhishandsandknees。Ashedidsotheirheavyclubscrasheddownuponhishead。

Hewasneitherkillednorstunned,astheyhadreasontoexpect。

Hesucceededinrisingtohisfeet,andbreakingthroughthecrowdofassassins。Hedasheddownthesideofthehill,hotlypursuedbythem。

ComingtotheCreek,heleapeditinhisexcitement,buthispursuerscouldnot,andwerechecked。Oneofourbattalionboys,whosawandcomprehendedthewholeaffair,ranovertous,shouting:

"Turnout！turnout,forGod\'ssake！theRaidersarekillingGoody！"

WesnatchedupourclubsandstartedaftertheRaiders,butbeforewecouldreachthem,NedCarrigan,whoalsocomprehendedwhatthetroublewas,hadruntothesideofGoody,armedwithaterriblelookingclub。

ThesightofNed,andthedemonstrationthathewasthoroughlyaroused,wasenoughfortheRaidercrew,andtheyabandonedthefieldhastily。

Wedidnotfeelourselvesstrongenoughtofollowthemontotheirowndunghill,andtryconclusionswiththem,butwedeterminedtoreportthemattertotheRebelCommandant,fromwhomwehadreasontobelievewecouldexpectassistance。Wewereright。Hesentinasquadofguards,arrestedDickAllen,PeteDonnelly,andseveralotherringleaders,tookthemoutandputtheminthestocksinsuchamannerthattheywerecompelledtolieupontheirstomachs。Ashallowtinvesselcontainingwaterwasplacedundertheirfacestofurnishthemdrink。

Theystaidthereadayandnight,andwhenreleased,joinedtheRebelArmy,enteringtheartillerycompanythatmannedthegunsinthefortcoveringtheprison。Iusedtoimaginewithwhatzealtheywouldsendusover;aroundofshellorgrapeiftheycouldgetanythinglikeanexcuse。

Thisgaveusgoodriddance——ofourdangerousenemies,andwehadlittlefurthertroublewithanyofthem。

Thedepressioninthetemperaturemademeverysensibleofthedeficienciesinmywardrobe。Unshodfeet,ashirtlikeafishingnet,andpantaloonsaswellventilatedasapalingfencemightdoverywellforthebroilingsunatAndersonvilleandSavannah,butnow,withthethermometernightlydippingalittlenearerthefrostline,itbecameunpleasantlyevidentthatasgarmentstheirofficewaspurelyperfunctory;onemightsayornamentalsimply,ifhewantedtobeverysarcastic。Theywerewornsolelytoaffordconvenientquartersformultitudesoflice,andindeferencetotheprejudicewhichhasexistedsincetheFallofManagainstourminglingwithourfellowcreaturesintheattireprovidedusbyNature。HadIreadDarwinthenIshouldhaveexpectedthatmylongexposuretotheweatherwouldstartafinesuitoffur,intheeffortofNaturetoadapt,metomy,environment。ButnomoreindicationsofthisappearedthanifIhadbeenahairlessdogofMexico,suddenlytransplantedtomorenorthernlatitudes。Providencedidnotseemtobeinthetempering—the—wind—to—the—shorn—lambbusiness,asfarasIwasconcerned。Istillretainedanalmostunconquerableprejudiceagainststrippingthedeadtosecureclothes,andsounlessexchangeordeathcamespeedily,Iwasinabadfix。

Onemorningaboutdaybreak,Andrews,whohadstartedtogotoanotherpartofthecamp,cameslippingbackinastateofgleefulexcitement。

AtfirstIthoughtheeitherhadfoundatunnelorhadheardsomegoodnewsaboutexchange。Itwasneither。Heopenedhisjacketandhandedmeaninfantryman\'sblouse,whichhehadfoundinthemainstreet,whereithaddroppedoutofsomefellow\'sbundle。Wedidnotmakeanyextraexertiontofindtheowner。Andrewswasinsoreneedofclotheshimself,butmynecessitiesweresomuchgreaterthatthegenerousfellowthoughtofmywantsfirst。WeexaminedthegarmentwithasmuchinterestaseverabellebestowedonanewdressfromWorth\'s。Itwasinfairpreservation,buttheownerhadcutthebuttonsofftotradetotheguard,doubtlessforafewsticksofwood,oraspoonfulofsalt。

Wesuppliedtheplaceofthesewithlittlewoodenpins,andIdonnedthegarmentasashirtandcoatandvest,too,forthatmatter。ThebestsuitIeverputonnevergavemeahundredthpartthesatisfactionthatthisdid。Shortlyafter,Imanagedtosubduemyaversionsofarastotakeagoodshoewhichaone—leggeddeadmanhadnofartherusefor,andalittlelateracomradegavemefortheotherfootabootbottomfromwhichhehadcutthetoptomakeabucket。

ThedayofthePresidentialelectionof1864approached。TheRebelswerenaturallyverymuchinterestedintheresult,astheybelievedthattheelectionofMcClellanmeantcompromiseandcessationofhostilities,whilethere—electionofLincolnmeantprosecutionoftheWartothebitterend。ThetoadyingRaiders,whowereperpetuallyhangingaroundthegatetogetachancetoinsinuatethemselvesintothefavoroftheRebelofficers,persuadedthemthatwewereallsobitterlyhostiletoourGovernmentfornotexchangingusthatifwewereallowedtovotewewouldcastanoverwhelmingmajorityinfavorofMcClellan。

TheRebelsthoughtthatthismightperhapsbeusedtoadvantageaspoliticalcapitalfortheirfriendsintheNorth。Theygaveordersthatwemight,ifwechose,holdanelectiononthesamedayofthePresidentialelection。Theysentinsomeballotboxes,andweelectedJudgesoftheElection。

AboutnoonofthatdayCaptainBowes,andacrowdoftightbooted,broad—

hattedRebelofficers,struttedinwiththepeculiar"Ef—yer—don\'t—

b\'lieve——I\'m—a—butcher—jest—smell—o\'—mebutes"swaggercharacteristicoftheclass。TheyhadcomeintoseeusallvotingforMcClellan。

Instead,theyfoundthepollssurroundedwithticketpedlersshouting:

"Walkrightupherenow,andgetyourUnconditional—Union—Abraham—Lincoln—tickets！"

"Here\'syourstraight—hairedprosecution—of—the—warticket。"

"VotetheLincolnticket;votetowhiptheRebels,andmakepeacewiththemwhenthey\'velaiddowntheirarms。"

"Don\'tvoteaMcClellanticketandgratifyRebels,everywhere,"etc。

TheRebelofficersdidnotfindthescenewhattheirfancypaintedit,andturningaroundtheystruttedout。

WhenthevotescametobecountedouttherewereoverseventhousandforLincoln,andnothalfthatmanyhundredforMcClellan。ThelattergotveryfewvotesoutsidetheRaidercrowd。ThesamedayasimilarelectionwasheldinFlorence,withlikeresult。OfcoursethisdidnotindicatethattherewasanysuchapreponderanceofRepublicansamongus。

ItmeantsimplythattheDemocraticboys,littleastheymighthavelikedLincoln,wouldhavevotedforhimahundredtimesratherthandoanythingtopleasetheRebels。

IneverheardthattheRebelssenttheresultNorth。

CHAPTERLXI

THEREBELSFORMALLYPROPOSETOUSTODESERTTOTHEM——CONTUMELIOUS

TREATMENTOFTHEPROPOSITION——THEIRRAGE——ANEXCITINGTIME——ANOUTBREAK

THREATENED——DIFFICULTIESATTENDINGDESERTIONTOTHEREBELS。

OnedayinNovember,somelittletimeaftertheoccurrencesnarratedinthelastchapter,orderscameintomakeoutrollsofallthosewhowerebornoutsideoftheUnitedStates,andwhosetermsofservicehadexpired。

Weheldalittlecouncilamongourselvesastothemeaningofthis,andconcludedthatsomepartialexchangehadbeenagreedon,andtheRebelsweregoingtosendbacktheclassofboyswhomtheythoughtwouldbeofleastvaluetotheGovernment。Actingonthisconclusionthegreatmajorityofusenrolledourselvesasforeigners,andashavingservedoutourterms。Imadeouttherollofmyhundred,andmanagedtogiveeverymanaforeignnativity。ThosewhosenameswouldbearitwereassignedtoEngland,Ireland,ScotlandFranceandGermany,andthebalanceweredistributedthroughCanadaandtheWestIndies。Afterfinishingtherollandsendingitout,IdidnotwonderthattheRebelsbelievedthebattlesfortheUnionwerefoughtbyforeignmercenaries。Theotherrollsweremadeoutinthesameway,andIdonotsupposethattheyshowedfivehundrednativeAmericansintheStockade。

Thenextdayaftersendingouttherolls,therecameanorderthatallthosewhosenamesappearedthereonshouldfallin。Wedidso,promptly,andasnearlyeverymanincampwasincluded,wefellinasforotherpurposes,byhundredsandthousands。Wewerethenmarchedoutside,andmassedaroundastumponwhichstoodaRebelofficer,evidentlywaitingtomakeusaspeech。Weawaitedhisremarkswiththegreatestimpatience,butHedidnotbeginuntilthelastdivisionhadmarchedoutandcametoaparaderestclosetothestump。

Itwasthesameoldstory:

"Prisoners,youcannolongerhaveanydoubtthatyourGovernmenthascruellyabandonedyou;itmakesnoeffortstoreleaseyou,andrefusesallouroffersofexchange。Weareanxioustogetourmenback,andhavemadeeveryefforttodoso,butitrefusestomeetusonanyreasonablegrounds。YourSecretaryofWarhassaidthattheGovernmentcangetalongverywellwithoutyou,andGeneralHalleckhassaidthatyouwerenothingbutasetofblackberrypickersandcoffeeboilersanyhow。

"You\'vealreadyenduredmuchmorethanitcouldexpectofyou;youserveditfaithfullyduringthetermyouenlistedfor,andnow,whenitisthroughwithyou,itthrowsyoua

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