第28章

Ithadnoparticulartaste,andprobablylittlenutriment,stillitwasfreshandgreen,andwestrainedourweakmusclesandenfeebledsinewsateveryopportunity,endeavoringtopullupa"greenfan。"

Atoneplacewherewestoppedtherewasamakeshiftofagarden,oneofthosesorry"truckpatches,"whichdopoordutyaboutSoutherncabinsforthekitchengardensoftheNorthern,farmers,andproduceafewcoarsecowpeas,ascantylotofcollards（acoarsekindofcabbage,withastalkaboutayardlong）andsomeonionstovarytheusualside—meatandcornpone,dietoftheGeorgia"cracker。"Scanningthepatch\'sruinsofvinearidstalk,Andrewsespiedahandfulofonions,whichhad;remainedungathered。TheytemptedhimastheappledidEve。Withoutstoppingtocommunicatehisintentiontome,hesprangfromthecar,snatchedtheonionsfromtheirbed,pulledup,halfadozencollardstalksandwasonhiswaybackbeforetheguardcouldmakeuphismindtofireuponhim。

Theswiftnessofhismotionssavedhislife,forhadhebeenmoredeliberatetheguardwouldhaveconcludedhewastryingto,escape,andshothimdown。Asitwashewasreturningbackbeforetheguardcouldgethisgunup。Theonionshehad,securedweretousmoredeliciousthanwineuponthelees。Theyseemedtofindtheirwayintoeveryfiberofourbodies,andinvigorateeveryorgan。Thecollardstalkshehadsnatchedup,intheexpectationoffindinginthemsomethingresemblingthenutritious"heart"thatwerememberedaschildren,seekingand,findinginthestalksofcabbage。Butweweredisappointed。ThestalkswereasdryandrottenasthebonesofSouthern,society。Evenhungercouldfindnomeatinthem。

AftersomedaysofthisleisurelyjourneyingtowardtheSouth,wehaltedpermanentlyabouteighty—sixmilesfromSavannah。Therewasnoreasonwhyweshouldstoptheremorethananyplaceelsewherewehadbeenorwerelikelytogo。ItseemedasiftheRebelshadsimplytiredofhaulingus,anddumpedus,off。Wehadanotherlotofdead,accumulatedsinceweleftSavannah,andthescenesatthatplacewererepeated。

Thetrainreturnedforanotherloadofprisoners。

CHAPTERLXV。

BLACKSHEARANDPIERCECOUNTRY——WETAKEUPNEWQUARTERS,BUTARECALLED

OUTFOREXCHANGE——EXCITEMENTOVERSIGNINGTHEPAROLE——AHAPPYJOURNEYTO

SAVANNAH——GRIEVOUSDISAPPOINTMENT

WewereinformedthattheplacewewereatwasBlackshear,andthatitwastheCourtHouse,i。e。,theCountyseatofPierceCounty。WheretheykepttheCourtHouse,orCountyseat,isbeyondconjecturetome,sinceI

couldnotseeahalfdozenhousesinthewholeclearing,andnotoneofthemwasarespectabledwelling,takingevensolowastandardforrespectabledwellingsasthataffordedbythemajorityofGeorgiahouses。

PierceCounty,asIhavesincelearnedbythecensusreport,isoneofthepoorestCountiesofapoorsectionofaverypoorState。

Apopulationoflessthantwothousandisthinlyscatteredoveritsfivehundredsquaremilesofterritory,andgainameagersubsistencebyaweaksimulationofcultivatingpatchesofitssandydunesandplainsin"nubbin"cornanddropsicalsweetpotatos。Afew"razor—back"hogs——

aspeciessogauntandthinthatIheardamanoncedeclarethathehadstoppedalotbelongingtoaneighborfromcrawlingthroughthecracksofatightboardfencebysimplytyingaknotintheirtails——roamthewoods,andsupplyallthemeatused。

Andrewsusedtoinsistthatsomeofthehogswhichwesawweresothinthattheconnectionbetweentheirforeandhindquarterswasonlyasinglethicknessofskin,withhaironbothsides——butthenAndrewssometimesseemedtometohaveatendencytoexaggerate。

Theswinecertainlydidhaveproportionsthatstronglyresembledthoseoftheanimalswhichchildrencutoutofcardboard。Theywerelikethegeometricaldefinitionofasuperfice——alllengthandbreadth,andnothickness。Ahamfromthemwouldlooklikeapalm—leaffan。

IneverceasedtomarvelatthedelicateadjustmentofthedevelopmentofanimallifetothesoilintheseleansectionsofGeorgia。Thepoorlandwouldnotmaintainanythingbutlank,lazymen,withfewwants,andnonebutlank,lazymen,withfewwants,soughtamaintenancefromit。Imayhavetangledupcauseandeffect,inthisproposition,butifso,thereadercandisentanglethemathisleisure。

IwasnotastonishedtolearnthatittookfivehundredsquaremilesofPierceCountylandtomaintaintwothousand"crackers,"evenaspoorlyastheylived。Ishouldwantfullythatmuchofittosupportonefair—

sizedNorthernfamilyasitshouldbe。

Afterleavingthecarsweweremarchedoffintothepinewoods,bythesideofaconsiderablestream,andtoldthatthiswastobeourcamp。

Aheavyguardwasplacedaroundus,andanumberofpiecesofartillerymountedwheretheywouldcommandthecamp。

Westartedintomakeourselvescomfortable,asatMillen,bybuildingshanties。Theprisonersweleftbehindfollowedus,andwesoonhadouroldcrowdoffiveorsixthousand,whohadbeenourcompanionsatSavannahandMillers,againwithus。Theplacelookedveryfavorableforescape。Weknewwewerestillneartheseacoast——reallynotmorethanfortymilesaway——andwefeltthatifwecouldoncegetthereweshouldbesafe。AndrewsandImeditatedplansofescape,andtoiledawayatourcabin。

Aboutaweekafterourarrivalwewerestartledbyanorderfortheonethousandofuswhohadfirstarrivedtogetreadytomoveout。Inafewminutesweweretakenoutsidetheguardline,massedclosetogether,andinformedinafewwordsbyaRebelofficerthatwewereabouttobetakenbacktoSavannahforexchange。

Theannouncementtookawayourbreath。Foraninstanttherushofemotionmadeusspeechless,andwhenutterancereturned,thefirstusewemadeofitwastojoininonesimultaneousoutburstofacclamation。

Thoseinsidetheguardline,understandingwhatourcheermeant,answereduswithaloudshoutofcongratulation——thefirstreal,genuine,heartycheeringthathadbeendonesincereceivingtheannouncementoftheexchangeatAndersonville,threemonthsbefore。

Assoonastheexcitementhadsubsidedsomewhat,theRebelproceededtoexplainthatwewouldallberequiredtosignaparole。Thissetustothinking。AfterourscornfulrejectionofthepropositiontoenlistintheRebelarmy,theRebelshadfeltaroundamongusconsiderablyastohowweweredisposedtowardtakingwhatwascalledthe"Non—Combatant\'sOath;"thatis,theswearingnottotakeuparmsagainsttheSouthernConfederacyagainduringthewar。TothemostofusthisseemedonlyalittlelessdishonorablethanjoiningtheRebelarmy。WeheldthatouroathstoourownGovernmentplacedusatitsdisposaluntilitchosetodischargeus,andwecouldnotmakeanyengagementswithitsenemiesthatmightcomeincontraventionofthatduty。Inshort,itlookedverymuchlikedesertion,andthiswedidnotfeelatlibertytoconsider。

Therewerestillmanyamongus,who,feelingcertainthattheycouldnotsurviveimprisonmentmuchlonger,weredisposedtolookfavorablyupontheNon—Combatant\'sOath,thinkingthatthecircumstancesofthecasewouldjustifytheirapparentderelictionfromduty。WhetheritwouldornotImustleavetomoreskilledcasuiststhanmyselftodecide。ItwasamatterIbelievedeverymanmustsettlewithhisownconscience。TheopinionthatIthenheldandexpressedwas,thatifaboy,feltthathewashopelesslysick,andthathecouldnotliveifheremainedinprison,hewasjustifiedintakingtheOath。IntheabsenceofourownSurgeonshewouldhavetodecideforhimselfwhetherbewassickenoughtobewarrantedinresortingtothismeansofsavinghislife。Ifhewasinasgoodhealthasthemajorityofuswere,withareasonableprospectofsurvivingsomeweekslonger,therewasnoexcusefortakingtheOath,forinthatfewweekswemightbeexchanged,berecaptured,ormakeourescape。Ithinkthiswasthegeneralopinionoftheprisoners。

WhiletheRebelwastalkingaboutoursigningtheparole,thereflasheduponallofusatthesamemoment,asuspicionthatthiswasatraptodeludeusintosigningtheNon—Combatant\'sOath。Instantlytherewentupageneralshout:

"Readtheparoletous。"

TheRebelwashandedablankparolebyacompanion,andhereadovertheprintedconditionatthetop,whichwasthatthosesigningagreednottobeararmsagainsttheConfederatesinthefield,oringarrison,nottomananyworks,assistinanyexpedition,doanysortofguardduty,serveinanymilitaryconstabulary,orperformanykindofmilitaryserviceuntilproperlyexchanged。

Foraminutethiswassatisfactory;thentheiringraineddistrustofanythingaRebelsaidordidreturned,andtheyshouted:

"No,no;letsomeofusreadit;letIlinoy\'readit——"

TheRebellookedaroundinapuzzledmanner。

"Whotheh——lis\'Illinoy！\'Whereishe？"saidhe。

Isalutedandsaid:

"That\'sanicknametheygiveme。"

"Verywell,"saidhe,"getuponthisstumpandreadthisparoletothesed———dfoolsthatwon\'tbelieveme。"

Imountedthestump,tooktheblankfromhishandandreaditoverslowly,givingasmuchemphasisaspossibletotheall—importantclauseatthe

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