Show the escape from libby prison an interesting te resting narrative the officers who escaped atom aiom libby prison give the following c deiy it interesting te statements relative to their manner of escape in february Febi uary last over two months ago tile officers confined in libby prison conceived the idea adf of effecting 0 their own exchange 0 and after the matter had been seriously discussed disc used by some seven or eight of them ilicin they undertook to dig for a dista distance nbc toward a sewer running into tile the basin this they L doing by commencing at a point in the cellar near it a chi chimney niney this cellar was directly under unda the hospital and was the receptacle for refuse straw thrown horn aloni tile beds whon when they were changed and for other lefure matter above the hospital was a room for officers ceis aud and above that yet another town loom the chi chimney niney ran through all these rooms and the who in improvised a lope and night after night let working corking vor king 0 parties down who successfully prosecuted their excavating t operations the dirt was hid under the straw and other refuse matter in the cellar and it was trampled down boas so as not to present too cicat a bulk when th woi boiking king pai baity ty had got to a considerable distance underground it wa was 3 found difficult to liand hand the dirt back by hand and a spittoon which had been furnished the officers in one of the rooms was m made 1 ade to serve the purpose of a cart A string ap was attached to it and it was ivas run ill in tile the tunnel and as soon as filled was drawn out and the dirt deposited under the straw but after hard work and di digging 1 9 in c with fingernails finger nails knives and chisels a number of feet the working party found themselves stopped by piles driven in tile the ground those these at least a foot in diameter but they not discouraged penknives or any other articles that would cut were called for and after chipping chipping chipping for a long time the file piles were nver severed and the tuune lers commenced again and in ill a few moments i cached tilt but hero here an all unexpected obstacle met their further progress tile the stencil flom the sewers and tile flow of filthy water was so 0 great that one of tile the baity fainted und and was dlag 0 god out boic dead than alive and tile the project pi eject in that direction had to be abandoned the was communicated I 1 to co a few others beside those I 1 ta AU O rl who had first thought of escape and then a party of if seventeen after view in ing 0 the premises pic pie and surroundings 0 concluded to tunnel under caboy on the opposite side of this sheet aloni the paison was a sort ot of cai carriage ria c house lionso or outhouse and aid the project D was to dig under tile the sti act and anici ge gc front from under or near the house was a high fence around it and ill the guard was outside of this fence the prisoners then commenced to digat the other side of the Chil chimney DICY and after a few handfuls han duls of ditt had been removed they found themselves stopped by a stone wall which proved afterwards to be title alnee foot foat thick the baity wele by no means undaunted and with pon penknives knives and pocketknives pocket knives they commenced operations upon the stone and mortar after nineteen days and nights hai hard d work they again struck the cai th beyond the wall and pushed their forwald for waid hole too after they had got some sonio distance under ground gio und tile the it bondly spittoon was brom brought 0 lit into inquisition and tile dirt was hauled out in small quantities after digging f lor or sonic some days the question at aiole ose whether they had not reached tile the point aimed at and in older if po possible sible to test the matter capt of tile the ad olno ohio ie 0 ament that lie had a box in iii tile the carriage carnige hurise over tile the way and to it out tins this carnage house it is pio por to state was used as aa a receptacle for boxes anil and goods sent to horn fiaui tile the north and the tha wei acie c of often ton a allowed to ived io to go under guard actors the to seanie their giop eity city capt gallagher Galla 0 glier was glanced gi anted permission sion to go there and as lie walked across under guard lie ab well as lie he could paced oil off the distance and concluded that tajo street was about fifty feet wide on tile the ath or ath of february the working party supposed they had 0 gone golic a sufficient distance and commenced to dig 0 upwards when neal tile the the they y headd tile lebel guards talking above them and discovered they were some soine two or ahlee feet yet the fence tho the displacing ofa of a stone made considerable sid erable noise and one of the benti nels called to his coliado and asked him what the noise meant the guards after listenik listening 0 a few minutes concluded that nothing was wrong and alid ie ic to their beats this holo hole was stopped up by inserting into the etc cie vice a pair of old pantaloons filled with straw and by bolstering the whole up with blaids which they secured from tho the floors etc of the paison tile the tunnel was thon then conti continued some six six 01 seven feet more and when tile tho avii working baity sup supposed posed thoy they about ready to to bayli daylight r in tile prison wore were anfor aled inca that thole was a way now 0 eh jul for escape one bundled and jino of tile tho prisoners decided to the attempt to got get away ethels le fused fealing coaling 0 tile the cu sequences equen ces if they wel C I 1 aured and ethels yet ar among tiong 0 whom wore were gen neal dow declined to make tile attern attempt pt because as they said they aliey did not d besno esile to have their bovein trient ment back down front from its enunciated policy of exchange 0 colonel rose of now yolk col kend kenduck rick of tenn captain jones eliout bradford Brad foid and others informed gen do dow IV that they could not see liow how jelal their e escape would affect tho policy of ex L M i fl T change their principle was that it was their personal right to escape if they could and duty to th their cir government to make the attempt about 8 on the evening of the ath th the pi isomers stai stalled ted out col kosc itow of new boik leadin leading 0 the van before starting the pi isanc rs had divided i themselves into squads of two three aud and four and each cacti squad was to take a diu ebent route and after they alicy out wore were to push husli for the union lines as fast as possible it was tile tho understanding dundei standing that the working party was to have an houis stal t cof of tile othor other prison cis and consequently ill ilni rope ladder in the cellar was dhawn out the expiration of the hour however tile the other prisoners became impatient and were let down through the chimney successfully into the cellar 1 col W P kendrick of west tennessee capt D J coues of the at kentucky cavahey and it IL Y Biad Blad foid of the ad west tennessee wel c detailed is AS a i icar car aal g baid d or rathor rather to go out last and f aiom I 1 oin a window col K and his ili companions could see the fugitives walk out of a gate at th alic c other end of the enclosure of the cacia c house and fearlessly move off the aperture ape iture was so narion that but one man inan could 0 got get through at a time and each cacti squad carl can led with them provisions in a bave havo isack at midnight glit a falso false aladin was created and made considerable noise in ill getting gettell tu to their respective quart quarters e ra flowe however v 16 tile tho guard suspected nothing 0 giong and in ili a f few cv moments the exodus was again commenced col kendrick and tits ins companions looked with some tie pi dation upon the movements of the fugitives is as some of them exercising 0 but little discretion moved boldly oll out t of the into tile the clale laie of tile the gaslight gas h light 7 lit many of them liow how t ever in ili citizens diess and as all tile tho ichel guards t wear tile the united states uniform but little suspicion cion could bo be excited even if the higi fugitives tives had accosted by a guard between Bc tween 1 and 2 tho the lamps extinguished in the streets and then tile the exit was more safely accomplished shed shod there wei e many olli ceis who to leave who were bo weak and fedale that they were dragged through the tunnel by maii foice and coined to places of safety until such time as they would be able to move on their jociney jou iney at 2 capt jones col kendrick Kwi drick and biad bt ad foid pasted out in the order in which they are arc named and as aa col Keli kendrick drick emerged from the liole hole lie he licali tile alio glaid within a few feet of him bill sing out 11 post no 7 half past two in ill the ino coining ining t and alvs alls well col K says saya lie could lesial the temptation ot of saying baying 0 11 not so wol well 1 a aa 8 y you oi 1 t think 11 i n k except for the yanks blad biad fold foid was entrusted with ill alie provisions for this squad and in getting though lie he was obliged 0 to leave his haversack behind him us lis lie ho could not get rot through with it upon hini him once out they proceeded up the sheet keeping in the shade of the buildings and passed through tho city 4 A description of tile louto loute pursued by this baity pai ty and of ohp ali tribulations tiona through winch which they passed will gives give some edca of tin the lough timo tim timothey ethey they all had of it colonel kendrick bendrick be page fore I 1 leaving a viii m the prison m mapped out liis his concluded til th lit itt tile best and bottise cot coin tise sc route to take was the ono one towards norfolk or fortress For forti ess mouton as aa elicic ocic fewer aebel pickets in that direction they c kept the york liver r to tile the left and moved towards alic i hominy liver they passed through boar swamp and crossed tho the road leadin leading to bottom bridge bride sometimes they welded through mud and water almost ill up to their necks and kept tho bottom bridge load to their left although at times they could see and hear the cars traveling ing over the boik river road while passing through tile the swamp near the chickahominy colonel ken sprained his ankle and fell fol foi dunate too was that lall for him bim and liis his party for while ile lie was lying there one of them clia chanced Deed to look up and saw in a direct line with them a swamp blid budge c and in the dim outline they could perceive that parties with mus inus kots passing over the birdge they moved some distance to the south and after PaSSi passing Dg through more of the swamp beached leached the chicka lorainy about four miles below bottom blid biadgo I 1 C hew now was a difficulty the river was only 20 feet wide but it was very cry deep and tile the refu refugees ces wole voin out and fatigued chancing however to look up tip lacut bradford Brad foid saw that two trees had fallen falion oil either cither side of the river and that ilioiu I 1 brandies branches intoci interlocked locked by crawling up one tice and down the other the Ingi tives leached beached the cast bank of tile tho chickahominy and col kendrick could not help that eliat lie to believed providence was oll oti 0 their side else they would not have mot met that natural birdge b ahey they subsequently learned from a friendly negro tint that had they crossed the bridge the they y had seen they would have been lo captured foi flot capt luidor autner tile the keeper of libbey 1 lad had been out and posted guards thoice and in fact lad had the whole country and got tilt the people up tip as is a vigilance committee to capitule prisoners after messing over this natural budge they laid down on the ground and slept until suin lumise ise anthe mol bornino ning of the when they continued 0 oti ll 11 their wiy keeping eastwardly cast as near as they could up to this time thiv they thi v lad had had nothing 0 to cat and wore were almost farni famished shed about noun noon of the lith they mot several ne 0 docs rocs who gave them information as to tho the whereabouts of the lobel pickets and fui fm thom them with ith foud food |