Constant siftings were taking place from these prisons to make room for fresh arrivals. We four were amongst a squad they transferred to Belle Isle—a Paradise to the places we had been in, though not much better than a hog-pen, and with the appearance of having long been inhabited by that animal. lake every rendezvous for prisoners, it was alive with vermin. On a hill near the stockade in which we were kept stood a number of cannon trained on the prisoners in case of any general attempt to escape. We were on this island some six weeks, during which time we got only one ration in two days, the same consisting of a pint of bean soup, or a small bit of half-boiled beef—more bone than beef. In a pint of this liquid, by brisk stirring, we could manage to arouse from one to six lonesome beans, which seemed as if trying to escape our search,—a forlorn and useless hope, however, for, half boiled and hard as they usually were, they were seized and swallowed.
One day we were lucky enough to work ourselves into a squad picked out for exchange. This we did by feigning sickness; and if ever we felt happy and grateful to our heavenly Father, it was when we were released from that sink of filthiness and fasting called Belle Isle. From there we were taken to Richmond, where we were confined for the night in Libby Prison. The next morning they packed us,
