Practical jokes were common among the prisoners, and served to relieve the monotony of their durance. A jovial Irishman in Co. E, on one occasion, went to the quarters of Co. K, and informed a number of his acquaintances that his mess had a pot of soup that they did not want, and invited them to bring their cups down and get some. The guests, with tin-cups and spoons in hand, followed their host to his tent, to find that the soup-kettle had been accidentally upset and its contents spread over the ground. Watching their opportunity, the disappointed soup-eaters invited their joking Irish friend, as he passed by, to sit down to a plate of fritters. He accepted, only to get a mouthful of cotton covered with batter and browned in the frying-pan. Sometimes the jokes were of a rougher character, as when a member of Co. C, who had eaten a very hearty dinner, was given a drink of sherry, wine of ipecac, surreptitiously obtained from the hospital.

Of books and other reading-matter there was a dearth, and, as at other prisons, the men resorted to trinket-making as a pastime. Rings, breastpins, crosses and similar articles were turned off in great quantities, every barrack and every tent being a manufactory. Bone, vulcanized rubber, cocoanut-shell, mussel-shells, gold and silver were the materials; old case-knives made into saws, files, camp-made bow-drills, pocket-knives and sand-paper the tools. From the rations of beef was obtained the bone; mussel-shells were gathered in Sangamon River by the water-details, the scanty pocket-money furnished the gold and silver, while the files, sand-paper and rubber in the form of buttons and rulers were procured by trading rations with the commissary. The delicately-shaded pink and white shells answered admirably for mother-of-pearl for inlaying. No little taste and ingenuity were displayed in the making of these articles.

The reception of the mail was an occasion of daily excitement, and the postmaster was surrounded by an eager crowd while the names of the lucky few were called. Correspondence was limited to one page to a letter, but the number of letters was limited only by the prisoner’s ability to pay postage. But few letters came through from the South, and the bulk of the mail was for the Tennessee troops and those having friends in the North. On June 28th a letter dated Camp Douglas, Chicago, was received by Eli Sears from J. Hearndon, giving us the first intelligence of those of the company who were left at Island 10, sick. As previously mentioned, these—nine in number—were sent to Madison, Wis., where J. F. Smith died, May 15th, and C. J. Moncrief on June 6th. Subsequently, we learned that E. F. Brown died September 4th, at Camp Douglas, to which camp they were transferred in June. The treatment of the prisoners at these two camps was very different from that at Camp Butler. No privileges were allowed; the rations were insufficient to satisfy the cravings of hunger, and as they were served to the prisoners cooked, there was not the variety which tends to keep men in health.

About the middle of August the prisoners were enlivened by the hope of exchange, and on the 1st of September the work of making out the exchange-rolls began. N. K. Adams, of Co. K, assisted, and from him were obtained the following figures:—

Prisoners arriving at Camp Butler,2,838
Deaths,480
Escaped,225
Took the oath of allegiance,270
Total casualties,975
Remaining for exchange,1,863
First Alabama Regiment.
Arriving at Camp Butler,326
Deaths,30
Escaped,27
Total casualties,57
Remaining for exchange,269

On September 2d, those who took the oath of allegiance—mostly from Tennessee—left for their homes. On the 6th, one-half of those to be exchanged took the cars for Alton, there to embark for Vicksburg; and on the following day the remainder started, excepting a few sick. The First Alabama prisoners were among the second detachment. Many of the cars were open platforms, and the trip in the hot sun to Alton was quite trying to those who had been so long imprisoned. At Alton the prisoners were transferred to transports, which left on the 8th and arrived at Cairo on the 9th. There the remainder of the Fort Donelson and Island 10 prisoners joined us, and, on Thursday, September 11th, the fleet steamed down the river. Several gunboats accompanied the fleet, which proceeded only during the day, anchoring or tying up to the bank at night. On the 12th, the fleet passed Island No. 10, whose deserted earthworks were fast caving into the river. At Memphis the fleet remained two nights and a day. While there Jerry Stuart, of Co. C, First Alabama, died and was buried. There were some twenty-one or twenty-two deaths among the prisoners while on the way down the river; and nearly every night or morning there was one or more rude graves dug on the bank wherever the fleet was lying, and the uncoffined dead left behind. On the 18th we passed a fleet of transports returning from Vicksburg with Federal prisoners. Sunday morning, September 21st, the fleet anchored above Vicksburg, at the appointed place of exchange; and on Monday morning the prisoners were disembarked and marched across the bend to the ferry opposite Vicksburg, where they crossed over. The sick on the hospital boat were transferred to a flag-of-truce boat from Vicksburg. The citizens had prepared a bountiful barbecue, and did everything for the prisoners’ comfort that their limited means permitted. Lieuts. Hall and Tuttle met Co. K at Vicksburg—Capt. Whitfield going on to Montgomery, Ala., on a brief leave of absence.

CHAPTER IV.

CAPT. ISBELL AND HIS BATTALION—ARRIVAL AT PORT HUDSON—BATTLE OF CORINTH—THE REUNITED REGIMENT—PORT HUDSON—LAND DEFENCES—RED RIVER SUPPLIES.