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668 NortH Carouina Troops, 1861-’65.

other for fear my blood would congeal and I would freeze
to death. Water froze in our canteens under our heads and
we suffered much for this element of life from the fact that
the pumps were frozen, and the water supply which was at all
times inadequate was cut short. The island is a lime stone
formation and the wells, three in number, are very shallow,
the water is bad and in summer very warm and the lake
water is in consequence purer and more preferable. Before
the freeze we procured all our water from the lake by pipes
connecting with wells, but they cannot be used in severe win-
ter. Each block where we lived is divided into two messes,
presided over by a chief selected from among ourselves. We
have roll call every morning, an officer from the outside pre-
sides and ascertains that all are present. A detail for gen-
eral police is made for each day from both messes whose
duty it is to keep everything clean outside the quarters, and
here you would sometimes find your humble friend shovel-
ing filth into a cart and a Yankee slop boy giving orders. In
addition to this detail, another is made from each room whose
duty it is to sweep up the rooms, cut and split wood and bring
it into the house, (wood is hauled from the outside every day,
at the rate of one four-horse load to each block, which is
equally dvided according to the number of stoves). The
wood is of a very inferior kind, but sufficient in quantity.
The cooking arrangements are very good. Two rooms be-
low are connected with each block, and there are in each
block large cooking ranges for each mess. In addition to
this there are private cooking stoves belonging to messes and
often there are about twenty cooks selected and employed
from among us and they give food out to each group as they
see fit. Rations are issued every day except Sunday, except
sugar and coffee, beans, rice or hominy. They are given out
in quantities to last from six to ten days as the case may be.
Our bread is baked on the island and is very good and the
rations are very good as a general thing. We get beef four
days in the week, and pickle pork the rest of the week. The
only complaint we have in the food line is that we do not get
enough bread, only one loaf being given to every four men,
and I am confident that they will not weigh over two pounds

Prison Lirr at JOHNSON’s ISLAND. 669

to the loaf. One thing I notice and cannot help mention-
ing, is the morbid appetites of the men here. Whether it is
the climatic conditions, the confinement or the fact that they
are Southern men, I cannot say, but they are like a parcel of
famished wolves whose hunger is never satisfied. Before
my arrival there was a regular sutler inside and the manner
of selling to prisoners was this: All the money sent you by
friends or relatives is deposited outside and you receive a re-
ceipt for the same. You are not allowed to use a cent of it.
The sutler takes your name on his book with the amount due
you from the outside and when you trade with him you sign
a check or order for the amount. He will also give you fifty
to seventy-five cents in checks or tickets with which to trade.
This was the only currency we had. Shortly after my arri-
val this sutler business was broken up and it was a great
inconvenience, as the sutler kept a general supply of every-
thing, it is true, at a very high price, but Southern men care
little for high prices as long as they have got anything to
buy with. For two months we could not get anything, not
even a postage stamp or any tobacco. This was a sore trial
to us. We all had some money, but could not spend it. At
the present time we have a sutler whose mode of doing busi-
ness is similar to the one we had before. His supply is, how-
ever, very limited, consisting of tobacco and stationery and a
few postage stamps. To get the latter, however, you are
bound to purchase not less than one dollar’s worth of some-
thing else. He had at one time butter, cheese, sugar, crack-
ers, dried fruit, etc., but so great was the rush for these ar-
ticles it was impossible for an ordinary man to stand any
chance. The supply, however, was soon exhausted. This
sutler was very unpopular, as his prices would make a Rich-
mond merchant blush. A few days ago he had a lot of pic-
tures, views of this island, and he would not sell one anything
unless he first bought a picture. This scheme was stopped
by the authorities, to their credit. All packages, boxes of ex-
press, ete., were faithfully delivered to the prisoners after
being properly examined to see that nothing contraband en-
tered. Liquor is strictly prohibited. You are compelled to
pay from 25 cents to $2.00 for each package to defray the ex-