740 NortH CaroLina Troops, 1861-65.

heading our course, but we afterwards did so. For the
greater part of the forenoon the wind was light, and we made
little progress. We noticed about eight or nine o’clock what
appeared to be a good sized schooner, which was sailing
around; and from the fact that it changed its course fre-
quently and was apparently running towards different sails—
several being in sight—we concluded that the vessel was hunt-
ing for us. This proved to be the case, for towards noon she
came sailing towards us. The officers in the boat hailed us,
and coming alongside asked us a number of questions, we
telling pretty much the same tale we had told at Rye Beach.
1 think they were about to let us go, when some one suggested
we had better be searched. This was done, and finding some
Confederate money on one of us they at once told us that they
knew who we were, and that we must go on board the revenue
cutter, which the vessel proved to be. I think the Captain’s
name was Webster. He treated us very kindly, and told us
he had been looking for us both that day and the day before,
and that several other boats were out after us. He carried us
into Portland harbor and before we had been theré very long
the United States Marshal came on board, and Captain Web-
ster delivered us into his charge.

As soon as we had passed into his boat, which lay alongside
the revenue cutter, he put his hands into his pockets and,
pulling out a pair of handeuffs, proceeded to put the cuffs on
to my left wrist and on to Thurston’s right wrist, so we were
handeuffed together, which made me feel very queer. We
must have presented a sorry spectacle on landing, for a little
newsboy seemed to have felt very badly about us. He ran
off some where and came back with two apples, which he gave
us. A crowd was collecting about us, and the Marshal put
us into a cab and carried us to the city jail and delivered us
over to the jailer, who took us up stairs and put us into cells
adjoining each other. We could talk, but could not see each
other. The food furnished us in this jail was certainly the
most disgusting ever offered to men. After a few days our
friends in Fort Warren sent us some clothes, and we heard
that Reed and Sanders were well, but were in close confine-
ment. We were kept locked up in our several cells at night,

An Escarpr From Fort WARREN. 741

but in the day time we were allowed to be out for a short time
ir the morning, being afterward locked up in the same cell
for the balance of the day.

Our capture evidently caused great excitement in Port-
land. The jail was crowded with visitors to see the two
“rebel” prisoners, or pirates, as we were generally called.
They would come and stand at the doors of our cells and dis-
cuss us as if we were a species of wild ‘animals; and I sup-
pose we were a kind of menagerie to them.

After awhile we got used to being stared at and paid no at-
tention to them. One day, I remember, there was a large
crowd peeping at us through the bars. One young and quite
pretty girl said, looking at me: “Oh, Susan, he is reading!”
To which Susan replied, “Pshaw! this one’s writing.” Sev-
eral of the visitors were evidently very sorry for us, and
some few books were sent us by some kind people of the city ;
but, as a general thing, the people were very bitter, and told
us plainly that they thought we ought to be killed.

We remained in Portland jail about one month, and while
there formed plans for escape. We were confined in cells on
the second story of the jail. The doors of the cells were of
iron bars about one inch in diameter. We determined to saw
through these bars, and once out of our cells we could g0
dcwn to the lower floor, where we were permitted to go for a
short time to wash. The windows of this wash-room had the
usual iron bars; by removing one or two of them we could get
through—and once out we determined to make for the water
or the country, as seemed best, and get up into Canada.

It took some time to get the instrument to saw the bars
with, but we finally succeeded. Before we could make much
progress, however, we were again transferred to Fort War-
ren, and found our two friends, Thurston and Reed, con-
fined in a room on the opposite side of the fort from the other
prisoners, and closely guarded. We were put into this room,
and some time afterward we were joined by Samuel Sterrett,
a son of Captain Sterrett, of the Confederate States Navy.
Sterrett was a native of Baltimore, and had been arrested as
a Southern sympathizer and sent to join the other political
prisoners in the fort, but being regarded as a dangerous pris-