Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1891 — THEY FLED TO CAVES. [ARTICLE]

THEY FLED TO CAVES.

HOW DESERTERS PROM THE CONFEDERATE ARMY LIVED. Hiding Prom the Confederate Troops After the Manner of Runaway Slaves How They Built the Caves. In a paper on “The Cave-Dwellers of the Confederacy,” by David Dodge, which appears in the Atlantic, an interesting account is given of the caves in which the deserters from the Confederate army lived: After the Confederate ranks were thinned by the desperate fighting of 1863, the lines of the deserter fell in hard places. The Richmond government set energetically to work to bring every available man to the front. President Davis by proclamation urged every man to hasten to his country’s defense, and promised pardon for all past delinquency, provided the offender now hastened to do his duty. Stringent orders and threats of punishment infused energy into the officers of the home guard. Detachments of Confederate troops visited the neighborhood at short and irregular intervals, while the homes of the deserters were watched and repeatedly searched. Then it was that the deserters, as we called all who shirked military duty, whether they had ever actually been in the army or not, had recourse to a mode of hiding which they had learned from runaway slaves. The fugitive in this region having neither the swamps of the east nor the mountains of the west for refuge, like all hard-run creatures naturally took to earth. Ho either enlarged and concealed some natural cavity, or dug a cave in which he hid by day, to sally out under cover of darkness in quest of poultry, pigs, sheep, fruit,roast-ing-ears, watermelons and other good things in season. If ho feared pursuit by dogs he rubbed the soles of his feet with onions or odorous herbs in order to confuse the scent. If moderately wary or skillful, he found little difficulty in remaining “out” till the crops were “laid by” and all the heavy work was over, or till cold weather drove him back to a snugger berth in the quarters. The deserter made a vast improvement on the burrmv of the runaway negro. His cave was larger, better constructed and better appointed than its prototype, but not better concealed. Banding together in squads of two or three, some unfrequented place would be chosen,. generally oil a hillside to avoid moisture, and as near a stroam us practicable, for the easiest and safest way of disposing of the earth thrown up iu digging the pit was to dump it in running water. The site being carefully selected aud reoonnoitered from every possible way of approach, a watch was set, and work was begun and pressed with the utmost dispatch.

First the leaves or pine-needles were raked back and a space “ lined off,” usually six by eight feet, but often considerably larger. Then tire übiquitous bodquilt was spread to catch every particle of the toll tale clay, and grubbing hoes, spades, and all available implements were put in rapid motion. As any prolongation of the work increased the danger of discovery, the object was to get it dug out and concealed at the oar- ■ best possiblo moment. Every hand that could be trusted, —old men, women, aud children, —was called in to assist. To these auxiliaries foil the hardest part of tho task, that of disposing of the dirt, which of course could not be left near tho cave. This was generally “ toted ” away in buckets and piggins, and dumped in the adjacent stream, and as tho direction from which the cave was approached had to bo constantly changed lest the faintest vestige of a path should betray tho spot, tho labor of transporting eight or ten cubic yards of earth in this primitive fashion was no light undertaking. The proper depth, commonly about six feet, being attuined, a fireplace was cut in the earthern sides of the cave and connected with a Hue cut through the adjacent earth. Across tho pit, and slightly below the surface, were then placed Btout poles, and on those the roof of pine boards, while over all the earth and leaves were carefully replaced so as to conceal all signs of having been disturbed. Pine-needles made a very good carpet. A bed was constructed by driving forked stakes into the ground, and upon those were laid small poles topped with pine boughs. Sometimes a “ cupboard ” was cut in the earthen walls. What gave the cave-dweller most concern was tho disposal of the smoke from his chimney. Even under the best of circumstances, in the fuirest, warmest weather, and in the driest soil, a cave was a dismal abode. There was a darkness, ft chilliness, u strange aud gravelike silence down there which made fire, the ouly light obtainable in those hard times, an indispensable companion. When rainy weather came and the walls oozed water, only heat made it habituble. Care was taken to use the driest and most smokeless fuel, but us oven that, though burnt over so sparingly in the daytime, would cause some smoke, various plans were hit upon to minimize the danger of betrayal from this source. When practicable the cave would be dug near a dead tree, whidi was first bluckeuod by fire, uuless one could be found already partially burned by the chance fire of some coon or opossum hunter. Failing this, an old tree stump, after being charred, was ingeniously planted over tho chimney mouth so that the smoke might rise through or around it. The object of these devices was, of course, that should any unfriendly eye discover the smoke it would be attributed to one of the accidental fires which sometimes smouldered in a dead timber for weeks at a time. But, as a rule, the occupants, putting their dependence on good eyesight and logs, would, when no especial danger was apprehended, betake themselves to the woods during the day and use tho caves only as sleeping places, indeed, few of the deserters took refuge underground except in cases of pressing need, which, toward the last, were very frequent. Entrance to the cave was usually had by means of a small trap-door iu the roof, in the concealment of which much care and ingenuity were also expended. In addition to the leaves always kept on it, a tree would often be felled over the spot, the boughs serving not only to screen the entrance from view, but likewise to lessen the danger of any one walking directly over the cave. As it was ail-important that no trace of a path should be seen thereabout,'the trunk of the trot afforded a safe walk-away, care being taken always to approach it from different directions. The presence of a newly-felled tree, like a burning one. attracted little suspicion, being charged to the negro-opossum hunter.