anything about it, it was inferred that it had been
converted into fuel. At the foot of the ladder another opening was made
through the chimney wall leading into the underground basement room. By
removing a few stones from the wall of this place, we were in a
situation to commence the work of tunneling. The only implements in our
possession were an old trowel and the half of a canteen. The arduous
labor was commenced with only the fragment of a canteen, but with this
the progress was so slow that even the most patient were disheartened.
Fortunately for us a mason came in to repair the prison walls, and going
to dinner before he had finished his work, left his trowel, which in his
absence most mysteriously disappeared. To him it may have been of
little account, to us it was a godsend. With the aid of this implement
we were enabled to make more rapid progress, were greatly encouraged,
and worked night and day with ceaseless energy. Two of our number were
kept in the tunnel almost constantly. One, by a vigorous use of the
trowel and canteen, would advance slowly, placing the loosened earth in
an old blanket, which the other would convey out of the tunnel into a
corner of the room, from whence it started. Our course was due east,
under the street, where constantly paced the sentinels, who at every
hour of the night were wont to cry: 'Post No. 1; all's well!'--'Post No.
2; all's well!' etc. Little did they dream that Yankee ingenuity and
perseverance were perforating the solid earth under their feet, and
opening a path to freedom.

"As we progressed in our work we experienced great difficulty from the
want of pure air to breathe, and to sustain our candles, which refused
to burn. Consequently, one of our party was compelled to stand at the
opening, fanning pure air into the tunnel with his hat. Our atmospheric
difficulties were the more increased by the small size of the hole,
which was a little less than two feet in diameter, quite irregular in
consequence of large stones, and descended in a line below the
horizontal. This severe labor was carried on without much interruption
for more than three weeks, when, at last, the plan came near being a
failure on account of a sad mistake in our measurement. Our intention
was to reach the yard of an old shed, or warehouse, in which were then
stored the boxes sent us by the Christian and Sanitary Commissions, and
by our friends at the North.

"Thinking we had reached the desired poi