ad been unable to get a passport. He had then
made his way to New Orleans, and had again failed to slip through. As a
last resort he had gone to Arkansas and secured a pony, with the
intention of riding through to Mexico, but had been captured and lost
the horse and his money.

The provost marshal, Colonel Province, was a very clever gentleman, and
he was kind to us in several ways. One of his courtesies was to grant us
a parole within the city limits.

When Magruder's chief of staff saw us on the street and learned of our
parole he ordered Colonel Province to return us immediately to prison.
The colonel pleaded for us, saying that he knew us to be gentlemen, and
that he felt easier in regard to us while we were on parole than he
would if we were in the insecure guardhouse, even while he knew that the
parole was contrary to orders, for the guardhouse was filthy and crowded
with criminals. This plea in our favor had no effect, and the colonel
received peremptory orders to place us in prison at once, under penalty
of being reported to Magruder for disobedience.

Three guards were sent to take us to the colonel's headquarters, where
he told us of his talk with the chief of staff, and expressed his regret
that he was compelled to obey, closing his remark with:

"But I want to tell you, gentlemen, I am an original rebel from South
Carolina, while that ---- ---- of a staff officer is from Chicago."

The colonel evidently thought that being a Northern man and a rebel
would account for most any kind of meanness.

While defeated in his good intentions in the matter of parole, the
colonel tried to make up for it in other ways. He gave me a pair of
shoes which had been given to him by the Yankees while he had been a
prisoner at Johnson's Island, and which I sold to Masterson for $250,
for the purchaser could not wear his boots and leg-irons at the same
time.

Our stay at Washington was prolonged on account of a lack of provisions
to furnish the extra supply needed for a guard and ourselves on a
journey. When it seemed certain that provisions were not to be
forthcoming we were started off for Magnolia, Ark., which point we had
to make without any supplies save what we could gather as we went along.

When we left Washington we stopped in front of the provost marshal's
office, and Colonel Province came out to bid us good-bye and express
his regrets that he had been prevented from according us the same kind
treatment which he