IBON LIFE IN DIXIE, i SAN DIEGO j BY REV. J. j3. VAWTEF\._ Opinions of the P^ess. No book published for years will probably stir a deeper feeling, or be read with more eager interest than this absorbing narrative of life, Bufferings, and death in rebel prisons during: the war of the rebellion. That contest stands forth conspicuous among the great struggles of the world, marked by the immense magnitude of its operations, the mighty armies that rallied voluntarily to save their country, brilliant achievements of volunteer soldiers, and more especially by the dark and terrible sufferings of those who by the accidents of the war fell in- to the hands of their enemies and were confined in rebel prisons. Theie is no darker episode in history than the sufferings of our sol- diers in Andcrsonville and other less noted prisons, and there never has been a record in all the annals of time which portrays a loftier heroism, a sterner fidelity to country, a purer, more self-sacrificing patriotism than that of the Union prisoners. He who reads this book will form higher conceptions of the splendid material out of which our armies were made, and will no longer wonder at the achievements of the civilian soldier. They were such men as only a free country can produce. The author of this history, a Union soldier, was a personal witness and a companion in the sufferings of all he records. There never has been such another story recited in history as that of Andersonville prison. For the details we will have to refer the reader to the vivid narration. The Evangelist. We think that one reflection will force itself upon every one who reads the thrilling tale, viz: that a people who could thrust 31,000 prisoners into a narrow prison pen, leave them without shelter under the broiling sun of the South, and the chill storms of winter, starve them, suffer the filth to accumulate in masses to breed pestilence, tor- ture and shoot them under the slightest provocation, have too deep- rooted an animosity to the North to be trusted with the reigns of Gov- ernment. Think of it, reader, when you go to the poll at The ides of November! Wo cannot forbear to mention one episode. After Sherman took At- lanta, Sergeant Oats and a comrade escaped, struck for the Union lines, traveling only at night. After two weeks of liberty, of starvation, and sufferings worthy of freedom, they were tracked down by blood hounds and captured. The struggle for freedom and life is told in a way that carries the reader right through the thickets in the darkness, over rivers, into negro cabins, in the pursuit by blood hounds, and the incidents of the return. -^Every one should buy this book, read it, have their children read it, and let the lesson go down to posterity of the price that was paid to preserve our Union. As Gen. Garfield said at the Andersonville Re- union, in a speech published in this book: "All other deeds of hero- ism pale before the heroic endurance of the heroes of Andersonville. They were enticed to enlist under the rebel banner; but they preferred to hunger, starve and die." No novel will hold the reader so en- chained as this truthful narrative. ' 2 The publishers have done their work well. The book is a handsome specimen of the art, and is illustrated with a number of spirited en- gravings. Vincennes (Ind.) Commercial. This book is written without art. It goes to the heart in a director way. Its simplicity, earnestness, and dignity excuse the slight blem- ishes of style, and the homeliness of language is itself a recommenda- tion to favor. The priso* chiefly referred to is Andersonville. The unutterable horrors of that foul stye are described here as faithfully as words can describe them. Exaggeration at the best must be well- nigh impossible, and there is no attempt at over-statement. The nar- rator had a more varied experience than some of his companions. He escaped and was not recaptured until he had reached a point nearly 200 miles distant from the prison. Bloodhounds ran him down, but he was discovered by accident, his captors being in search of desert- ers, not of escaped prisoners. Gen. Garfield's speech on Andersonville is printed in this volume as an appendix. In confirmation of some of its statements Sergt, Oats gives his recollection of a vote i prison. When McClellan was nominated for the Presidency on a platform that declared the war to be a failure; and was well understood that his election would result in peace and the release of all prisoners, a ballot was taken in the prison. (Sergt. Oats was then temporarily in Camp Lawton.) He writes: "I do not remember the exact votes cast for each candidate, but it was about 8,000 for Lincoln and 1,500 for Little Mac. Does the reader of to-day understand that vote? What did it mean? What did it say to the rebel officers who watched us so close- ly? It meant that we were willing to chill and to starve; to endure the horrors of the prison pens; to die, or worse, to become lunatics and idiots, if need be, rather than see the war closed with dishonor to the American flag. It said to those rebels, ' Do your worst; we'll never ask you for peace, 1 " Chicago Tribune, This book contains twenty-three chapters. Of these all but the three first and the last are literally chapters of horrors. This story is one oft told, for, unfortunately, there are scattered abroad, in all parts of the country, brave and true men in whose persons are borne the sad evidences of the brutality they suffered while victims of the same prison life, concerning which this volume so feelingly gives a narration. Beginning; with the heroic struggle at Atlanta, and the capture of a large number of our troops, the writer leads the reader on to Ander- spnville, and to all the sickening and sad facts of history which men- tion of that pest hole ever recall. Whoever takes up the book will find a story, which he cannot, if he would, cease to follow to the end. Davenport Gazelle. We do not remember to have seen a better account of the brutalities of that Confederate pandemonium it is the plain, straightforward story of a man who went personally through the dire experiences which he narrates. It is a tale of starvation, of nakedness, of needless deprivation-, and of continual insult. N. Y. Tribune. No work has been issued from the press for years that surpasses this wonderful and truthful history in thrillinir and romantic interest. The author was captured while under Sherman, consigned to Anderson- ville, suffered the untold horrors of the prison-pen, which he describes with a vivid and startling reality, with a pathos and minirled humor that provokes tears and laughter at the same time Iowa Stale / inter. Y 9 WINKLER NEW and USED BOOKS BACK ISSUE MAfiAZlNES 5921 Ho%wo