Such was our ordinary situation, but at times the
consequences of our crowded condition were still more terrible, and
proved fatal to many of our number in a single night.
"But, strange as it may appear, notwithstanding all the * * *
suffering which was there endured I knew many who had been inmates of
that abode for two years, who were apparently perfectly well. They
had, as they expressed it, 'been through the furnace and become
seasoned.' Most of these, however, were foreigners, who appeared to
have abandoned all hope of ever being exchanged, and had become quite
indifferent with regard to the place of their abode.
"But far different was the condition of that portion of our number who
were natives of the United States. These formed by far the most
numerous class of the prisoners. Most of these were young men, * * *
who had been captured soon after leaving their homes, and during their
first voyage. After they had been here immured the sudden change in
their situation was like a sentence of death. Many a one was crushed
down beneath the sickness of the heart, so well described by the
poet:--
"'Night and day,
Brooding on what he had been, what he was,
'Twas more than he could bear, his longing fits
Thickened upon him. _His desire for Home
Became a madness_'
"These poor creatures had, in many instances, been plundered of their
wearing apparel by their captors, and here, the dismal and disgusting
objects by which they were surrounded, the vermin which infested them,
the vile and loathsome food, and what with _them_ was far from
being the lightest of their trials, their ceaseless longing after
their _homes_, * * * all combined, had a wonderful effect on
them.
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