them all to lie in. Then putting up a stick at each end and laying a
ridge pole across, they, would adjust the rest of their material so as
to form sloping sides capable of supporting earth enough to make a
water-tight roof. The great majority were not so well off as these, and
had absolutely, nothing of which to build. They had recourse to the
clay of the swamp, from which they fashioned rude sun-dried bricks, and
made adobe houses, shaped like a bee hive, which lasted very well until
a hard rain came, when they dissolved into red mire about the bodies of
their miserable inmates.

Remember that all these makeshifts were practiced within a half-a-mile of
an almost boundless forest, from which in a day's time the camp could
have been supplied with material enough to give every man a comfortable
hut.




CHAPTER LXIX.

BARRETT'S INSANE CRUELTY--HOW HE PUNISHED THOSE ALLEGED TO BE ENGAGED IN
TUNNELING--THE MISERY IN THE STOCKADE--MEN'S LIMBS ROTTING OFF WITH DRY
GANGRENE.

Winder had found in Barrett even a better tool for his cruel purposes
than Wirz. The two resembled each other in many respects. Both were
absolutely destitute of any talent for commanding men, and could no more
handle even one thousand men properly than a cabin boy could navigate a
great ocean steamer. Both were given to the same senseless fits of
insane rage, coming and going without apparent cause, during which they