number of substitutes if necessary, but not his son; if money could purchase his exemption. He was a very fair sample of the kind of patriots I was in the habit of meeting; and I could not help contrasting the whole-souled enthusiasm of the Southern people with the disposition shown by so many prominent adherents of the Federal cause, to let anybody and everybody who could be purchased or beguiled do their fighting for them, rather than to venture within smelling distance of gunpowder themselves.
As it was all in the way of business, however, I and my partners endeavored to accommodate this old gentleman.
I knew of a couple of barbers in Brooklyn, well built, and hearty young colored fellows, and I accordingly went to them, and finally induced one of them to enlist as a substitute for the old man's son. He came over to our office, and on being enrolled, received five hundred dollars, with a promise that the rest of his bounty would be handed to him by the officer on the island. Privately, however, he was told how he might make his escape by giving the sergeant at the gate fifty dollars, but was warned not to return to the city, or he would be arrested and tried for desertion. He acted according to instructions, and deserted so easily that he was tempted to try it over again several times, and I believe he managed to pocket several bounties without being caught.
Enlistment of Emigrants.
The emigrant depot at Castle Garden, however, was the great resort of the bounty and substitute brokers, some of whom actually had agents in Europe, who deceived the poor people there with all kinds of promises, and then shipped them, to become the prey of scamps on this side of the Atlantic so soon as they set foot on our shores.
All manner of inducements to enlist were held out to the poor Irish and Germans at Castle Garden. They were surrounded by crowds of shouting and yelling brokers until they were fairly bewildered, and found themselves enlisted before they well knew what was the matter with them. To those who hesitated, the most lavish promises were made; their wives and children were to be cared for; they were to receive one hundred and sixty acres of land; money in larger sums than they had ever beheld before was flaunted in their faces. One fellow would shout, "Here you are, sir: come this
