The Anderson intelligencer. (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, August 21, 1884, Image 1
BT E. B. MURKAY & CO.
ANDERSON. 8. C THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 21, 1884. _VOLUME XX.-NO. 6.
PHP WAR.
THE FAIL OF RICHMOND.
A 9TJB KOK ABLE SUNDAY IN THE
CONFEDERATE CAPITAL.
Virginia. J2. Lade, of Washington, D. C*., in
Charleston Weekly Hews.
The Spring of 1865 found my younger
?sister Fanny and myself living at tho
-?ornef . of Franklin and <?r?street^
Richmond, Virginia. We were room
'keeping there, and in the same house
lived^twelve or fifteen other ladies and a
few gentlemen, mostly wounded and dis?
charged soldiers, or men otherwise inca?
pacitated for duty in the field, and who
'wer?ii?w serving in the various Govern?
ment departments, in the city.
As "room-keeping" is a term and mode
of life which , had its origin, in the war,
some explanation may be necessary.
Richmond w?WoCrowded by the women
and children who had sought refuge
'there; ^when: -their -homes were; .taken
. . possession of by *the" advancing Federal
forces, that rents soon became incredibly
?~?gb?vand,j-it was rarely the case that a
single family, even of Isjge means, could
afford to occupy a whole house to them?
selves, and even the mansions of the
? rich were pointed at with indignation.
.Jtrjd ^ contempt -if they were known to
* " Kave! otfe trnocenpied chamber while so
many homeless refugees were begging for
shelter. Consequently a house of aver?
age size would usually contain from two '
- to six families, each occupying one, two
or three rooms, and each having their
own private table, but all using a com?
mon parlor when the guests to be enter?
tained were not intimate enough to be
brought to the family room. We had to
practice the closest economy even in the
veriest necessaries of life, counting out
the potatoes for dinner and the grains of
coffee for breakfast, when we were so
fortunate :as to have the grains to count.
?./ -My- sister and 1 "?ilways managed to
have a slice of raeat apiece once a day,
yet, if an unexpected visitor came in the
slices would imve to be judiciously cut a
little thinner to make them "go aronnd."
The necessity - for such economy will be
readily understood when I quote from my
book of household expenses, March, 1865,
one barrel, flour $300, one pound coffee
$40, one pound butter $25, one pound
beefsteak $3, &c, &c. At the same time
we were paying $80 a pair for shoes and
$4 or$5 apiece;forBpoolcqtton.
However, out of our very Bcatitiness
_ jgjfrgonaetimes made good jokes. Usually
would, be but one cook for the
^entire household, a/colored woman who
?would cook often for five or six different
.families, and it was wonderful how she:
-would keep the different lots of provis-;
ions separate, always, making for each
family a loaf of bread hot for breakfast
? every morni&g, and sending tip to each
the exact quantity of flour or number of
potatoes sent down to her. I remember
though one very ludicrous mistake which
occurred in this connection. I had given
out for dinner for my sister, and myself
two/slices'of ham*, -two large sweet po?
tatoes andra cup of rice; our dinner was
"served,' "and* my suier "had just helped
herself to one of the potatoes and broken
" it open when a little mulatto girl, came
running in, in eager haste, exclaiming:
"Aunt Chany say how dat Mis' Brown
tater you gotI" And sure enough on
looking at the smoking tuber, which
Fannie was at that moment raising to her
mouth, I found that it was a red skinned
"tater," while all that I had bought were
yellow. However, the- mischief was
quickly remedied, the pieces placed
together and carried to Mrs. Brown, and
in one which she seht back I readily
recognized, by its rotund shape, my own
golden "sweet." .-. j
A MEMORABLE SUXDAY.
Sunday was always a day'prolific of
startling rumors, owing, I suppose, to
persons on that day being idle and prone
to collect in groups at street corners.and
other convenient places of rendezvous,
and any little passing spark of a report
of a battle, a retreat, or any other mili?
tary movement, was soon caught and
' fanned into a flame, gathering in volume
as it flew from street to street.
On the memorable Sunday, 2d April,
1865, having been kept from church by
the illness of my sister, about the time
that I supposed the congregations would
be dispersing from their various places of
worship I stepped to the door to inquire
from any passing acquaintance the news
from "the front*" for all that day and
for many previous the battle had been
raging around Petersburg, and the dis?
tant roar of.artillery bad 1been:: sounding
. in:our ears the.death-knell, we feared, of
inany-of^?ur loved and loving ones, and
what was scarcely less dear to us, tbe
fate of the "Southern Confederacy" was
hanging in the balance. At any moment
?we might hear either ash?ut'of triumph
brought from our victorious army, or the
news of a defeat which would be the
crushing out of our last hone, for on
Gen. Lee's success there we all felt de?
pended tbe life of our young nation.
The.first person I saw at the door was
a fellow-lodger, Miss Bowers, who came
tottering tip tbe steps, pale and agitated,
exclaiming: "Ob ! have you heard tbe
dreadful news? Gen. Lee's right flank
has given way: he has been compelled
to retreat, and Bichmond is to be evacu?
ated immediately I- While Dr. H?ge was
in the midst of his sermon a messenger
cama hurriedly into tbe church, walked
np tbe aisle, handed him a note, and
S[uickly left. Dr. H?ge glanced anxious
y over the mysterious paper, bowed bis
head for a moment in silence on bis desk,
then rising said: 'Brethren, trying
scenes are before us. Gen. Lee has been
defeated; but remember that God is with
us in tbe alorm as well as in tbe calm.
Go quietly to your homes, and whatever
may be in store for us let us not forget
that we are Christian men and women,
and may the protection and blessing of
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost be with
you all.' Tearfully, for the congregation
was composed almost exclusively of
women and children, but with a silence
that told more lunn words the intensity
of their feeling., they all left the
church."
Next came Mrs. Potter from St. Paul's
Church, crying "Ohl Miss Lucy, have
you heard that the city is to be evacuated
immediately and the Yankees will be
here before morning? While we were
in church a horseman dashed up to the
door, dismounted, and entering went np
the aisle and handed a paper to the
President, then spoke in a whisper to
some members of the Cabinet who were
there and they all arose and went out.
What can it all mean ? and what is to
become of us poor defenceless women,
God only knows 1"
"Don't be so desponding, 'Irs. Porter,"
said I. "I don't believe they are going
to evacuate, for that has been the false
report sofften, it is nothing but one of
our Sunday rumors."
"Ah I my child, no! The calamity
has indeed come upon us at last; I feel
th at it is true."
Though I spoke hopefully and tried to
look as if I did hot believe the rumor, a '
nervous shiver came over rae and my
limbs were so tremulous and weak that
I thought I should fall. Asking Mrs.
Porter to sit with my sick sister, to pre?
vent any one from breaking the news
suddenly to her before I came hack, I
ran down to the house of a neighbor,
Mrs. Wright, to ask for a little brandy to
Sive my sister to enable her to bear the
readful communication I had to make.
On reaching Mrs. Wright's door I found
her running from room to room, wringing
her hands, tearing her hair, and crying,
"On, my poor child I and her father not
here to protect us 1 and they say the black
wretches are in the very front of Grant's
army, and will rush into the city before
any decent white men are here to restrain
them 1 Oh I what is to become of us ?"
Meanwhile her lovely daughter Lulu,
a beautiful girl of sixteen, was clinging
to her mother, and begging her not to
weep so, for she did not believe that all
Yankees were as bad as people said they
were, and that may be ben. Lee would
drive them back yet.
"Oh ! my child, you don't know what
you are talking about, and have little idea
what is before us."
Finding I could say nothing to comfort
Ker l helped myself to the brandy, and
hastening home gave it to my sister, and
then broke the news to her as gently as I
could.
LOOKING FOB THE YANKEES.
My married sister, Mrs. Carter, with
her little daughter.Daisy, four years old,
and an infint of four weeks was then
living a few squares from us, her husband
being at the front with Gen. Lee.
Thinking we could better bear what was
before us when we were all together to
comfort and strengthen each other, I
brought her and her little ones around to
our room. There we sat all huddled
together in almost breathless suspense;
our thoughts one moment being with the
absent dear ones, of whose fate we had
not, nor could we hope soon to have, the
slightest tidings ; the next filled with
terrible forebodings of what might
be before us. All through the afternoon
friends and neighbors were running in
and out; bringing fresh rumors, some
hopeful,-some despairing. About four
o'clock we heard-an ominous "boom,"
"boom," "boom" like the sound of artil?
lery nearer than any that we bad previ?
ously heard. For a moment our hearts
almost ceased to beat. We thought the
enemy must be very close at hand, and
as the booming continued various conjec?
tures were made as to what quarter we
might look for their approach, some
thinking the sound came from one direc?
tion and some from jnst the opposite one.
In order to hear more distinctly, Mrs.
Porter and I stepped to the door to
listen; hearing it much more plainly
outside, we followed on in the direction
whence it seemed to proceed, until we
reached a neighboring stable door, when,
to our great amusement, we found that it
was nothing /but the kicking of a horse
against his stall, which certainly sounded
enough like the distant firiag of a can?
non to deceive any but (he most practic?
ed ear.
Another incident, which gave us the
luxury of a smile even at this gloomy
crisis, I must here relate. Seeing the
consternation into which the whole
household was thrown by the news that
the "Yankees" were coming, our little
mulatto made Lottie, while sympathizing
with the alarm and distress of her elders,
was somewhat perplexed to understand
exactly what the threatened evil-was.
So, anxiously to get a little light on the
mysterious subject, she crept shyly up to
my side-and whispered timidly: "Miss
Lucy, what sort o' looking things is
Yankees? Does dey have horns?
'Cause, ef dey does, I seen one on 'em at
de show, and he had a tail like a cow."
Her little brain was evidently sadly con?
fusing" Yankees and buffaloes.
All through the day the various gen?
tlemen belonging to the house had been
running in to get their haversacks, can?
teens, blankets, &c, with a view to
following the retreating army, and each
one would be besieged by the crovd of
ladies with eager cries of: "Oh, Mr. A.,
do you believe they are going to evacu?
ate?''.or "Mr.- B.i have you any idea
where Gen. T-ee will make a stand?"
But we would only receive the unsatis?
factory answer: "We know nothing
positively but that we are ordered to pack
op all the public documents as a precau?
tionary measure." ?:
A SAD FAEEWELL.
Just at nightfall two soldier friends
whose duties had detained them in the
city till that moment, came to bid us
good-bye, for they were then hastening
to the train which was awaiting the
President and staff five miles out of the
city. They asked if they might have
the privilege of going into the room "to
say good-bye to Mias Fannie, for we may
never see her again."
"Certainly," said I, for this was no
time to regard empty conventionalities,
and I led them to her bedside. It was a
scene I can never forget. In their worn
suits of grey, armed and equipped with
all they could carry for a long and peri?
lous banishment, looking desperate and
determined, bnt with eyes moistened at
thoughts of the defenceless women and
children they were leaving behind them,
these two men entered the chamber of
illness which we feared was even shad?
owed by the death angel's wing. It had
been many weeks since they had seen
my sister and they were much shocked
at her pale and emaciated face. Scarce
a word was spoken, but each knew full
well the sad forebodings thfct filled the
hearts of the others. One of them
dropped on his knee beside the bed, and
taking the little thin white hand in bis
be lifted it to bis lips and pressed upon
it a silent and tearful adieu, and they
were gone, to meet us in this life again
nevermore.
Left to ourselves our first thought was
that it would be well to sit up all night
to be ready to meet the first warning of
approaching danger, but we finally de?
cided that the best preparation for the
morrow, which we felt was to be one of
those days "that try men's souls," would
be to gain all the strength and refresh?
ment we could by a night's sleep, if sleep
were possible. So kneeling we offered
our united prayers for Divine protection
through the darkness of the night, and
the probably still darker scenes awaiting
us, supplemented by little Daisy's lisping
petition, "Dod bess dear papa, and bing
bim home safe to mama and me;" and
then we sought our couches, though we
all remained in one room for mutual
comfort and protection. I suppose we
must have been completely exhausted by
the mental and physical excitement and
fatigue of the day; for ai I have heard
is often the case with a criminal on the
night before his execution, we soon fell
into a profound slumber, though our last
waking thoughts were filled with visions
of black-faced, blue-coated ruffians, with
savage yells and gleaming sabres.
It seemed as if but a few moments bad
passed when we were awaked by the most
awful and terrific sound that has ever
sent the life-blood curdling to my heart.
It appeared to me, in the excited state of
my nerves, and in the pitchy darkness
which comes just before dawn, to be
nothing less than "the Wieck of matter
and the crush of worlds." For a moment
after there was a death-like stillness'; not
a word was spoken, though each felt that
the others were awake. Even little
Daisy only nestled more closely to her
mother's side, and seemed intuitively to
feel that this was no common calamity.
The first sound that broke the stillness
was the ejaculation from my sister:
"The death-knell of the Southern Con
ederacyl and all bloodshed and suffer?
ing of our poor soldiers gone for
naught!"
"BLUE COATS" ON THE STREETS.
From that time, 4 o'clock a. m., there
was no more sleep for us, for explosion
followed explosion in quick succession
all through the day. It seems that the
retreating soldiers had put slow-matches
to all the government storehouses, arse?
nals, &c, and the fires was now reaching
them one after the other. About 7
o'clock it reached the armory, where, I
am told, there were lying 75,000 bomb?
shells, and those who have only beard
these explode one at a time can form but
little conception of the pandemonium
when dozens are bursting at once for
hours in succession. One shock was so.
violent that we thought the house had
been Btruck, for the wiudow-shades were
knocked from their fastenings and fell
to the floor with a terrible crash, and
poor Fannie, with the supernatural
strength of terror, sprang from her bed
and fell prostrate and fainting many feet
from it, and the still burning fuse from
a shell was picked up in the yard.
Our toilets that morning were very
hasty, and we were just making a feint
to eat our ill-cooked breakfast, for poor
Chany was the most terrified of the
family, and persistently declared her
belief that "de judgment day done come,"
when about a quarter-past 7 Eddie Mills,
a boy about 12 years old, came running
into the room exclaiming: "The Yan?
kees are coming 1" I went to the front
door to ascertain if this was really so.
It was true indeed; for there, riding
quietly up the street and looking cau?
tiously and inquiringly about them, were
two cavalry officers, the first "blue coats"
I had seen, except as prisoners of war,
since a happy, light hearted girl, I had
danced with them at "Old Point Com?
fort" to the music of the military band,
little dreaming in my thoughtless glee
I that the time would ever come when' I
?would regard those same "charming
officers" as my own and my country's
bitterest foes ; but "times change and we
change with them." However, these
two looked very harmless, and, a little
surprised to find that their sabres, instead
of being drawn and carried naked and
threatening, merely hung peacefully in
their scabbards, I felt much relieved, and
took a cheering report to the eager listen?
ers in the back room.
Very soon after we were told that there
was a soldier with a gun standing by our
front steps who, on inquiry, proved to be
a guard stationed there by the Union
authorities; for to their credit be it
spoken, the first act of the Federal com?
mander on entering the city was to place
a guard at every street corner for the
protection of person and property.
Every few minutes the children of the
household were running in with accounts
of everything that was transpiring, for
little realizing the situation they rather
enjoyed the novelty and exrltement of
the occasion.
THE CITY IN FLAMES.
About 9 o'clock the terror-stricken
face of Chany appeared at the door, she
crying in dismay, "Ob 1 Miss Luck, de
town burnin' up.'" And so indeed it
was. The first sight that met my eyes on
reaching the front door was Dr. Reed's
(Presbyterian) Church, corner of 8th and
Franklin streets, enveloped in flames,
And in a few minutes the fiery tougues
had lapped up and around the steeple,
which they encircled in a serpent-like
coil, fascinating my gaze with its fatal
beauty, till it swayed, tottered a moment,
and then fell with a terrible crash where
it had stood for half a century like a sen?
tinel on the watch tower of Zion, and it
seemed to my excited fancy to exclaim
with its dying wail, like Montcalm at the
fall of Quebec, "Thank God 1 I will not
live to see the city in the bands of the
j enemy." Casting my eyes to the South
and Southeast I beheld the most sublime?
ly awful spectacle that it has ever been
my fortune to witness?the whole city in
that direction seemed one sheet of fire,
while dark clouds of smoke bung like a
pall over the scene, and rolled in vast
volumes to the North and West. Every
I moment the devouring monster seemed
coming nearer and nearer to the place
where I stood, and where the old frame
buildings offered tempting food for its
ravenous maw; even now it did not ap?
pear to be more than two blocks off.
One frightful feature in the scene, invest?
ing it with an almost unearthly horror,
was the death-liks silence that prevailed.
No cries of fire, no ringing of fire bells,
no rattling by of engines, not even the
shrieks of women and children, for all
seemed dumb with terror, and shrank
pale and mute into their dwellings.
' How I longed for one loud manly cry of
fire, or one clang of a fire bell to break
the dreadful speli. But there was noth?
ing but the eloquent silence to tell us
that our beautiful city would soon be in
ruins, and the voiceless helplessness was
almost suffocating.
The reason that up to this time no
effort had been made to check the pro?
gress of the fire was that every Confed?
erate male not maimed, bait or blind ex?
cept those in charge of the sick, had left
the city the evening before, and the
Federals just coming in had not had
time to organize a fire department, nor
knew yet where to find the engines or
any of the appliances for suppressing the
flames. As soon as possible, however,
: they went to work and by blasting and
all the means within their reach did their
[ utmost to save the city, and thanks to
j their efforts the fire was kept chiefly
within the business quarter; so that
comparatively few homes were destroyed,
though we had numerous alarms from
the falling of cinders or burning hrauds
upon our house, which did actually take
fire three times, and it was with the ut?
most difficulty extinguished by the little
water that women and children could
carry up in paila from the hydrant in the
yard to the skylight in the roof.
Little Eddie Mills quite distinguished
himself by the heroism with which he
kept bis place on the roof, with the burn?
ing coals falling all around him, for we
had stationed him there with a broom to
keep wet the blankets spread over the
shingle roof; and nobly did this young
"Casabianca" stand to his post till the
danger was past, for he was, be well
knew, the eldest male in a household of
twenty-five persous, and seeming to feol
his responsibility, he gallantly refused to
be relieved by the various ladies who
offered to take his broom from him.
But there was a spice of the ludicrous,
too, even amid these awful sceuea. The
fire at one time seemed rapidly approach?
ing the block where my sister, Mrs. Car?
ter, lived, and where her store-room was
pretty well filled for war times with pro?
visions which her husband had collected
for their sustenance when he should be
absent in the field, and his delicate wife
and little ones have no one to providp
for them. So, knowing these stores would
probably be all that our united families
would have to live upon in the state of
chaos to which we were now reduced, we
determined to remove them, if possible,
to our own apartments, and Mrs. Carter
not being able to bear the fatigue, I un?
dertook to transfer them.
A FORAGING EXPEDITION.
Mustering all the force I could, which
consisted of five little children, two
whites and three blacks, ranging in age
from six to ten years, the larger ones
being busy "toting" water to the roof,
and encouraging them by the promise of
a lump of sugar to each, a rare luxury
in those days, off we started on our for?
aging expedition. The lurid glare of the
flames in the burning district, with the
masses of smoke-clouds swelling and
rolling over Our heads, the silent aud de?
serted appearance of the streets as we
passed along, and the novel and remark?
able aspect of my little erjuad of fora?
gers, as we trudged timidly but resolutely
on, presented a scene worthy of t.
better pen than mine.
On our route we saw sights to make 8.
toper's heart ache; for in the gutters in
several places flowed streams of wines,
whiskeys and brandies, the hoardings of
loving mothers and other provident
women for the use of the soldier boyE
who might be brought home sick or
wounded; these were now poured out
into the streets for fear they might fall
into the bands of plunderers, and make
them indeed the ruffians we so much
dreaded. One bottle, however, I rescued
for the use of my sick sister, and kept
afterwards hid in a little cuddy to which
there was no access except by means of
a ladder, though all these precautions
proved to have been unnecessary, for the
privacy of our home, or of any other to
my knowledge, was never intruded upon.
On reaching with my little band my
sister's deserted house I found the walls
already hot to the touch from the close
proximity of the fire, and haste was im?
perative, so seizing two hams I placed
one upon the shoulder of each of my
I two youngest assistants, then spread a
table-cloth upon the floor, into which I
threw pell-mell tea, coffee, sugar, spiceB,
dried apples, black-eyed peas, infants'
clothing, shoes, &c, &c, which, as it may
be supposed, presented a most incongru?
ous and ludicrous medley on being re?
opened. This I tied together by the
four corners and put on the head of num?
ber three. Dipping into barrels I filled
a pillow-case from the contents of two of
them, which afterwards proved to be
equal parts of corn meal and flour.
This I banded, with a jug of molasses,
to number four. Taking a sheet I filled
it with bed and. table linen and clothing
of ail descriptions. This huge bundle I
threw on my own back and held it with
one hand, while the other I helped num?
ber five to drag along a tin can about
three feet high and one in diameter,
which contained a few pounds of lard, to
which I bad added a ham or two, several
bars of soap, &c, &c.
Thus loaded, the procession issued
forth. Though fully impressed with the
awfulnesa of the occasion, and the solem?
nity of the fact that I was making a des?
perate effort to ward off threatening
famine, my pack almost rolled off my
shoulders in my convulsions of laughter
at our ridiculous appearance when I
fancied what Col. -, Capt.-and
others with whom I had so recently prom?
enaded and flirted, and who had always
seemed to v. lagine that I was not strong
enough to bring my own prayer-book
home from church, would think could
they see me now! But my mirth was
soon checked by the thought that they
were at that moment going through ster?
ner scenes and harder trials with our
vanquished chieftain. Fancy my cha?
grin and distress when on reaching
home and triumphantly opening my
bundles to display my dearly-won treas?
ures, I found the tea, coffee, sugar and
spices intermingled in sad confusion,
while the meal and flour were well sha?
ken up together, and the bars of turpen?
tine soap had slipped down to the very
bottom of the lard can? However, peo?
ple on the brink of starvation must not
be too choice, and we shall hear from
some of these things again.
SEEKING FEDERAL PROTECTION.
As nightfall drew near vague fears be?
gan to creep over us, for we felt that
with the daylight would vanish most of
our couragefand again we began to pic?
ture to ourselves desperadoes, under
cover of night, forcing entrance into the
house. Again our little household was
assembled in conclave to devise some
means of safety, when in came our next
door neighbor, Mrs. Blaine. We all re?
garded in amazement at ber hardihood
venturing out, for of course everything
like business was suspended, but she
soon explained by telling us she bad
heard that by going down to the provost
marshal's office we could get "protection
papers," which would insure safety to
the holders of them.
"An admirable euggestion," exclaimed
we all, "but," thinks I to myself, "we
are very much in the fix of the council
of mice, who decided that it would be an
excellent plau to bell the cat, when one
old grandfather among them inquired,
'Who will put the bell on?' "
Everybody thought the protection
papers onght to be gotten without delay,
for the shadows were ominously length?
ening; but nobody was willing to go to
the "City Hall," the very nest of the
dreaded "Yankees," to ask for them. A
protracted pause?the cane seemed des?
perate?something must be done, soon it
would be too dark to think of venturing
out. On one hand the idea of making
our way into the midst of the terrible
Yankees, on the other scenes of horror
that might be in store for a house full of
unprotected women.
"I'll go!" said I. "I will be one of
any three who will undertake the daring
enterprise."
The next volunteer was Mrs. Blaine.
and Mrs. Mills, emboldened by her ex?
ample, agreed to make the third. So,
collecting all the veils from the assem?
bled household, we douned three apiece,
and linking arms together and followed
by the hopes and prayers of all the rest,
we Ballied forth. On we went, our fea?
tures set in grim determination, scarce a
word spoken. No human being did we
pass on the streets save the Federal
soldiers strolling about, as if enjoying
the sight of. the city they had so long
striven in vain to enter. To our surprise,
we were treated by these with the great?
est respect and courtesy, always giving us
the sidewalk and ever checking rude
laughter whenever we drew near. Still,
so strained were all my nerves, so agita?
ting and conflicting my emotions, and
so different the scene from our accus?
tomed walks through our beautiful city,
.that I felt like one walking in a dream
and was startled after passing the corner
of Seventh and Grace streets. A rustling
sound causing me to look around. I
found we were treading almost ankle
deep in some places through burnt pa?
pers, many of them charred and smoked,
but on others the writing s'lill legible, so
that we could see that they were public
documents which had been destroyed, I
suppose, to prevent their falling into the
hands of the enemy ; and as I now saw
them blowing hither and thither in every
direction, I thought them a fit emblem of
our nation's hopes just scattered to the
wincls.
Passing by our own beautiful Capital
Square, the tenderness welled up from
my heart and well nigh overflowed in
tears as I thought how dear was that spot
to every Virginian, our pride as well as
our joy, how her young men and maid?
ens had loved to stroll through those
shaded walks, theii merry laughter ri?
valling in melody the music of the band
which was wont to enliven the scene, or
the old, old story seeming all the sweeter
as the gentle maiden listened to it min?
gled with the plash of the fountain in
the ' summer moonlight. Spring had
just spread her first fresh carpet of green
over the sward which we bad deemed
almost too sacred to be pressed even by
the dainty foot of childhood; but now
with indignation akin to disgust we be?
held there groups of negro soldiers, the
blackest, it appeared to me, I had ever
seen, looking all the blacker, I suppose,
from contrast with their bright blue uni?
form. These were lolling lazily on our
beautiful grass, many of them cooking
their dinners there, as we saw by the iron
pot swinging from a tripod and the
smoke curling up through the tender
young leaves of the graceful elms, while
their mules were browsing near and
profaning the spot with their coarse
hoofs. But without trusting ourselves
for one word of comment, we silently
pressed on to the provost marshal's office
at the corner of Capitol and" Eleventh
streets.
AT THE FEDERAL HEDQUARTERS.
Here we found the portico and balls
densely crowded with soldiers hurrying
to and fro, and to our surprise and relief
many other ladies were there, but on the
same errand as ourselves. Here, as
everywhere else, we were treated with
the utmost courtesy. Between two files
of soldiers with fixed bayonets to pre?
serve order, we were politely conducted
by an officer to the official who was busi?
ly engaged in making out such papers as
we were in quest of. There we had to
await our turn, and meanwhile, turning
to an officer writing at a table, I asked if
he would be kind enough to inform me
how long it would be before postal com?
munication with the North would be
open to the public, as I was very anxious
to communicate with friends there.
"It will probably be four or five days,
but take your seat here, Miss," offering
me a chair, pen and paper, ''and write
your letter, and I will not only see that
it is sent immediately, but you shall re?
ceive the reply promptly. Tell your
correspondent to direct to care of Major
With sincere gratitude I accepted his
kind offer, and wrote my letter, which I
remember was in these words:
"Fannie is very ill, but we are more
comfortable than we could have expected
under the circumstances. Write imme?
diately, care of -?."
Then handing the pen to my gallant
enemy (?) I asked him : "Will you be
kind enough to read that letter and add
your address?" He :ook the letter, but
without reading it wrote his address and
sealed it. I have always been sorry that,
in the excitement of the moment, I fail?
ed to take particular note of bis name,
and only remember that it struck me as
being German; but should this by chance
ever meet his eye he wili please hereby
accept my grateful acknowledgment of
the courtesy and of the true gentlemanly I
delicacy with which it was extended?an
acknowledgment not the less sincere that
it has been eighteen years delayed iu the
expression. But should my friend, Ma
jor -, never Bee this, yet if it ever
happens to come under the notice of any
other Federal officer or soldier who did
one deed of kindness to any Virginia
woman in that ber dark hour of need, I
beg that he will accept my thanks in her
behalf. Here let me say, and be it ever
spoken to the honor of the American
flag, that, so far as I know, the triumphal
entry of the Federal army into Rich?
mond was not disgraced by one deed of
insult or oppression to any woman, or
indeed to any citizen. All their efforts
seem to have been directed toward con I
ciliation. and to bringing order out of
chaos, affording protection to person and
property, and endeavoring to relieve, as
far as possible, the want and suffering
which they found here; and I have never
heard an opinion contrary to this ex?
pressed by a single person who remained
in the city after they came.
But to return to the provost marshal's
cilice. In a short time our protection
paper was banded us, which forbid any
one entering the premises on "pain of
death," and authorizing the guard to
shoot any person thus trespassing. Seiz
iag the precious document we hastened
home, feeling much relieved that we had
succeeded in "belling the cat," though
the sequel led us to think there bad
really been no need for any such precau- I
(son. j
Immediately on the occupation of the
city rations were issued by the Federal
commander to such as needed them, and
few there were who did not. Most per?
sons had invested all their available
means in Confederate bonds. My sister
and I then had our little all lying in our
trunks in Confederate "promises to pay,"
representing ostensibly many thousands
of dollars, but now worthless as so much
waste paper, and our only available cash
a silver half-dime, worn for many years
f.i a memento, which we now spent fori
medicine. Iu this state of things it is
not surprising that eveu ladies reared in
ease and luxury now crowded to the I
ration office to get their allotted portion
of codfish, fat pork and yellow meal, for
this was all there was between them and
starvation. The scene which the artist
Rogers has perpetuated in marble of
"drawing rations" is no fancy Bketch, for
I saw the counterpart of it when, with
little Lettie to carry the basket, I made
my way through the hungry throng with
mingled feelings of gratitude and humilia?
tion to receive our share. Though we
knew our army had been defeated and
was retreating we knew not whither,
yet hope still flickered in our hearts, for
we thought possibly Gen. Lee might be
able to make a stand at some point
further South, and our Confederacy yet
take a place among the nations of the
earth.
GEK. LEE'S SURRENDER.
This continued till on the night of Sun?
day, April 9, we were sitting iu our dimly
lighted chamber, for the destruction of
the gaspipes in the great conflagration
had found us unprepared for the emer-1
geocy; and now the only means we had
of producing light was by putting a cot?
ton string into a cup of lard, (thanks to
my foraging party we still had lard) and
setting fire to it; but this dim taper in
our large room only served to make dark?
ness visible. The hour of our evening
devotions drew nigh, the time when our
thoughts were wont to turn with peculiar
tenderness toward our dear wanderers
about whose fate we were still in painful
suspense. We were sitting in silence,
onr thoughts busy with our loved ones,
when the stillness of the night was bio
ken by the boom of a cannon, followed
in quick succession by a number of other
reports. Volumes of surmises rapidly
chased each other through our brains.
"Was Gen. Lee returning to recapture
the city?" "Was Mosby coming?"
I "Was there a riot going on which they
I had resorted to the artillery to suppress?"
"Was it an outburst of triumph at news
of another victory over our poor tattered
soldier boys." Our hearts quailed at the
thought, when the door burst open and
in rushed Mrs. Brown, the claimant of
the red "tater" who, though a native of
Ohio, had always professed to be a South?
erner in sympathy, and as such had ob?
tained and held a lucrative clerkship
under the Confederate Government; but
but now, throwing off the mask which
policy had drawn over her face, she
rushed triumphantly in, clapping her
hands and shouting: "Gen. Lee has sur?
rendered! Gen. Lee has surrendered!"
And such indeed, as it proved, was the
cause of the firing we had heard. It was
a salute in honor of the (to them) joyful
news ju.3t received at headquarters.
For some time not a word was spoken,
and I scarcely knew which predomina?
ted, anguish at the extinction of our
country's last hope, or indignation and
disgust at the heartless demonstrations
of joy of this deceitful woman over the
destruction and despair of her whilom
friends. Though we did not deign to
express in words the contempt we felt
for her duplicity, yet, as a little incident
which occurred a few days after will
show, it was "deep" if not "loud."
Nearly e'.ery one in the house was sick,
either suffering with sore mouth or some
other malady caused by the constant use
of salt food, which was all that any of us
had, except Mrs. Brown, who was fur?
nished by a friend she had in the army
with luxuries which sounded tempting
to our half-famished ears as the fancied
gurgle of water which aggravates the
sufferings of the parched traveller in tho
desert. One day, about dinner time,
Miss Bowers came into our room to ask
our opinion upon a matter of conscience,
about which she was much exercised.
She looked pale and haggard from ]
anxiety and insufficient and unpalata-1
ble food, but Mrs. Brown had just sent J
to ask her to come up and dine with her
on Iamb, spring chicken, lettuce, canned
fruits and other dainties, whi"1' the for- j
tunate possessor of greenbac > ,ps able
to secure. Miss Bowers wanted to know
if we thought it would be right for her
to accept this invitation to feast with an
enemy of her bleeding country. While
we were yet trying to help her decide j
the contest between the cravings of hun?
ger and patriotic devotion the tinkle of
her little bell announced her own dinner
and settled the mooted question. "I'll
go to my fpt pork and yellow meal," J
said she, and, with a polite "No, thank
you," to Mrs. Brown's call from her I
room, she descended to partake of her
dinner of rations. Many, a less heroic
sacrifice to principle has been sounded
by poet and minstrel.
THE ENTRY OF THE VICTORIOUS ARMY, j
It was a lovely spring morning, a few I
days after the news of Gen. Lee's sur- j
render had extinguished the last spark
in the smouldering ashes of hope, when
the sound of gay music caused me to
look out upon the most imposing pageant I
that it has ever been my fortune to
behold?the entrance into the city of a j
portion of Gen. Grant's army. Pride J
forbidding me to allow the invaders to I
see me evincing interest in the triumphal
en try of the victorious army into our
captured city, and yet feminine curiosity
impelling me to devise some means of j
witnessing the gorgeous spectacle, I
effected a compromise between the two
by climbing to the top of the house and
peeping through the balustrade surround- j
ing the skylight; for here I felt safe from j
observation, as I did not suppose any one
would think of casting glances so nigh.
It was indeed a grand sight. As far as j
eye could reach was one unbroken j
column of troops, with their fine horses |
and wagons, and equipped in elegant
uniforms and accoutrements, which to my
eyes, accustomed to looking only at our j
poor, ragged, and oftentimes barefooted
boys, appeared as if newly donned for
some gala day. The effect was beautiful
from the elevated point from which I j
viewed it; for I could sea them winding j
over Church Hill in the far distance, and ]
then down into the valley and up over I
Shockoe Hill; their bayonets brightly
gleaming in the morning sun, the Stars j
and Stripes in countless numoers waving I
in the breeze, and this enlivened by j
innumerable bands of music at short
intervals, which seemed in their choice I
of tunes to be amiably trying to harmon- j
ize the spirit of "Dixie" with that of
"Yankee Doodle;" for Srst would come I
the stirring strains of "Hail Columbia," j
while the next band that passed would
bring a tear from our poor stricken hearts j
by the loved tones of "Dixie;" nextl
"Star Spangled Banner," "Mocking j
Bird," "The Union Forever" and "Bon?
nie Blue Flag," would each in turn sug- j
gest thoughts of the two sections lately J
arrayed in deadly conflict, but which it j
would nov be the policy of that army to
weld again into one. My predominant
feeling, as I beheld their grand process- J
ion, was admiration for the courage of
our own brave little army, and the sen- j
timent arose almost to reverence when IJ
reflected that in the face of such a foe, j
with unlimited resources at his back,
they had held out through four loug j
years of discouragement, and not only I
with insufficiency of food, clothing and
munitions of war themselves, but with
the consciousness, in some cases, that
their wives and children were lacking
the necessaries of life, and in others that
they were homeless refugees. One
striking feature in that scene was the!
fact that all the doors and windows in
the fronts of the houses were closed, and j
not one white citizen was to be seen, j
through cracks and crevices I will not!
venture to say. j
A "WONDERFUL ENTERPRISE. j
Returning to our room and seeing my J
invalid sister languishing for want of
comforts which we had then no means of
providing lor her it occurred to me that j
we might make a little money by selling
eatables to the passing soldiers; but
where to get the materials to make them
was the question. However, summoning
: our little dark-skinned maid, Lettie, to
the conference, her quick wit suggested
a plan. We went to work and out of the
provisions secured by my foraging party
we made some delicacies (?) pies. To be I
sure the dried apples were a little flavored I
with tea, and the scaly particles in the J
pastry betrayed the presence of meal,
while in tho lard there was evidently a
soupcon of soap, but wo had always
heard, and our own observation had
shown us, that soldiers are not very dain- J
ty. So giving Lettie a basket lull of the
tempting looking plates she hopefully set
ofi. Seating herself on tho curbstone
she pressingly offered her inviting wares
to the passers-by, telling them that they
wero made by "nice white ladies, and
not by niggers;" but, eyeing them curi?
ously for a moment, they would pass on,
till one of the soldiers, hungrier I sup?
ple than the rest, ventured to take one,
nnd placiug the price in Lettie's hand,
ne broke the pie, and put a piece into
lr.a mouth, when, giving poor Lettie an
inquiring look, he asked, "Did you say
white ladies made these?" "Yes !" said
she, with pride in her young mistress,
skill, but he. evidently confirmed by this
fact in his suspicion that an attempt had
been made to poison him, hastily ejected
every ciumb from his mouth and hurried
on, thinking, doubtless, that these South?
ern women must indeed be the"ahe-dev
ils" he had heard they were, and not lis?
tening to Lettie's eager explanation that
the ingredients were all clean, but had
gotten slightly mixed. After sitting
several hours longer, with no further suc?
cess, she became discouraged and return?
ed home with only five cents to show for
her day's work. We could not afford to
waste so much food, consequently the
whole family hsd to make our supper
that night off the meal pies; but so sick
did I become in about an hour after
eating them, that there is no telling
what the result might have been had not
nature provided her own remedy. The
rest of the family fared little better. At
all events, even five cent3 was better
than no money at all, so the next morn?
ing "Lettio took it, and provided with a
little basket, went to market for the first
time sint e the evacuation. She returned
with ! half a peck of "greens" which
made our fat pork much more palatable,
and though I have frequently dince
dined at Delmonico's, I never enjoyed
his choicest salads, or most delicate bis?
cuits glaces more than we did our first
meBs of greens. However, soon after
an officer of the United States Sani?
tary Commission called, presenting a
letter of introduction from friends in the
North, and placed at the disposal of my?
self and sisters any dainty or luxury in
their possession, that might aid in re?
storing us to health, and from that time
till definite arrangement were made for us
by our friends not a day passed that we
were not the recipients of some kind at?
tentions at their hands.
ONLY MEMORIES LEFT.
In about two weeks our male relatives
began to return to their homes one by
one as they were paroled. Things began
to readjust themselves, and now, in 1884,
tho war is already spoken of as some?
thing in the long ago; feelings of sec?
tional animosity are gradually softening,
"Dixie" or "Yankee Doodle" is listened
to with almost equal pleasure beside the
picturesque Hudson or the historic
James; prattling children, in whose veins
is mingled the blood of Federal and Con?
federate, listen with eager faces to tales
of daring and deeds of heroism, whether
the brave heart of the hero beat under
a "jacket of grey" or the "army blue,"
and all unite in placing floral tributes
upon the mounds which cover the mortal
part of those who fell in the path of j
what they believed to be duty, and whose
spirits have now met in that land which
knows no North, no South, no East, no
West. God hasten the happy time when
all evidences of the devastations of that
war will have passed away, and when our
country will once more have cause to
rejoice that not only peace, but unity
and prosperity, reign throughout her
borders.
Polygamous Economics.
The private home routine of a polyga?
mous family is a matter upon which so
much curiosity is constantly expressed
by my acquaintances that I venture to
saj here what little I know; but the
reader must remember that les3 than ten
per cent, of the voting Mormon popula?
tion of Utah are polygamists.
The polygamist, as a rule, has accu?
mulated some property and owns a house
before be takes a second and successive
wives, though sometimes he begins by
marrying two or three at once. All of |
these marriages, however, except the
first, are made secretly by. the Church,
and no record of them is accessible.
In the city, at least, it is seldom that
the different wives share the same quar?
ters. In the country this is not so un?
common, but the natural unpleasantness
follows in- most cases. The general
method is to have a large bouse, tbe
main part of which, perhaps, is occupied
by the first wife and wings or additions
by the successive candidates for marital
honors. These large, straggling, hotel?
like houses are common in Salt Lake
City, and mark a difference between it
and a town of small bouses like Cbeyene
and most other Western villages. In
many cases, however, the husband sets
up his wives in different homes, either
side by side or in different parts of the
city. In any ^jase each has her own
kitchen garden, etc. I have in mind a
wealthy dignitary of the Church whom
you might easily have mistaken for the
late Peter Cooper, and who is possessed
of seven wives. Each of these women
has some farming and garden ground of |
her own, and all are greatly devoted to
rearing bees. With the help of their
grown~cbildren they each raise a large
amount of produce and honey annually.
The husband acts as their agent. He
hives their swarms of bees and charges
them for it; he renders special aid when
called upon and is paid for it; he sells
their crops aud honey when it is ready
and credits each wife with her due share.
Most of them live in suites of apart?
ments under the roof of his great bouse
in town, but the first wife has a beautiful
farm of her own a little out of the city,
to which she and her children have re?
tired, to end their days in peaceful inde?
pendence.
The way in which this old gentleman
has always arranged his domestic life is
reported to be thus: He had certain
rooms in his house where he kept his
bed, his wardrobe, his books, and saw
any visitors who called upon him. Here
he was a bachelor and here he stayed
every other day and night. On alter?
nate days and nights he was tbe guest of |
one or another of bis wives in regular
rotation, devoting the one day (in this
case fortnightly) which was hers diligent?
ly to her society. Of course this routine
was not invariable, but for the most part
it was regularly followed.?Harper's Mag?
azine.
? If there is any virtue in a rabbit
foot Grover Cleveland will be the next
president of the United States. About
a month ago it occurred to the editor of |
the Eufaula, Ala., Daily Mail that only
one thing was needed to make the Dem?
ocratic campaign an assured success.
Under the inspiration of the moment he
advertised for a rabbit foot, and in a few
days received one from Atlanta with the
statement that it was the left hindfoot of
a graveyard rabbit shot on the grave of
Jesse James at St. Joseph, Mo. A local
jeweler mounted the rabbit foot in solid
silver, with the inscription: "To our
next president, a tai'sman of victory."
The trinket was then expressed to Gov?
ernor Cleveland with a history of the
rabbit foot and its traditions. Governor
Cleveland is a level-headed man, and the
very day he received the gift of his
Eufaula friends ho sat down and wrote a
handsome letter of acknowledgment, in
which he said: "I thank you for the
gift, and am ready to confess that such a
thing, with such a history, ought to ac?
complish great results."' A letter from
Eufaula to the New Orleans Times-Dem?
ocrat says tba' when the southern negroes
become aware of the fact that Governor
Cleveland "totes a rabbit foot," they will
vote for him iu spite of persuasion,
threats and bribes. The average south?
ern darkey holds the rabbit foot in su?
preme reverence, as possessing a mysteri?
ous power for good to its owner and evil
to his enemies.
? Popularity is net infalibility. Er?
rors exist only while they are popular.
All Sorts of Paragraphs.
? Kentucky made 20,000,000 bushels
of wheat this season, 3,000,000 bushels
more than any previous crop.
? Three thousand gallons of black?
berry wine was manufactured in Ander?
sonville, Tenn., this season.
? It is charged that the Republican
managers are colonizing West Virginia
with negroes from Washington.
? It is said that Mr. Beecher controls
5,000 Brooklyn votes, and thai, all of
them will be cast for Cleveland.
? Smalls, the congressman from the
black district, favors the nomination of
a State ticket and a fight all along the
line in thia State.
? Orange peel is now said to be col?
lected, dried in ovens, and sold for kind?
ling fires. It burns readily and with
great fierceness, and is safer than kero?
sene.
? Of the three hunddred voters com
I prising the Cleveland and Hendricks
Club that was organized at Whitewater,
Wis,, the other day, eighty-five hitherto
acted with the Republican party.
? The Washington monument, at
Washington city, is now complete, ready
for the roof, which will be 55 feet high,
making the monument 555 feet high,
and the highest work of man in the
world.
? The friends of Col. J. H. Evins
will be pleased to learn that he is im?
proving very much at Waukesha, Wis?
consin. His condition is so much better
that Mrs. Evins returned to her home in
Spartanburg last week.
? Miss Woodrow, daughter of Dr.
James Woodrow, of Columbia S. C, a
most estimable and accomplished young
lady, has gone all the way to China to
marry a young man, who is a successful
missionary in that distant country.
? An Ohio farmer washes his apple
trees every Spring and Fall with a strong
lye that will float an egg, and finds it to
be a sure death to the borers. He claims
that he has not lost a tree since begin?
ning this practice, although he had lost
several previously.
? Twelve thousand head of cattle,
tho largest consignment under the con?
trol of one man ever sent over the San
Francisco Eoad from Missouri, were
shipped recently. It required twenty
three trains of twenty-one cars each to
consign the lot to market.
? Dr. Wilson, an English physician,
has been counting the hairs of a man's
head. On a sqnare inch of scalp he
found 1,066 hairs, and from measurements
estimates that the entire head must have
127,920. He thinks that some heads
might have 150,000 hairs.
? The mortality of the globe, as given
by a continental journal, which has
made the computation, is as follows:
Per minute.. 67; per diem, 97,790, and
per annum, 35.639,835, whereas the
births are 36,792,000 per annum, 100,000
per diem and 70 per minute.
? A corduroy road has been discover?
ed in Lincolnshire, Englaud, at a depth
of seven feet below the surface. It lies
bcueath a Roman road, and is therefore
much older than 1000 years. Geologists
nay that its timbers, which are of oak,
were laid down 10,000 years ago.
? Gen. Grant has contracted with the
managers of the Century to contribute to
their periodical twenty articles on the
principal battles of the war, for which
he is to receive the snug sum of $10,000.
This is good, honest, legitimate work,
and the General should be encouraged.
? North Carolina has received $1,000,
000 from persons who have invested in
her mineral lands since she made her
display of mineral resources at the fair
at Boston last fall. North Carolina ex?
pended $17,000 for the exhibit, and as a
return for her sagacity has received $!,
000,000.
? Alas that the real rights of women
should be so slow of recognition. In
Macon, Ga., a wife has just been fined $2
for disciplining her husband with a bed
slat, the Justice regarding it probably as
a case of malicious injury to furniture.
In London only a few days earlier a
magistrate r-ent a young woman to prison
for thrashing her husband who had com?
plained about tho coffee.
? A revolution in the match-making
industry may be expected. The Russian
Department of Commerce and Manufac?
tures has recently awarded a patent to
the inventor of a means of so impregna?
ting wood with a liqui^ that, when dried,
it lights with a slight friction, and can
be used several times over, thus securing,
according to the inventor, an economy of
at least seventy-five per cent.
? An improved locomotive construct?
ed at the shops of the Lehigh Valley
Railroad under the supervision of Mr.
George S. Strong, it is claimed, will
draw a train on the New York division
at the rate of eighty miles an hour.
The engine weighs 100,000 pounds, and
will develop a power of 1,400 or 1,500
horse power. The boiler is of steel, and
will stand a pressure of 100 pounds to
tho square inch.
? The revision of the Old Testament,
which, it was hoped, would be out this
year, will probably net make its appear?
ance before early in 1885. The eighty
fifth and last session of the English Re?
vision Committee has been held, but
months must intervene before the com?
plete work can be given to the public.
Nothing is positively known of any
changes made in the old version, the re?
visers on both sides of the Atlantic hav?
ing kept their pledge of secrecy.
? The New York World says that
between the prohibition ticket drawing
from the Republicans and the German
desertions from the same party there is a
fighting chance for the Democrats in
Kansas. Hayes' majority was 44,000;
St. John's (Rep.) in '78, 16,000; Gar
field's 41,000, and in 1882 Glick (Dem.)
had a majority over the Republicans of
8,000, the Greenback vote being 21,000.
The Democratic aud greenback vote has
steadily increased since 1876 and the
Republican steadily diminished.
? A prominent Republican journal is
authority for the statement that Mr.
Blaine has promised a donation of $500,
000 to the campaign fund, to be paid on
the 1st of September. The same news?
paper says that wealthy friends of Gen.
Logan have agreed to add $100,000 on
his behalf. Mr. Benj. Franklin Jones,
chairman of the Republican National
committee, has already drawn his check
for $100,000 "as a starter" to help the
grand old party out of the unfortunate
plight in which it now finds itself.
? Dr. Hatton has a young daughter,
Miss Julia, about 18 years old, who is
studying medicine in Charleston. This
matter of having female doctors has
always seemed an eminently fit and
desirable thing to me. In Europe femi?
nine physicians are often met with.
Wby should they not learn and practice
medicine successfully? They have nerve,
sympathy, sense equal to men, and keen?
er intuitions. They can't ride man-fash?
ion and browse about at night very well
alone. But they can nurse better cer?
tainly for being educated in medicine,
and female diseases it seems that they
could handle better than men doctors.