Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1857-10-17
VA sRagT
From the Marion tAla.) American.
The Paimettoes IL Mexico.
BY ONR OF THE TWO uI,NDREn
NEW sERIEs-No. FIVE.

NEW sERIEs-No. FIVE.
Ny last chapter left us at Montgomery.
Five hundred men were crowded ON the
steamboat William Bradstreet, and kept
two days without anything to eat, and In
quarters fit only for galley slave. The
weather was intensely cold and bitter, and
halfst rvcd and almost froze, the men could
be seen crowdiUg round the boilers of the
boat, to preserve life in their suffering bod =
les. 1t was a sad and pitifu sight to look
upon them. Boys who had been reared in
luxury and splendo had never done
days work in their lives, and had never
suffered hardship, were suddenly reduced
to guawing hunger, to the bitterest Blasts
of winter, and to quarters hdeously loath!
some to refined feelings. A part of these
hardslips were unavoidable, and part of
them were the result of wilful neglect and
carelessness. The government which had
practised a fraud upon us in the terms Of
service imposed, aggravated the injury by
gross andwilful neglect. Some hardships
were unavoidable. The inclement season
of the year, the badness of the roads, The
long and hurried march, and the inexperi.
ence of the men and officers brought hard.
ships that were unavoidable. But there
was no necessity for starving and crowding
us ON the Alabama river. Three steamboats,
instead OF one would have prevented crowd,
ing and starving, When the government
asks the service of bru!es, and pays them
so much per month, to be treated as brutes,
it is very well, but when the government
asks gentlemen to fight its battles, it ought
m frauf flloT1, s.
1t was too much for men of spirit to bear
curses both loud and deep were freely ut
tered, and there was bold aud open mutiny.
Forty or fifty men, mostly of the Baruwell
company Ibeleve, fixed bayonots, aud went
ashore. They were ordered to be put un-
der arrest, but the others sympathized with
them, and refused to obey the order. The
mutineers carried their point, and the mat
ter was hushed up.
One bright morning we arrived at Mo.
bile. Tho LIST Battalion bad been there "a
few days. We were aua&ed in large
warehouse on the bay in the western suburb
of the city. Our quarters here we're very
comfortable, and we were for the first.
time, decently fed. The harlships we had
suffered began TO develop their effects upon
us. The hospital was fuIl of patients, pros
trated by pneumonias, and diarrheas. This
last disease is common to all armies. Sud.
den changes of climate and of diet are GER
tain to produce it. Among volunteers the
liability to disease was much greater than
TO seasoned soldiers. Their change Of hab.
its and mode of life was sudden and dreat;
their, transition from comfortable aud luxu.
rious homes to privaton, labor, aud hard.
ship was too abrupt. In this march, dur.
ing tho first month OF their service, the
germsAof disease were sown, which soon
illuminated into an abundant harvest Of
death. So, -, teg ,,s4ss.
writeihis narrative without the aid Of
any notes or memoranda 1t is written
purely Esom memory, but memory sineu.
larly vivid and fetentiye. The dates which
! give may be inaccurate,by a few DAYS but
| think the inaccurscies will be very trf-
ling.
TWAS between the 18th and 2oyh Of
January, presume when we reached Mo,
bile. We were detained there about ten
days waitingfor shipsto transport ns. Dor
ing that time we were drilled severely eve
ry day. 5tfl .grgysssi as
. During our stayin Mobilesome generous
gentlemen of'tliat city gave asa barbecue.
Two Of fthenlI remember distinctly as.
u. Day, or Deas, and al. sB. Neck. Neck
was the orator of the MobiIiaDs, aud II was
his assigned part, to mako tho address 10
us, Meek was then 10 his prime, young,
astleEt, winningIy handsome, and knowingly
eloqnentI HiS address sasa gem Of bril-
lianta ~ sFst - s4t .se
"Like orientpearls at random strung
~ Ipsa musical flow Of language, warm,
spontaneous, ,impetrous and grand,te spoke
OF the history and people oflSoulll Carroll.
na, their palnes Of l756, g rich ip historic
fegacies, "---natnes which still lived in iT1s
mortal history, .aqd in their living repre-
.santatives, auioug the Palmettoes. ,nIIe
closediB q burst Of gorgeous beauty, daz-
cling as q shower Of falloe s,afs. Al de-
cade Of years, marked with blistenn,t mem
nFies, and wild, strau9a events have kSsseA
over me since then, bnt1 renlenbersM
his eye, his face, his words, gas siyidlylasi II
al! lad occurred only an hour ago,e Meek