Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-07-08
Pleasures of Soldering in Utah.


The Columbus Gazette publishes some
extracts from letters of a young soldier in
Utah, to his mother in Columbus: To
young men who have hankering to go
TO the wars, the letters open up the true
pictures of a soldiers life in the Rocky
Mountains, and should be read before hur-
rying to enlist in Uncle Sans grand army.
Inc pay OF the common soldier is eleven
dollars month, and on the 2Stll of Feb
ruary, the son writes home that the rat;ons
Of flour had been reduced to nine ounces n
day; that the rations are drawn evert five
days; that after feasting three days ON
ther scant allowance, che soldiers are com.
PEELED to go without anything more for
the balance of the time, unless they buy
provisions at such Government prices as Is
cents per pound for flour, 27A cents fol
beacon, beans "a cents quart, rice &c
cents per pound, sugar 81 cents, and 9th
er things in proportion. r
May 5th, the young soldier writes from
Camp Scott as follows: DFl
"Our ration of flour on the 1st of April
was was raised one whole ounce, and al
the same time the ration of bones, sarcas-
tically called beef, was increased to pound
and half. Out of this ration of beef the
men cannot actually get enough for a sin
gle meal. There is not particle of the
carcass of the animal killed wasted. The
hide goes to the quartermaster. The head
and neck sell from $3.50 to $500 piece.
The liver has been sold as high as So, the
heart for $3.50, kidneys 81, and other por-
tions of the offaI are greedily sought after
by many of the men. The sergeant of
the company buys head, eek and feet Of
the butchers every day. Now to give you
a little idea of my own way of living. For
breakfast piece of bread and some coffee
dinner, soup and beef, no bread; supper,
bread and coffee. This morning had no
bread for breakfast, nor will have any for
supper, nor tomorrow for breakfast. In
the afternoon we draw rations for seven
days (6 lbs. 2 ozs. of fiour), when | can
have bread for supper There is no sale
ratus nor baking powder of any descrip
ton TO be had, and the weather is too cold
to raise bread, and therefore we have to 90
without them, and do the best we can.-
Still there are some officers who, in writing
10 the States, will spin long yarns about
the comfort of the troops, and all that
They ha &c the pick of the beet, the hind
quarters, DC, and we poor devils must con.
tent ourselves with the fore quarters. II
their rations run out before ration day
comes, they can draw on the next, and
keep on drawing, getting perhaps month
ahead. If VIC get short we can 20 without.
And then the duty here-full dress parades
every evening. During Che severest wea-
ther this last winter they would have full
dress parades every Sunday morning. -
Guard mounting in full dress, drills every
day from one to three hours, marching us
round the bluffs and through the sage brush
at double quick time-duty which would
be called severe even at Newport. To be
sure the mules haul wood for us now, but
when they have taken off the duty in one
place they have put it on in another; they
ease the back but put more on the legs.
This is what l call robbing Peter to pay
Paul, with vengeance. Thank heaven, l
have only seventeen months yet to stay,
and if live to see home again, l can bless
the Almighty for having brought me safe
ly through fearful ordeal" ..-...-t. F..