, 1861-10-08

vords aboat 4 mi s,st bs Without intessst 81
Jour resdess, St1oai1nda :S:sl whom. haye2}
friends III the Normal Rsghaeliff:::: =: ;;':E -:
Our paaaase from Camp, Butler to St LouA |
was ssesa oanI1oss tE9nmppha1t mRch over
tam!iaE pra!E3es5f through ;patt1otle toHns md
nd Mea31a,, That hefoEe ne sFxac6sd 4he Ms.
stettppl> III our e1citabilitY d th4se 1coo1nts
was e2h1usted. But when, rext dry, wa stakt
Cd Tor 1ronton, the Scene Wae totally changed
A.ra1road track lying for miles ,boeHea1 the
bread 1a;s It1sr o. the one hsnd aad pze ssR1tous
every man enfoyed II aceofd41lg to hfs vein.
The approyng ,ehouts which INST n every
where In Illinois, were heard no moRe--or only
n such reduced Proportions Is to excite hnt
little response. But to our prairie boys the
rocks ard hills were sensaaon enough; We
shouted ouf; OWL welcome among the hills.
And when these7 new feelings had been
wrought to the highest puint, we suddenly
pitched into tunnel, and Taa INTO the bowels
OF . mountain. This WIS more than the boys
had counted on; and, not knowing .What else
to DO. they closed their months IN perfect
silence, But when we emerged into daylight.
again, Thousand men "faIsed their voices to-
the bills around" In shout that made The
Iocks reverbe1ate for miles,. That Was the
ne Plus nhrn, and we Witnessed the novelties
On the remainder Of the roufe In Comparative
silence..--closing, when We reached Plos Knob,
mountain Of iron This 'tKnoh" is . genuine
mountafn-hasing been thrown mp BY 2 forcs
from beneath, and not merely left standing, by
degradation, - as thi1ls" are.
Tie town Of Pilot Knob lies at the western
1oot Ct he moqptain IS The Jennings d Of ths
above the Mississippi. -a Sheppard's Noun
tain " lies mile to the weat; and through
the Wiley between them passes the road to
lronton, our present headquarters. Our
camp, however, lies mile sonth Of the town
and at The foot Of the con1cal hill upon which
we are building fort. And from the walls Of
that fort write you this letter: My eye com
mands the points which will soon be COM
nanded BY its guns. -
;, At the foot Of the hill, upon which stands
the fort, Les the pretty yi1lage Of Arcadla--a!-
are nearly al deserted, the stnhabitants haY-
ing gone north Or south. as their loyalty
OF disloya1ty impeIled them. It was formerly
Place OF snnmer resort for wealthy plauters;
and Tine hotel with hundred rooms, is like
"TaTa's halls, deserted.''. Along its chief
@ ns and s 4Ssd doKH Wss s9q re on a
] approach for wagons in that direction. Our
cannon will have their eyes upon 1t. The road
passes nerthward, between Pilot Knob and
sheppard's Mountain, to the railroad termi
| look up that way. To the westward, the hori-
extend to the vest, as our scouts assert, ad
infMitum.. The said squads are Normal
students. To the eastward, valley road
winds of four or five miles to join the old St.
| Genevleye p!ankroad 4; and fortv-6ve miles
! of on the Mississippi, stands the ancient
town which gives Bame to the road. Our
cannon will look toward st. GeneEieve.
DO not stop to express the emotion with
which loyal American mnat behold the egec
ton Of fort, on this strange decap!tated hill
in the center Of this lovely valley. ss Arcadil'
is lie: treason and rebellion have made it So
But the fort is no lie; and our enemies Will
! find 1t 8 very stubborn fact.
| Col Carlin's regiment, Oil 38!h), is station
| I'd at Pilot Knob, and his Sucker boys are al
work, fortifyipg that point; whatever may b.
| our destination, therefore, somebody means te
| stay here.
The Postmaster at Iroaton thinks the pres
ence Of the Normal Regiment q perfect God
send. He never did quarter so much postofict
business before in his life But letters from
home are the chief reliance Of our men To-
Rews. 4 newspaper-eapeeiany.o our nlinof
papcrs-is nearly IS rare sight in our camp
"a woman! A package Of ssDRily TRrBuNEs'
would go off Ike hot Cakes. We OCCASIONAL,
| see tie st. Louis papers but as they are bot
"joined to their 1dol,'' we get but one side 0
public matters.
No hopes Of fight in this vicinity, soon.
NrT VTE-r