Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1861-12-13
ouR ARMY CoRREsPdNDEN C E:
BENTON BARRACKS. |
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Il St. Louis, Dec. 6, 1861.
DEAR JOURNAL There is stir in caml
n tonight, and every body is ina hurry making
s. preparations for departure. J'F.
It The 18th received marching orders to-nigh
destination, Jefferson City. We dom
know what we are going up there for, bu
suppose it is 'all rghit," Notwithstanding, we
have been hoping and expecting to go doom
!, the river when we moved, instead of up. 1
we can only get fight out of the rebels, w
are willing to 60 out Of our way, by going t.
Jefferson City. T. =
: Our orders are not specific as to time, and
hence we may not move out Of camp to-mor
row, but we will not delay long, for the boys
are DESTROYS of being on the move, hoping to
'run against" some stray gang of rebels il
we keep stirring.
The U. S. Inspecting General has been
; here this week, making thorough inspection
of all the troops in camp. Guns, knapsacks
clothing and accoutrements were examined.
Gen. VanReansselear gave great credit to the
18th for their neat and solder-hke appearance
and gave company ACUTE large portion Of
the praise. Gen. Strong was present and
seemed we'll pleased with our appearance and
parade. ..s .,a.4
SATURDAY EvENlNG-We are all packed
IIup, and have orders to leave camp tomorrow
morning at 81 o'clock by rail, for Je fferson
City. Twenty rounds of buck and ball cart
ridge have just been issued to our regiment,
and our boys take it as an intimation that
there may be something to shoot at. Our
men have never yet had practice in the use
of their arms, but the most Of them are coun-
try boys, who understand common shot gun
exercise and will soon come to be handy.
We have no intimation of how long we may
probably stay at the capital, as all the moves
are purposely kept secret the rebels already
having mad knowledge enough of our plans.
Till our friends hear from US again, we bid
them goodbye. We hope to see "smoke''
before we come to ST. Louis again, and if l
don't have to 'bite the ground" they will
hear again soon, from 0. A. A. G.
p S. Tell our friends to write to US at st.
Louis till ordered differently, Gas the mail
will be sent OUT and to write often. You |
really don't know what a satisfaction it is to |
get letters from home. We are isolated, as
it were, except when we get letter from
friends. To all, do ~rite to us.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE Int
RIoR.-rhis report furnishes some interesting
statistics regarding the operations of the Gen
eral Land Office, the business of which, the
Secretary states, has been sensibly affected
by the decline of business throughout the
country. On the 30th of September, 1861,
there were 55,555 ,595.25 acres of the public
lands which had been surveyed but not pro-
claimed for public sale. The lands surveyed
and offered at public sale previous to that
time, and those subject to private entry,
amounted to 1862, 1854 acres, making an
aggregate of public lands surveyed and ready
for sale. of 1874, 2lS, $50 SO acres. The net
income from sales during the last fiscal year
will hardly reach the sum of 100000. The
grants of swamp and overdowed lands to the
States have absorbed large amount of valu-
able lands and caused heavy drain upon the
cover an aggregate of 81 ,S95, 577 40 acres
The bounty land warrants and scrip issued
under different acts of Congress, previous to
September 80, 1861, embrace an aggregate of
II IT. 72 acres of land.
The propriety of issuing bounty land war
rants to the volunteers is, the Secretary says,
subject of discussion, and must be deter
mined by Congress. He expresses his dis
&C oh re fo,. no hot |
warrant for 100 acres to each volunteer en-
0O0, 900 of acres, and destroy all hope of de-
irving any revenue from the public lands for
many years, at the same time affording but
little benefit to our soldie S.
Our Indian affairs are described as being in
very unsettled condition, the spirit of rebel
lion having been instilled into portion of the
Indian tribes by e1nissaries from the insur-
rectonary States. The payment of annuities
to these Indians has been suspended.
The instruction of the Southern States has
affected the Patent Office to very great ex
tent. The receipts from January to Sep
tember 80, 1861, were $lO2, sOs ls; and the
expenditures were $l85,594 05, showing an
excess of expenditures over receipts of $s2,-
1856 ST. During the corresponding period OF
Luc last year Ile IceClPIo WIZ VA"'1cHo ~,
being 1914 $40 % more than the receipts tor
the same part of this year.
The Secretary expresses his qualification at
the unprecedented success Of the means taken
for the suppression of the African slave trade
FIVE vessels have been seized, tried and con-
demned by the Courts. One SLAYER has been
taken on the coast OF Africa with about 900
negroes on board, who were conveyed to the
republic of Liberia.
One person has been convicted at New
York as the captain Of SLAYER, having on
board 800 captives, and two others, (mates OF
a different vessel,) and another one in Boston
for fitting out a vessel for the slave trade. In
the first named case the penalty is death; in
the other it is fine and imprisonment. Hith-
erto convictions under the laws prohibiting
the slave trade have been very rare.
The report closes with statement OF the
condition, financial and otherwise, of the diff
ferent public institutions in the District.