Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1862-02-05

alligators. However, the climate agrees
with me and if we stay down here on
Dog River till next summer hope to
be as big Dog as the rest.
What would you think now. Of going
in Kashiug New Years Day? Lots
ofour, boys done it, notwithstanding the
Alligators are thick as gnats. Fact is,
its SO sandy and smoiy aere we are
obliged to do it. Why one of our fel,
lows, after scrubbing himself about an
hour, found shirt he had missed about
three weeks before-washed down to
it. i
Bob, you remember what devil of
a time We had last year at school, learn
ing nong,tong.paw, and parley YOU
Well, these cussed fools down here make
their negroes learn French. ! saw some
in Mobile, black as our old Josh, that
could jabber away in French like geese
1t made me feel bad to think | had
been to school so much, and after all,
not as well educated as Mobile mig
ger
But the thing miss most, after ci'
gars and whisky, is the women, De-
vii petticoat have | seen since first l
landed on these barbarous shores yes
| have, too-a little mermaid came row.
ing up the river the other day, with
oysters to sell. A real, sure.enough
mermaid with web.fDgers and scales,
| did'n see her-her fshy part, to be
sure but am convinced she had one
! Thisi8 no place for women.folks.
| have pulled off my coat and boots
? and am setting writing to you out un-
der big tree none Of yonr common
Y Green trees 20 bay tree. The woods
bqre consist mostly d large pine orch-
2 ards, ftom wiriga, she 7wnora manuiac.
turo a superior arlisIs !. molasses, @
am informed
There are plenty Of cucumber trees
> here too some ofthe boys dug down
y and told me they had ingun roots Bu
q the magnolia trees lays all others in The
b. shade. It is from the sap Of this trc'
i that the celebrated Pixies Magnolia
Whiskey is made, only we havnt fount
out how to make it. There is a grea
= abundance of Indian Thrnips, Prickl,
Pears, and other roots, growing close by
upon which we mainly subsist at pres
: ent-provisions being short. AS to
10 other vegetables-such as beef, bacon
- whiskey and butter-they are remarka
ably scarce. l havn't seen but one Gov
since I've been here, and that was al
"A old bull tied behind wagon. He wa
- poor as crow, and went along roarini
nd and staggering and grabbing at bushe
I like drunken man. Some men, yOl
know, when they've had a couple c
=. horns, behave like bulls and beasts
y And then the Hogs you ought
IA, see them; great long sharp things
X look like they we're male to tight with
, aud when ever they stick their nose /
h the ground to root, their behind LEG
10. tilt up.
= But the insects beat all There az
a crocodlles, gophers, anacoudars' SC
Of turkles and many other beasts of prey
of too numerous to mention. The tw
Ia Damphools (Asa aud Theophilus, the
he both belong to our battallion-we ca
:. one of them A. Damphool and the otl
&c or The. Domphool,) they are both atral
to 70 out side of the guard lines aitt
,te dark. They say its the varmints bt
ro between us two, its the Yankees they
he afraid Of. But, to tell the truth; the wi
]v beasts are troublesome.
fol- Only last Friday night, an immen
be. alligator, upwards ofsixty odd feet Sc
w, en- inches in length, crawled up Int
ba our camp and swallowed your poor 0r
ING ther. Poor Jim, bis shrieks and Ayel
&c we're heartrending as the huge serpe
int waegled of with him in the swamps
lm. but It was no use, We all ran down
my our shirts to help him, but just as '
I'm had formed into hollow square al
in cooked our guns, the crocodile cooke
ike his tail and down he went in the mi
with the poor fellows legs wiggliOg o
sed Of his mouth. IOxpect you will be SC
olk ry.
hot He was a good soldier and clev
no messmate, only he scOai9 drink tV
rue, cups Of coffee. However, there's o.
rms copsolatioa--his clothes and things a
'ine to be divided out tomorrow, and he h
ked promised me bis gallOEses, ifhe got h