St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1862-07-24

nicely arranged, q. "a ss.s a .s.o
tho town b>&okeas wealth and re6aemsnk.~
The negfoei. too. wers III veil dz,s.ed (nanJ
Of Tho women in Whitley sed tIsy lined ths
roads ana strset:ito' witness ths pss4sgs of TIE
troops 1cur,oas Thoughts; passed ibrsuxh ny
mindsas w wsnded our way threuKh some Of
iths prlDspAI ntsets--our :rss;m.intal Gags
floating gracefully in ii. bres<s-the tands
playing their stirring nstaohal air.; Yet from
not souf, from got one Of thsssli NY like, aerl.
ii looking ladies, gazing from their cool. lsAfJ
retreats, came nod Of welee, :, " tho w.re
Of small handkerchief, a. they looked upon
the weary, stained and victorious troops OF
our land their) once glorious country. This
silence was mutual. Not q jest from our men
not 1sugh, not passing word with tho Ne
groes broke the silence on either side. With
what shouts ofwelcome, what wsvins Of hand.
kerchiefs, would ths same citizens have well
coined these same troops-their coun&rynen-
but for this wicked and hellish rebellion!
mention this incident ~ ono thst struck me
suriout)y and called up strange thoughts. One
could scarcely realize, under such. sircunstan-
ees, that he is in bis own country.
''Cah such things be,
And overcome Us like summers cloud,
Without QUIZ special wonder !"
The country around Ripley il wen ,eultivs-
ted and just rolling enough. Much Of this
part Of Mississippi, however, IL very rolling
1T approaches the mountainous. 1t IL very
hard indeed on the horses and mules. Many
people in the North fancy that this portion Of
the South is Fat and low; on the contrary il
is high. We have no country in Minnesota 90
mountainous Except the Lesf I3iils) ~ por-
tons Of this part Of the State Of Mississippi
There is no cotton growing at eli. Every one
in accordance with the Confederate govern
ment have planted corn. There will be large
crops of corn through all this part Of the
State. 1t looks we'll in certain locsli,ies, and
in others is not bit ahead Of Minnesota.-
There will be corn fit to eat in about two weeks
but this will be the very best have sesn.-
The country is all wooded; ard on many
farms, of large size, the trees are merely GRID
led and are still standing. Around . place
like Ripley the lands are we'll cleared and no
stumps to be seen.
An aged specimen Of the African race living
in Ripley told me '.she was glad the Link
ums had come" asked her what We had
come for. Il don't Exactly know, massa;
missis says you will bleed Us all TO def-dont
BELIEF dat, msssa-glad do Linkums come"
A good many negroes seem to know tho cause
of the war very well-the more intelligent in
the towns. The plantation dsrkies have very
confused ideas in regard to our coming. Tho
General commanding has issued an order
that all property belonging to rebels shall be
respected, and i'll all the towns where VI hal,
or camp. guards are placed to pr event Any in
jury being done. In many instances thirsty
soldiers have had to- 60 on without water. and
from tn: wells of men known to b. rank secss-
sionists and to have sons in tue rebel service
to carry out this policy Of protecting the reb.
els and Of not interfering with their privacy
by having soldiers run TO their wells. In ell
this region. for instance from Kicnzi to Mem
phis by way Of Holly SPRINGS, is plenty Of for
age for horses and mules, and plenty Of meat
for men. Orders are issued frequentl, TO pro-
vent the men from killing fowls and other kinds
Of poultry but in spite Of orders the men
manage to have piece Of mutton. or goose.
or chicken occasionally.
OE1IoER,-"Here, you men, will have you
under arrest-you are violating the rules Il
war. Are those geese paid for!''' (SQldier has
just let fy club and knocked over two cr
three geese) ."'-.<'
SoLplEn,-l SIR (Wh.t a whorperc
Orr1cxR,-Al right. (Oficer lcsves.)
Thus tho men manage to occasionally have
y little variety in fare 1t is only the poor
people who are tho sufferers 40 yet. The rich
hs<e plenty, and doubtless smile, as We march
away from them, At our easy way sf d"inE
things. have been told by them that their
own men robbed them Of much more than ws
do.
The third day brought Nc to-l don't know
where. We camped in. the night and left quite
early in the morning in the order Of . retreat;
that is, transp ortation in front and military in
the rear. Our Battery and Capt. ,Powell's Bat
terry (Regulars) acted Is rear guard with Car
Inns Infantry. So, like the King Of France,
1--WE marched up the hill and then marched
down again" what We retreated from-why xs
did not 90 to Holly Springs-and what III The
forced marching WAS about, the Lord only