Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1862-04-25
OUR ARMY CORRESPONDENCE.
WAYNssvrLLr. No. April Is.

Jour ARMY CORRESPONDENCE
- WA1NssvlLLE, No., April Is.
DEAR JOURNAL: A long silence may hsv
induced you to think i had entirely forgotte
you; but if such has been the case, let it b
thought SO no longer.
Though cannot now give you any new
or items of interest about the 18th, or Incl
dents connected therewith, intend to writ
you occasionally to let friends know am no
lost. .t1
bid adieu to the 11th-the brave Musca
tine boys with whom I would have beef
proud to march wherever duty called : on tn
9th day of March, and, under orders to re
port at st. Louis, arrived the same day
and on the following day reported at Gen
Hallecks Office, where was ordered to re
port to Maj. Smith, Superintendent of U. s
Military Telegraph. was then formally
taken into the telegraph department. Aftel
few days of loa6ng around Headquarters,
received orders to 60 to Waynesville ant
open an Office. This much personal, and nov
about
FrHE TRIP.
l started from the 9TH street depot on thu
Pacific Railroad, and at Franklin-36 miles
from st. Louis-changed cars on to what i.
known IS the Southwest Branch, and went te
Rolla, which is the terminus of the road.
l had formed the idea that Rolla was some.
thing of a young city, but was completely
surprised when landed there and found that
it was not only not city, but scas very in.
ferior town. In size, it is quite as small a
place as Moscow, and the buildings are far
inferior to those in Moscow. The plsce
seems to have grown like mushrooms Gin the
night without regard to streets or alleys,
for could not discover any system Of fronts
by which could guess out the location of .
single street. Many Of the houses are rude
log houses built by the troops last winter
for the officers to live in. On the summit Of
the hill, about mile west of the town, Q fort
has been built. 1t will, in all probability,
never be used, but, if it had been necessary
to use it, you may be sure it would have been
found AL right" The number of guns
mounted, and other particulars about tho for
tifcations, cannot communicate.
Remained in Rolla two days waiting for
the paymaster's train with which I was to
60 to my post to get ready. When all was
ready, we piled into one of "Uncle Sans"
carriages. Six mules were to haul our ''boss."
Don't imagine it anything like coach and
six" we read about our ancestors keeping
A few moments of waiting, during which
time the drivers practiced little at swearing
just to kind O. timber their tongues, sup
pOse,) and OFT We start on our Journey
two days trip-over hills and rocks, through
mud and water, such az l cannot describe or
you imagine. To add to the unpleasant
roads, rain storm set in and lasted all day
and part Of the night. The mules were awk.
ward, the drivers, ditto and more so, and be-
fore night every wagon but one IN the train
had upset, and one of them upset twice
tumbling the safe Containing over q million
of d0llArs) down in the mud-our blankets
We wasn't there. That night l
had the fun O Of sleeping out of doors with
out blanket, (my trunk and blankets had
not been put on as had ordered) but had
plenty of company, for several who had their
blankets along with them, preferred sleeping
without rather than under wet blankets. Night
passed and another day dawned. We "pull
ed out" early and started with determine
ton to stay 10 Waynesvills if we had to drive
after dark. Just as night was setting in
we halted on the top of large hill The
drivers locked both wheels of their wagons,
and then commenced the descent of the
they call it q hill, but thought ita mountain.
At the base lays Waynesville, the most unen-
viable place l ever saw. To the North,
South, East and West rise great rocky hills,
broken open only on the Southwest and
Northeast, where the Roubedoux river pass
es through. Nature defined the limits of this
tow n, for the valley is only half mile wide,
and scarcely three fourths Of mile in length,
and the rocky hills would stop even Yam,
kee "town enlarger."
There are not more than dozen families
in the place now and there never was more
than twenty. 1t is the county seat of
Pulaski county, and is reported as once be-
ing one of the largest secession holes in
eli the State, though now under the
"christianizing and c,yilizing' influence of
Federal power, all are strong "Union people"
GOOD and the peoplel" as Major Jack Down.
ing says)
On the breaking out of the wild fires of
rebellion last spring the county officers all
left their offices and went in for glory, leav
ing all the county records aud papers at the
mercy of whosoever might come along.
There was not church or school house in
the county, and am informed that there
never has been. They once hired teacher
and opened school in this place for three
months, when they voted on the subject of
building school house and large majority
decided that they could do without, and never
since then have they thrown away money by
hiring yankee schoolmaster."
There are many natural curiosities around
here some of which have visited, and others
that shall visit soon. My first visit was to
cave about two miles from here. The en-
trance to the cave is on the side of the bluff
perpendIcularly heighth Of over two hun
bred feet from thu water of the Roubedoux,
The roof or ceiling will average thirty feet in
highth until you get in about three hundred
yards, where it il quite low-so low in places
that we had to stoop down to get under the
rocks, and in one place we had to crawl on oul
hands and knees distance of several rods
had never before been in cave out of sight
of daylight, and this was q novel sight fo'
me. l brought out many specimens o.
curious stones and various formations, among
them beautiful specimen of what our .geol
gist @ called stalacmites. Il don't know th'
spelling Of the word.) It is very whit
rock and seems to have formed from the wa
ter soaking through the roof. They are o
all lengths from inches up to three or fou
feet and in places the roof is covered will
them for many yards. They taper from tn
base upper end in this case,) to point
The appearance of these places, when lighte'
up with our torches, was truly grand. Gu
, party consisted of about q dozen persons
Some Of the party estimated the distance il