The evening Argus., 1862-01-18
LETTER FROM sERGE'T HARTLEY.


almost constantly since leaving st. Louis,
have been unable to fulfill my promise made
to you on leaving Rock Island. But rs we
are lying in camp awaiting orders, will en-
deavor to give you something like descrp'
ton Of the country, and the amount of bus.
ness done in it, as far AS have been able 10
learn. The country aronud here is quite
hilly, and well Supplied with steam- Of water,
many Of which are as clear rs q New Eng
land brook, a bridge is curiosity in this
region and with roads such as no other state
eau boast Of IN point Of depth Of mud and
roughness, it is next to impossible for our
heavy government wagons to "drag their
slow lengths along"
Here and there you will find log hut, and
sometimes, perhaps, good farm house meets
your view, with few acres Of cleared land
from which the proprietor is about to make his
fortune. In many cases the owners are in
Prices army, or have left their homes on ac
count Of the threats Of those who acknowledge
neither law nor gospel, unless 1t comes from
the brain of Deacon Tucker. As II con.e'
quance, many u our union iamile. already
stand in need Of the common necessities Of
/ life, and | am informed that there are many
who have had neither coffee or sugar in their
house for three months, and wheat -four is
not to be had anywhere. All the mills have
long ere this been destroyed and the only re-
sort IS to one horse corn.milIs which furnish
to whole communities the principal means OF
subsistence. Such is the manner Of living in
this part Of secession dom and thradom.
We are encamped at present on the right
bank of the Lamine River, at n point whore
the Pacific road crosses this stream. aud
about one mile from OttervilIe a small town
on the same road. We are 100 miles from
/ St. Louis, and fourteen from Scdalia, the ter.
minus Of the railroad. There are about hf.
teen thousand troops in this cantonment,
which is under the command of Brig. Gen.
John NJ Palmer formerly colonel Of the 18th
Iowa, Kansas and Missouri are all represent
ed here. The health Of the troops is by
no means good, resulting mainly from the
situation Of the camps, the want of stoves
and barracks. OF eight companies Of our
regiment, there are eighty in the different
hospitals, and it has become nothing unusual
to hear the death march Of some poor soldier,
whose spul has already passed that "hourns
from whence no traveller returns
Great dissati'Iaction prevails among the
troops on account of their present mode oi
living, their canvass houses beng their only
shelter against the rain and snow, pienti-
tul supply Of which the Fates have sen, us.
The first mode adopted Of warming the tents
was that Of building fire in the centre Of
them, the smoke being allowed TO escape AT
the top, Bur this manner of living was very
iniurlou. TO the eyes, and 10 remedy it, the
men were ordered to build chimncys at the
. one side, thus having the Fireplace inside
, which makeS the tents quite comfortable.
. Our camping ground is low and swanpy
Ditching does no good, the character Of the
ground be ing such that it is impossible t
drain it. A few days since, the mud was u foo
deep in our camp, and all We're congratulatin
themselves on m"ddY DEATH when, all Il
{ once, the cold blasts Of the north came down
changing our fedIs to feelings OF safety, an,
our disgust to those Of satisfaction. If Uncl
Sam don't take some measures to have us re
moved from this mudhole before spring, thu
most Of our regiment will reach the end o
lite's Journey without the aid Of secession
bullets and secession grape,hot About eight
hundred men are working daily on the fort
hcatons on the opposite side Of the river. \
large depot is also being built, which is to l.,
a filled with commlssary and quarter-master'
stores of which the supply for the troops O
this cantonment are now received at Otter
Vile.
Since leaving st. Louis the 3rth regimen
, has done some hard marching. The creates
. march was from Warsaw to Springfield,
d, distance of eighty miles, which was uccoml
lished in three days and half, and that to
on half ratiOns There is nothing more diff
y cult than to work without eating, but on th
5 occasion our troops were willing to suffer tn
, worst of hardships could they have met tn
! enemy in any form, but on our arrival a
t Springfield, Price and his motley crew ha
e 'yamoosed the rancho for more congenia
cline. Forage and provisions being quit
scarce, our troops were compelled to return t
Otteryille, much to the dissatisfaction of nj
= the men. Since our return the bows hav
= become quite efficient in drill under cur colo
mel and major, both of whom are good drill
masters and excellent commanders Col
:. Barnes Is at present absent at Booneyll,
d having been in command Of that post since tn
$ latter part of October.
: Our regiment is well armed, Companies A
and X. being supplied with Col. Colts re
! voIving rife, and the remaining cnmpanis
with the Belgian rihed musket Compan
A., with Capt. Curtis as their leader, is a vel
drilled fine-looking company,and should the
f ever be So fortunate as to come in conta,
with the enemy, will perform such service a
to reflect honor on themselves and the count
which they represent.
There is not much prospect of leaving her
soon-e1'ept, perhaps, to join General Lane
> and thus, as the special correspondents say
. It reach New Orleans Ivy the first of April
1862"
Your paper would be quite IL treat among