The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-08-16

Il
them North to our friends as curious tokens
of the ruin Of bankrupt people, Our arm.
les are pouring rivers Of silver and gold into
to veins and arteries of this monstrous trea-
son which we are here to crush out. And
we get almost no equivalent. Fifty cents a
quart for milk, forty cents pound for but.
ter, and twenty-five cents for chickens,
either very young or very old, and this in
lard money always, for these favored gen.
try will not receive our honest United
States paper. Such markets were never as
these rebel traitors find in US. They have
drained this whole army of its silver and
gold, till our fye dollar notes are useless
except in exchange for goods to their whole
amount Through its army they are drain
ing the whole North. e1
Such God never came before with vic
torious army into a hostile country Nay,
| in our human fear, lest there should be suf.
| fcring in these nests If traitors, we call on
the patriotic, burdened, weeping north to
send food to feed the rebel States. We open
our commissary stores for sale to them at
contractors prices, adding nothing for trans
portation, and that too at times when our
army was on short rations and could not
be supplied. Every dime of silver, every
pound OF salt, or -four, or tea, or coffee every
sheet of paper. or box of clothing, which
gets from us into their hands; is but so
much Of aid and comfort rendered the rebel.
lion, by the treason crushers! " s's
Crushing out treason? Strange process /!
The traitors within our lines of occupation
are treated like loyal men. When we with.
draw from any town or section, every man
tempted by our presence to show loyalty, is
afflicted, prosecuted, tormented his proper
ty coniscated and his life in peril. Who in
these quarters would be a loyalist must suf-
fer all things, who is traitor, suffer moth
ing from any man. Crush out treason9 o,
epay wages to treason, render security for
himself and property. when all men beside
him are in peril. We make every traitor
bold, and put every loyal man In fear. We
are treason crusherss
The able bodied men of these sections are
oil in treason armies for our slaughter. 1t is
an easy thing for men to leave their families
estates. when they will be secure and we'll
provided for. 1t is hard, tough work to
leave families who may suffer, and estates
which from your absence may be imperiled
and lost. How easy thing we make Of it
for these able bodied men to leave home and
serve in traitor cause! We place guard by
the fields VIII en- their slaves are toiling to
keep rebel masters houses in comfort and
affluence and so send tidings as If by letters
missive to the hostile camp to all these trai-
tor fathers, brothers, sons, o stay and
fight, Your women do not need you. All
there are well and safe Your plantations
are well titled. Your crops are looking
finely. Your estates are all safe. Your
laborers are kept hard to work. Fight on |!
Never you mind about leaving the army
and coming home to make peace with the
government. and keep your family out Of
trouble! Fight away there where you
are
We will take care Of all your interests.
and see to 1t that you get no \ arm from be-
ing absent in rebel arms. Nay if by your
neglect and treason any Of 20 ur households
should seem likely to suffer we will take
good care of, and feed them, even from sup
plies provided for our own armies will send
down from the North abundance of all
things needful for distribution. Not un-
likely some little rills of this wonderous
river of our benificent will even reach your
camp and move your arm for harder blows
and greater endurance !" Treason crush.
ing! ltseems, upon my soul, it seems as
if there were dream somewhere that these
armed rebels would be in the Union again
by and 10y with votes and power and gifts
for those who had treated them most ten.
derly.
Our own eyes have seen these "war meas
ures of clemency." At our approach to his
plantation, on a recent march, rich old
man made haste to meet us and claim guard
for his estate. He confessed that his six
sons were all in the rebel army. and did not
hide his own treason. He and his household
were living in luxury. sus tanned as they had
always been by the labor of their slaves
able to furnish subsistence to the rebels as
ever But he got his guard and was left as
much rebel, with rs full ability to aid the
rebel cause as before our coming. We
marched back past his residence, and in less
than week the town was occupied by rebel
troops-subsisting on the produce, of this
region through which we had passed. On
one OF our marches, the first day of our oc-
cupancy of the town, dined with man
good Union man. called him next day.
Meanwhile, Generai had called and politely
assured him that we troubled nobody for his
opinions, that all quiet persons were per-
fectly safe, no matter what their political
views might be; and that day he was ram
pant secession with oil his house. The first
day he invited me to dine and would take
no compensation. The second day he invi-
ted even more eagerly, pressed me so to stay
to dinner that waited an hour and half
rather than refuse his urgency, and then be-
fore | was up from the table told me he
should charge me Atty cents for my dinner.
That was sharp practice for one of the chiv-
airy / WAS Rreaner than noxU and ..n;a q