Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1862-06-05
For the Journal
No. 10.

oioSAaoe Va Ine Lincoln lines through KentucL tae
deed, had we followed the bent of our own To-
we should have taken this route, Instead ~ s'ons
Sandy one Our friends were very much ayerae e Big
they were pleased TO call our recklessness in What
gering life and liberty in attempt to force y. endar
through country 80 unsafe as Kentucky tho ue ine
We were piled with arguments to the effect ~ vas
were so foohardy and would not be advised ro vi we
at any rate, on account of our family tn we ought
necessary risk and thus we were overpesnad9 10 un
commenced vagrant knight Grant chase off," AID
from headquarters passes
In pursuance of the plan laid down for Us md,
fed with Introductory letters to the Conmo3U loftt
steamboat feet at Cairo also to officers the
gunboats Tyler" and Essex, we set cur fac The
EGYPT. Well does this region deserve this anre UU~a
and for more reasons than one. This portion 0S Tn
nois is delta, formed by the Ohio and Missss;: In
ers, and is subject to serious foundations fp rV
drowning out the inhabitants, like nest Of raa
the nickname of Egypt. But it notD has still aeo
claim to this dlstlnctlon-tor vas it not the soinrS,
Abrahams family? Did not the plague Of Tjroo1?
darker tie land, that it could be felt? Was nnt
land made 10 groan under the ten plaques of Tje
ism-talsehood, cunning, cant, humbug dacpt ;!H
CERTIFY hypocrisy, bombast. treachery and robboSuls
On arriving at the depot, although proceed,ng
one styled loyal town to another, cur Iaggaoo tU
subject to search and, finding rather ample sn5n was
family apparel, we were questioned as to our tnny
and so forth and on answering that we neither Iso
ed to the army nor the navy, were asked if veE6
in Cairo? to which answered that we intended W.
ing there Sometme which we of course did Tbof.s,
time we had passed over the Ohio an6 Mssssipn roas
it was in summer time, and we were fresh from ta
(" land OF cinnamon seed and sandy bottom" buovort
with the hope of q prosperous adventure and sneaj
return to home anu friends but this hope had s1apd
shipwreck aud many months had rolled past, until IN
mdwinter, we still found ourselves struggling in na
meshes of Lincons net, to free ourselves like bird FROM
the fowler. 1t was night and the were quite full
but one seat empty in ours and in this we We're resting
down for comfortable sleep, when-the shades q
mighty, can it be ?-whom should our astonished ewes
behold, but our honorable and gallant Capt. G., Of the
l4h Kentucky! The same, it will be remembered
who borrowed certain of articles during our capV
ity in Catettsburg. We allowed him to march th
whole length of the carriage in search of seat and
finding none he took up position at the far end and
we turned round to see what had become of him o
eyes met and az instant recognition took place, when
he Immediately came forward and cordially greeted Us
seeming much pleased at the meetngN and occupied ba
vacant place at our side. After salutati0u Vp
enquired whether be had received any of the sew
eral letters we had written to him, Or any mes
sage, from Q. Nice, in relation to the shawl and
other articles. He answered that he had received Meth
er letters nor message and seemed quite astonshed that
we had not received things as he had left them in
the charge of the Lieut. COL, with our address and in
structlons to forward. Not the most remote alusoD
made to capture and confinement or the means
by which he had effected release. "Why,' says be,
" what in the world are you doing here p We an.
swered Scottish fashion, by asking him the same cues
ton. We learnt that he only on his way to Gen
Buell. at Louisville to endeavour to have his regiment
removed to that department, for they were too near
home and the boys mould get drunk and continually get
into difficulties they were an abandoned crew besides
there nearly 600 of them on the sick list He was
very anxious to know where we were going and what
we were going to 90 when We got there We told him
we were going up the road and might go to ST. LOUIS
He then borrowed our BriGr root for, said be- know
you always travel well provided. There he spoke from
experience At Seymour, Ind, he took his leave going
on the Louisville train, while we kept on. At parting
be assured that be would be at home in couple Of
days, when be would, without fail, attend to the for
werdng of our things but regret, for the sake Of
bis veraclty, that lie failed 10 make good bis promise
This road passes through splendid corn country
In the Summer we saw one field with three mics
frontage. Crossing the Miami you enter Indiana
aud raversng this State cross the Wabash into Hi
nos. Just day broke we entered upon the glorious
praries, and changed at Odn, where the Ohio and
Mississippi and Illinois Central roads intersect. This
latter road is the concern of which G. B. Mcclellan,
now Major General and Lincoln's PAUL, was Vice
President, and has ever been notorious as one of the
greatest jobGtng affairs in the United Statesa land
prominent for such specuations. We found the road
mseraby conducted and met more delay and breakage
than On any other over which We travelled. Between
Cenraia and Cairo we broke down twice, and
med about fourteen hours in accomplishing IL miles.
The prair;es What host of pleasant memories
this word calls up. In early youth, when everything
was clothed in the roseate hues of idealism-ong
the chilling and whitening seeds of distrust and susp
cion had beer sown-long ere manhood had reaped tie
bitter harvest Of reaty-Coopers novels bad filled our
mind with romantic and stirring pictures If prairie life
creating an Intense desire to over those HcGey
homes of the Red man and later in life although
never realized cur exfravagant expectations, still We
have enjoyed much pleasure on those came grand old
praries and in our time we have done no small execu
ton among the abundant game found there. We may
not indulge longer in such retrospects than to state that
when one nds himself set down, far away from the SET
Elements in the open prairie, with not object to OBJ
ruct the ilmitable horizon spreading out on every
slde TIE soul is wrapt in the sublime contemplation
the Enthusiastically is family symbolized-ard ore
realizes, it may be for the first time that be is but one
poor miserable atOm-a speck creations mighty edF
ice This feeling be realized but in one other stu
alton. When, like {" the ancient Mariner" you eZ'
claim,-
"'Tis water here, tits water there,
IT'S Neutrality-suspicious.
After overcoming this feeling of ave. which does
in familiarity with such scenes when roaming over
those gardens of CREATION feels sense of such
intense and uncomfortable freedom-ones whole nature
is in such state of uvenescence-that the Temptation
is irresistible to shout aloud for very Joy.
We must draw rein on old Pegasus, or we shall be
carried beyond the reach of Cairo. We conversed with
many Western soldiers and, as far as we could judge
but few of them heartily in the war. They were
for the Union of course, but they prayed for peace and
found no pleasure in fighting Southern men. We are
satisfied this is the predominant feeling in the West
of course, thousandsot them, without stopping to re-
feet rushed to to the country and now being
sin for the var" when the guage of battle is thrown
down prde-a soldiers pride-w nerve the otherwise
stless arm, and steel the apathec heart to do their best
to conquer the oe The proof is found when they
Then you will frd them eager to be paroled, and viii
ling to come under any obligation not to fight against
the South again. The Vest wW neucr play ssc0ndP@
to the North and East. D.