The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-10-18
BURLINGTON NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.,

force Of dissent and revolution A Lieutenant
Of rebel cavalry ct Iuks said to friend Of mine:
II am from Memphis; owe New York city
5000 which am able to pay when peace
comes. am Secessionist from the ground
up. And tell you, sir, We shall be successful.
We will hold Virgins. We will take Kentucky
with her consent, if We can, without if We
must. And with our northern line on the Ohio
We will build up the most magnificent aristo.
cratic republic the world has ever seen. DIN
Democracy, we want an aristocracy-capit
must own its labor"
Yet when my friend reported this speech to
another rebel officer at Vicksburg, the latter
clenched his teeth and said:
II am poor WHITE" never owned negro
never want to-and can tell you that when
rich Shareholders try to set up an aristocracy
there will be another rebellion here on Southern
soil"
Another curious fact. On our journey from
Tupelo to Vicksbnrg we twice drank with rebel
officers this toast: 1.-THE restoration of the
Union" 49,
We were told, of course, that there were no
Union men in the South. Yet two companies of
Atssissippians were lately recruited and drilled
by our officers at Iuks, and many more individ-
ually Joined Northern regiments. An Illinois
Captain, who helped to drill them, told me that
with two hundred cavslry at his command he
could have gone into the bill country of North
Alabama and there raised brigade of four
thousand men. The prayer of North Alabama,
as of Eastern Tennessee, has been from the be-
ginning "Come over and help u.s."
One thing especially observed in CONVERSE
ton with soldiers and citizens-moderate and
radical-an intense desire for peace. "When
will the war endw was the sad, weary question
addressed to me hundred times. In Vicks.
burg replied solemnly: aa7' e29.
swell, am no prophet; but I think that in
two or three years the Union forces of the ma
ton will fairly get under way, and begin to pros.
ecute the war in earnest"
twas amusing to see the look of dismay which
clouded the face of my inquiring enemy. No
wonder they desire peace. A self indulgent
people reduced to destitution and an almost to-
tai abstinence from the material comforts of life
they cannot but sigh for the good old times.
The fact is, that the rebellion 10 gigantic
game of 'sbluff." In cards, that is the represen-
tative game of tie South, and particularly the
Southwest. Its greatest triumphs are achieved
by betting largely, and with confident coun-
tenance on weak hand, and 60 frightening
your adversary into surrender of the stakes.
Nor is the rebel army q unit I heard several
times an expression of the opinion that half its
officers ought to be shot Bragg is especially
odious. A private soldier said in my hearing:
Ireckon he'll be shot by his own men in the
frs. fight"
THE FUTURE.
Supplies are strangely scarce in Dixie.
have spoken Of boots and hats. Flour is worth
$50 barrel in Vicksburg, bacon rs cents
pound, coffee from $3.50 to IS pound. and
| none to be had There is no tea even for hos
pitals All the salt is taken up for the army
so was told at headquarters in Tupelo; yet when
Prices forces captured some of our stores at
Iuka, his men were seen running about the streets
with their hands full of salt and licking it up
like oxen. They also captured five cases Of lu.
offer matches, and one of their officers remarked
that there were more in those boxes than in all
the rest of the Confcderacy.
On the line travelled chickens were sold for
dollar, and watermelons from one to five dol.
lars apiece. A decent coat for an officer was
worth one hundred and forty dollars. But
will not be tedious-suffce it to say that every
thing else, save sugar and molasses, bore cor
responding price.