The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1863-12-15

sing nne forms, long piack halr, with the
mein and department Of 1 lady - but
smoke eigars with the nonohalanos Of :
gentleman. But few Of the citizens speak
the English language, and our boys have
considerable trouble in their purchases
Of oranges and few eatables they offer
for sale.
/ cannot comprehend how the number
Of people there is At this place earn 4
livelihood. Thsre are, seemingly. COM
parative few who attempt anything to in
sure them ? living. Ono class, and they
are quite numerous, furnish the citizens
with water from The river. Thi. water
business is lucrative one, and il : reg
ular institution, cossistipgof large bar
rel. On each head i l brace 10 thesceutre
of which is spindle or crank, and the
two ends of rope are attached to it,
forming loop, which is thrown over the
breast aud shoulders, and BY pulling, the
barrel rolls along over the ground. and
Mexican, in this way, ascends = steep
landing with his sixty gallons Of water
with rs much esss asa mustang could
accomplish the same thing if placed upon
q cart. Another source of profit is in
furnishing fuel and hay for those who
need it. This is performed by the use OF
jacks not much larger than rabbits, with
the loads upon their backs;an daily may
be seen in the streets lcsds Of wood and
hay propelled along BY head and two
pair of feet. the balance Of the animal
being entirely hidden beneath the load
placed upon him. Wood is scarce, none
in the nsighborhood, and what is offered
for sale is brought from several miles dis
tant, and such wood I never saw before
1t is chaparal, which is not large enough
to be called tree, and yet too large for
shrub. 1t isa little short trunk Of some
two or three very crooked and shor, elbow
rainbows with a wide expanse of little
fine horny limbs. But it is all that can
be got for fuel. and fires are only needed
for cooking purposes and very little OF
that is INDUCED in. Bread is the princi-
pal article. and is sold By several estab-
lishments in the place, and each family
10 the place seem to depend on them for
it. The old Government bakery is still
in good repair and, at present, is being
used by our troops for our own accommo-
datiou and We are enjoying something
better than "hard tack"
There is fine. large market building,
with every convenience, but aside from
meat there is nothing offered for sale and
good reasons for it, for there are no gar
dens. no ranches and nothing grown, and
l cannot understand why it is, for the
soil is good and productive. The lots,
except on the more public streets, are en-
closed by the limits of the chaparal, which
make even q more secure fence than a
hedge.
The people seem to rejoice al our ad-
vent, and hundreds which had fed to the
mountains have returned. Many negroes
who had been sent there BY their masters
for safety have been sent back by the
authorities, and nearly all have enlisted
in Corps d. Afrique.
Several companies Of Texans have been
organized, and everything indicates q
strong Union feeling. The rebels along
the Rio Grande, north Of us. are running
their cotton, corn and negroes across the
river in great quantities. This cannot
last much longer, for force will be sent
to attend to this matter
The Rio Grande is . narrow, deep,
sluggish stream, and may be like the
worm fence the newspapers once told
about of being % crooked that hog in
psssing through it came out on the same
side Of the fence he went in at. Yet it is
navigable, and will be great thorough
fare for vast amount of business. There
are two rope ferries at this place. which
are constantly running with their loads
of passengers to and from Mexico. A
pass from the proper Office is sufficient
TO pass you from the United States.
On the opposite shore there are thous-
ands Of bales Of cotton, the banks and far
inland for miles being piled up with it.
Much of this, if not all. came from Texas.
But this kind of commerce will now be
"dried up" and Uncle Sam has boys
enough to look after his interest at pres
ent in this portion of his domain. Of
course have no idea how long We shall
remain here; not long, however. We
are ready to 60 on.
s The death Of Major Curtis is deeply
lamented by our regiment, in which he
- ~.ev -ar,n voreopel fr;anda