The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-12-24

Inc awful 0CeOe3 winch are I'D % VIII.
messed at the landing Of our soldiers just
released from rebel dens Of wretchedness
and torture are heart rendering in the ex-
treme. We have before alluded to this
subject, giving some incidents in illustrA.
, ton of the condition Of our brave hearted
soldiers after their long imprisonment,
but there are some details Of soul har-
rowing nature yet to be given. We find
the following in the correspondence of the
Philadelphia Press:
8F DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD.
Several cauldrons containing nice coffee,
piles Of new white bread, and stands with
meat met the eye. Three dealers were in
attendance also. The first gave TO each
soldier a loaf OF bread, the second slice Of
boiled PORK, the third, dipr ing the new
tin Gun from the hand of each into the cof-
fee cau!dron, dealt out hot coffee; and how
it was all received arm unable to decide.
The feeble ones reached out their emaciated
hands to receive it, and took 1t gladly,
though scarcelyiableto carry it all, and with
Frightening faces and grateful expressions
went on their way. The stouter ones OF
the party, however, must have their jokes,
and such expressions as the following pass
ed among them freely: mo stockade about
this bread" "This is no Confederate
dodge" etc. One fellow, whose skin was
nearly black from their exposure, said,
s.that's more bread than I've seen for two
months." Another, .'that settles man's
palate.'' A bright eyed boy Of eighteen
pletely crushed out in rebeldom. could not
refrain from . hur1ah, and cried out,
"Hurrah for Uncle Sam, hufrah! No Com
1eceracy about this bread" One poor. fee.
BILE fellow, almost too faint to hold his
loaded plate, muttered out, "Why, this
there's no grains of corn for man to swal-
low whole in this loaf; and thus the words
OF cheer and hope came from almost every
tongue ~ they received their ration and
went away from the window, each with his
thank you; and n they received it al,
each his share, they sat down on the ground
so. WAIT FOR NE" ss I
: One poor man Of about ffty years Of age
was making his way behind all the rest TO
reach theambulance. He thought it would
leave him, and painting, cried out with 9
most anxious and pitiful expression OF
countenance, "Oh, wait for me!' think
i shall never forget his look OF distress.
When he reached the ambulance he was
too feeble to step in, but Capt. Davis and
Rev. J. A. Whitaker. Sanitary Commits !
sion Agent here, assisted him till he was
placed by the side of his companions, who
were not in much better condition than
himself When he was seated he was so
thankful that he wept like . child, and
AAAsAs
better. Soldiers, brave soldiers. oGicers
and all, were moved to tears. That must
be sad discipline which not only WI stesthe
manly form till the sign of humanity is
nearly obliterated, but breaks the manly
spirit, and makes It as tender as child's.
&. The dead and dying are carried of the
steamer first, and the battalions arranged
. before. could narrate many tales OF
sadness and woe, for know that under
meath the emaciated forms that are borne
On stretchers to the hospitals, and those
with = little more life who are slowly, foot
BY foot, making their way to the space near
the barracks. there are crushed spirits and
bruised hearts that only await the time and
occasion for utterance more at length than
they have already poured out to me but,
for the slightest attentions they receive they
pass on with "God bless you," "Oh, thank
you" "How kind" sc. s ~
ps ADRcK LOAD OF THE DYING.
In short time another boat load drew
near and oh! such scene of suffering bu-
manity my eyes meyer desire TO see again.
The whole deck was q bed OF straw for our
exhausted, starved, emaciated, dying fel-
low creatures. OF the i've hundred and
6fty that left Savannah, the surgeon In
survive; fifty had died on the passage; three
died while the boat was coming to the land
Of liberty. saw Ave men dying as they
were carried on stretchers from the boat to
the naval hospital. The stretcher bearers
were ordered by Surgeon D. Vanderkief to
pause q moment that the names Of the dy-
ine men might beobtained. To the credit
Of the officers and their assistants it should
be known that everything was done IN the
most systematic and careful manner. Each
stretcher had four attendants who stood in
line and came up. promptly, one after the
other, TO receive the sufferer as he was car
RED BY two men of the boat. There was
no confusion. no noise; all acted with per-
fsct military order. All! it was solemn
funeral service TO many brave soldier
that was thus being performed by kind
hearts and hands. M
THE INSANE.
Some mad become insane: their wild
9n1e and cleuched teeth convince the oh.
server that their reason had fed. Others
were idiotic. A few were lying in epasms;
perhaps the realization OF the hope long
cherished, yet Oft deferred, or the welcome
sound Of music sent forth by the military
band, was more than their. exhausted ma
turs could bear. When blankets were
thrown over them, no one would supposed
that human form lay beneath, save tor
the small prominence which the bony head
and feet indicated. Oh, God Of justicel
what retribution awaits the perpetrators Of
such slow and awful murders
vERMIN AND DISEASE.
The hair of some was matted together,
dixie beasts Of the stall, they had laid in
their own filth, vernlin running over them
in abundance. Nearly every man was
darkened by scurvy. or black with patches
OK scales, and with scorbutiC sores. One
u particular was reduced to the merest
skeleton; his face, neck and feet covered
with thick, green mould. A number who
had Government clothes giver them on
tae boat were too feeble to put them on,
and were carried ashore partially dressed,