The Shasta courier., 1864-10-15
Arkansas Scenes.

An armv paymaster. who has been through
Arkansas. is publishing his diary in the ST.
Louis Democrat. We give some extracts :
Called at farm house for forage: the
men folks were with Prices army the wo.
man had been to the funeral of a neighbor.
asked her if any clergyman was present ;
she gave me an idiotic stare. l then asked
her1f they ever had any missionaries in that
country. She replied. Yes, but they have
backslid right smartly'"
At this place the Government is issuing
haif-rations to the starving women and chill,
dren. II is sight to see them flock around
the Commissary office. One woman with d
large family Of boys and dogs, made her ap.
peafance. The mother was mounted on 8
one-eyed mule, and the Oldest boy promis
ing lad Of eighteen. was trying to spit tobacco
juice in the mules eyeless socket at dis
lance of twenty feet. Captain Turner came
along and asked the boy where they got SC
many dogs. He replied, We hain't go,
many now, the blamed Feds killed them all
but eleven'"
Historians will not have to go back o!
1864 to find instances of savage cruelty and
torture. The soldiers tell the most horrify
ing stories Of rebel barbarity. 1t is said
there are hundreds of women in Arkansas,
to-day, who have had their feet and hands
burnt to crisp by guerrillas. to make them
confess where their gold and silver is buried
They even pull out their toe nails with bul
let mould. Arkansas is overrun with gucr.
rillas and bqshw hackers. the legitimate off
springs of rebellion. and the families of the
Union people and rebels. alike are. fleeing to
our lines for profection.s
- Nv olar1 a. +.
young gentleman be was very nearly ami
hllated to-day by young woman who de-
manded OF him a chaw of Lincoln tobacco.
meaning the manufactured article. He did
not kiss her once for her mother Instead Of
Lincoln tobacco. some of them call it that
ar fiat truck In justice to Arkansas do
not believe these people are fair representa-.
tives of the people before the war. | suppose
the wealthy and educated people and
niggers went South and joined their fortunes
with the Confederacy, while the poor white
trash was left behind. am of the opinion
that the negroes were the middling class in
Arkansas. The negroes of the intelligent
whites had greater facilities for gathering
information than the aforesaid white trash.
And whenever have been in Dixie | have
found the blacks looking down on the poor
whites"
The woods were filled with refugees,
who looked like demoralized camp meeting.
Here we saw new sights, heard new stories.
My space will not allow me to mention many
of them. saw one old man who had all his
family with him. lie was living with his
third wife, and had twenty grown daughters
and six sons. He was seventy seven years
old, and seemed very proud of his success in
this respect. He intimated, with simplicity
truly refreshing, that there might be other
pledges of affection in store for him.
: A soldier of Company c, Cd Arkansas
gave me two dollars and ten cents. in silver,
for the Sanitary Fair. This shall pass over
to the ladies when arrive in St. Louis.
Doubtless this money has been in some bush.
whacker's pocket, an1 could it speak, what
a tale it might tell. The bushwhackers are
cleaning the country of gold and silver. Our
soldiers report having killed one who had
fifteen thousand dollars upon his person."
My diet the past two weeks he'd made
me about sick. All one finds TO eat in this
country is pork and corn bread, made from
unsifted meal. am inclined to think that
slavery is not the only cause for making the
people of Arkansas barbarous. Their Diet
Is vicious. If pork, whisky aud tobacco will
not make people develish, do not know
what will. Charles Lambs essay on roast
pig is very pretty on paper, but think Charlie
had some nice celery, besides other choice
vegetables to go with it,"