Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-08-05
What ia Needed I'm the Hospitals.

EXTRACT from o letter of Mrs. Underwood, at
Browns Hospital, Louisville, XVII
We are cooking now for $50
low diet patients, many Of them very
sick men. have been through one ward
since tea, and only wished could give
them better food. Such variety want
ed. Nearly all in the ward are wounded
men-some very low from their wounds,
but generally doing we'll.
Perhaps you would like to know what
we cook. Well, to-day for dinner we
had beef soup, chicken broth, broiled
beef steak, potatoes, pickles, crackers,
rice, toast, (wet and dry,) cornstarch
pudding, beef tea, coffee, tea, milk, (cold,
boiled and thickened,) besides panada,
arrowroot, brandy, jelly, canned fruits,
&c. And now, if you wish to send
goods to me, am ready to receive them
and would be most happy to do So
One thing you cannot send amiss, and
that is handkerchiefs. Send quantities
of them-towels, also; but not many
sheets or pillow cases. Shirts send to
some extent, but there is no end to the
call for handkerchiefs, eitherOld or new,
white or colored-white, of course, pre-
ferred.
AS to supplies-you cannot send too
much canned fruit. I usually give
about 300 of the patients dried fruit, and
so canned and jellies, which, you see,
requires large quantity. and once or
twice week would like to give them
all canned fruit. OF course like all sick
men they think of what they are to eat,
and my aim is to do the best can for
them. If you could have gone through
with me and seen the poor, patient fell
lows, know you would rush the sup
plies forward. / find there are Iowa
goods coming to Louisville, and l see
no reason why you and Iowa City, if
you wish, should not send your supplies
to me. Mark as usual, "Muscatine S.
A. ST." plainly on one corner of the
boxes, and ship to the U. S. c. Commits
sion, st Louis. Write at once, on ship
ping, asking Mr.. Smythe to forward to
the Christian Commission, Louisville,
KY, Browns Hospital, and l have no
doubt they will come all right to me,
and shall be most happy to distribute
with my own hands your supplies. l
let no food go without my eye is on it,,
and 1 visit the wards and see that the
patients get it.
But 1 was speaking Of supplies. Corn
starch and all such things, government
supplies literally. But eggs are greatly
needed, and if properly packed in oats,
about 60 or 20 dozen in barrel, they
usually arrive in good condition. Be
sure and have them headed up. Black
berry cordial you can't make too much
of. think it far better for you to lay
your money out in eatables than cloth
government supplies the hospitals lib
orally, and, except in urgent cases, it is
not needed in large quantities. Dried
beef, blackbersias and tomatoes are
needed, and make all the blackberry
cordial you can. Jellies, of all kinds,
put up in cans-but, oh! do put up
quantities of pickles of any and all
kinds,-you can't get too many,-put
them in kegs filled with vinegar
Picked cabbage, chopped fineandspiced,
is much needed for our acerbatic pa
tients. Put them in jars, kegs, anything
only send them. Bundles of rags are
in great demand here, especially linen,
as there are so many wounds to dress,
some many times daY.