The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-04-29
CHARLESTON As IT is.
HALF THR CITY DESERTED.
"A Majority of its Citizens for the
UNfOns

The following letter (says the Philadel-
phia Press, } from respectable citizen of
Charleston, s. O., Union man, to gen.
tleman of Philadelphia, gives faithful,
account OF the city as it was February %,
1854. The statements can be depended
upon az accurate and impartial:
Z A great change has come over the city since
you left. The population is almost entirely
above Wentworth etreet-hardly soul below
{ Market street, The Postoffice is at the corner
Of King and Ann streets; the banks at the
west end of Cannon the military headquarters
In John street and above that point. The lower
part of the town is given over to Gillmore's
j Shells Below Wentworth street are fourteen
parallel streets, including the most valuable of
the public buildings, stores and private houses
Cannon street Is almost suburban. The de-
serted portion of the city, from which the
bomhardment has driven the few inhabitants
who remain, occupies about three square miles.
I'D. Pnss. Probably over Eve hundred
. houses have been struck in that part of the
town. Your old room in the upper story had
. shell explode IN it.
The prices of living are, In our currency,
enormous. Hotels charge from $12 to $40
day, and the cheapest boarding house Is Sc a
day. At present rates it costs me abont $500
. month. Beef is selling ut 90 pound SUI
gar (poor brown) at 4.50 O pound; corn whis
XIV $50 to S75 a gallon oak wood at $56 .
cord. You can therefore imagine the pleas.
ures of housekeeping at these rates. barrel
of salmon from Wilmington cost me $405. and
bought box of herring, which used TO cost
IS cents to day for $50.
has lain in a hiding place for some
months TO avoid CONSUMPTION. He does not
dare to do even as the Owls-gO out of nights.
Once he was the victim of misplaced conf.
dence; he went to Wilmington to try and get
a chance mt he was nabbed enrolled. and only
escaped by jumping out of the cars and taking
to the woods Finally after enduring incredi-
bic hardships and walking rs miles in thirty
three hours, he got back 10 place vi hiding
in Wilmington whence he returned here, and
is now ,erda, where only intimate friends can
find him.
Deserters SWARM the woods and swamps all
over the country; the rebels hunt them as
they do negroes with dogs. - says he saw
twenty two brought In the other day. tied
two by two. who had been caught by hounds
Two Others were shot in attempting to escape.
Our condition is as bad as il can be. The
despotsm is rs bad as it can be- though curses
loud and deep are uttered against the govern
ment by many men who were seces>onists
There il o very large sprinklng Of Union men
here. 1t is quite doubtful if there is not ma
jority in Charleston who are for the Union.
The town Is very much changed. Scarcely
anybody believes that slavery can live much
longer. The thing is aboutup 1.-THE FEEDER
ali>ts make the spring campaign what it ough!
to be the people will cry" enough"
Congress has just passed q law compelling
the funding of Confederate notes in four pei
cent. bonds, before April I, on penal of pay.
ing a tax of thirty-three and One-third pei
cent. on the notes after that date, and if they
are not funded by January 1. 1865 they are to
be taxed one hundred per cent. This is repu
iotsO ruith &.
per cent. on every thing adds to the delights o.
our situation.