The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-01-07

have strength and blessing for b" Massa Lincoln"
Very little care had been taken of these poor
men Those who were i'll, during our stay, were
looked after by one OF the officers Of the Commits
sion. They were grateful for every little thing.
Mrs. - went into the town and hunted up
several dozen bright handkerchiefs, hemmed
them, and sent them over 10 be distributed the
next night after meeting They We're put on
the table in the tent, and one by one, the men
came up TO get them. Purple, and blue, and
yellow, the handkerchiefs were, and the desire of
every mans heart fastened itself on a yellow
one they politely made way for each other,
though, one man standing back 10 let another
pass up first, although he ran the risk of seeing
the pumpkin color that riveted his eyes taken
from before them. When the distribution was
over, each man tied his head up in his handker-
round, with blue and purple and yellow mods,
and thanking and blessing the white people, in
.. their basket and In their store," as much az If
the cotton handkerchiefs had all been gold leaf.
One man came over TO our tent next day, to say
a. Misus, was it you that sent me that present?
/ never had anything so beautiful in ali my life
before - and he only had a blue one, too.
Among our wounded soldiers, one night, came
an elderly man, sick, wounded and crazy, sing
ing and talked about home. We did what we
could for him, and pleased him greatly with a
present OF red flannel shirt, drawers, and red
calico dressing-gown, all of which he needed,
and in which ne dressed himself up. and then
wrote a letter 10 his wife, made it into a little
book with gingham covers, and gave it 10 one OF
the gentlemen to mail for him. The next morn
ing he was sent on with the company from the
Lodge, and that evening two tired women came
into our camp-his wife and sister, who hurried
on from their home to meet him, arriving just
too late. Fortunately We had the queer little
gingham book TO identify him by, and when
some one said, " 1t is the man, you know, wto
screamed So" the poor wife was certain about
him. lie had been crazy before the war, but
-, e. ,r-n o,r r1u sLa cid IL hoI haar
fretting for home since he was hurt, and when
the doctor told him there was no chance of his
being sent there, he lost heart, and wrote to his
wife to come and carry him away. 1t seemed
almost hopeless for two lone women, who had
never been out of their own little town, to sue
coed In finding a soldier among So many, sent in
SO many different directions, but We helped them
as we could, and started them on their journey
the next morning, back on their track, to use
their common sense and Yankee privilege Of
questioning.
A week after. Mrs. -- had a letter full of
gratitude, and saying that the husband was
found and secured for home. That sam night
we had had in our tents, two fathers, with their
wounded sons, and n nice old German mother
with her boy. She had come in from Wisconsin,
and brought with her a patchwork bed quilt,
looking so homelike, and feeling so, too, no
doubt, with his good old mother close at his
side. She seemed bright and happy, had three
SONS in the army-one had been killed-this one
wounded, yet she was pleased with the tents,
and the care she saw taken there of the soldiers,
that while taking her tea from a barrel head Us
table, she said, /" Indeed if she was a man, she'd
be a soldier, too, right of"
For this temporary sheltering and feeding of
all these wounded men, Government could make
no provision. There was nothing for them if
too late for the cars, except the open field and
hunger, In preparation for their fatiguing jour
ney. 1t is expected when the cars are ready that
the men will be promptly sent to meet them,
and Government cannot provide for mistakes
and delays, so that but for the Sanitary Commits
sion's Lodge. and comfortable supplies, for which
the wounded are indebted TO the hard workers at
home, men, badly hurt, must have suffered night
and day, while waiting for the next train
We had on an average sixty of such men each
night for three weeks under our care, sometimes
one hundred, sometimes only thirty, and with
the . delegation and the help of other gentle
men volunteers, who all worked deyotedly for the
men, the whole thing was Il great success, and
you, and all of US can't help being thankful that
we had a share, however small, in making it So.
Sixteen thousand good meals were given hun
dreds of men kept through the day, and twelve
hundred sheltered at night, their wounds dressed,
their supper and breakfast secured, rebels and
all. You will not, | am sure. regret that these
most wretched men, these % enemies, = sick and
in prison. were helped and cared for, through
your supplies, though, certainly, they were not
in your minds when you packed your barrels
and boxes. The clothing we reserved for our
OWL men, except now and then, when Il SILVER
ing rebel needed it, but in feeding them we could
make no distinctions. 1t was curious to see,
among our workers ut the Lodge, the disgust and
horror felt for rebels, giving place to the kindest
feeling for rounded men.
Our three weeks was coming to an end the
work of transporting the wounded was nearly
over twice daily We had filled and eInptied our
tents, and twice fed the trains before the long
journey. The men came in slowly at the last. a
Lieutenant, all the way from Oregon, being
among the very latest. He came down from the
Corps Hospital, (now greatly imprOved,) having
lost one foot, poor fellow, dressed in a full suit Of
the COMMISSIONS cotton clothes, Just as bright
and as cheerful as the first man. and all the men
that we received had been. We never heard a
word of complaint, Would he like a little
nice soupy' Well, no, thank you, ma am -
hesitating and polite. You have u long ride
before you, and had better take u little I'll just
bring it and you can try 50 the good thick soup
came. He took 4 very little in the spoon to please
me and afterward the whole cupful to please him
self. lie - did not think it was this kind of soup
L meant. He had some in camp, and did not
think he cared for any more /; his cook was 4
very little boy, though, who just put some meat
in a little water and stirred il round" I" Would
you like q handkerchief" and | produced our
last one, with a hem and cologne too. oh yes
that is what L need L have lost mine. and was
just borrowing this gentleman's." So the Lieu
tenant, the last man, was made comfortable,
thanks to all of you, though ne had but one foot
to carry him on his long Journey home.
Four thousand soldiers too badly hurt TO be
moved, were still left in Gettysburg, cared for
kindly and well at the large, new Government
hospital, with a Sanitary Commission attachment.
Our work was over. our tents were struck,
and We came away after a flourish of trumpets,
from two military bands who fled down to our
door and gave Us 4 farewell. . Red. white and