The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-07-10


letters received by the Secretary and Ma
nagers of the Society arc respectfully re-
ferrcd to:
HDoUAETERs, 4TH MILITARY DIST,
MISSISSIPPI AND ARKANSAs.)
VICKsBURG, Mss, May -, 1867.
am glad to see that the attention Of the
gentle and humane ladies of the North is
! being turned towards the sad and desolate
condition of this once happy land.
You, Madam, surrounded with the plenty
and comforts of a wealthy city, can scarcely
| appreciate the fact that, in many parts of
the South, whole communities are, by
| failure III crops and the absence of money
or its equivalent, left IN want of the neces-
saries of life; and that poor women, with
large families of helpless children, so ac-
customed to depend on the labor of others,
| that now, with no husband, brother or
servant to help, and no money, they do not
| know what to do or where to go for food:
| but are left i'll the solitudes of these South
ern forests, in rags and gaunt with hunger,
subsisting on what the mother or larger
children can shoot or pick up in the woods,
or on what the few neighbors, nearly as
poor as they are, can bring them.
Officers Of my acquaintance have met
with such mothers, long after dark, out in
the woods, with an old gun just fired, and
the coon or possum just killed; have gone
home With them and met the group of little
! staryeinSs waiting patiently mothers re-
turn with some OF the only sort of food
! they had tasted for weeks; and women and
! children have been found within sixty miles
! Of the capital of Southern State, during
! the past year, who had starved to death in
| their lonesome cabins. These cases of
/ great distress arc rare in Southern cities
| for there, even the most delicatcly bred can
! generally find some work which they can
/ do To keep the wolf from the door: but the
! farms OF plantations in the South are pc
culiarly secluded, with miles OF forest or
tt..s. q | :,
stock and animals nearly all taken by the
Vor, t." famine the floods. or the thieves,
who N such times ntcst country. and the
distressed families are often. by the time
necessity makes them want - leave, too
sick to travel on trct, and there j. 20 o:AcI
Way Go 20.
T Your proposed entertainment, Madam,
should il produce only funds enough to re-
.icvc z small fraction OF the dcsiitutiOn of
/ this coUMtry. will be good beginning, and
may bo followed in other cities North by
similar appeals TO people who have happi!v
never felt the desolation and the horrors
/ which follow in the tracks of great armies
OF INVASION. God speed your society in the
good work, i the wish OF, Madam, yours
truly, f. 0. c. ORD,
Brcvct Major
HEApQUAETEEs, FIRST MILITARY DIVISION,
RICHMOND, VA, May IL, 1867.
Mrs. Hd,1O,re MdtheI'-NY DEAR MADAM:
| shall be too glad if anything can say
will aid the society in its noble work. 4
! large proportion of the people of the South
have suffered and many arc still suffering
almost to the limit of endurance from the
devastation of war and subsequent failure
OF crops. They arc making every possible
exertion to revive their various branches
of industry and become self-supporting
| The liberal assistance which the Northern
people are we'll able to give, will relieve
Of ~ x,-in ,1.f
be sufficient to place the poor of the South
beyond further suffering for food. The
recent manifestations of an almost unver-
sal desire throughout the South for really
fraternal reunion with the North, may well
serve to stimulate the generous sympathies
of the Northern people, while nothing could
do more to foster and encourage the growth
of healthy sentiment in the South than
the generous aid which it is the mission of
your society TO invoke. | sincerely hope
the noble efforts of the society may result
in the most abundant success. | am, dear
Madam, very respectfully, your obedient
servant, ]. NJ. SCHOFIELD, Maj. Gen.
| HEADQUARTERS, SECOND MILITARY DIVISION,
| CHARLESTON, S. c., May 10, 1867.
The excellent purpose you have in view
| cannot be too much commended. The lib
crafty of the Government OF the United
States, and the muniiiccnt contributions
already made for the relief OF the wide
spread destituticn i'll the States, leaves
great numbers unprovided with food and
clothing. And until an abundant harvest
enables the people here to do more for
themselves, trust the ever generous and
prosperous committees OF the North will
continue their noble gifts TO this impover-
ished and afflicted population. With my
best wishes for the success of your under
taking, l remain, Madam, very respectful
ly, DANIEL T.. SICKLES,
Commanding Second Military District.
COLUMBIA, S. c., May 10, 1867.
| Permit mo not only to give Won the as