The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-08-09
Letter from Scranton.
EptfoiiiAn C0hRNspo

ED1roiiiAn CoRREsp oNDENcE.
Camp Magee, Aug. 6 1877.
In my last letter We were at Pitts
burgh, from which place we embarked
on Tuesday, the 3lst inst, on the cars
of the Penna. II. II. Our course was
through Westmoreland which is one
of the richest counties in the State,
and saw some of the finest residences
and most tastefully laid out grounds
one would wish to see, atid we were
greeted everywhere with n1anifesta-
tiohs Of joy and welcome.
No one in the regiment knew our
destination, although it Was rumofed
we were going to Scranton. On the
morning Of the I'd inst, we were
landed at Kingston, n place thirteen
miles from Scranton, OUR course hav-
ing beeh over the Penn. r. II. to
Lew,stown, over the Lewistown
branch to Northumberland and over
the Blooinsburgh branch of the d. l..
& w. II. Il. 10 Kingeton, where we
camped in the cars for TWO days and
lived on hard tack, hum, potatoes,
beans, and coffee. Our cooking ar
ranseinents beihg very meagef we
did not five ns we'll AZ We should have
done with the amount of provisions
furnished us, ne our cooks were too
lazy or too inexperienced to dish it up
In much style, and some of the boys
preferred pay for their meals outside
to living on camp rations, and no little
amount ofgrumbling was llidulged In.
The train we came in stood on the
track and in it we FROSTED" ut night,
and all will testify that camping in the
open field Is much to be preferred to
sleeping In the cnrs,
On Saturday we agaiti started for
Scranton, which place we reached at
half past seven or eight in the even
ing, Sunday morning dawned bright
and blazing on the sUits of Scranton,
and our boys were soon out Un the
streets viewing the city. We visited
tbs place where four persons were
Killed last Wednesday and saw where
the blood splattered on the steps,
sidewalk, and hitching posts, and
were shown where the balls had
crushed through the store windows,
and into the brick walls, some being
as bigh rs ten feet from the groutd.
a Sabbath stiffness pervadud the place
and the ''thurch-going-bell" calling
the Worsllppers to their devotions
gave no token Of the recent tragedy,
nor of the foamihg and discontented
element that may break forth at any
time, and lay the city in ashes and
deluge the streets with human gore.
That such an element; treaeherous as
an Ihdlan, and as unreliable as the
shifting sands on the seashore. does
exist here no one. doubts. The city
has about forty-five thousand inhabi-
tants, of which the miners and iron
workers, number fully two-thirds.
Men are working at starvation wages
and there is n time when endurance
seems to be no longer virtue, and
that time has arrived now, and tut
for the presence of large bodies of
troops, df uprising would be made
here that would place the rioters of
Pittsburgh large way in the shade.
/ have been told that one of the coal
compnnles' superntendents, Mr..
Scranton, had said "tliat thirty cents
a day Was enough for poor mar, hnd
that he would Yet iiiake the miners
eat their own children" OF course
such threats as this does not help tC
put out the fame but serves rather to
increase it, and If Mr. Scranton's head
stays On his shoulders week it won't
be the fault Of the miners, and even
now he is skulkjng about the city, in
fear Of his Ifs.
In few li6ufs the regiment was
formedand marched to place little
out of town where we pitched our
tents, and got ready to stay a while in
! Scranton Several Of the boys are
feeling little home sick, and wishing
the cruel war would end, although
there is no telling how long wye may
stay here. The boys of Co. "Hn have
enjoyed good health generally sihce
they left home, and all seem to feel in
good spirits. We will give few
CAMP NOTES.
The "seven slecpers' of Co. "H' are
among the seven wonders of the
world.
Geo. W. has killed his haf, while
on guard duty, that is he came near
killing him. the verdict of the jury
given in our next.
One Of the lst Philadelphia boys
shot at chap who would not halt,
and the next morning woman came
into camp and demanded pay for her
COW. The guard got out of the scrape
by saying lie called halt three times
and it would not halt and SO he fired.
A game of bass bull between the
Hard Tacks, Orderly Horton, James