Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1878-06-14
AN ATMOSPHERE OF DEATH.

| nave spoken Ol tue WfetCneu eNpe'
dients to which families resOrted In The
hope OF safety. NicksUurg hangs on the
side Of hill, whose name was poeti"al-
the SKY ParlOr. On II thousands OF peO.
pie assembled TO see the great sight when
The Federal ships went by on the night Of
the 10Th April, AZ which time the houses o.
De Soto were kindled on the other side,
lending luriI background to the dark
shadows OF the oats, while the hTe nt the
batteries mad the river sheet OF name!
But the SKY l'arlOr was reserved for other
uses. Its SOL was light and frlRble, and
yet sufficiently stia ~ answer the pur.
poses Of excavation. Wherever the pas.
sage Of street left the face Of the hill ex-
posed, into 1t and under 1t the people bur.
rOwed, making long ranges and systems
OF chambers and arches, within which
the women and young took shelter.
In them all the offices Of life had 10
be discharged, except that generally the
cooking-stOYe stood near the entrance, Op.
portunity 70 perform upon 1t being seized
and improved during the shells' diversions
In other quarters. Sometimes the caves
we're strengthened by pillars and wooden
jOlsts, and beds and furniture were crowd.
ed in them. When they we're really enec.
tive 90 against the largest shells dropped
directly above, cannot tell. Stories were
told, more than once during the siege, Of
people who had been buried alive by TIE
collapse Of caves; but they probably we're
not true. They made good shelter against
the hying fragments OF the bombs, and this
was no small matter. II was rather .
point Of honor among men not 70 hide In
these places, which were reserved for the
women and children. Under all circum.
stances OF diticulty, the mOdesty oftheee
was supported In the hali.exI osed life OF
the caves with pathOs which affected me
more deeply than any other circumstance
OF the siege. Another refuge Of few
young ladies In the neighbOrhOOd Of Gen.
eral Smiths headquarters, which mad
been bank, was vault In the cellar.
One night, when more than a dozen Of
them were huddled In II, a shell struck the
brick arch squarely and burst the same
moment. None OF the pieces pene'
trated; but would II have gone
through! was the question. And suppose
II had, and had then burstl believe the
vault was never again occupied by the
ladies, Considering the constant danger
and the many narrow escapes, 1t 10 great
wonder that the casualties among lhe non.
cOmbatants were so few. l know OF but
one, and that was not fatal: the loss OF an
arm by Mrs. Major Reid, while bringing
her children under shelter from q sudden
storm OF shells. There were doubtless
others, but have sought in vain TO obtain
the figures. Inside and outside the lines
there were many exaggerated stories In
this connection. One Of the mOrtalities
published was that Of Mrs. General Penn.
bertOn, who was at Gainesville, Ala, the
while.
How these people subslsted was another
wonder. The straits to which the garri
son were reduced are known, in fact
AFTER the tenth day OF the siege," says
the report OF General stephen d. Lee, "thC
men lived on abOlt half ratiOns, and less
than that toward the close" The ratior
| has been described to consist Of one
quarter pound Of bacon, One.halt pound 0
beet, fve.eights quart OF meal, beside al
allowance of peas, lice, sugar and mo
lasses. Of this, anon. The citizens mus
have had less and where they got that frou
was q mystery. Business, OF course, wat
suspended. Thare were some stores tina
had supplies, and at these prices climbed