The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1882-06-08
The organization in camp for the
issue OF rations was as follows:

OF ninety, over which one of the
number was appointed..as sergeant.
Over three ninoties was also up.
pointed chief sergeant,,,who drew
rations for the whole number.
Every twenty-four hours, these
sergeauts issued rations, which they
drew at the gate from the prison AL.
thorities. The sergeants of nineties
issued to sergoants of thirty or tei
to suit convenience, and facilitate
the distribution of rations.
The rations were brought into
camp by mule teams, driven by mo-
groes, or, moro. Commonly, by pri-
soners paroled aud detailed for the
purpose.
A sergeant Of ninety mon was on =
titled to an extra ration for his
trouble. l resigned however, my
position as sergeant of ninety be-
fore 1 had held it twenty four hours,
as 1 had foreseen that tho position
required great deal of work, and !
did not believe in taking an extra
ration, which would not have bene-
tited mo. II was n task, however, +,
which many among multitude of
hungry months were ready to take
upon themselves, aud but very few
qualified to fill in an honorable, i'm
partial manner.
Whom mon arc cut down to starva
ton rations, they are not always
discriminating in attaching blame to
the proper source. which made the
place all the more difficult to fill
with credit.
This | early foresaw, and, there-
fore, left the position to some one
else to fill. knew there would be
a difficulty among hands in tho.near
future.
During the first month Of our i'm
prisonmont tho rntious were better
than ut any subsequent period, ex~
cept wood, of.which by chance we
got none.
Yet oven at this time tho rations
we're miserably inadequate to any.
thing like healthy organization.
Our rati ms per day, during the
first month, were little over pint
Of Indian meal, the cob ground with
tho corn, which was made into musb,
and which we called by tho .appro.
pirate name of chicken feed.
Once weekswe got u toaspoonful
OF snlt.
At first bacon was issued 10 small
quantities ofiifteen to twenty pounds
to ninety men, but, after tho first
OF July, this was dropped almost
entirely from prison rations.
Sometimes, instead Of Indian
meal. we got rice or beans; butseach
bean had an occupant in the shape OF
grub or worm.
Our modes Of cooking were en-
tirely primitive. The meal was
stirred into water. making thick
batter then little meal was
sprinkled on the bottom of the
plate or half of a canteen, to keep
the batter from sticking. The bat
tor was then placed in q plate or
canteen, which was set mp atan angle
of forty-fve degrees, to be cooked
before q fire. But half tho time we
had no wood to make fire, and we
eat the dough or batter raw.
Then the front of the cake WAS
"done brown the plate was fixed
upon a split stick, and held over the
Goals until it was baked or burned
upon the bottom.
Our meal we often sifted through
O half Of o canteen, into which. we
punched holes.
But even this coarse sieve left us
so little Of meal for food, il was
gradually abandoned as impractic-
able.
In sheer encessity OF hunger, we
sacrificed quality to quantity.
1t was an amusing sceno, some
times, when three or four would
group together 10 concoct johnny
cake.
One split wood, with a small
wedge and o jack-knife, another
stirred up meal, while o third got
a little fire ready. Tho process Of
baking brought out the amusing
feature Of the group. One, on his
hands and knees, acted as q pair Of
bellows, blowing up the fire auoth,
or held, extended on q split stick,