Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-30
~Belsakheted V1cksburg.

May 26th.-Since that day the regu-
lar siege has continued, We are utter
~ cut off from the world. surrounded
by a circle of fire. Would it, be wise
like the scorpion to sting ourselves to
death? The fiery shower ofeshelis goes
on day and night. H-'s occupation,
of course, is gone, his Office. closed.
Every man has to carry . pass in his
pocket. People do nothing but eat
what they Il get, sleep wlen.they can,
and dodge the shells. There are. three
intervals when the Smelling stops, eth
Ell for the guns to cool or for the gun
ners' meals, ! suppose,-about eight in
the morning, the same in the evening,
and at noon. In that time we have
both to prepare and eat ours. CLOTH
ing cannot be washed or anything else
done. On the 18TH and 22d, when the
assaults were made on the lines, /
watched the soldiers cooking on tie
green opposite. The half-spent balls
coming all the way from those lines
were flying SO THICK that they were
obliged tododge at every turn. At all
the caves 1 could see from my high
perch, people were sitting, eating their
poor suppers at the cave doors, ready
to plunge in again. AS the first shell
again flew they divcd, and not q hui
man being was visible. The sharp
crackle of the muskctry-tirlng was a
strong contrast to the scream Of the
bombs. / think all the dogs and cats
must be killed or starved, we don't see
any more pitifpl animals prowling
around. 4 The cellar is so damp
and musty the bedding has to be car
ried out and laid in the sun every day,
with the forecast that it may be demol-
ished at any moment. The confinement
is dreadful. To sit and1isten as if.wait-
ing for death in a horrible manner
would drive mi insane. Idon't, know
what others do, but we read when lam
not s~cribbling in this. H borrowed
somewhere lot of Dickens novels;
and we reread them by the dim light
in the cellar. When the Smelling abates
H-goes to walk about a little or get
the "Daily Citizen" which is still is
suing a tiny sheet at twenty-five and
fifty cents a copy. 1t is, Of course, but
a rehash of speculations, which amuses
a half hour. To-day he heard while
out that expert swimmers are crossing
the Mississippi on logs at nlghtto bring
and carry news to Johnston. 1. am so
tired Of .corn-bread, which meyer liked,
that I eat il. with tears in my, eyes. We
are lucky TO get q quart of miik. daily
from a family, near who have e COW
they hourly expect TO be killed. I send
five dollars to the market each morn
ing, and it buys. a.small piece ,,of MULE
meat. Rice and milk is my main food;
1,can't eat the mule-meat., We boil the
rice and eat It, cold with milk for sup
per. Martha runs the gauntlet to buy
the meat and milk once a day in a.per-
feet terror. The shells seem to have
many different names; l hear the sol
diers say, '.That's a mortar-shell.
There goes q Parrott.. That a. rifle
SHE'LL" They are all equally terrible.
A pair of chimney-swallows haye built
in the parlor chimney. The conclusion
of the house often sends down parts
of their nest, which they patiently pick
up and .reascend with FROM "a, Wo-
mans Diary 0tAe Siege,' IN The Cen
turu for September.