Wichita eagle., 1888-08-02
SUFFERING IN THE eOurH.

A Woman Tells Of the Privations of
! Families During tho War.
"You northerneSs knew very little about
the sufferings that war entails" sad a south
ern woman. ''Some of you may have lost
money; some surely did lose husbands, sons,
BROTH or relatives of some degree, but
none of you suffered the pangs of hunger, as
we did AS the blockade grew tighter and
tighter, il was as though a bandage was be
ing tied closer and closer around the neck OF
each one of us poor dweliers in the south.
That cut off our luxuries, that had almost
become necessities so much had they become
the component parts of our every day meals.
Oh, how have sighed for cup of real cof-
fee, after Grinding directions of burnt rye or
potatoes And | used to dream how fragrant
n cup of real simon pure ten would be, after
slipping for months vile decoctions OF sassa
fras.
1.-THE army in the field also depleted the
land and drew away not only provisions, but
the men that might have repienished the
Etorehouses and larders by S,;pervising the
work in the fields The slaves were wonder
fully loyal to their masters households while
the masters were away fighting They worked
faithfully, but they could not work as under
stsadiaEly as when they were directed by
their Old employers. So the field crops We're
not as large as usual. And it had always
been the curse Of the south that 1t devoted 50
large a share of its energies TO raising cotton.
81 remember that when Sheruan's army
came along many persons, once wealthy and
who never knew want, watched till the cav
airy horses had left their feeding troughs
and then went and picked mp the grains of
corn the horses had wastedr
"What was the article Whose loss troubled
you most'"
"SaIt. 1t grew scsrcer and scarcer After
Q while We boiled the bags in which bacon
had been shipped and the coverings Of the
hams. Then, after the supply was exhausted,
the ground under the smoke houses was dug
up and mixed with water In huge caldrons,
and rearing fires were set going. As the
water bubbled up under the fierce heat, We
SKINNED the salt from the surface. Doubt
less much sickness was chargeabIe to the lack
Of salt, which could not hs procured for love
or money"
"Did anybody absolutely stn1ver
II never saw any statement that anybody
actually died in the south for lack Of food,
but many came very near it. One Gaze that
came under my own observation was par
and two little boys, were left alone upon a
farm Of $50 acres. the father being absent
with the army. This family had eaten every
thing there was on the farm except ono old
ben that had escaped the raid o: the fOrag-
ing soldiers by running under the barn A
little corn that had been hidden ia the board
ing Of the barn had at last given out, and tbs
old hen was killed and cooked Thsre waa
no salt or Pepper with which 70 Season It.
but II WIS set upon the table for what seemed
70 be the last meal the family would ever
eat, when the door was burss open and .
party OF camp followers swept the fowl from /
the table and tore it limb from limb. A hind I
hearted Federal officer cane along shortly 1
after and gave the poor woman some rations. 4
Had it not been for bis pro~idens.al spJSar-
ing she and her little ones must have /
starved New York PrsaA