Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-07-26
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
The POISONED HAMS.
A War Incident of Particular Interest to
Lady Readers.


even though my soldier-brother now
bore the title of Major, she could never
forget that little more than twenty
years before he had laid his curly head
on her breast, we'll knowing there was
no more faithful repository for his child
ish woes.
Tears came into my mothers eyes as
she thought of the soldier-boy who
would have to be disappointed so far as
she could see. 1t was the Christmas of
1864, when the people within the Con-
federate lines were almost at the last
extremity of their need.
30 mammy" she said, "What have we
for box? Not turkey nor chicken,
except old SpeclS, did the last raiders
leave us! sent to the village yester-
day to get some eggs, but the last had
been sold at fifteen dollars u dozen.
You know last Christmas VIC sent the
last coffee, and unless you or Chloe could
go to make it for him, Randolph would
never have it fit to drink, out of the rye
and ochre we use"
"Why, mistis, is you done forgit the
pizened hams?"
These 'pizened" hams are worthy of
a place in'hstory. When it was report
ed that the raiders were coming, my
mother determined to save, if possible,
the few hams we had left. Taking
nanny and faithful Ben into her conf
dence, she proceeded with austentatious
secrecy to the smoke-house, well know
ing that the eye of a young negro was at
each chink, trying to find out what ''ole
mis- was doin' so secret in the smoke
house."
The next day the Federal soldiers
came. While some looked after the live
stock, others proceeded to the smoke
house, for Virginia hams always had a
high reputation. The looks of the lit
tie negroes told story of mystery of
some sort, which excited the suspicious
of these soldiers, which were confirmed
when they discovered fine white pow
der over the meat.
Il Selling one black boy by the collar, q
soldier demanded the secret.
Use skeered to tell YOU" sobbed the
boy, while his teeth chartered, "ca'se
nanny caught us peepin, and said ef
we told she gwine bus our head open"
But as the danger of "bus' open
head" seemed more imminent from the
soldier than from nanny, the confess
sion was finally extracted that ME and
Dick seed old mis- snealiin' long to de
smoke house, and she shot de do so still
like, dat we peeped in, an den she was
putin dat white stuff on de meat an
Uncle Ben said as how 'ef de Yankees
eat dat meat dcy won't nebber eat muffin
mo-"
Just then slip of paper labeled
''Strychnnc" was discovered in corner.
SO our precious hams were saved by n
harmless shower of -four and u piece of
white paper.
With n ham to start with no Confed-
crate would despair of box. So Chloe
proceeded to make half bushel Of gin
ger-snaps, which with "goobers' (pea-
nuts) constituted the Confederate con-
fectionery. / turn now to my "Confed-
crate Recipe-Book, and see how those
snaps were made:
"one.half meal, onchnt flour, sorghum, pot
ash instead OF soda Ga dark powder got from
hickory ashes by some homely chemical pro.
cess, gardenraised pepper and little horse
radish for pungency."
We had peach preserves, made with
the inevitable sorghum, of course; but
as there was not jar to be had, we had
almost despaired of being able to send
any Nanny solved the problem by
producing some gourds, well-sweetened
and dried. These were filled with the
precious sweet, and then the plug
replaced over the hole and secured
with paper and paste Some of the field
hands brought in two young possums,
for Simson said if "Marse Ran done got
to be a major, knows he amt forgit to
love possum."
proposed to sacrifice "Specllle," the
only hen had left, but Chloe protested
that dat old hen had so much sense she
mustn't be kilt, even for Marse RAN"
When the raiders came the good old
cook had stuffed the hen into an empty
box in the kitchen. There the wise
bird staid without making a sound for
thirty-siX hours, wondering, no doubt,
what made the night long. When she
was released she found herself mon
arch of all she surveyed" Every other
the way OF all flesh.
But though there was no poultry for
it, the preparation of the Christmas box
went ON. In one corner was put n little
bag of cloudy-loolSing salt Randolph
had said in his last letter that if there
were always salt the corn-pone or hard
parched corn would not be so bad.
This salt was triumph of Confeder-
ate ingenuity. All the large meat-houses
4 had floor Of earth, over which had been
cured and hung the meat used on the
plantation for generations. These dirt
floors were dug up and the earth boiled
in large kettles until all the salt was ex-
tracted. Several wagon-loads of dirt
produced a few quarts of the precious
powder
Our box was filled at last with one
thing and another, and seemed to our
poor confederate eyes very complete
when the chinks had been stuffed with
sweet-potatoes and home-knit gloves
and stockings.
f, ( The box was done, but there were nc
2 nails with which to fasten 1t. The
blacksmith had said, few days before,