The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-07-18
VckseURe's RoMe-PRooF CAVE

CVicksburg (Miss) Cor. Washington Starr
Included in the national park near this
city is cave home. which was the refuge
of number of families during the siege
of Nicksburg. and which has most in
teresting history
An old soldier, speaking of the cave.
said:
Il am glad the cave. or 'bomb-proof,'
las it was known, is included in the ma
tiOnal park for | feel that it will never
be destroyed as long as it has government
protection. / think this cave is about the
last one left in this section. The onward
march of progress and improvement has
wiped these mementOs of the war entirely
out. For six long months we did some
right stiff fighting around here. and old
men, women and children found these
caves a good place to seek safety. The
hard fight, but We kept them down for six
months. If We hadn't run so shy on grub
We might have been fighting yet
We old fellows who fit. bled and died
for the lost cause have a tender place in
our hearts for these caves but as our
/ city has builded and extended they have
disappeared as did the Notifications and
entertainments Now our neighbOr and
friend. the Once-hated Yankee, can have
pointed out to him this one large cave as
/ the one-time home of families who took
refuge in its dark recesSes during the days
and nights they were throwing shot and
/ lady insisted that her piano should be
| brought serving as a bed at night and
| a table at meal time. On this same old
piano a child was born, and another
winged its flight to another world
/ But my, my, what tales of history, ro-
| nance, self-sacrifice, pleasure, pain
everything-these old walls of the cave
could tell If they could only speak In
/ this underground home there have been
/ few changes made since the bitter days
| of the war. Its owner saw that ii was
! properly cared for until it was bought
/ as a portion of the park. The old cannon
| balls and shells which were placed at its
entrance many years ago have remained
undisturbed, even relic hunters not daring
\ to cart them away.
] The passageway to the main cave is
about three feet wide and twelve feet long
but after getting into the main room.
| 12x16 feet, you can easily see how easy
/ IL was to live in this underground home.
/ A gentleman of Vicksburg has a number
of articles of furniture and cooking uten-
sis which were used in the cave, among
them being a pair of candle molds used for
making 'tailow dips for lighting the place
| Of course, ii was necessary to do most of
the cooking outside of the cave, there
was no outlet for the smoke save through
the main entrance. But, neighbOr, cooking
didn't worry our good housewives much
/ in those days. The question was getting
| something to cook Why, ] have lived
| week on quart of COOLERS and little
! cOrnbread and mOlasses.
| I'VE made our coffee out of parched
| wheat. oats and sweet potatoes, and used
| long weetening-molasses Let me tell
you the truth. neighbor. L believe that
/ lots of our women folk and children would
have starved had il not been for the
/ faithful slaves. who would go fOraging
| for them Most of the slaves would steal
any time before they would see their
white folks go hungry. BY CAD, sir, it
| makes my blood boil even now to see one
stealing for they learned the art of hook
/ ing in slavery days.