The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-04-04
THE COLUMBIAN, BLOOMSBURY. PA.

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was enough to know about them,
They sold like hot cakes, but, alas,
it was said that some OF those sweet
| pie-women were rebels; and that
they were selling poisoned pies to
us. Yes sir, pies calculated to be
too strong for yankee digestion and
some OF us nearly died trying to d.
gest them. After this, much to
Shaffer's disappointment they were
not allowed to enter camp. John,
I think had rather eat the poison
in small doses than part with the
girls he thus let behind him. There
were others in strong sympathy
with John; but present company is
excepted il not entirely excusable.
Another matter of fun and trou-
bic grew out of the hardness of our
bareback. We often heave trou.
bled sigh for the bread and biscuits
mother used to bake. But we nec-
essarily sighed in vain while tack
ling the hard-tack under protest.
The unhappy result cf excluding
the pie women from camp vas that
suffers soon took advantage of our
hunger and abundance of cash
They abused their monopoly to
such an extent that the only way
we could get even was 10 raid them
occasionally. notwithstanding
raids and burglary suttlers got rich
quick.
Excepting the poison the rebel
| women fed .us, the suttler pies were
the worst of all.
AS to hard tack and hard times l
have little parody on song about
40 or so years old. Itgoes like this:
They stopped the game of poker and
joined the hungry pack
By rushing to the cooks wide open
door
Where the hardest of hard crackers
were given called "hard tack"
o, hard tack come again no more.
CHORUS.
Twas the song and the sigh of the
hungry
Hard tack, hard tack, come again no
more.
Many days have you fingered upon our
stomachs sore,
o, hard tack, come again no more.
He was lazy. hungry soldier who
cursed his life away
His clothing showed their better days
were DER.
He sighed for mothers biscuits and
pot pie far away
0, hard tack come again no more.
Chorus.
We crossed the hills and valleys, thro
briars, bogs and brush,
And gray-backs were an ever-present
bore
We heard reb yells and vollies, some
times had grounding mush,
., hard tack, come again no more.
Chorus.
Though old and very wormy, you were
pie beside that mush
With our salt-horse and our pork for
ever more.
If gray-backs made us squrmy, our
hunger made us rush
For the hard tack that we never did
adore. Chorus.
Though we were often hungry,
ragged, and crummy yet money
was plentiful with us in those days.
We each had $3.50 that John Grotz
was deputized to pay us if we would
fill their quota and prevent draft,
by standing up to be shot at instead
OF those who were liable to draft
but didn't want to get shot. That
was my understanding. 1t was a
| voluntary act on their part and also
on ours But it was through this
| available cash (more MONEY than
many Of US had ever had before
that much OF our fun and trouble
came in. 1t was at once the root of
good and evil to many of us. 1t
came from those who were so glo-
riously comfortable and safe at
home that they didn't care to cover
themselves with any more glory by
going to war. They preferred to
part with that much money rather
than risk their lives by standing up
to be shot at b. rebels who certain
ly knew how to shoot. This was
proven by the many wooden legs
and empty sleeves everywhere to be
seen in those days. We being young
and full of ginger and vim took our
chances and their spare change in
good faith, but with some misgiv-
ings as to whether we should sur.
vive or perish, or whether slavery
or freedom should prevail. We an
ticlpated more or less trouble along
with our fun, and we had it, just as
we were advised by taree older
brothers who knew all about the
fun and trouble of warfare from q
years experience. We got in about
the time Grant said, "we'll fight it