Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-03-26

Andrews in 'The Wartime Journal of
a Georgia Girl" She tells of amusing
and pathetic occurrences, and refers to
her fathers unfailing loyalty to the
Union.
The news this evening is, she writes,
III May, 1865, that we have all got to
take the oath of allegiance to the Union
before getting married. This horrid
law caused much talk in our rebellious
circle, and the gentlemen laughed very
much when Cora said:
Talk about dying for your country,
but what is that to being an old maid
for it?''
Maria Irwin said something tonight
which made me feel very uncomfOrt-
able. | was sitting across the room
from her, and she told me, loud enough
for everybody to hear, that the first
evening the Yankees arrived in town
they were heard to say that they knew
all about Judge Andrews; he was a
good Union man, and they liked him.
At my side was Major White, an
exile from Maryland, whose poor down
trodden State has suffered SO much,
and 1 thought it was real spiteful in
her to be throwing up fathers politics
to me there; so l flew up and told her
that If my father was Union man
he had more sons in the Confederate
army than hers had, and that he didn't
wait till the war was over, like so
many other people 1 knew, to express
his Union sentiments.
Fathers politics distress me, but no
body shall say q word against him
where / am. Poor, dear old father
Everything he said in the beginning
has come true, just as he said it would
The First Charge of the seth Illinois
The troops who were assigned to the
| southwest in the early days of the
| war, remember what dilapidated.
''one-horse town" the terminus Of the
| railroad was in 1861. Every shanty
was a whisky shop from whence pro-
| ceeded every form of loathsome
| disease and death to those who patron
lied the places. On Colonel Grensel,
| of the Thirty sixth Illinois Regiment,
| devolved the command Of the post. The
first measure inaugurated by him. and
the first expedition in which the
| Thirty-siXth participated was demon
stration against the whisky dens."
The Colonel headed the charge in
person, seized all the liquor that
could be found, emptying it into the
streets. The natives who witnessed
this onslaught Of the Yankee crusaders
on their Ito them) elixir of life,
thought we'uns were very wasteful.
Out of this chaos and disorder the
colonel soon brought cleanliness and
order War, with it's wonder-working
power, brought great change in the
appearance of this sleepy town. White
walled canvas villages sprang up al
around the hill-sides; sentinels paced
up and down It's once quiet walks
army wagons, soldiers, mounted Off
GERS, orderlies hurrying from camp to
camp, gave the place an air of business
activity quite in contrast with the
primitive days of the town.
The population was largely made ul
of apple women, mustang ponies, fugl
| tives from the outskirts Of civilization
mules, contraband negroes, with now
and then a secessionist not smart
enough to run away, and too worth
less to be hung. Such was Rolla as
we found it, Any one visiting thai
part of Missouri, and Rolla in part1cu
lar, please make a note of the the1
and now contrast. Another institution
somewhat aboriginal and yet peculiarly
Missourian, was the pie and cake vend
ers, generally skinny, snuff-rubbing, to
bacco- chewing old women. who f1ockec
from the country with 'buckskin' OF
Leather apron compositions calico
pies and gingerbread, made from sor
ghum. -four and bacon grease (tht
color suggested tar). The vendors OF
these villainous articles would hang
about the confines Of the camp, hawk
ing their wares with voices as musica
and feminine as horse fddleS.
It was absolutely marvellous to sex
the quantities which an average "thir
ty-sixer' could hold, and how 1t was
continual source of wonder how mer
could endure the surfeit of leather ant
sorghum, beans and ''sow-belly" will
which they tormented their digestive
organs and survive. 1t could only b'
accounted for on the theory that will
the change from civil to military lift
their stomachs, like their costumes
had undergone a wonderful transfer
nation, perhaps were lined with quits
percha and riveted to a diaphragm o.
boiler iron. Yet they lived; and, lik'
Joshua of old, waXed fat. The demand
for this indigestible native pastry was
occasioned by the poor quality of thu
rations at that time issued to thu
troops. The boys of 81 well remem
Der some of the early issues Of the old
round. wormy. mouldy hard bread
| with "B. c." marked on the barrels