The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-04-07
THE PRESIDENTS
WATCHFUL WAITING
THE DOVE STILL COOS.
Rev. Neill E. Pressly Writes to
The PresbsteriaE Of Conditions
in Mexico.

condition as that which existed be-
fore railroads, telegraphy, -and the
development of the present postal
system, some idea can be had of
what we are passing through here
in Mexico. In about three months
1 have received six letters, and three
of them were brought by a friend
and almost month old. I have
not received a single newspaper,
and would like to see Presbyterian
once more. Have not had one
since in December.
If it were possible to imagine the
actual conditions in North and
South Carolina the first months OF
1865, some remember them, a COR
ception could be had of our con1i-
tion here in Tampico. ] remember
that in February 1855, lay father
bought mule for which he paid
twelve hundred confederate dollars.
few days later ha paid forty dol
lars for a pound Of coffee and ten
dollars for a payer af pins, which
my mother de"l."ed was extrava-
cnnne. thougi. sLn needed them.
Preachers in itr:e days were
paid in "chips AID whet ;:tunes,'
some at any rate; but he mad receiv-
ed his part of legaey from the es-
tate of an uncle, we'll known in Al
beville County, which, If NY rncm-
ory serves me right, was onc hun
dred thousand dollars, AMI about all
he realized was the mule, the pound
of coffee, and a paper OF pins. The
balance he invested in Confederate
bonds, that have never been re-
deemed. I remember that the
bonds and confederate money wcre
put into mijohn, we'll cerhci
and sealed with wax, and thrown
into branch on the plantation the
very day that Gen. Sherman crossed
the Catawba river on his famous
march. A number of manuscript
sermons rolled tightly and tied,
were put into jugs and sealed and
thrown into the same branch at diff
ferent places. I accompanied
MIN and saw the place of anchorage
of each jug and the demijohn. We
were expecting that the army would
pass through our section and every
effort was made to save something
of what we had. I witnessed the
hiding of my mothers treasures,
not much but she priced her little
keepsakes. I was sent with faith
full servant to hide some bacon and
-four for future use, and we put it
under "brush heap" in a new
ground that was being cleared.
Those were trying days, excruciat-
ing days, and they call to mind just
what we are passing now, and they
seem worse.
Tampico has passed through one
siege, and now we are anticipating
another, we were not bombarded
before, and no buildings were burn
ed; but what will come in the next?
Fortifcations are being constructed
that promise a stubborn resistance,
food is scarce and prices are still
advancing. Sixty pesos (dollars)
for a sack of flour of one hundred
pounds; corn from twelve to fif-
teen pesos bushel; lard one dollar
and forty cents pound; coffee one
dollar and twenty five cents a pound;
frijoles (beans) thirty five cents
quart; rice fifty cents a pound, and
so on for everything, and some
times there is no bread and no corn.
Day before yesterday there was no
bread, all had been taken to the sol
diers on the firing line some thirty
five miles ayay. To eat rice and
frijoles with spoon, that is with
out tortilla, is to be in hard lines.
Every day the condition grows
more critical, it is a war fo waste,
desolation and destruction. The
condition produces in many moral
suffering, which is as bad as the
physical suffering. I have not heard
from the preachers in San Luis
State. Bro. F. Mellado Meza is
still refugeeing some where near his