Year: 1862

pie of North Carolina
We publish below some extracts from
letters from various parts OF The State
showing the condition of our people with
respect TO supplies for the ensuing year
It is The part of wisdom TO let ,he truth
be known in crisis like the present, es-
pecially when it touches not only the
comfort but the lives of our people. That
| Governor Vance and the Legislature will
do all in their power to relieve the wants
of those who are suffering, and to pro-


vide especially for the families of our
| soldiers, we entertain no doubt.


A friend writing from Transylvania
county, says; iglo.


81 see every body appears to be after
The spectators but the more you abuse
them the worse they get. There is likely


10 be as great mania for speculation
now as there was for whisky making ten
months ago. But how tits to be checked
is more than the wisest have been able
TO tell. II is generally confined to wide
mouth seeessionists and cripples from the
war-cOnservative and anti-war men
would not be tolerated in speculation
but doubt whether newspapers and lee
lures on the subject have not greatly ag-
gravated the evil You have driven the
Conscientious and reasonable men ont of
of the market as it were,, and left
the whole field of speculation to
the monopoly of few moneyed sharp
ers, whose consciences will hardly ever
be racked by an article in the newspa-
pers. My impression is that had the
| nd hoH 81
aged it,, that the better class of traders
would, by competition and supply, have
kept every thing at much lower prices
than the denunciatory policy heretofore
practiced by editors and orators ;
for the stubbornness of man is such
. that he has an itching 10 do anything
forbidden him by God or man. And
again, the condition and excess of the
currency has had good deal to do with
it, but the worst of all is the scarcity.
You can have bnt very little idea how
our people are pressed TO live even COM
= Portable. The ground is frozen here, and
is, you would call it, bitter cold--per-
haps as cold as you have ever seen it in
Raleigh. Nearly all our people have
more or less work TO do out of DOORS
men, women, and children. Not one
half of them have the sign of a shoe tC
- their feet not one-third have shoes that
will keep their feet dry, nor do | know
how they are 10 get them. They are
nearly all scarce of wearing clothes


Cotton and wool are pretty hard to get


but the worst is, cotton and wool cards
3 can scarcely be had az all, the old onei
n being about worn out We would bC
/ ola tO 10. e.. aI.s


soldiers; but how can we when we have
mora suffering at our doors than we car
possibly relieve? Then we are getting
scarce of almost every article of neces


sity, from needle to scythe blade
i Not a few are out of knives, forks
ID spoons, plates, dishes, tin cups, and cof


fee pots. Then we may turn to edibles


Take out a very few families, and Their


is not one pound of salt 10 every whit


inhabitant in the county. We got iron
1 Wilmington, some weeks ago, what W
u call Government salt and divided il out


one pound TO every white person in


family, but did not get quite around I


all. That cost us fourteen cents pc


pound. We have the promise of sal


from Saltville, Va, but cannot get
nd hauled hundred and forty or fifty miles


dreadful bad roads, and no food to b


had. man can scarcely travel o.


horseback A gentleman told me th


other day that he travelled forty mile


without grain for his horses IL


says he offered one dollar for ten ears
Al corn and could not get 10; yet we mus


have it, or perish for want Of it Yer
ct, few Of us have half hogs enough 20 max
our meat for next year--I would say no
'' half IS much in thecountry as we ough
oh to eat--nor can we spare the corn to fat


tenwhAt we have, Numbers of people hav
md not put up hog yet and say they will


not unless they have some surety OF get


ting saft. They think they had bette


keep the corn and depend on bread an
-. milk than TO lose both corn and pork fc
en-. en- the lack Of salt. My opinion is that mum


bers must perish before another crop
ing made unless we can alarm the people
"0' time to take better care of what the
-tA have than they have ever done beior
eh If the people are alarmed in time the
4 can winter on half the grain general
my used. am satisfied there was nothin


like half as much grain raised here thi
Of year as there was last yet we scarcel
iH had enough TO do us. see you are talb
sgo ipg about cotton and tobacco crops neS
i'm. year. We raise neither here, But il th


war is TO last over another crop seasol
ros o' say 10 mex June, with all the conscript


in the army, our support must con