Newspaper Page Text
16
T HE COUNTRYMAN.
TUK3W0LP. 6A., JANUARY 10, 1805.
The Yankees in Eatonton,
Eatonton, Dec. 13th, 1 1 '64.
Dear Lou :—I am so glad of an opportunity
to write you a note. Dick got off, last week,
before I knew of it, or I would have written by
him. I have moved over home. My little boy
and I are all alone, and so lonely, so lonely.
Every ihing reminds me of my darling.
I wish you could come up, and stay several
days with me. Can’t vou V I can give you
something to eat, though plain. The yankees
took all my hams, and chickens, and turkeys,
and all my lard, and sugar, except a little-
They broke open all my closets, took my tin
ware, some of uty china, and nearly all of my
blankets. The negroes ran over, and told me
about it. I sent, immediately, for an officer,
and he came over, and put a stop to it. He
made them give up what they had, but those
who had taken the valuable things, ran, when
they found out I had sent tor an officer.
i wish you could have seen them, when the
officer made them bring the things back, and
give them up. They looked like they had been
whipped. They are very much alraid of their
officers—the thieving wretejies. I always did
hate them. Since I have seen them, I hate
them more than ever. They are the meanest,
lowest, filthiest creatures in all the world.
The house was full, all the time. They treat
ed me very respectluily, in their conversation,
but took everything they wanted^ though.
They took my hauosouie piano cover, but Jane
(negro girl) begged them to give it to her, and
they did so. One of them asked me it 1 would
oblige him, by giving him some silver change
for some greenbacks. 1 told him no : that if I
had it, 1 would not : that i had no use lor his
greenbacks. He said he could not use bis mo
ney to get anything. Poor, miserable creatures,
wnat will become of themf 1 hope the last oue
of them will be killed.
Andrew (negro boy) went off*, lie was
young : I think they told him great tales, and
thus got him off I judge he is dead, before
this, as ha was just out of a spell of pneumonia.
They searched all the negroes’ houses, and took
their cloihes. I forgot to tell you they went
luto my bureau drawers, and got some of my
letters, aud read them. 1 was so provoked,
because 1 was obliged to treat them politely.
I tniuk we ought to be thankful that we es
caped as well as we did. The scamps went in
to pa’s dining-room, and took all his silver
lorks off oi tne breakfast table. All we ate, at
Kichard’s, for two days, we bad to cook in
Mat s bed-room, aau eat from our laps, with
our fingers. The family all staid iu one room,
i have a great deal to te.l you. I can’t w rite
bow lightened 1 was, suuday morning, when
they came running our scouts iuio town—my
husband the fast oue—nor how crazy I was to
; eee the scoundrels, as they galloped through
town, take deliberate aim at him. Oh ! i never
was so frightened.
How it made by blood boil to see the hated
Hag hoisted. They made lh.- negroes walk un
der it. 11 i live 10 be a buuured, I shall never
forget uiy fright, when they came in. I was
afraid tor nay little sou tv get from my side,
They would walk up, and ask always, first
thing, for whiskey
I am so glad they could not find the flag.
They swore they would burn up the town, if it
was not found. They burned up the flag in*
stead, without knowing it. It was in the cala
boose, hid. They cut the flag pole down. When
I see you, I will tell you all about them.
M. A. N.
Letter from Eatonton.
Eatonton, Dec. 13th, 1864.
Dear Sister I have been thinking, ever
since our visit from the blue-coat scoundrels,
I would write you, but first one thing, and then
another, has prevented : for it does seem as if
I will never get straight again.
You ask me to tell you all about the raid.
Why, sister, it would take several quires of pa
per to record all the yankees' dreds of mean
ness: but they did not trouble me much, ex
cept coming near eating me out of house, and
home. But few came in the house, and they
did no damage. But they stole Mr. M.’s bug
gy, besides all my turkeys, and cbickdtis. They
left me one hen, out of two dozen! and not a
rooster, out of four. You well know how much
1 hated to see my pretty white turkeys go.
They were very fat—in good Christmas order.
I had five, but, alas, for human plans, these
times t
Two of pa’s negroes went off—George, and
Duane. Our other negrots behaved splendidly.
They were offered every inducement to go.
Mr has just returned from Milledgeville.
He says we know comparatively nothing. All
the army concentrated in that place, camped in
the city three days, and three nights. All ol
uncle J.’s negroes left, but one. That was a
little negro girl about ten. Aunt L. gave all
her money, jewelry, and watch to old Joe, to
take care of, and he marched of! with them. I
feel very sorry for her.
You never saw such a complete wreck as
pp.’s store was. There was not a five cents’
worth left in it. He saved a few of his goods,
such as dresses, &c., by carrying them up to
the house. Sallie Brown fared very well. I
can’t tell you hall I wish to tell you : but will
reserve the rest until I sec you, which I hope
will be soon. If I can get any way, I will go
out, and spend one day, if not longer, with you,
Christmas. Horses and mules are as scarce,
and as great a rarity iu Putnam, as gold and
silver in. the confederacy. I thought I had ha
ted the yankees enough, all my life: but 1
knew nothing about hating them, until I saw
them. 1 understand “ my friend” was in
he crowd, but he did not pass through town.
I wish he had ’ H. M.
English Measures.— “The British
Almanac gives but one measure of
capacity, for both solids and liquids ;
and m this, the gallon has a capacity
of277£ cubic inches. This is the im
perial gallon of Gfeorge IV., and con
tains 10 lbs. of distilled water. [This
gives to the bushel 2.218 1 5 cubic
incites, instead of 2,150 2-5 cubic
incites, as understood in America. In
America, the dry measure gallon is
268 4 5 cubic inches, and the liquid
measure gallon, 231 eubic inches.”]
Delusive Prospects of Peace.
—* Hear what Raymond, of the New
York Times (government organ) says
in his issue of the 2nd inst. :
There is something really melan
choly in the propositions made by
such men as Gov. Brown, of Georgia,
and Mr. J. T. Leach, of North Caro
lina, for a convention of the states to
agree on terms of peace, in which the
independence, and separate sovereign
ty of each of them should be fully
acknowledged ; because they reveal
an incapacity to comprehend the tem
per, and opinions of the northern pea-
pie, and their object in prosecuting
the war, which one can hardly help
considering incurable.
Reunion secured, after ail that has
occurred, in any such way, would be
based simply on an ordinary treaty of
reace, such as, at this moment, main
tains the „good relations of Italy and
Austria, or Russia and Turkey, vio*
lable, of course, whenever the incli
nation, or convenience of either of the
parties coll for if.
No such agreement, we need hard
ly say, would constitute a proper ba
sis, either for public credit, or for any
other purpose needing united action.
Nothing, as the history of the world
shows, will secure what we seek, ex
cept a national government, against
which it shall be treason to rebel, and
which nothing bnt successful revolu
tion can overthrow. The south has
long held that the constitution was a
treaty of alliance, and wo see the re
sult of that doctrine in the rebellion £
and with that result before our eyes,
what should induce us to enter iuto
another treaty of alliance, to be bro
ken probably ii. a few years, from
causes very similar, and wlych have
their root not in any institution what
ever, but in human nature itself ?
Therefore we shall have no conven
tion of states; no treaty, or arrange
ments of any kind with anybody in
the confederacy, which shall involve
the smallest iota of a concession that
any body of men in the south now in
arms, are aught else than citizens of
the United States in revolt against
the government. To accord them
any character of sovereignty, or iu.-
dependence, would be to render all
our lighting just as vain, and useless
as the acknowledgement of confeder
ate independence. It world prove
one of two things—a dissolution of
the union, or a lengthened armistice.
Either would be fatal to the existence
of this government.
It would be just as well, therefore,
if the peace party at the 60Uth would
give up, at once, and forever, all idea