No 14)

Camp Musquetoe St Charles La April 17^th 1863

 

Dear Mary

                        I received your letter commenced Mar 26 yesterday and now procede to answer it I am happy to hear you read the newspaper but was very much suprised to hear that Mr Fairchild was dead as none of you had said eanything about his being sick but once what was the matter with him. I did write to Em to let her know she had a brother somewhere I havenot received a letter from her but feal shure I must have letters on the way here I have not received Kates yet it may be that they are in the mail of the il fated Maryan that was lost of the Florady cost I beleive the mail was saved but we have received none of it yet we expect the greenbacks to pay us for two months servace was on her so we havenot received that yet. I think you must have fine times helping Deal do her sparking or was you on your own hook. if so I hop you will have success but you minght as well tel him he will get cut out when I get home as shure as I come. I alwase thot a certain young man had a soft spot I have herd about the lectures of the Vicksburg Refugee and should like to hear him. I do not think he exagerated the account at all I know from what we here that everything is very high and scerce at eany price my old man had a good laugh to think his girl sent her thanks to her Pop for flowers he is out posting the guard or he would have something to put in I have ben out but got back first as I had a ride out and / back on the handcar. as for your gouing to visite Em you must do as you think best or as Hattie said ask Grand Pa. I am happy to hear you have ben to the barn and milked a cow once since we wer married as what man has done man can do and sometimes a woman can if she sets out with good spunk. I hope you will not forget the sermon of Br Gilbert on the text you sent me as I am shure it was a good one. you must have had a splendid time going to King St in a snow storm I should like to have sene you manage to get in the waggon in the street if you have to put out your own horse once in a while you will learn how and that will not be of eany damage to you. I am happy to learn we are gouing to start for home so soon the time does seam to shorten prety fast I am glad you have got a balmral skirt as I think they will ware well and if taken care of look nice better and cheaper than white ones. I do not know as I nead tanzy very much but if that is all Frank can spare I thank her for that much but I am fearful it will be neaded up there about as soon as I shal nead it here nevertheless I thank her for her thotfulness. you ned give yourself no uneasyness about my geting tired of reading what you write. I beleive I have hastely answered your letter and now will try and give you some information concerning what I am at and how I pass away the time Monday I done my washing. Tuesday I was on guard and went out with the sentanles to the fartherest post west staid there a short time when eight men came from camp and we started of south to find what in this country is called high ground and find a house that was said to be there and a rebel that had ben seen to go in / that direction and find some flesh of some kind we went into the swamp in two diferent places and backed out after eating all the black buries or what is caled here jew buries we could swalow they are larger than the Lawtons meany of them. then we went and got a dark for a gide and in we went again wadeing threw water about a foot deep for a while then threw briers and blackbury vines higher than our heads then cane break canes the same as we have at home to fish with there is achors and achors here where they stand as thick as the fingers on your hand and from 10 to 30 feet high some have fel down and crack under our feet at every step some just high enough to nock our hats of threw these we went breaking a path as we went. finely we found what is caled the high ground it is a place where it hapenes to be high enough so it is not covered with water here someone had lived at one time and a small peas had ben cultivated and a hut built to live in and chicken house but it was deserted we went a short distance in the woods and stoped to eat what we had for dinner some of the boy went back to the hous and every thing was soon in flames. I guess no more secesh will stop there it made a splendid fire. we started for camp and after wandering till I could hardly lift one foot after the other we came out about 4 milds from camp we went up to the levee and into a deserted house and ransacked it all over I found a drawer about the sise of a stand draw vaneered with a brass handle in front I confiscated that and started for camp we met our teamster comeing after us with a mule and cart to bring in the meet but the meet was not to be sene so we loaded ourselvs into the cart of two wheels about 4 feet long. there was 10 or 11 in thiss little cart we went along all rite for a while when the mule thot he had to much load and kicked up / the teamster jumped off and I was in the back and I jumped out and one other man the remainder nearly all had got up on their feet the driver swung his long whip arround his head down it came and raped arround the mule all unexpected he jumped clean rite off the ground there was no girth to keep the shaves down and up went the cart and out come the men in a pile guns confiscated drawers and all in a heep I had to lay down on the ground and laugh to se the heap and hear the expretions but it was dangerous one gun was cocked when they picked it up I walked the remainder of the way to camp stoped to one of my darkie friends and got two glasses of beer got into camp about 4 in the afternoon prety well used up had to go on guard at 6 and stand 2 hours then of 2 then on 4 when I went to bed at 2 I was about used up. but I got up about ½7 and went up to the plantation to make a stand to fit my drawer and make a place to write on I tell you I have a tiptop place to write and a drawer to keep my writeing utencils in and now we can keep a corn cake and not have the mice naw a place into it large enough to bury one in every night. in the afternoon I went and helped put a boat in a large dich above our camp the Cap and Lieutenants and ordaly Cole and his brother that is in the 9 Reg Len and myself got in and wend down into the swamp to se what we could find Sam Ambler was with us Lieu Baly shot a large bird we wanted to get it very much the flags were about 10 feet high one after another of us went in till 5 of us got in and could find nothing of the bird so meany walking in one track when we came out we went into the mud and water clear up and came to camp prety well socked

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