[upside down]

 

Direct as before.                                                                    

Stony House plantation, SC Feb 6^th 1862

 

Dear Sister, and Brother,

am again. well here I am again, as usual, one every week, to write a few lines, to let you know that I am well as usual, and hope that this will find you the same. we heard to day that there was another mail ship came in from new york, but I cant wait for the mail, for there is a ship going out with the mail tomorrow morning, and I want this to go in this mail. I had a letter from Daniel this week, he said that they were all well then, they have wet and muddy times there this winter, but we dont. 

 

Well, george. now I will tell you about a little time two of our boys had this week. it was Alonzo Borden and Darius Johnson, I presume that you know them. well, last monday morning, they got permission of the Cap^t to go out hunting. well, they had not gone far, when they saw two hogs, and lon borden drawed his old harpers ferry up to his face and fired away at them, and one of them fell down, but the other one run away. well they skinned and dressed that one and fetched it to the house, but before night, there was a nigger come to our quarters and said that the hog belonged to him, for the other one came home with a ball hole through it. / well, the smoked Irishman reported them to the Cap^t and he paid him for the hog, but the black Devil was'nt satisfied with that, he went down to the fort, and reported them to General Sherman. and the next day they sent up the Generals Aid and body guard to see about it. our Major, J. M. Kilbourn, came along with them, and after they had heard the boys story, they said that they would have to take the one that shot the hog along with them, so he changed his clothes and put on his dress suit, and went along with them down to the fort, and he is there yet under guard. Well, now I will tell you what I saw to day myself. / Well, I seen to day, for the first time, a secesh, alive and kicking. there was a party of ten of us went out in our sail boat to see what we could find. well, we went to Bull Island, and looked around the house awhile, and then we started for another island, but just as were going through a narrow channel of water and next to the main land, when the first thing that we knew, there was five or six secesh stepped out from behind some bushes, right within gun shot of us. well, I guess our boat came around pretty quick, and just as we came around on the other tack, (the steersman was holding it up pretty hard to run away from them) when, away went our mast overboard, sail and all. well we pulled the mast and sail into the boat, and got out our oars and pulled out of their reach, but as the rebels did not fire at us, we did not hurry ourselves much, and when we had got out of their reach, we fired a shot at them, to wake them up.* / *And it did wake them up, for they went to the house and pretty soon out came two men on horseback. they came down to the beach and we could see their swords glisten in the sunshine. one of them fired a shot at us and the ball came within about forty rod of us. we could see it strike in the water. / and after they had fired three or four shots, there was about twenty of them came out on the beach, and we thou't they had a field piece, and we fired 8 or ten shots at them, and then pulled out of their reach, and put up our sail again and came back to our quarters about supper time, all right. / the party consisted of our Cap^t, our Orderly sergeant, Sam Haynes, myself, John Rowland, N. C. Morton, George Hawks, Jasper Bowker, M. G. Clark, M. A. Royce, and a man that is staying with us by the name of Fisher. he is an agent for the government here working the niggers, picking cotton. well you must excuse this poor writing for I have played ball so much that my arm is pretty lame. We have not got our pay yet, but I think that we will get it in a few days. I shall send you about 30 dollars when J. M. Cole comes up home. /

 

Well it is now about nine oclock, and I must stop for this time. this is the fifth letter that I have wrote this week and to day is only thursday. I wish that you had to write half as many as I do, you would get so you could write a whole sheet full at once. Well, give my love to all inquiring friends. Mary, I wish that you would ask Mary Warriner if she ever got a letter from me. I wrote her a letter more than a month ago and never have had an answer. so good by till then. write every week. Wm Chase.

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