Cairo Illinois              

March the 25 1863

 

My Dear Father & Mother, Sister's,

                        I seat myself to write you a few lines to let you know where I am and how my health is I am not very well I have had 2 chills of ague but they were light I have the head ache some but not very bad. Thare is some 34 of us to geather going down the river. well I have seen a great del of Illinois. I shall tell you that I dont like it very well for this reason Thare is not timber enough in this state. all the timber I seen it is all oak and very small at that principly shrubry and I saw a great prarie sometimes as far I could see with not a tree to be seen and a nother thing The land is swamppy I seen over 500 acres innundated with water and falling timber. Cairo next

 

I will say that this is as desperate looking place as ever I saw Oh! the mud It is so deep and the town is coverd with water some of the folks have to have skiffts to get away from their houses and this is the way the people have to do the levie for the rail road is / all that keeps the river from running all over the town. The river is very full now but not so full as it has been. This morning the 26^th the river looks very nice. I am on board the Mary Masiack This boat runs as far as Memphis. The place were our Regiment is is called Shirt-tail Bend. I think this is a curious name. The boat on wich I am is loded with beef cattle, muls, army wagons, government stores towls and as many more different things I saw the engine and a migty thing it is too I see a great many contrabands down here. we have some very hard Boys along with us and the way they will talk is / not very slow to the Negres of this place and some of the dirtiest looking humans I ever saw is here. But I will be very apt to see something worse than this before I get back again. well I bought me a shirt at Indianoplis and I think I will have plenty of cloths. I have that pen I got of Thomas Brookbank yet and I did pay him for it. He will think strange of going away without paying him. you will plese pay him $2.50 for me and I will send you plenty to replace all. I have not a great del of money now but I will spend the less so I think I can get along so I will conclud my letter by asking you to write to me as soon as you can and tell me all the news.

                                                                                   

Good By

W^m H. Corbin 2^d Corps of Co (K)

69^th Ind Vols.  2 E. A. Corbin

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