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Letter No 27
Deerans Point Jan 10th 1864
Sunday forenoon,
My Dear Hortense,
I have not yet recd mail from the regt but I am not going to
cheat you out of you
rs for if you long for my letters as I do for yours you would be
miserable without them. The Matamoros(boat name) is loading today
and will start for Indianolia (sic) soon and when she goes we shall
send a man to get the mail for our boys who belong to the first
brig. I know there are a lot of them for me up there and I hope I
shall get them so as to answer them Wed. I am in better humor now
than I was when I wrote you last. Then I was hungry and now I am
full. No rations came but a boat load of sutter goods came and Gen
Washburn "adopted" them allowing the sutter $0.25 profit on the
dollar above cost so we have been living high on soda and cream
crackers, sourkraut, potatoes etc. but now that has ended for four
boats loaded with rations have come in. The 77th sutter
tried to cheat the government by shipping his goods as commissary
suplies(sic) so Washburn confiscated all his goods and did
not allow him one cent. good. While we were so hard up, Wm Henry and
the other burg (sic) boys went on board a boat and "cramped" a
barrel of sugar crackers and a barrel of potatoes from some sutter
or officer. Dont say anything for I dont know as I would like to
have it known. I was sent on with a detail to get a bbl of lime and
on the strength of that I got a bbl of flour, a bbl of potatoes and
was getting a bbl of crackers when a man stopped us and wanted to
know what we were stealing for. I showed him the detail as innocent
as you please and he was satisfied and showed us where the lime was.
(We have to use lime to ---- the hospital with which we are
----king.) Werent I lucky. I divided the things out and we had a
grand feast. One poor fellow died while we were so short. he had
been without nothing anything to eat for 24 hours
and was sent out on picket and he staid (sic) there 24 more and he
actually starved and chilled to death. It has been storming ever
since New years eve, either blowing or raining. I dont care now as I
have enough to eat and a good place to stay in but they cant get me
to reinlist (sic) if they treat me ever so well. I hear no news only
that Henan (?) has whipped King. That's good aint it? Tell Mother if
she has a detailed account of the fight in the Clipper to send it to
me (Do you remember how she lectured me for reading the brutal fight
betteen between Rayrs(?) and Henan(?) and then read
it herself and how I laughed at her?) If you can get a pictorial
containing an ac't (sic) of their fight send it to me. I wrote to
Dan yesterday and A.H.& Co. day before. Give my love to all.
Keep up good courage for I will be at home one of these days never
to leave you again. I think we will probably stay here till good
weather in the spring and then we will strike out. I shall serve my
time out in this state probably Good bye and may God bless you and
my dear children. I am as ever your husband.
John M. Follett
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