_Jan. 8._ Howard's[181] corps came to Beaufort early last week, and
carpenters and engineers have been busy putting the Shell Road[182] to
the Ferry in order and building a bridge across the Ferry. It looks as
if a move were to be made towards Charleston or the interior soon.
Beaufort presents a lively spectacle; the Western soldiers are rough,
unkempt customers, whose hair, falling over their shoulders, suggests
vows of abstinence from the shears till they shall have accomplished a
great work. The first few days of their stay in Beaufort were marked
by acts more amusing to the soldiers than to the owners of property
"lying round loose." The first night was chilly, and three thousand
feet of lumber furnished bonfires at which the soldiers of the
"movable army" warmed themselves. Shopkeepers do a tremendous
business, and their shops look "fair dry;" but they do not always get
pay for their goods, but are requested to look on the battlefield for
their money. The troops were paid off just before leaving Atlanta, and
are "flush." Bread is very scarce. The troops fared very well on the
march,--one continued Thanksgiving through the richest part of
Georgia.
The schooner _Horace_ for New York, with the rest of our cotton and
the first of the negroes', is loaded. The negroes' crops did not turn
out very well, as a general rule; want of manure and careless working
being the principal causes; the caterpillar did a great deal of
damage. They seem somewhat discouraged at the prospect of having to
wait so long for their money; but the advance paid them on shipping
the cotton (a dollar a pound of ginned cotton) will be a great help to
those who have done well.
It is an excellent thing for the property here that Mr. H.[183] is
here to keep it in repair. He is a regular trump, the best man down
here. I feel more contented at leaving the place with him than with
any one here.
If I could have a place down here all to myself, and have what help I
wanted, I think I should stay another year and try the experiment on a
little different plan. But, as Mr. Folsom said one day, when we agreed
that it would be pleasant to stay and hard to leave, "But, after all,
one must remember that one has an immortal soul."