Chicken 30¢, small no account pie 20¢, a piece of corn bread as big as your hand 25¢
and not salt in anything. They have no salt and can't get it. Meal is one dollar per
bushel and none even at that. I received quite a batch of letters yesterday from you,
Lee, Rebecca and Sarah Ann dated 10th and 12th. You would a had to see me get them to
know how glad I was to hear from you all. Mess one is very sorry that we will not have
that good boy J.R. Kell in it again. I do hope he will not lose his foot, but do
hope John P.[Parkinson] will not try soldiering again. Capt does not expect it.
I forgot to say I received a very interesting and friendly letter from L.R. May and one
from Brunton eight or ten days ago. I will try and write to them shortly. Tell John
we left Browder, Snider, and Yates in the hospital at Savannah. None of them very
sick. Dave and Yates are awful home sick and ought to get furloughs, but if they had
them, they have no money. Our Capt has returned, so Doane has returned to our Co.
The boys are all very sorry of it. This morning George Laslie went to tell Capt. to
come to breakfast and asked him if he had any for him. George told him, no, mess
number one was full. Hugh Parkinson has just stepped into our tent. He is as fat as
a bear. He says his Reg. is camped about one mile above us. McNeil is still kicking,
would like to go home, but not near so much so as at Donelson. He would be pleased
to get a letter from you, so would G. Laslie. I have quit chewing tobacco because I
cannot get any fit to chew, but I make it up in smoking. How do you suppose I get
my smoking tobacco and no money? It is troublesome getting letters off without stamps.
We could send them without paying by getting the mayor to put his name on them, but
we do not like to do it. Send me a few stamps in several letters and a Centralia
paper, yes, several of them. I have a notion to write a piece to the Ed. Sarah Ann
wants to know if I talked to A. Andrews. I did to the very last moment I could stay
on the boat. He was cold and only had one blanket and quilt. I tried to buy him one,
offered three
