My Cave Life in Vicksburg Part 3

CHAPTER XII.

FIRE AT NIGHT--A NARROW ESCAPE--MOONLIGHT--Sh.e.l.lS FROM THE BATTLE FIELD--EMPLOYMENT AND TRAFFIC.

My past resolution having forsaken me, again were the mortar sh.e.l.ls heard with extreme terror, and I was many days recovering the equanimity I had been so long attaining. This night, as a few nights before, a large fire raged in the town. I was told that a large storehouse, filled with commissary stores, was burning, casting lurid lights over the devoted city; and amid all, fell--with screams and violent explosions, flinging the fatal fragments in all directions--our old and relentless enemies, the mortar sh.e.l.ls.

The night was so warm, and the cave so close, that I tried to sit out at the entrance, George saying he would keep watch and tell when they were falling toward us. Soon the report of the gun would be heard, and George, standing on the hillock of loose earth, near the cave, looked intently upward; while I, with suspended breath, would listen anxiously as he cried, "Here she comes! going over!" then again, "Coming--falling--falling right dis way!" Then I would spring to my feet, and for a moment hesitate about the protection of the cave. Suddenly, as the rushing descent was heard, I would beat a precipitate retreat into it, followed by the servants.

That night I could scarcely sleep, the explosions were so loud and frequent. Before we retired, George had been lying without the door. I had arisen about twelve o'clock, and stood looking out at the different courses of light marking the pa.s.sage of the sh.e.l.ls, when I noticed that George was not in his usual place at the entrance. On looking out, I saw that he was sleeping soundly, some little distance off, and many fragments of sh.e.l.l falling near him. I aroused him, telling him to come to the entrance for safety. He had scarcely started, when a huge piece of sh.e.l.l came whizzing along, which fortunately George dodged in time, and it fell in the very spot where he had so lately slept.

Fearing to retire, I sat in the moonlight at the entrance, the square of light that lay in the doorway causing our little bed, with the sleeping child, to be set out in relief against the dark wall of the cave--causing the little mirror and a picture or two I had hung against the wall to show mis-shapen lengths of shadows--tinting the crimson shawl that draped the entrance of my little dressing room, with light on the outer folds, and darkening in shadow the inner curves;--beautifying all, this silvery glow of moonlight, within the darkened earth--beautifying my heart with lighter and more hopeful thoughts. Whatever the sins of the world may have brought us to--however dark and fearful the life to which man may subject us, our Heavenly Father ever blesseth us alike with the sun's warmth and the moon's beauty--ever blesseth us with the hope that, when our toil and travail here are ended, the peace and the beautiful life of heaven will be ours.

Days wore on, and the mortar sh.e.l.ls had pa.s.sed over continually without falling near us; so that I became quite at my ease, in view of our danger, when one of the Federal batteries opposite the intrenchments altered their range; so that, at about six o'clock every evening, Parrott sh.e.l.ls came whirring into the city, frightening the inhabitants of caves wofully.

Our policy in building had been to face directly away from the river, and all caves were prepared, as near as possible, in this manner. As the fragments of sh.e.l.ls continued with the same impetus after the explosion, in but one direction, onward, they were not likely to reach us, fronting in this manner with their course.

But this was unexpected--guns throwing sh.e.l.ls from the battle field directly at the entrance of our caves. Really, was there to be no mental rest for the women of Vicksburg?

The cave we inhabited was about five squares from the levee. A great many had been made in a hill immediately beyond us; and near this hill we could see most of the sh.e.l.ls fall. Caves were the fashion--the rage--over besieged Vicksburg. Negroes, who understood their business, hired themselves out to dig them, at from thirty to fifty dollars, according to the size. Many persons, considering different localities unsafe, would sell them to others, who had been less fortunate, or less provident; and so great was the demand for cave workmen, that a new branch of industry sprang up and became popular--particularly as the personal safety of the workmen was secured, and money withal.

CHAPTER XIII.

Sh.e.l.lS FROM THE REAR OF THE CITY--PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE--PANTOMIME--PEA MEAL--HOSPITAL ACCIDENT.

It was about four o'clock, one Wednesday evening--the sh.e.l.ling during the day had gone on about as usual--I was reading in safety, I imagined, when the unmistakable whirring of Parrott sh.e.l.ls told us that the battery we so much feared had opened from the intrenchments. I ran to the entrance to call the servants in; and immediately after they entered, a sh.e.l.l struck the earth a few feet from the entrance, burying itself without exploding.

I ran to the little dressing room, and could hear them striking around us on all sides. I crouched closely against the wall, for I did not know at what moment one might strike within the cave. A man came in much frightened, and asked to remain until the danger was over. The servants stood in the little niche by the bed, and the man took refuge in the small ell where I was stationed. He had been there but a short time, standing in front of me, and near the wall, when a Parrott sh.e.l.l came whirling in at the entrance, and fell in the centre of the cave before us all, lying there smoking. Our eyes were fastened upon it, while we expected every moment the terrific explosion would ensue. I pressed my child closer to my heart, and drew nearer to the wall. Our fate seemed almost certain. The poor man who had sought refuge within was most exposed of all. With a sudden impulse, I seized a large double blanket that lay near, and gave it to him for the purpose of shielding him from the fragments; and thus we remained for a moment, with our eyes fixed in terror on the missile of death, when George, the servant boy, rushed forward, seized the sh.e.l.l, and threw it into the street, running swiftly in the opposite direction.

Fortunately, the fuse had become nearly extinguished, and the sh.e.l.l fell harmless--remaining near the mouth of the cave, as a trophy of the fearlessness of the servant and our remarkable escape. Very thankful was I for our preservation, which was the theme of conversation for a day among our cave neighbors. The incident of the blanket was also related; and all laughed heartily at my wise supposition that the blanket could be any protection from the heavy fragments of sh.e.l.ls.

Nor was this all: I had occasion to go to the mouth of the cave one evening to speak to George; and there, with an enlightened audience of servants from the surrounding caves collected near him, George was going through a grave pantomime of the whole affair. It seems that he expected the refugee to act the part of preserver in our extremity, and throw out the sh.e.l.l; but, as he was disappointed in the matter, he represented him in the most ridiculous manner possible to the audience.

Pressing up closely to the wheel of a wagon near by, George extended his eyes, holding out his hand as if with a shield, and shrinking with the semblance of extreme terror, that amused his spectators vastly: then, changing the whole character, he put on the bravest port imaginable, pushing his hat, with an independent air, on the side of his head; and, a.s.suming a don't-carish look, he sauntered forward to a large piece of sh.e.l.l that lay conveniently near, caught it with both hands, gave it a careless swing and throw far different from the reality, turned on his heels, walked back to the wagon, with the peculiar swinging step of a proud negro; then, leaning his arm on the wheel, carelessly surveyed his audience, with a look that plainly said, "What you think o' dat, n.i.g.g.ars?"

The benefited group immediately began laughing and applauding, like a well-trained bevy of _claqueurs_, in which they were soon joined by George himself.

Soon after, I received a note from M----, imploring me to be careful and remain within the cave constantly. I could see that he was restless and troubled in regard to the new peril from the battle field.

And so the weary days went on--the long, weary days--when we could not tell in what terrible form death might come to us before the sun went down. Another fear that troubled M---- was, that our provisions might not last us during the siege. He would frequently urge me to husband all that I had, for troublesome times were probably in store for us; told me of the soldiers in the intrenchments, who would have gladly eaten the bread that was left from our meals, for they were suffering every privation, and that our servants lived far better than these men who were defending the city.

Soon the pea meal became an article of food for us also, and a very unpalatable article it proved. To make it of proper consistency, we were obliged to mix some corn meal with it, which cooked so much faster than the pea meal, that it burned before the bread was half done. The taste was peculiar and disagreeable.

However, it soon proved unwholesome, for the soldiers were again allowed to draw rations of the remaining corn meal, with the peas in the kernel to be boiled with meat. We were, indeed, experiencing the rigors and hardships of a siege, for we ate nothing now but meat and bread.

Still, we had nothing to complain of in comparison with the soldiers: many of them were sick and wounded in a hospital in the most exposed parts of the city, with sh.e.l.ls falling and exploding all around them. One sh.e.l.l went completely through a hospital in the centre of the city, without exploding or injuring any one, save by the severe shock to the invalids: a fragment afterward came through the side of the same house, severely fracturing the hip of a soldier, who was lying already wounded; one or two wounded men were, also, killed by fragments of sh.e.l.l while in the hospital.

CHAPTER XIV.

DOGS--HORSES--DESCENT OF A Sh.e.l.l THROUGH A CAVE--A MOTHER'S CRIES--DESERTED HOMES--SILENCE.

Even the very animals seemed to share the general fear of a sudden and frightful death. The dogs would be seen in the midst of the noise to gallop up the street, and then to return, as if fear had maddened them. On hearing the descent of a sh.e.l.l, they would dart aside--then, as it exploded, sit down and howl in the most pitiful manner. There were many walking the street, apparently without homes. George carried on a continual warfare with them, as they came about the fire where our meals were cooking.

In the midst of other miserable thoughts, it came into my mind one day, that these dogs through hunger might become as much to be dreaded as wolves. Groundless was this anxiety, for in the course of a week or two they had almost disappeared.

The horses, belonging to the officers, and fastened to the trees near the tents, would frequently strain the halter to its full length, rearing high in the air, with a loud snort of terror, as a sh.e.l.l would explode near. I could hear them in the night cry out in the midst of the uproar, ending in a low, plaintive whinny of fear.

The poor creatures subsisted entirely on cane tops and mulberry leaves.

Many of the mules and horses had been driven outside of the lines, by order of General Pemberton, for subsistence. Only mules enough were left, belonging to the Confederacy, to allow three full teams to a regiment.

Private property was not interfered with.

Sitting in the cave, one evening, I heard the most heartrending screams and moans. I was told that a mother had taken a child into a cave about a hundred yards from us; and having laid it on its little bed, as the poor woman believed, in safety, she took her seat near the entrance of the cave. A mortar sh.e.l.l came rushing through the air, and fell with much force, entering the earth above the sleeping child--cutting through into the cave--oh! most horrible sight to the mother--crushing in the upper part of the little sleeping head, and taking away the young innocent life without a look or word of pa.s.sing love to be treasured in the mother's heart.

I sat near the square of moonlight, silent and sorrowful, hearing the sobs and cries--hearing the moans of a mother for her dead child--the child that a few moments since lived to caress and love--speaking the tender words that endear so much the tie of mother and child. Oh, the little lonely grave! so far distant, yet so ever present with me; the sunny, auburn head that I laid there six months after this terrible war began!

I could not hear those sobs and cries without thinking of the night--that last night--when I held my darling to my heart, thinking that, though so suddenly stricken and so scared, she would still live to bless my life.

And the terrible awakening!--to find that, lying in my arms all my own, as I believed, she was going swiftly--going into the far unknown eternity!

Sliding from my embrace, the precious life was called by One so mighty--so all-powerful--yet so merciful, that I bowed my head in silence.

Still the moans from the bereaved mother came borne on the pleasant air, floating through the silvery moonlit scene--saddening hearts that had never known sorrow, and awakening chords of sympathy in hearts that before had thrilled and suffered. Yet, "it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Yes, better the tender memory of a hidden life that glows in our hearts forever; better, all will say who have known the light and consolation given from on high, when we throw ourselves before His Throne in utter wretchedness, and arise strong--strong in the strength that never faileth--the Lord's strength. The desert that hath not known the oases of life, though blasted and withered by the burning sirocco that pa.s.seth over, cannot know the refreshing and gentle drops that bring renewed and more tender verdure.

How very sad this life in Vicksburg!--how little security can we feel, with so many around us seeing the morning light that will never more see the night! I could not sit quietly within hearing of so much grief; and, leaving my seat, I paced backward and forward before the low entrance of my house. The court-house bell tolled twelve; and though the sh.e.l.ls fell slowly still around the spot where the young life had gone out, yet friends were going to and from the place.

How blightingly the hand of warfare lay upon the town! even in the softening light of the moon--the closed and desolate houses--the gardens, with gates half open, and cattle standing amid the loveliest flowers and verdure! This carelessness of appearance and evident haste of departure was visible everywhere--the inhabitants, in this perilous time, feeling only anxiety for personal safety and the strength of their cave homes.

The moans of pain came slowly and more indistinct, until all was silent; and the bereaved mother slept, I hope--slept to find, on waking, a dull pressure of pain at her heart, and in the first collection of faculties will wonder what it is. Then her care for the child will return, and the new sorrow will again come to her--gone, forever gone!

It will take days to fully realize it, and then she will struggle and grow strong. G.o.d in his mercy helps the poor human hearts that suffer, struggle, and grow strong in these sad years of warfare! No one came now--no word to show that life still throbbed in the silent city.

The fresh air told of the coming morning: the guns were still. Peace for a short time reigned in the troubled city; and, in the perfect quiet that prevailed, my eyes grew heavy, and I once more sought my bed--this time to rest peacefully until the cheerful morning light dawned upon us.

CHAPTER XV.

AN EXCITEMENT--SINKING OF THE CINCINNATI--SKY PARLOR HILL--MOVING PROSPECTS.

With the dawn came the old unrest and distrust, for the sh.e.l.ls were again falling quite thickly around us; and I pa.s.sed an hour or two in continual shrinkings and exclamations. At length our tormentors pa.s.sed farther on, and I again felt relieved from anxiety.

At ten or twelve o'clock, we saw, in spite of the continual falling of the sh.e.l.ls, gentlemen hurrying toward the river. Soon we heard the Confederate river batteries booming loudly, and then all was silent. What could it mean? I did not venture to look without; and so I sat waiting for some one to come to me. At last a friend appeared, who, in the most triumphant manner, told us that the Confederates had routed the Federal fleet. The gunboats had formed in line of battle, sailing down majestically, with the Cincinnati--one of the finest boats in the river navy--leading the attack.