6

far as the buildings can make them; but when that is said all is said.
“ The poor inmates are destitute of every.comfort, ragged, filthy, and
lying on the floor; few of them having even straw. Nearly the half are
sick, and we might say were actually dying for something they could eat.
Raw meat, tainted by the extreme warm weather, was lying in sight of
poor creatures who were in the agonies of death, and raw beans and galt
pork and beef, that had been issued to those who were too sick to pre-
pare them for food, or to eat it if prepared by others, were scattered
everywhere. Piles of rags and dirty clothes lay in every corner, and at
every place where the poor sufferers found rest for their aching bones.
We kept a kind-hearted black soldier, who was in disgrace, cutting our
dried beef all the afternoon; he became very expert, and shaved it
nicely enough for our own table. , My thirteen pounds of crackers and
delicate biscuit were exhausted by the time I had gone through all the
houses, which are, I think, twelve in number. They are long and nar-
row, like all other barracks. I also distributed my five pounds of choco-
late. We came home at a late hour, with our minds busy trying to decide
what we had best attempt to do further for them.

“Superintendent Nichols is in command. I had a pass from Colonel
Green, allowing me to go where I please for ten days, from the 5th ©
instant. S. and I compared views, and made up our minds how to pro-
ceed. So this morning we went, as early as we could get off, to Captain
Brown, who is incommand at the Freedmen’s Village. He was not in,
but we found his next in office, and were glad to discover him to be all
we could desire. He said we might go over there, and do whatever we
thought was best. With lightened hearts we left him, promising to call
on our return, and see Captain Brown.

**Soon as we reached the Island, I went to the person in command,
and told him we would like to have a place to prepare food for the sick,
and that we had the day before found two women who we believed worthy
of trust, and would do whatever cooking was necessary.

“He gave us one of the kitchens, put our two cooks on the pay roll at
$6 dollars per month, had a load of wood hauled, and gave us the control
of as many men as we wanted. I undertook the supervision of this de-
partment, while Sally followed the doctor and his -assistant through the
wards, with crackers and beef. The floors were scrubbed, and our cooks
soon had apples stewed and gruel made, and many a poor famishing crea-
ture was comforted.

“T then went into two of the barracks, and ordered all the children
who could walk to be taken down to the river and thoroughly washed.
Those who were too sick, I had bathed in tepid water, of which there
was plenty on our great round stove.* Then to each clean child we dis-
tributed clothing. We set our scrubbers to cleaning the houses; had
lime scattered all around outside; and, feeling we had done all we then
could do, we had our buggy brought, and started home to Camp Todd,