Page 186 - Arkansas Confederate Women

DIFFICULTIES OF LIFE OF CONFEDERATE
WOMEN.

WBy Mrs. W. D. assort, of Spring town.

My father and brother joined the Confederate army and my

mother was left with a large family of small children, the oldest
boy being only 13 years old. Father left us plenty to live on, but
Federal soldiers came and destroyed everything. The hogs and
cattle were killed, the corn taken and the fowls seized.

Federal soldiers were stationed at all the grist mills and

no Southern woman was allowed entrance. Every country store

outside of Fayetteville was burned to the ground and in Fayette-

ville a Southern woman could not buy or trade at the stores for
either love or money (both of which they were short of.)

MAKING SALT FKOM SMOKE HOUSE CLAY.

We dug up the dirt where the smoke houses were burned and

put it in hoppers as is done in soap-making and -the water was

Weboiled down until there was a residue of salt. burned an

oval place in the tops of hard stumps and beat corn and wheat

whenever they could be got. We bought by subscription a

small handmill about the size of a sausage grinder and the

neighboring women "came to mill" whenever they had anything.
While one woman was grinding her corn, several would be on

guard in trees and in outhouses watching for the Federals. We

thought that the bread made from this meal was the best that

Wewe had ever eaten. had splendid appetites ; in fact, that was

about all that we did have at times.

WOMEN BDEIED TWO CONFEDERATES.
Mrs. J. B. Stokes of Elm Springs, Ark., and Mrs. J. H.

Wasson, now of Westville, I. T., went 20 miles in an ox cart and

brought to their family burying ground the bodies of two Con-
federate soldiers that had been killed and partly burned. They

dug the grave themselves, as there was no man on the place, and

buried the dead as well as they could. The houses of these