16 HENRY HILL GOODELL 



Commissary of this ship, your humble servant in propria 

 persona. Each day I growl and say, 'Oh, men, why will 

 you eat so much?' Over three thousand pounds of rations 

 do I have to issue from that hold each day. It is no small 

 job, with the vessel pitching everything hilter skilter, to get 

 provisions up ; and I assure you it is very disturbing to the 

 equanimity of my temperature and requireth great nerve 

 and presence of stomach to go below into the bowels of 

 the ship and hear some hundred or two puking above you. 

 Occasionally, I grieve to relate, I get disembowelled in the 

 operation. Hilton Head is the most God-forsaken, misera- 

 ble old hole yours respectfully ever got into. The sand is 

 ankle-deep everywhere, and such a lot of negroes, — shift- 

 less, lazy dogs, black as the ace of spades and twice as 

 natural. But the little nigs kill me outright. Excepting a 

 young elephant I know of nothing so comical. I can sit 

 half the morning looking at them and hearing them jabber. 

 We expect to sail to-night or to-morrow morning; but I 

 must close as I have a chance to send this ashore." 



The Merrimac did not reach New Orleans until some 

 days after the arrival of the other transports. Part of his 

 regiment went immediately up the river to Baton Rouge, 

 and part of it was left at New Orleans. On the arrival 

 of the Merrimac, Goodell was employed in superintend- 

 ing the unlading of the ship, and had a very definite im- 

 pression that the "Native Brethren " did not like the "New 

 Massa"; for his ideas of a day's work were very different 

 from those to which they had been accustomed. He had 

 time, however, to visit many places in the city. He was 

 attracted to the slave-market, and noticed the signs of the 

 various dealers in human chattels. He made an excursion 



