IIG Ten Years of my Life. 



Fort Pulaski, situated on a narrow peninsula and washed by the 

 sea, was then a most horrid'place. Having sustained a siege 

 and being partly in ruins, the accommodation for the garrison 

 was very bad, and the place not having been cleaned for a very 

 long time, was filthy beyond description. In consequence of 

 this, sickness among the soldiers was prevalent, and a great 

 many of them suffered from a kind of cholera or dysentery, with 

 vomiting. 



The smell and the damp in the casements in which we were 

 to live was horrid, especially on days when the weather was 

 cold and the rain pouring down. Moreover, there was no 

 furniture, and the whole place looked extremely dismal. I did 

 not wonder that Colonel Carlton was quite disgusted, and re- 

 turned to Savannah on the 6th. We followed him next day, 

 to fetch many things in order to make our abode more cheer- 

 ful, and to provide medicines, provisions and other comforts 

 for our poor sick soldiers. 



Felix got leave to go to Augusta, and we started from 

 Pulaski on the i6th in a small sailing-boat, but were too late 

 in Savannah for the steamer 'Gibbons.' We therefore took 

 places in the steamer ' Fanny Lehr,' which left for Augusta at 

 four o'clock p M. I had a very nice state-room on the boat, 

 but she had scarcely proceeded forty miles up the river when 

 she struck on a snag, which entered her hulk, making a big 

 leak through which the water came in very fast. The captain 

 at once sent off a messenger to Savannah to fetch assistance, 

 and we meanwhile succeeded in getting off the snag, and pad- 

 dling out of the stream nearer to the bank of the river. The 

 water rose very alarmingly, and soon extinguished the engine 

 fires. The fore part of the ship sank to the muddy bottom, 

 and the captain was afraid she would break right in the middle. 

 The weather was fortunately very fine, and while waiting for 

 assistance we amused ourselves with watching the alligators 

 crawling in the muddy water around the ship. Salm regretted 

 he had no gun to give them battle. He became quite excited 

 when he saw a very big fellow crawl on shore, and wanted to 

 get off the ship to pursue and kill him ; but he had to give up 

 such an idea, as the ground was everywhere an unfathomable 

 swamp. 



The ship did not break, and on the 21st the steamer ' Min» 

 nie Brand ' came from Savannah to assist us. She had been 



