FORT OE NIAGARA, 
97 
which formerly was the officers’ mess room, 
and a pattern of neatness* The officers of the 
federal garrison, however, consider it more 
convenient to mess in one of the kitchens, and 
this beautiful room has been suffered to go to 
ruin; indeed every part of the fort now ex¬ 
hibits a picture of slovenliness and neglect; 
and the appearance of the soldiers is equally 
devoid of neatness with that of their quarters. 
Though it was on Sunday morning that we 
visited the fort, on which day it is usual even 
for the men of the garrisons in the States to 
appear better dressed than on other days, yet 
the greater part of the. men were as dirty as if 
they had been at work in the trenches for a 
week without intermission: their grisly beards 
demonstrated that a razor had not approached 
their chins for many days; their hair, to ap¬ 
pearance, had not been combed for the same 
length of time ; their linen was filthy, their 
guns rusty, and their clothes ragged. That 
the clothes and accoutrements of the men 
should not be better, is not to be wondered at, 
considering how very badly the western army 
of the States is appointed in every respect: but 
it is strange that the officers should not attend 
more than they do to the cleanliness of their 
men. Their garrisons on the frontiers have 
uniformly suffered more from sickness than 
those of the British; and it is to be attributed* 
VOL. II, 
H 
