Stevenson Ala
Feb the 15 /64
Dear Wife
I received your letter this morning that was mailed at Union the 9th. It was but five days coming. I wrote a letter yesterday and put in 26 dollars. I am going to send it to Elmira by Capt Sweet. I shall answer all your letters. I shall write twice a weak. It has rained all day here and it is verry mudey. There was some orders came here to day granting furloughs. There can two go out of our Co. I dont want a furlough. It costs to much to go and I think we will all go before next winter. I must tell you what we had for breakfast this morning. We had eggs sourcrout and jamed potatoes butter and bread and coffe. We bought one lb butter paied 80 cents 60 cents for a dosend of eggs 35 cents for a pint of crout. Appels are worth $28 per barel three for 25 cents. I riged out a good breakfast. I jamed the potatoes and put a great lump of buter on the top and let it melt just as you uest to do. But dident we eat. There is four of us tent together. Andrews and Hazard have got a box on the road. It is time for it to be here now. I will have a share of it. Eney thing they get I have part of it and if I have eney thing I divide with them. You will have a chance to send the socks by some of the boys. I will let you know when eney of them go home. I sold some coffee and got five ten cent silver peices. I gave each the boys one and I will send one to Matie. The old cidicens have plenty of it. We get good coffee here. We have to grind it. We get more than we can use. I have sold over two dollars worth. I get 40 cents per quart. I have got about four quarts now. I wish you had it. I drew five days rations this afternoone. We have more than we can eat. I give the negroes lots of bread and pork. We have eney quantity of beans. Wish you had a lot of them. The cidicens and negroes about here draw rations from the goverment. Pork and hardtacks. Nigers that live here get soft bread. The cidicens draw every ten days. It is fun to see women come in all on horseback. Sometimes fifteene or twenty togeather. Most of them wear greay clothes and their horses or mules are verry poor. The women do all the business in this country. They all chew tobacco and snuff. They will ask for a chew of tabacco as bold as a man. Their everage heath is from six to seven feet. We call them nine footers. I must close. Good buy. Kiss J D for me.
Chas Engle