Clear and very
windy. The fear of utter famine is now assuming form. Those who have the means are
laying up stores for the day of siege,—I mean a closer and more rigorous siege,
when all communications with the country shall cease; and this makes the
commodities scarcer and the prices higher. There is a project on foot to send
away some thousands of useless consumers; but how it is to be effected by the
city authorities, and where they will be sent to, are questions I have not
heard answered. The population of the city is not less than 100,000, and the
markets cannot subsist 70,000. Then there is the army in the vicinity, which
must be fed. I suppose the poultry and the sheep will be eaten, and something
like a pro rata distribution of flour and meal ordered.
There is a rumor of
a great victory by Gen. Johnston in North Carolina, the taking of 4500 prisoners,
70 guns, etc.—merely a rumor, I am sure. On the contrary, I apprehend that we
shall soon have news of the capture of Raleigh by Sherman. Should this be our
fate, we shall soon have three or four different armies encompassing us!
I tried in vain this
morning to buy a small fish-hook; but could not find one in the city. None but
coarse large ones are in the stores. A friend has promised me one—and I can
make pin-hooks, that will catch minnows. I am too skillful an angler to starve
where water runs; and even minnows can be eaten. Besides, there are eels and
catfish in the river. The water is always muddy.
SOURCE: John
Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate
States Capital, Volume 2, p. 457-8
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