They were patched with bits of old silk dresses. For little children
shoes were made from old morocco pocket-books. Flour was $250 per
barrel; meal, $50 a bushel; corn, $40 a bushel; oats, $25; black-eyed
peas, $45; brown sugar, $10; coffee, $12; tea, $35 a pound; French
merino or mohair sold at $800 to $1,000 a yard; cloth cloak, $1000 and
$1500; Balmoral boots, $250 the pair; French gloves, $125 and $150.
The stores came to be opened only on occasions.
Salt was the most difficult of all the necessities. The earth from
old smoke houses was dug up and boiled for the drippings of ham and
bacon--these being crystallized by a primitive process.
Newspapers were printed on coarse half-sheets. Every scrap of blank
paper in old note books, letters or waste was utilized. Wall paper and
pictures were turned for envelopes. Glue from the peach tree gum served
to seal the covers. Poke berries, oak balls, and green persimmons,
furnished ink.
The devotion of the people was sublime, always dividing with their
neighbors; and the refugees were noted for heroic acts.
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