83

Friday July 14. The rations being issued from a small building in
the yard hundreds flock here every day. I’m up at daylight &
there they are, probably some who live at a great distance when they
cannot be served at night remain ‘till the next day. While they
are waiting took my Bible & read to them the 5^th of Matt. After reading
the chapter read again the Beatitudes, they repeating them after me.
They are delighted to hear the Word of God read. & ‘tis but little I
can do for them just now during this heat. So I gladly have read to
them this morning. Still we wait for the boat, when will it come.
If for no other reason we would like it to come to bring us provisions. We
hardly know what Mr. Ev. will decide to do when he learns the rations for
today are stopped. There is a little store kept by a colored man here in
the yard but ‘tis little we can buy there & that little we have in debt for
as neither of us have one cent. What would our home friends say if they
knew it. I don’t write thinking every mail we shall receive. Jake brought us
some rice today, a present, we have a great supply of coffee & today changed
it with a woman for Tomatoes & melons, but they don’t care much for
coffee as they have no sugar, if we only had sugar we could get anything.
They have fruit, but we are paying 35 cts. a lb. for it, the same for crackers
I went to the cabins on the place this morning to see if there was not
anything in their gardens we could have. They all seemed more willing
and able to give, one man with a wooden leg went through & through his
corn but found only two ears ready to eat. It is time for it but all there