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A Woman's Life-Work — Labors and Experiences by Laura S. Haviland
page 286 of 576 (49%)
year before, but was overtaken and shot by his master, shivering the
bones six inches above the ankle, making amputation necessary. He was
beginning to use his wooden leg. His master was taken prisoner by our
men a few days before, and he, with one hundred fellow-slaves, fell
into the hands of the Union army. He was fitted with a whole suit.
This was done in but few instances, the general destitution forbidding
it. It would have pleased the donors to see me with open boxes, taking
out garment after garment, measuring and delivering, upon presentation
of tickets previously given, to fifty or a hundred at a time; and to
listen to the many thanks and hearty "God bless you!" as each garment
was taken.

At breakfast the adjutant told me of five little boys belonging to
some of the Fort Pillow families that were almost naked, and that he
had given one little fellow a pair of his own pants. I told him to
bring them to the commissary tent any time from nine to twelve
o'clock, as I had arranged to meet the children to whom I had given
tickets; and if he brought them or gave them a slip of paper with his
name, it would serve the same purpose. Soon we were beside the boxes
in our commissary tent measuring, fitting, and handing out, when up
stepped the little fellow of eight summers with the tall man's pants,
rolled over and over at the bottom, with one suspender tied around
him, the other placed over his shoulder to hold them on. His eyes
sparkled as a new suit was thrown over his arm; calling out, "See
here, Johnnie, what I got!" "Yes, look at mine!" was the quick reply,
while on the other side stood a little girl who exclaimed, in
surprise, "Oh, Milla, my dress has a pocket, and see what I found," as
she drew out a rag doll two inches long. Then a dozen other little
girls instituted a search and found similar treasures, which I
recognized as coming from certain little girls in Hudson, Michigan.
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