Three ladies, Anne,
Kris, and myself, arrived at Ossabaw Island on Friday morning
after a walk through Ft. McAllister on Thursday evening. Our
reason for being was a fun frolic at the seashore l862 style,
however, we soon found our frolic interrupted with work when we
were contracted to cook for the army which was camped not far
off.
We
had taken the usual supplies for such an excursion and these
supplemented with those supplied by the soldiers afforded us the
means of preparing simple yet sustaining meals which seemed to be
appreciated by those who partook of them. There were root
vegetables, rice, wheaten flour, meal, brown sugar, salt, pepper,
lard, real coffee, and ham.
Times being what they
are we ladies also cleaned and prepared the game
that was brought to us. Most, however, thought times weren't
quite bad enough to eat the armadillo that Anne and I gutted and
skinned by candle light. She cooked it with rice and simmered it
until it had the consistency of gravy. It looked very appetizing
but as I looked at the pot determined to try it all I could see
was the entrails I'd removed the night before, and the smell of
the butchering process was just a bit too fresh in my mind to
partake of this culinary masterpiece.
Since we had wild pigs
and raccoons galore rooting through camp at night we burned the
entrails and shell of the armadillo on the camp fire lest mama pig
smell the remains and come in search of them. Being three ladies
alone without benefit of light, since to have a lamp meant
carrying it on the boat, and fire wood being depleted prior to our
arrival we had no desire to encounter critters attracted to the
remains of the armadillo during the dark night.
At one point we put a
candle on the table so that we could see what was scurrying around
there only to look up at one point and see a huge raccoon peering
across the table top at us. He was absolutely gorgeous, and lover
of animals that she is especially appealed to Anne who had to be
gently and lovingly reminded that though beautiful and seemingly
friendly he was, after all, a wild animal used to roaming 27,000
acres of uninhabited island (at least save the half dozen or so
residents who look after the island).
He lost some of his
appeal next morning when we discovered during the night he had
lifted off the cast iron lid of the baker oven and completely
devoured the biscuits inside which had been made the evening
before for our breakfast.
The animals showed no
fear of fire or of humans and not knowing the full extent of the
nature of the varmints in our midst we put our bedrolls beside the
fire and paced the addition of our short supply of firewood so
that there would be at least some light till morning.
Saturday morning dawned
clear and beautiful and we determined to try our hand at catching
crabs. We were unsuccessful in that venture, but the men did find
whelks which we cleaned and cooked for lunch. We initially
intended to make fritters but our knives were too dull to chop the
meat sufficiently. We may not have fed the masses on crab, but I
did find a beautiful array of seashells since the beach rarely
sees visitors and shells lay glistening in the sunlight as
far as the eye could see. I was limited in collecting these
treasures only by their weight which I had to carry back onto the
boat to the mainland.
Time flew by much too
quickly and we realized we must hasten back to camp to prepare
lunch. It was a race to have the meal prepared in time for the
arrival of the hungry soldiers. By the time we got them fed,
cleaned the pots and dishes, it was time to begin anew for
the evening repast.
I
baked pan after pan of cornbread and biscuits and those not eaten
for dinner were eaten with a relish by the men next morning. We
used the remaining supplies to make ham dumplings, fried cabbage,
boiled potatoes, fried sweet potatoes, and reheated the rice and
armadillo which still sat uneaten in the pot though the other
dishes were tucked into with a relish.
Saturday night we were
given a guard and not fearing the arrival of mama pig or being
assaulted by Rory Raccoon we ladies determined to get some sleep
though cold made that difficult. I rose at the first hint of
sunlight and sat by the fire which our guard had kept going
throughout the night. As I sat there enjoying the warmth I
watched the most spectacular sunrise out over the sea and felt all
must certainly be right with God to provide such a wondrous
beauty.
Before we knew it time
was gone and we raced to wash up the dishes and
pots from the evenings dinner and get them packed in time to
travel to the mainland with the soldiers as they moved on to
another area. I cannot remember when I enjoyed an excursion
more. I am thankful for such beautiful surroundings and for good
friends with which to share my enthusiasm.
With heartfelt thanks to
our host, I remain,
