CAMP HERRON, NINTH REGIMENT, IOWA VOLUNTEERS,
October 24, 1861.
FRIEND RICH: -Thinking that a few lines from this, the land of secesh and the horn of the homely, might perhaps not be uninteresting to the readers of your excellent paper, I will note down a few items and incidents which are common and peculiar to a soldier's life. We left Benton barracks on the morning of the twelfth, and took the cars at St. Louis about 3 o'clock P. M., for Camp Herron, arriving here about 10 o'clock at night. The road was very rough and uneven, and having probably the heaviest load the old iron horse ever drew, he travelled at a snail's pace, and we were somewhat astonished when we were in-formed that we were only thirty-seven miles from St. Louis. Along the line of the road the country is very broken and uneven, with timber in abundance; while here and there could be seen farm houses that betokened thrift and prosperity, with a plenty of fruit, that recalls scenes that have transpired in youth among the hills of the old Granite State. Camp Herron is situated between two bluffs that rise in splendid magnificence, the tops enveloped in dense ague fogs, while along their sides are huge rocks, enormous stumps and clumps of bushes.
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