Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-20

Especial Correspondence OF the RECORD-OSI0S.l
CAMP SKATER Santa Cruz.
August IS, 1889
After trip of about eight hours from
Sacramento the First Artillery Regiment
arrived here at camp, at 7oclock this
morning, having reached the depot about
6:3O, and the march thence to the camp
ground consumed half an hour. There
were hardly any noticeable incidents on the
downward trip, but it is safe to say that not
man in the whole regiment slept half an
hour while on the cars. Everybody APP
peared to be in for fun, and if perchance
one weary soul did attempt to take rest
his quiet would be invariably disturbed by
"heart-rending songs" and yociferous shout
ing of the jovial militiamen. -
Along towards midnight hunger b. Z
to make its presence known among be
men, and whenever a station was reached
there would be a rush for the platform to
hunt up provisions. but none were to be
found. One of the boys thought he would
play good joke on Company G's men.
and accordingly just before the train
stopped at way station he opened the
door of the car, thrust his head in and
shouted, "Ham sandwiches " at the top of
his voice. No further remarks were
needed. A general rush for the platform
of the car was made, the whole crowd
smackiDg their lips with unusual force in
their esgerness. A faint echo of the shout
reached Company Cs men and dozens
OF heads were thrust out of the window,
and as many pair of eyes pierced the gloom
in all directions for the sandwich man.
Of course the object of the search was not
to be found and it is well that he had not
put in an appearance for be would surely
have been roughly handled. The men re-
turned to their respective cars with looks
| OF disgust. but it so CHANGED that almost all
OF the Captains OF the companies came to
the rescue in great shape" as the men
termed it. Boxes were broken open, and
10! sandwiches and cheese in abundance
came forth, the pangs OF starvation were
checked and everything resumed its normal
condition.
After the lunch, the effectiveness of
which could be plainly felt, the men began
to quiet down, though not until about 8
in the morning. The favorite song was
We'll Be in the Asylum Soon.'' and as a
relief, Sarah Get Your Cum came in
with vim. Men who never had musi
cal note in them. and never will have
was marvellous. There was no regard for
time, and the tune was all the same. no
matter how the songs were sung
When the train reached San Jose, where
It stopped ten minutes or so, the lady
friends of the regiment having meanwhile
entered into discussion as to who was the
tieetest of foot in their car among the fair
sex, and the dispute having dwindled
down to three or four, the competitors for
the honor were declared to be Mrs. Colonel
Mckee, Mrs. Captain Hall, Miss Marian
Govan, Miss Lille Wallace, and one or two
other ladies. They repaired to the depot
and at the word "go" there was a grand
jump, rustic, and in one or two instances.
almost balloon ascension. Misses Goyap
and Wallace easily left their opponents in
the rear, and won handily on tie. Next
came Mrs. Mckee, with great stride. fol-
lowed closely by Mrs. Hail. The former was
steadily gazing on Mrs. Mckee, when an
Inflated pin tripped her, and before she
could recover erself the distance flag had
fillen several sc ,onds. The race was dc.
cared put-up job, and it is said another
will take place in short time when the
respective merits OF each can honestly be
estimated
When the train reached Santa Cruz line
was formed on the depot platform and
thence the re iment n a b d Tin fours', tn
the camp ground, which had been named
Camp Shafter." Contrary to expectations
all OF the tents had been pitched, and thew
presented pretty spectacle. Ali were new
wall tents, having been pitched for the first
time, and their clean white appearance had
pleasing effect On the camp. The camp
| is 500 yards father out the road and south
| OF where it was two years ago. The grounds
are not as good or suitable for drilling as
where the regiment held its last camp, but
they will have TO do.
On the way to camp. as orr regiment
| passed the Fifth and Sixth IufantrV Reoi.
| ments, which were camped on the grounds
which We, with the regulars, occupied two
years ago, the men left their tents and
| came rushing to the road to see our men
pass by. They gave cheer upon cheer for
| the First Artillery boys, and made witty
remarks about the grub, etc. One of them
shouted: If you boys can eat tripe and
| beans all your life, you won't get sick
here" You don't know u.s." someone
| yelled back.
When camp was reached and ranks
| broken, the men all rushed for two hnoe
stacks of straw, and in q remarkable sbnrt
] space of time the stacks were leyeled 10
the ground. For each company there
were eight tents for the enlisted men. and
| as usual, two for the company offieers
with here ana there an extra one. The
non-commissioned officers, Colonel Guth-
RE and staff and others were all comfort
ably located on the west of the main body
| of the tents.
Company G. with 81 men, occupies the
| lne OF tents on the north extremity. and
Company b, with 81 men. the extreme
south row OF tents, Company A, with AZ
men, is just across the company street from
! g, and behind A is Company c. with 40
men. Across the street from COMPANY G
| is Company +, with total of SO men, and
to their rear is Company L, numbering sc
men. The total number of men in can,n
including the Colonel and stsff. etc. Is
about $50. =
Directly after the men arrived in camn
( the baggage wagons came up and the lug
| gage was given around to its owners.
| Alter fixing up their tents and taking a
good wash all repaired 10 b,eakfast, and
ample justice was done the meal. The
/ general expression was that The "snreadS
was dandy" with one exception-the
coffee was too weak. One ofthe boys said he
rested his cup of coffee on the bench be-
| fore be placed il on the table, so that the
strength would not entirely disappear from
| the shaking up of the contents of the cun.
This IS an easy matter TO remedy, and the
rest of the bill of fare is really good. and
| there Will be no cause for COMPLAINT If
| during the rest of the week the vic,uals
are as plentiful and well cooked as they
were to-day.
Guard mount was held at 10 o'clock this
morning, and though the different details
vent at il in sort of rough and tumble
manner they got through with it. There
are eight posts around the camp and of
course the guard house is up, but as vet il
has no occupants in the shape of mis-.
crean,s, Captain John Cook of Company
b is officer of the day, to-day, and Lieu.
tenant Simonds Of Company C and Lien
tenant Gett CT Company e are officers OF
| the guard.
The Fifth Infantry Regiment. under
command of Lieutenant-C Colonel Coleman
4 Colonel Donahue, the commanding officer
being absent from the State), broke camp
this morning, as did also the Sixth Resi.
ment, under Colonel Lehe of Stockton.
The ending of their weeks outing as at.
| tended by appropriate ceremonies.
The Fifth Infantry Band, in recognition
| OF the presence of the First Artillery Reei-
ment, came over TO our camp and rendered
few choice musical selections.
Among the ladies who are stopping here
| az camp are the following from Sacra-
msnto: Mrs. Colonel J. w. Guthrie and
daughters Maud ana Daisy, Mrs. Lieuten-
ant-Colonel E II Mckee. Mrs. Major Wal.
lace aud daughter Lille Mrs f,ao,.;n n