Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-21

each enlisted man about once In every six
days. or from four to FIVE times month.
Those not on guard duty have other things
TO look after.
Drill call is sounded at e;30 o'clock,
promptly and precisely, according to order,
no matter II II be raining pltchforks or blow
ing howitzers at the time The pleasant
pastlme OF drill Is kept up, within doors, for
sixty minutes. OF course. no movements
can be performed in the limited space OF the
squad room; simply the manual OF arms,
bayonet drill, and the like receive the
strictest attention from all hands. com
missioned officer is the instructor at drills.
Retreat call is at sunset, tattoo about $50
o'clock and taps to extinguish the lights
about fifteen minutes later.
THEY FARE WELL.
Let no one be deluded with the idea that
Uncle Sans soldiers dine from cheap, sub
stantial fare only. in these piping times OF
peace. II may be different In active war
fare. We all recall the old saying OF the
days OF the rebellion, to the effect that the
menu in army life was pork hardtack and
coffee for breakfast" "hardtack. pork and
coffee for dinner" and for a change supper
consisted of coffee, pork and hardtack.'
But how untrue this Is today. Anyhow,
little foundation there is for the old jingle
which the men of the old army set to
mess call:"
81 ork, porky porky, without strip of lean;
soup, soupy soupy, without single bean;
IOIIet, tOICe, COIee, Inc lltdlltSN tNtA
At every army fort on the frontier the
diet is practically the same The cooking
is done by enlisted men, who have shown
expertness in the art. Occasionally cook
is hired to teach the soldiers new wrinkles
in culinary devices. Nowadays the regula-
ton ration at the garrison for enlisted men
is about as follows: Twelve ounces Of pork
or bacon or canned beef (rresh or curedl,
or one pound and four ounces of fresh beef,
or twenty-five ounces OF salt beef; eighteen
ounces of soft bread or flour, or sixteen
ounces OF hard bread or one pound and four
ounces of corn meal and to every 100 ra-
tions fifteen pounds OF beans or peas, or
ten pounds of rice or hominy, ten pounds OF
green coffee or eight of roasted coffee, or
two pounds OF tea. fifteen pounds of sugar,
four quarts OF vinegar, four pounds OF salt,
four ounces of pepper, and TO troops In the
field, when necessary. four pounds OF yeast
powder to every 100 rations The number
OF men being known. sufficient rations to
last ten DAYS are drawn from the com
missary department and turned into the
mess. Fresh meat is delivered by contract
daily whenever 1t is possible, while the
bread is baked by soldier bakers In the post
bakery
In addition to the food supplied in the
ration many extras are purchased by means
of funds furnished by the post exchange.
This exchange is the successor OF the old
army cutler who rapidly became rlch from
the profits on goods sold to the men.
few years ago the sutler system was broken
UP and the government now runs its own
stores in the interest OF the enlisted men.
Only a small profit is made and this proht is
used to buy better and more varied sup
ply of food for the men. There Is post
exchange at most forts. The following
articles, bought at post exchange IN Two
months will give an idea of what the
soldier boys have in the way OF extra diet:
Six hundred and fifty pounds OF bologna
| M 10 Of ghn
breakfast bacon, 400 pounds OF fresh sausage.
700 pounds Of mutton and 800 pounds OF
liver. There is consumed at dinner in an
average army garrison, 80 gallons OF soup,
$50 pounds of roast beef, bushels OF
potatoes 2 barrels of turnips, "a gallons Of
tomatoes l barrel of cold slaw, 30 pounds OF
tapioca for pudding and 160 pounds OF bread
From one to two barrels of sirup are eaten
at an average frontier garrison in month
and the average number OF pounds OF sugar
used daily is forty-three.
The following is sample of the menus at
the three meals each day in winter at a
United States garrison in the western wllds:
Breakfast-Cracked wheat with sugar,
beef hash bread butter, sirup and coffee.
Dinner-Roast pork and gravy, roast po-
tatoes. succotash OF lima beans and green
corn, beets, tapioca pudding, bread siruP
and coffee.
supper-Meat and gravy, fried potatoes.
hash, pudding, bread, sirup and tea.
Every man can have just as much as he
desires provided he does not waste by
leaving much food on his plate. This waste
Is not permitted and men are punished for
wasting On holidays an extra dinner is
served The dinner last Christmas day was
as follows: Roast turkey, cranberry sauce,
celery, mashed potatoes, baked sweet po-
tatoes, pickles and cold slaw' mince ana
pumpkin pie pound cake. jelly cake. apples,
rasns coffee, cheese. bread and butter
which for a good meal compares most IA
vorably with a holiday dinner at some of
the best hotels in the land.
ADJUSTMENTS.
For amusements the officers have club
room, and so have the soldiers, too, for that
matter The post trader supplies the
luxuries, and in return has the monopoly OF
what trade there is in it. AT the billiard or
pool tables of some OF our frontier posts
| NAV be seen men who are truly experts
with the cue The band at headquarters
forts is for the benefit OF officers and en-
listed men alike. Light wines, beer and
cider are sold at almost cost prices, but
whisky is not allowed under any pretense
| to be within the limits OF the garrison.
| After many years service in some particular
regiment the soldier has the esprit du corps,
and he takes a certain pride in his profess
sion and what he is about. The bands OF
the military service, with hardly an eX-
ception, are fine bodies of musicians, and
capable of holding their own against all
corners in or out Of the army. At an
isolated post this luxury is most thoroughly
appreciated Hops, concerts, dances. card
parties. dinners. theatricals and various
I other amusements are the order, when they
are cut off from the outside world and the
rest Of civilization by the icy fetters Of
winter. A visitor at the post is made much
Of He or she is dined, feted and danced
In summer the guest is driven or ridden
across the country to the Indian camp, over
the bluffs or along the river bank, back and
forth here and there and everywhere TO
his or her hearts content. In winter, on
bobs and behind a merry set of jingling
sleigh bells, away he goes spinning over the
prairie in and out among the sage brush,
, getting as much enjoyment out of the
square inch as the air, country, and sur
roundings are capable of offering. This is
a pleasant picture to contemplate. but all
these little diversions are dearly bought by
isolation IN a wild partly settled country,
without theaters, operas, shopping. or any of
the ordinary enjoyments that people con-
slider part and parcel OF their existence.
FAIR WEATHER DUTIES.
In fair weather great attention is given
to target practice. There was time when
the average soldier of the line could not
hit icck of barns, although he might have
been armed with a double-barreled repeat
ing shotgun. 1t used to be said, TOO. that
during the late war man with gun would
have to shoot away his own weight in lead
before he could hit anybody. All that is
changed now. 1t would surprise people to