Graham guardian., 1898-08-12
A VOLUNTEER.
Gives His Views on Camp LIfe-StilI at
Tampa But Living in Hopes of
Getting Away,
Tampa, File, ;, July 30, 1898

Ul volunteer SGiulCr CampeQ in
the tropics wearily waiting and
hoping for the order to move TO
Cuba, Porto Rico or somewhere
may be Of interest to your many
readers. We are camped about
one mile from an arm Of Tampa
Bay and about two miles from the
town itself.
The soil is about IS per cent
white sand, 25 per cent decayed
vegetation, ashes and charcoal,
making combination which when
properly mixed with perspiration
will make man and his under
clothing look as if he had been
rolling in hog pen while recover.
ing from state of intoxication.
The land is spacely covered with
stunted pine trees, which afford
little or no shade, and palmetto.
The heat during the early part of
the day is intense, not that dry,
scorching kind we are used to in
Arizona where the perspiration is
like double distilled rose water but
that other kind where the perspira-
tion if dried would make excellent
tallow candles and man looks
like a freshly fried doughnut.
About 4 p. m. it looks like rain
and Is minutes later God help the
man who is on duty or who has
not taken the precaution to fix his
tent and arrange the many valua-
bic articles which U. S. has kindly
loaned him and which he is in duty
bound to protect and keep clean
and see that the moth and the rust
do not corrupt. For this purpose
the aforesaid U. S. has provided
about 6 square yards of poor can
vas cloth made up into tent about
large enough to keep the sun off
Fthe Arkansas bed bug, and INTO
tins the good soldier must pile his
carbine, revolvers, cartridge belts,
machette, saddle, saddle bags,
bride, spurs, hammock, mess kit,
pouch, blankets, extra clothing,
personal chqcts, etc, etc, without
end. Then he conceals his head
and part of his body likewise and
if the rain lasts 10 minutes, especi-
ally if there is little wind he
might just as we'll left everything
outside and gone and laid down in
ditch himself. The balance o.
the day he spends in care of his
poor wet horse, eating poor wet
supper, drying his poor wet trous,
ers and lying down in his poor wet
blankets and anxiousy looking
forward to that sweet, sweet sleep
w ich does not come, in care Of the
mosquitoes, which are as numerous
.. the sands of the sea and about
the size of Arizona jack rabbits.
He arises at 4 p. m, answers roll
| call, feeds his horse his grain, eats
his own beans and drinks his black
coffee, then grooms and waters and
feeds his horse MS hay, then sad.
dies him and goes on drill and
attempts 10 do in the next three
hours what it has taken regular
soldier three years to learn.
The duties of q private soldier
keen him in a state of constant
dread Of being suddenly summoned
to do some job or other-haul hay,
grain, supplies, cleaning up the
quarters, picket line, Juggling
water, helping cook, arranging and
rearrauging articles according to
the ideas Of some superior officer
| md the life ofthe non-comnisSon
! ed officer Is miserable, getting some
body to do these jobs and general
IIy having to do about two-thirds
Of the work himseIfln order to get
the lob done and keep the mau
who is supposed to do it from kick
ing himself to death.
Talk about your kickers; every
body lmagines he is doing more
than anybody else and that he is
the one particular man who is call
ed upon to do everything so ht
curses and kicks. I've seen 9
squad of q dozen men waste Il
minutes in arguing over some ligh'
task that an ordinary man in civi
life could have accomplished IN
minutes. Just now there is a grea
deal of sickness and the sick are
not required to work, which makes
the duties more onerous for thos'
= who are not sick and it is becom
ing quite fashionable to be on th'
sick'roll. 1t is q notorious fac
: that the men who have been habi
tually on the slck-roll are the laz
lest men we have, they show VI
regular at mess call, put away
good meals, spend the day arguing
on what ought to be done, pla,
poker half of the night and yet i
you asked one Of these men to leaC
his horse to water he would drol
dead. Yet, who shall say they ar,
not sick. We must be eharitabl,
for we know not when our TIM,
may come. There is no question