The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-16
LEAVE TOPEKA.
Twentieth and TWenty-First
Regiments of Volunteers
Take the Train For Two Widely
Different Points.
ONE REGIMENT GOES
To the Far Philippines and
the Other
Is Bound For Chattanooga and
Later on, For Cuba.

scheduled to leave Topeka over the
| Union Pacific for San Francisco shortly
after noon today. 1t may be, how
ever, that the train will not be ready
to start before 3 or o'clock. The reg
iment consists of LOIS men, and will be
taken out of here on three special
trains.
The Twenty-first Kansas regiment is
scheduled to leave Topeka at o'clock
this afternoon for Chattanooga Like
the Twentieth, it may be two or three
hours later than the appointed time be-
fore the troops will leave this city.
| This regiment consists of 1,058 men, and
will also be taken out of Topeka in
three special trains.
Early this morning the men of the
Twentieth regiment were astfr at Camp
Leedy and by the time reveIle sounded,
most of the men were busy packing
their knapsacks, haversacks, filling
their canteens with pure Kansas water,
ready to leave for San Francisco. When
first call sounded, the men were anx-
1ously awaiting the order to strike
camp At morning roll call the order
for the Twentieth regiment to break
camp was issued, and Immediately the
men went to work to get in readiness
for the wagons to transport their tents
and baggage to the train.
The First battalion, comprising Com
panies K, E, G and M, in command Of
Maj. Whitman, were ordered to take
the first section. The Second battalion,
t made up OF Companies H, G, d and L, in
command of Maj. Metcalf, were ordered
to occupy the second section, and the
third battalion, made up of Companies
B, L, f and A, together with the hos
pttal corps, in charge of Maj. DeNeid-
man, and the regimenta1 band, under
Chief Musician GOrmly, will occupy
the third section, which will be known
as headquarters. The Third battalion
will be in charge of Capt. Fred Buchan,
and the third section will be the head
quarters for Lieut.. Col. Little, who will
be in charge, Quartermaster lie. Smith
and the other staff officers. The order
given this morning at camp was for the
companies to be ready to take the train
at 10 o'clock at the Union Pacific, but
it was 10 o'clock before the order was
given for the companies to leave the
camp.
Throughout the camp was a scene of
confusion. The tents of the First bat
TALON were rolled up and loaded on
wagons, together with the stoves, mess
chests and other camp equipage. The
only marks left to tell where the tents
had stood were the piles of straw used
for bedding.
Just before leaving camp, a large
silk flag was received by the Fort Scott
company. 1t was a present from the
citizens of Fort Scott, but there was
little ceremony connected with the pre-
sentation. A short note with the nag
said: with the best wishes of the cit
liens of Fort Scott and tn @ope that
the flag and company will return with
a record for valor and patriotism
The note was read to the assembled
company and the nag was un19 3 .Sa
while the company cheered it and the
citizens as 1t was paraded IN front OF
the line.
At headquarters everyone was busy.
nd al MntnaIf
riding hither and thither, issuing orders
and looking after the breaking of camp;
Sergt. Maj. Dodge and Reglmental
Clerk Pribble were overwhelmed with
questions.
Don't ask so many questions ex-
claimed Sergt. Maj. Dodge, pack up
your things, and when we embark for
the islands we will have plenty or tlrne
in which to answer questions This is
my busy day. Call when we are two
davs out of San Francisco" and the
sergeant turned away to polish mis-
sword, ready for the last guard mount
to be held in Camp Leedy by the Twen-
tieth. ,
The members of the staff were all
looking for their superior, Lieut.. Col
Ed Little An orderly was sent through
camp to find him. He returned and re-
ported that the guards saw the coIonel
leave the camp headed for town. ADJ
DeFord rushed into regimental head
quarters and telephoned to the state
house for the colonel.
dentists calmly replied Maj Shreve
while Adj. DeFord was dancing around
the telephone asking central to connect
him with the dentists who had tele-
phones He finally found the right
one and was informed that Col. Little
had left there for the barber shon,
message was sent to the barber shop
in time for the almost frantic ad1utant
TO find out that the colonel of the regi-
xnent had left. Everything was get
ting badly mixed. One man gave one
order and another countermanded it.
Wagons were waiting to be loaded but
no one seemed to know which ones to
load or what to load them with: The
only man who was perfectly cooi
seemed to be Quartermaster L. G. Smith
VIVA bIandly said he had ordered
enough wagons and the cars were wait
ing and the thing to do was to load the
wagons, and it was his business to at
tend to the loading, and that IL was IN
military to bother the colonel with it.
Mr.. Smith had given orders as quar-
ternaster to Lieut.. Green to superb
intend the transferring of the supplies
from the Santa Fe freight depot to the
cars on the Union Pacific tracks IN
North Topeka. His orders would be
carried out as he was cool and collected,
but Adj. DeFord knew not what to do
SO he and Mai Whitman mounted their
horses and dashed over to the cars that
were being loaded.
Maj. Whitman gave orders that all
wagons should be un1oaded as fast as
they arrived and that if cars were not
ready to receive the stuff it should be
piled on the freight platform He rode
away and soon Adj. DeFord counter
manded the order and gave word that
the wagons should wait when they ar
rived if there were no cars ready to re-
ceive the luggage. Quarterrnaster
smith rode up in a one-horse chase he
had pressed into service There was no
bottom in the vehicle but Quartermas-
ter Smith hung his feet over the dash
board.
He looked at the disorder on the plat