The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-12
LIFE At CAMP THOMAS
LIEUT.. GEORGE w. POWELL TALKS
OF AFFAIRS OF INTEREST THERE.
Plenty of Food and Water-A surIy
Guard-Rather Lively bat
tie Exercises.


Camp Thomas. He is exceedingly proud of
the record that the regiment has made. AL
though field court has been established,
there have been no breaches of discipline
that required a trial. In another regiment
the other day private who was doing
81 ard duty was tried and sentenced ito six
days confinement at hard labor and was
required to forfeit 81 of his pay in punish
ment.
1t seems that after parade captain with
out noticing it, marched his company ten
feet inside of another regiments line.
Halt! haiti" cried the guard. with an
oath.
CHANGING about the officer continued not
realizing that the peremptory and disre-
spectful challenge was intended for him.
Then the sentry grew wildly abusive and
shrieked out his order to halt
Whom are you addressing?" inquired the
captain, hating his company
You, - - you!' snared the guard
What is the matter? L was not aware
that was offending
You inside the regiment line" re-
Piled the guard, swearing again.
Look here" said the captain, 'I am go
Ing to march on. I am already over the
line, and object to your disrespectful way
of talking"
No you are not going to march another
step" swore the profane guard again. With
that he yelled for the corporal of the guard.
When the corporal came things were ad-
1usted in a moment Afterward the captain
laid in complaint with the result recorded.
We have had no such occurrences as
that" said Lieutenant Powell 1.-The disci-
pine of the regiment is most excellent, and
the men are most respectful, because they
are treated in the way that begets respect
and cheerful obedience
Some of the reports of scarcity of food
and water have been pretty highly colored"
continued he. cat first there was a scar
city of water, but that was more because
the men did mot know how to economize
with it. For instance if one of them dipped
up painful and found bug in it he dashed
the whole out on the ground. Now he takes
out the bug. We have some good wells. Onee
that is fed by a spring furnishes most ex-
celle1t water, but 1t is slow and does not
supply enough water for one company.
Most of our water is hauled five six miles
from springs. The government is now at
work laying mains through the entire park
When that work is completed spring water
IN abundance will be pun ped to the camp.
People here do not get better fresh meat
than that which is furnished in camp. The
boys have found that by saving unused
rations and keeping them in a store they can
be traded off. The other day Company D.
those fellows are hustlers and get every
thing they want-horrowed a wagon. After
time we saw them driving out of camp
with load of unusued rations which they
canned goods and other things the commits
Colonel Smith and Lieutenant Colonel
Thayer are alive to the needs of their regi-
ment. While Colonel Smith is brigade COM
mander. he yet looks after the regiment and
unusual thing to see them marching
through the camp to the kitchen to see
whether the cooks are preparing the food
in wholesome manner. Passing the boys
down in the dust with their mess pans,
Colonel Smith says: How is it, boys?. Is it
ply cheerfully that it's all right. Last week
the order went out that men in the hospital
and on sick call must come with their com
panies to get mess and that delicacies such
as men with i'll health require must come
out of the hospital fund. That sort of an
where extra ratons are traded off or sold
and the money put in hospital fund, but
down there, there is not much chance for
1t. When the doctor announced the order
Colonel Smith stuck his hand down in his
pocket and pulled out a $40 note, saying:
Take that and buy soups and things the
kind which show how careful the colonel
is to see his men are properly cared for
scene in camp one Thursday night. The
boys are not much given on going to Thurs
day night services. but when Chaplain Car
stensen got Maxwell to come over and sing
there was soon crowd of five hundred or
so gathered about his tent. Maxwell had
three or four hundred song books These
were distributed among the boys but there
was no light They began running to their
tents and returned with candles. Dropping
down on their knees in the dust, the fellows
lit the candles. Holding them with one
hand and the song book with the other,
they took up the words and joined with
Maxwell in the gospel hymns. Sometimes
one man held the candle while another held
the book and as the feeble rays lit up their
bronzed, earnest faces 1t made an inspir-
ing and somewhat weird picture that one
might we'll wish to reproduce on canvas if
it were possible
In the regiment there are thirty or thirty
five Catholics. Every Thursday morning
Catholic priest comes from a Minnesota
regiment to celebrate mass. Chaplain Car
stensen on such occasions tenders the priest
the use of his tent which is hardly regi-
small table and retiring to the interior of
the tent takes forth the miniature articles
for the improvised altar Which is made MADE
etc. Then the devout young Catholics go
down on their knees in the dust outside the
tent while the mass is said.
1.-The boys appreciate the idea of an as
sembly tent very much" said Lieutenant
Powell. and it will be a great comfort to
are crowded into a tent there is not much
room for writing table and there is no
place to put up snelvi faGi 1t IS no unusual
grass scribbling away on their letters home,
using a box lid or anything handy to sup
port the paper before them; With an as
sembly tent provided with tables and chairs
they will be in much better condition. BY
the way. it would be a nice thing if In
dianapolis people would send their old
magazines, illustrated papers and things of
that sort to the camp. The boys would en-
low getting them very much.
All the boys are eager for the battle ex-
ercises. A few days ago there was battle
exercise in which sixteen thousand men en-
gagged. 1t was realistic in the extreme. only
the bullets lacking to make 1t the real ar
ticle. AT midnight, on this occasion, the d.
vision commander was informed by the
corps headquarters that another division
would undertake to CAPTURE a certain
bridge That was all. He informed the
colonels of his division and plans were pre-
pared. None of the company officers or men
knew what was coming when assembly call
came at $50 o'clock. After they were or
dered out on the road they knew what was
up. Marching off in the woods. skirmish
lines were thrown out, aids rode about fran
ticallv carrying orders. now and then the
guards captured some of the enemy, in
This case known by red strips of cloth or
naper worn on their cans, the other side
being distinguished by white handkerchiefs
or nieces of paper thrust in their hats. After
a time a whole company of the enemy
was captured The bridge was saved and
nv noon the boys had had fifteen or TWEEN
ty miles of hard marching and were glad
to get back to camp. All the incidents of
real warfare are carried out in order to train
men and officers how to act in emergen-
cies.