El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-08-05
COLONEL HOODS IMMUNES.
The Youngest Officer of His Rank.

Inc Youngest OI1iCer OF Ills Kan
New York Tribune.
Camp Catfery, on the beautiful
ITcheufuncta river, near Covingtou
La, was the frs. immune camp es
tablished after the passage of the i'm
mune act calling for ten Thousand
troops specially qualified for service il
Cuba. The first intention of the bill
was to include only regiments made w
more epidemics Of yellow fever. The
act, however, passed without this re
Iquirement, and men from designated
southern states were considered accli.
mated and eligible. Companies of mer
came from Memphis and more north
ern points: from Texas and from the
stretch of country Intervening between
these points. Louisiana and Texas
furnished the majority. and fully hall
the men were "immunes" in the real
sense of the world.
So anxious we're southern men to
fight under Colonel Hood that no few
err than seventeen full companies had
to be rejected from Texas, to say moth
ing of @others from elsewhere, after
Hoods regiment was complete.
The regiment is encamped in what
military experts have pronounced to
be the best laid out camp in the south.
1t is on almost level land, the great
yellow pine belt of Louisiana shutting
in the plains and filling the air with 8
resinous odor which attracts to Coving-
ton consumptives from oil over the
United States. The Tcheufuncta and
Covington rivers furnish splendid bath
ing facilities, natural springs of purest
water bubble up at intervals all about
the camp, and the hard earth, covered
with short grass or pine needles,
furnishes the best of drill grounds.
The ancient little town of Coving
ton lies a mile or two beyond the camp,
and is base of supplies and communi-
cation for the soldiers. So cheap and
plentiful are fruit and vegetables here,
and SO comfortable the beds of young
pine tips, that the soldiers say they
will not know how to rough it in
Cuba. Colonel Hood, however, makes
drilling, even amid such surroundings,
a soldierly art that gives the men a
fOretaste of what forced marches and
the like will mean when they 90 las
they expect toy to storm Porto Rico or
Havana.
The physical average of the men is
said to be Up to that of the regular ar
my, which demands a more perfect
type OF physical excellence than that
required for volunteer commands.
Colonel Hood and his aid, Lieutenant
Colonel j. Y. Grubbs, of West Point,
are both experienced though young ar
my officers, and are said to be discip
of the highest order.
Colonel Duncan n. Hood is the son of
the late John B. Hood, of the confeder-
ate army. Both of Colonel Hoods par
ents and his grandmother and eldest
sister died Of yellow fever in 1867, and
Colonel Hood, then about six years of
age. was adopted by the millionaire
j John A. Morris. He was graduated
with honor from West Point in 1896,
and afterward resigned from the army
and took up the profession Of mining
engineer. AS soon as he foresaw that
war was imminent he FASTENED to
Louisiana and offered his services to
Governor Foster to raise regiment, at
the same time refusing a fattering Of
fer from the state Of Texas.
Colonel Hoods regiment was not in
cluded in the call for 125 900 volun-
teers, and he energetically set to work
to organize q regiment of fever i'm
He originated the immune
bill, which the senate promptly passed,
but the opposition in the lower house
was so great that Colonel Hood had to
go back to Washington and urge the
of the measure to secure
It's passage.
Colonel Hood is the youngest officer
Of his rank in the army, and, officials
say, one of the ablest. He spent thou
sands in organizing his regiment, and
is preparing now for active service.