The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-02
WITH GAINES CAVALRY.
TROOPER HAMPTON TELLS OF
THE LONG RIDE.
Have Established Headquarters at
Wawona, and the Boys Expect so
Have Good Dsal of Pleasure.

Writing from Wawona, Mariposa
county, California, under date of Aug
&c, to his father, Benjamin Hampton,
trooper Hampton. of Gaines cavalry,
says: -,
We arrived here last evening after a
long, hard, hot and dusty ride of IA
days and. personally. am mighty glad
to get here. The trip down was all
that could be expected and | believe
every one had fairly good time. There
were times when riding along on our
horses was very pleasant indeed. and
enjoyable 70 every one, in the troop;
then again. when we were crossing the
San Joaquin valley, especially from
Bell station to MADEIRA, the heat and
dust were so intense it was almost I'M
bearable but nobody was affected by
either, so we got along all right. The
last part of our journey we made at
night or in the early morning, which
made it a little better for us.
l don't think any one got fat on the
trip. but without single exception I
believe the men are in a much more
healthy condition than they were when
at the Presidio.
Now that we are here, however, and
when we have gotten thoroughly set
tied, l believe we will all take on a
little more flesh, some more than others
of course.
As told you before, 1 was in a po-
sition to enjoy the trip more than any
| one else except Porter. as we always
rode behind and could do as we pleased.
If we got tired we got off and rested
If we were hungry we went into some
ones fruit orchard and helped our
selves to anything they had, and being
in the rear guard l never had any
~ q mn IN Nnrff
care for my horse and myself
Our position in this part of Yosem-
lite reminds me for all the world of
Brighton, except that the entrance is
from the direction of the Twin lakes.
To illustrate. we are camped about a
mile below the hotel (about where the
old saw mill used to stand in Cotton
wood. the creek is in front of us and
big pines grow all around the camp.
! The road that goes to Yosemite proper
GA mileS) has almost identically the
same position and direction as the one
to Park City, and across the creek are
mountains. not a great deal unlike the
ones to the left of our canyon going
down.
So all in all, you see I am almost at
home, sometimes | imagine l am, then
comes the unpleasant fact-thought,
that l am a long way from it and may
not be any nearer for a good many
moons yet to come.
This camp will be our Headquarters
While we are here. as it has always
been for the regulars every summer,
and they have arranged everything
very nicely and in the course of a few
more days we will have the best and
most comfortable camp this troop has
had since joined it.
From here, squads of eight or ten
men will be sent out to patrol, and as
l understand it, will go all over the
park, being gone about 10 days.
Their duty will be to fight fires, stop
unlawful fishing or killing of game,
and keep all sheep and cattle out. The
! sheep and cattle men may or may not
give US some trouble, but as | under
stand and have been told. they will try
to, and will probably succeed. in keep
! ing away from us. l hope they will.
at least. for it is not my desire to have
any miX-upS with them if it can pos
Sibly be avoided. / do not mean by
that that l am afraid to run any risks
of getting hurt or that the soldiers will
get the worst of it in case they should
have any encounter, but l want to
! make this $50 far as l am concerned)
if possible, a pleasant trip. And not
withstanding the fact that we are and
will be under strict discipline. there is
going to be q great deal Of pleasure
gotten out OF it by all. Am on guard
| tonight for the first time in over a
month and have been stationed at the
officers headquarters.
Taps have just blown and l am at
the bottom of the page, so must close