The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-14
AN EVENING At CAMP MERRITT
HOW UTAH SOLDIERS ENJOY
ARMY LIFE.
It Is Heaven or He'll, Just as They
Choose to Make It-Men Are Mere
Machines.

camp Merritt, Cal, June 11.-Caml
life is either a heaven or hell, just a.
the rank and file choose to make it
The camp is temporary despotisn
and the privates are slaves. Their only
motto is obey They have surrender
ed their right to think or choose fol
! themselves. All the functions of fret
agency are performed by command
! They are told when to get up, when tC
| eat, when to drill, when to leave then
! tents, when to do almost everything
| About the only time they are allowed
! to do as they phase, to live for them
selves, as it WERE is between recall al
| 1:20 and tattoo at $40 p. m. 1t is dur
! ing this time that the boys form ac-
| quaintances and friendships that will
/ last through life and place all
those who have served together in a
class by themselves, to be known as
Comrades"
The first requisite of successful camp
life is that the men stay jolly and hap
by. In this condition the life is heav-
en-. If the boys get to feeling blue,
homesick and discouraged, then the
life is hell Both of these conditions
alternate at the Utah artillery camp.
Some of the men wake up to realiza-
ton of their condition now and then,
and the atmosphere becomes a vivid
blue in their vicinity for some length
of time They realize that they have
left a fine position, a home, their
friends, to become merely an unknown
slave to their commanding officer. But
this thought is always stopped by the
solace, Remember what you are fight
ing for"
But to keep ava ythese dismal rev.
cries the evening hours are all power
full. If the men are jolly, then they are
secure from attack.
As one enters the Utah artillery camp
at the guardhouse entrance one sees
the beginning of the fun. The ten
men "jugged' for running the lines,
instead of fearing the courtmartial
which awaits them in the morning, are
all engaged in singing and telling Sto-
ries The only one who isn't enjoying
himself is the man who resisted arrest
so strongly that he had to be tied down
to the floor of the tent. As one smiles
at their queer antics ones ear is at
tracted by the sound of music issuing
from the Red Cross tent. The boys are
all experts and even compose their own
music Their tent is full of men listen
ing to the guitars and mandolins.
The officers quartette is going at full
swing in their large mess tent, alter
nately between The Girl l Left Be
hind Me" and Home, Sweet Home"
L >
tent. All is work there. His clerk is
figuring up the days accounts and Sc
lecting the details for tomorrow. The
first sergeant is busy sorting out alum
mum tags, which each soldier is re-
quired to wear as a mark of identifi-
cation.
Section is the merriest %nt in the
camp. The men, led by the inimitable
Billy Edwards, are singing coon songs
-aVaiT ant Of n n
and guitar, purchased by the donations
from the section. They are an ideal
crew for fun-making. Darkness fills
the tent of section 5; all its members
are visiting among the other tents. In
the tent of section 4 a quiet game of
cards is progressing in one part. OH
in another corner a big fellow is
stretched out in the sand, sleeping, ar
ter day on guard. Near him is a for
lorn-Iooking boy bordering over let
ter from home.
Section is distinctly a storytelling
section Gathered around the Pickering
candle, ten men sit talking of home and
anecdotes of the trip. As one
passes he hears a fellow say: Did you
hear that ten men of the cavalry were
arrested today?" Why, no; what for?''
For going out to curry their horses
and forgetting the Maine"
The religious crowd has gathered in
the tent of section , and are discussing
questions relating to the moral welfare
of the camp. Section l is sound asleep.
They were invited down town to a sup
per the night before and are sleeping
off the effects.
AS one turns to leave the long line
of tents, one sees the little bugler adj
vance from his post at the guard
house and blow retreat, the most beau
tiful call of his repertoire. Instantly
the lights disappear and the soldiers
drop into their beds on the sand, save
only the solitary guard who PAGES up
and down the street behind the tents.
In the stiffness of the night the roar
Of the ocean mingles with the snoring
Of 125 of Utah's sons. It is midnight
in camp.