Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-07-14
ON THE TRANSPORTS.
FOODAND QUARTERS OF THETROOPS
THAT LEFT TAMPA.

Army Fare and Men Who Have Not.
Fitted Up Freightships.
The Tampa correspondent Of the New
York Post, writing under the date Of
June ~ about the life on board the
transports says:
"Today we were alongside transport
No. 30, on which the Seventy first New
York regiment is quartered. l talked
with the officers, who have practically
the same story to tell that the officers
on all the other ships have. They are
sincerely interested in the comfort Of
their men, and do what they can for
them. 1t is much more interesting to
talk with the men. After visit to the
actual sleeping and eating quarters Of
several of the transports and a talk with
men of all the temperamental sorts-the
CHECKERS" and constitutional grumblers
on one side, who find bitter fault be-
cause the sun shines, and the cautious
and strongly patriotic fellows on the
other hand, who have made up their
minds to put up resolutely with what
they get and make the best Of tit is
possible to judge accurately enough Of
what their condition is. The question ID
Just how much of it ought to be told.
"We have had excellent stories from
amateur e1nigrants of life in the steer
age Of transatlantic steamers. If people
in the north are told that their brave
volunteers are living in way which is
much worse than that which emigrants
live in the steerage Of transatlantic
ship, they are likely to be distressed.
81 have just seen the Seventy first at
their dinner, and l know at least what
| they had at this meal. 1t consisted of
Armour's canned beef, of sort which
may be described as good, but second
| grade, perfectly sound and wholesome
beef, but not SO clear and nice as timed
beef is sometimes made. In addition
there were canned baked beans, canned
| tomatoes, hard tack and weak hot cof
| fee. Every one Of them was apparently
able to satisfy his appetite with his
food. The trouble was that some of
| them have not the appetite to make
| this food welcome as regular diet.
They cannot cat as much of it as they
really need to supply the wants of their
| bodies. This means that they have not
yet seen enough rough service and dep
| rivation to give their appetites the
| edge and inclusiveness which would
render anything whatever that was good
to eat thoroughly welcome. In other
| IL, D+ Il x-d4
"And some of them are holding
themselves off from making soldiers of
| themselves in this respect as long as
they can. One of the companies of the
| Seventy first, which has a New York
restaurant keeper for a co1nmissary Off
| Ger, man who knows just how to get
supplies and make use Of them, makes
up regular purse which it turns over
| to this commissary, who buys with it
all kinds of extras. Those fellows are
all right, the soldiers of other compa-
| MES say enviously. Really they are all
wrong. If they are to serve the country
| very long and to see hard service, they
will suffer severely in adapting them
| selves to the government rations when
they have to put up with them. One
service which war does for men is to
teach them what are the superfuities
! of life.
"The quarters Of the men On board
| are a more serious thing. The heat on
| Tampa bay during the last few days has
certainly been intense and there has
been very little wind to clear the air in
| the holds and spaces between decks In
| these transports we reap another part Of
the harvest Of going to war without be-
ing prepared for it. These ships are not
troop transports but freight boats On
the British troopships the soldier
| sleeps in o hammock, slung to iron
stanchions provided for the purpose,
and during the day he unslings his ham,
mock and takes care of it. The ham,
mocks do not interrupt the flow of air,
as the great bunk structures on these
troopships do. Fill up all the space be-
tween decks-wi heavy framing of
| pine and crowd these spaces with Sleep
| ing men, more Or less naked, and you
soon have condition of things which
| Is little less than suffocating. It is no
| wonder that OF board one of the troop
ships, which, by tho way, contained
none except regular infantry, five men
| had to be carried out, fainting, the 9TH
| er night when the matches were closed
| on account Of the rain. None of the
| Seventy first has been in this state. The
| men are permitted to take their blankets
and go out AID sleep on the decks, which
is much better for them, but the decks
| do not afford space for all Of them to lie
down, and two nights this week the rain
has fallen, driving the soldiers in. 1t is
very likely TO fall every night now.
"The spectacle which the ships pre-
sent i'll the harbor at Port Tampa is an
impressive and memorable one. They
| lie in broken line, swarming to the
very tops, for every man who can get
out into the air does so, even if he also
gets into the sun The officers on the
after decks Of tho steamers, under avn
ings, read or gossip. They allow the
men the liberty of the ships in great
part. Some Go not even exclude them
from the awning covered space on the
after decks On one Of the ships, which
was totally deficient of accommodations
for passengers, the officers are lodged in
hunks which are not noticeably differ
ent from the bunks in which the men
sleep, and found a captain in the reg
ular army who was taking all his meals
with his soldiers and confronting himself
with the corned beef and hard tack. He
was not doing this to affect humility.
The cooking facilities for the officers ON
the boat were so limited that they had
to mess in relays and the captain pre-
ferred eating thus to awaiting his return
at the officers table. He said he enjoyed
it well enough and had no complaint to
make -