Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1898-05-13
SIGHTS AND SCENES AT TAMPA.
The Great M Iitary Camp AS Describe d by
j. a. Weller


camp of mobilization of The l.. 5. army,
and today tfcle are camped in aud
around THIS clty more boys in blu
than have been together since the clos,
of the war of the remliun. Prepare
tlons are rapidly making for desc mt
on Cuba, and transport vessels are al
irving daily at tins por to form he
hcrl That shall CAM tho first a.,i,ion
OF ihe aImy 10 the front. The troops
now mere are ~ regular army men,
and % would do the people of thc
r untrA good Ia ste them. The cale-
tai Selection of the p,r,ouci ot lhe
aiming armN shows ~. the regiments
aaw here. The men are bug, strong
irilo"s and The eihl,uc training tLc,
uud. rso 10 the oai,y routine OF mm,
no. nns made them physically ppHo
aut nt t"r oout with "a toe much
n"to iermida,ie than the ,ntaeng
op.uiud
A Cuban lady, J. n, famou, for hen
personal beauty gud charming manner,
vas ono If the iar1e crowd of sp.c,a-
tor- to- ~itn,>s jhr arrival Of lhe 6r-t
.rn"p, 10 come IN, about ten days ago,
and after looking rhc splendid fellows
over "uh wondering eyes She exc.ain-
al a. her companions: well! # iba. q,
i sample of the men tie Ammirauo',
uc sending TO Cuba they may aaN,
aoir guns AT home :" The cllic IS ar,
also fine looking men who are Al o
desire to get = ,he cuemy. soldiers q q
"ilic,r- ar fra rrA eng all abou, The
camps Many Of The older mon have
rol0er', years. and some a loneel
jmr IN ia, service, and they have shift
ed about from regiment to regiment a,
each establishment. SO, frequent and
aAppy reunions are daily occurrence.
The writer was too Young 10 remem-
her the sights and sounds of the sixties.
and therefore, is, like most Americans.
unfamiliar with military events.
The sights of today, in and a. out
The tented groves and fields that sur.
round oar peaceful city are, therefore,
full of interest The order and bust
ness appearance of the camps. the
hearty, bronzed faced men and the
scores of great amy wagons and sub.
parked guns of the ar.ill ny, and the
Thousands OF horses pIcketed IN rows
between the tents, nth saddles end
accoutrements all in ready order, The
! hourly arrival of trains laden with sup
plies Of food and ammunition. and the
gallop of mounted orderlies and de-
! spaich carriers constantly going 20 and
from headquarters, has given as hes,
some idea what war may mean. auo
also the great expense and thorougl.
system necesa TO the handling OF
even "a small army,
There are today (May SD about ten
thousand 10 twelve thousand troop.
here. They wil,, no doubt. Ice moved
to Cuba soon. Sen. Shat,er a Michi
gan man. by the way, is to commend
this army and he has divided them il e.
three bsgadcs. Many Cubans will or
taken along, some as recruits IN tao
regular service, but most Of them g.
Join Come or Garcia ON arrival 81
Cuba fraiu loads of small arms .r,
Being received here daIly together v1i
vast quantities OF forage Tor the army
ot mya,ion. Three Thousand mules al,
arriving for transport to Gomez Tor H.,
ol tue u,urgent force ON the island.
BY the time Ibis letter reaches NoJ
the expedition will have sailed. a
least present hurry indications point /,
"A quick movement. Their places Wi
be taken by volunteers who have he
| gun To arrive and Tampa is likely to b,
Il busy camp all summer. The new,
Of Dewey's victory in far away Ma,
nilla has intensified the already earnest
desire of the army here To move on
Havana, and it is safe To say were they
not steady regulars, accustomed to un-
questioning obedience and patient
waiting for orders, much more mo-
riceable feeling of unrest and discon.
tent would develop among the men. Il
Is safe to predict that there will be
widows in Spain, shortly after the land
ing of these fellows on Cuban soIi, and
broken glass in Blanco's capitol. for
they are vigorous and determined lot.
destined to grace the colors they follow.
The presence of SO many of our Un-