Evening star., 1898-05-19
THE SIXTH AT TAMPA
Camp Of the Cavalry on the Shores
of the Gulf.
THE TRIP FROM CHICKAMAUGA
Enthusiastic Greeting Along the
Way
ESCAPES FROM DISASTERS
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
CAMP OF THE U. s. TROOPS.


TAMPA, Fla, May Is, 1898
The United States troops at the Chicka-
nauga Park suddenly folded their tents
like the Arabs and silently stole away"
Inc orders to repair to points of rendezvous
along the southern coast came in the ma
ture of a surprise. Rumors of changes had
been so common that the troops had become
accustomed to regard them with incre-
dulfty. The first troops to get away from
camp Thomas were the Sd and 9Th Cav
airy, which have been brigaded under COM
mand of Gen. S. S. Sumner. The former
were transported south over the Southern
railway, the latter over the Western and
Atlanta and the Plant system.
The Star correspondent had never had
the experience of travelling with a military
stock train, so that after traversing tie
nine miles which separated Camp Thomas
from Ringgold, Ga, the embarking point
l boarded the first section of the transport
tation of the 9Th Cavalry, and was soon eff
for the south. The train consisted of fif-
teen stock cars loaded with horses, one
box car loaded with forage and a tourist
sleeper for the guard and an officer and
twenty-five men. The cars had previously
been quickly filed with the animals at
numerous roughly constructed chutcs, each
car containing about twenty-one unhappy
horses The mems travel rations had been
rear. ard everything was in fine shape for
the long and tiresome journey.
Rumors We're atioat of possible attempts
of Spanish spies to wreck Uncle Sans
trains, and as this was the first train from
Camp Thomas there was some speculat ton
among the soldier boys as to whether they
would be given chance to fight fair"
But all thoughts of this character were
speedily driven away by the novelties of
the journey. At nearly every station the
Georgia people were assembled to give the
big train of cavalry horses "the rebel yell"
and the waving campaign hats of the boys
in blue gave evidence of a friendier feeling
than when Sherman's men laid waste the
Georgia plantations, in the dark days of the
civil war.
Pleasant Incident.
At small station, Adairsville, where
the train slowed up, lady school teacher
with host of little girls waved the stars
and stripes, while huge box of flowers
was hastily thrust into the hands of a
long armed cavalryman, and the train
rushed on. In the center of the flowers
was tiny flag, with a piece of paper, on
one side of which was inscribed the names
of the teacher and scholars. On the
reverse side was. From the Busy Bee
School. God bless our soldiers" The cav
alrymen We're greatly pleased at this unex-
pected presentation, and bore the flowers in
triumph to 1.-The lieutenants'' seat, where
they reposed during the remainder of the
journey.
AT Atlanta the horses We're fed by pour
ing the forage down through the trap
doors into the troughs in front of the ami
mails. Some of the cars were old-fashioned
and down in the darkness trooper had to
grope his way, and fill the troughs from
bucket. To engineer ones way about in a
car load of nervous horses is rather a deli
cate operation, and one that requires con-
siderable knowledge of horse nature. A re-
cruit would not do it for a years pay, but
an old soldier, with soothing word here,
and a pat of the hand there. will move
about uncOncernedly as II In a palace
car.
The hungry horses MUNICH the oats, and
the long train moves out for Macon. In the
dim light bold troopers walk the length of
the train and peep in at their favorites
through the trap doors in the roof, risking
their necks a dozen times in SO doing.
Through Macon the train goes, and the
fact that there may be other accidents
than those of the battlefield was aptly
Illustrated. First, one of the immense
driving wheels of the big locomotive broke
while the train was rushing along at a
rate OF fifty miles an hour. A snap of the
driving rod, a grating sound, the rolling
of the wheel into the ditch, and the train
is brought to a stop without jar. 1t was
q marvellous escape to both soldiers and
horses Next, an engine hurrying down
to our assistance, collided with a caboose,
and both were wrecked. These accidents
were supplemented the next day by the
eXtinguishing of a small fire from wisp
of hay protruding from a trap in the roof
of one of the cars. The horses had been
one of the troopers saved the car load of
horses from a horrible fate.
Down into Florida the train sped, the
Georgia crackers were left behind and
those of the Florida pine belt came into
view. The latter evidently subsisted
lumber and turpentine, for no other means
of sustaining life was visible. At lit
tie station gray-haired veteran, trooper
of 10 WheelerS" cavalry corps, boarded
the train and besorght the lieutenant to
enlist him for the Cuban campaign. He
Il Tod TO DI1 ~ hn Dir,c Of IL
unteers and left the train with whoop of
enthusiasm, which was re-echoed by the
crowd of country people at the door of the
village store.
At Waycross, a small station on the Plant
sy stem, a veteran regular soldier, who was
one of Stoneman's scouts, begged ride
to the front. and was accommodated with
q seat in the box car He was a pensioner,
had fine little farm and a snug sum laid
away but, as he almost tearfully expressed
it, Il just couldn't stand the trainloads of
soldiers passing my house all day long"
At Port Tampa.
Far into the middle of the second night
the train ran through Tampa, and out
toward the wharves of Port Tampa, nine
miles beyond. The grim-looking transport
ships lined the wharves, and at the gang
ways were sentries with rifles on shoulder,
ready to stop the inquisitiv ness of any
Spanish spies who might wis. to examine
the interior workings of the ships. On the
face of it, it appeared as though the caval-
ry horses were about to be loaded aboard
ship for transpoI tation to Cuba, but the
train order to take us to Port Tampa prov
ed a mistake, and the train was slowly
backed to Tampa.
Now, alongside the railroad tracks the
white tents of the regular infantry and cav
airy cover the sandy ground in every direc-
ton. Tall pines lend little shade to the
parched ground. and a little shub palm,
which covers the ground in every direction
gives tropical air to the scene. But, al
though the sun is scorching, breeze is felt
almost any hour in the day, and the SOL
diers who have served in Arizona and Mon
tana and Texas say that if Cuba is no hot
ter than this the weather problem will be
dead easy" Nothing, they say. can approx
innate TO the blistering heat of the Apache
campaigns. The Cubans here say that yel-
low fever Is not to be feared before the
first of July, and that smallpox is now the
epidemic to be dreaded.
And so the soldiers dream the hours away
hoping to be called upon to turn the ras-
Gals out" But their dreams are not alone
of war. A tiny kitten which had attached
itself to one of the cavalry troops crawled
over the face Of one of the sleeping soldiers
the other night and the gallant warrior