Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1898-07-08
LIFE IN THE CAMPS.
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l.
Alger Men Have to Endure 'Prtvate"
| John Aliens Story
Since actual fighting on land has be-
gun public interest in the troops quar-
tered in the great camps has very much
lessened. The boys in Cuba are attract
ing all the attention. This is only nat
ural, but the fact remains that those in
camp do not take altogether kindly to
being thus left Gin the shade.'' This
phrase, by the way, should be under
stood, so far as this latitude is concern
ed, as metaphorical. When you get into
the inner heart of the officer and private
at Camp Alger, which is probably a
good type of all the camps, you will
find very disguised man. Life at the
camp is disagreeable and monotonous
in the extreme. although the food and
other things are much better now than
several weeks ago. But camp life in
itself is drudgery, and the soldier is
constantly looking forward for chance
to go to the front. When that time will
come is the uppermost topic in every
body's mind. All strangers and visitors
from Washington are accosted with the
query, What are the signs Of a move
ment of the troops? One young man in
the Massachusetts Sixth said to your
correspondent that, while he had no re-
grets to express for having given up a
| medical school course to enter the army,
I, koc fok hot no
believed a sentence in Sing Sing would
be much more agreeable than an equal
length Of time at Falls Church.
When one considers what going for
! ward means-the risk Of disease and
pestilence, of bullets and machetes-it
reflects very favorably on American pa
triotism to know that the desire to par
ticipate actively in the campaign is SO
universal and so intense. Private John
Allen the humorist of the house of rep
resentatives, tells story to illustrate
the eagerness of the soldiers to get to
the front, which he in part attributes
to the fear that the war will be over be-
fore they get chance to show the met
tie Of which they are made.
Il was standing under an old shed
down in Mississippi, said Mr.. Allen,
"during the heaviest rainstorm ever
saw in my life. The water was coming
down in torrents. A man presently ap-
peared, running for shelter at rate
which surprised me in view Of the fact
that he was already wet through. I
called his attention to this condition,
and he replied that he was running as
he was for fear that if he did not hurry
up he would not get under cover before
the rain stopped! This reminds me of
our troops. They are afraid they WON'T
get into action before the show is over.
This does not fairly represent the an
mating motive Of our volunteer army.
Most of it's members are men who have
something to do at home, and whether
in the service Of their country or not
cannot bear to see time pass without &C
complishing results In short, the hot
weather, the incessant clouds of dust,
the drudgery and monotony of drilling,
have put the soldiers in a rather unami-
able state of mind. This explains the
cases of discipline and the instances of
lawlessness which are becoming some
what plentiful It is dog day behavior.
The practice marches, which have some
times eliminated in sham battles, have
occasionally witnessed exhibitions Of
petty brutality which indicate that the
men are tired out and cross. The firing
Of blank cartridge in the face of Pri-
vate Reed after he had thrown up his
hands in a sham battle, with an appeal
to stop, with the result that the young
man will lose an ear and probably an
eye, is an instance in point.
Camp Alger is an excellent place for
young men from the north to study
soils, topic said to be of considerable
interest in agricultural colleges. The
outer envelope of the earth upon which
this camp is situated, like much Of q the
soil of the south, possesses many won
derful qualities. Under the pressure Of
shoe leather it pounds into substance
almost as hard as rock. Certainly the
streets Of Washington, paved with as
phalt, do not begin to be as firm as the
parade ground in camp. This was either
grass land or titled fields a few months
ago, but the steady marching back and
forth has removed every vestige Of vege-
tation and left the surface of the earth,
though chubby" absolutely solid. A
few rods away, wherever the wagon
tires cut this same soil, is another e1-
traordinary sight. The dust has never
been adequately described. When tha
wind blows, the clouds Of earth resenk
BILE snowstorm in binding effecw
Everything green within 20 feet Of
either side Of the roadway has been
painted a rich brown by this dust, and
every visitor, no matter how clad when
he goes to camp, comes away with
suit of the same color. When caller
is leisurely chatting with an officer in
one Of the tents, he is suddenly inter-
rupted by a rush to close the canvas,
with the explanatory remark, ''This is
what we have to put up with here all
the time.''
With all it's shortcomings, however,
Camp Alger is said by the critics who
have visited Tampa, Chickamauga and
the other places to be the best Of it's
kind in the country. It is located several