The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-26
Col. Little the First to Report
at Headquarters.
His Campaigning Begins in a
Tent ON a Rainy Night.
SCENES IN THE CAMP
Of the Twentieth Kansas Vol
unteers at San Francisco.
Only One Man Reported Seri-
Ously Sick-FrOm Ottawa.
[From the State Journals Special Cor
respondent

[From the State Journals Special Cor
respondent
San Francisco, May %.
Kansas is honored again. Lieutenant
Colonel E. c. Little was the first man
to report to headquarters in San Fran
cisco of the arriving troops. Mime
sofa, Colorado and Nebraska were all
here before Kansas but Col Little was
the first to officially announce. He did
this early Saturday morning in person
and received a compliment for his
promptness.
Saturday proved a disagreeable rainy
day. real rain, too, they called it a
fog here. But Col. Little was out
early attending to duties, Issuing Or
ders and busy receiving his officers and
hearing their various wants and COM
plants. And he did it nob1y.
The war fire has Weakened in him.
From the extremes of luxury he has
come to the extreme of discipline and
toll, where morning, noon and night the
demands of rigid rules compel vigilance
and self-denial
A sharper contrast could not be
imagined yet no Spartan could have
born the change more grandly.
AS he was a moralist and philoso-
pher in Kansas, so is he a soldier here.
Saturday night as he sat in his tent
entertaining Majors DeFord, Fred Bu-
chan and two newspaper men, I asked
him how this compared with life at the
National.
He replied, '"This is not half bad"
The tent was lighted with but a single
talloW candle, a bunch of straw covered
the floor of sand and a simple cot
adorned the interior. Outside the night
was dark and cherries and the rain
battered down on the tent in ceaseless
monotony.
The present White city of the Kansas
troops is known as Camp Richmond :"
1t is laid off very nicely on level
ground in nearly square, with streets
running east and west. At the head
of each street is hydrant supplying
splendid water
The Sibley tents the men occupied at
Topeka are in use and plenty of clean
straw is furnished as is also redwood
and cedar in abundance for the stoves.
The men say that the present rations
are hardly as abundant as at Camp
Leedy but there are few complaints as
this will soon be remedied.
The citizens of San Francisco visited
the camp today with fruits, cakes, pies
and sandwiches and dealt generously
with the Kansas contingent.
In the morning throughout the var
iouS streets of the camp the boys were
playing ball with oranges, bushels of
which had been dumped in the camp.
They sell at five cents a dozen in the
market.
The first row of tents on the extreme
south is occupied by Topeka men. They
have named their street Topeka ave-
nue." Next comes Abilene with their
street dubbed abilene avenue" Fort
Scott has honored their city in a SINH
lar manner as has Kansas City, and
Leavenworth.
Next north is Allen and Miami coun-
ty. Washington street is their se1ec-
ton. Pittsburg and Girard have a
Broadway. Lawrence styles her path
was Massachusetts, street. Woodson
Coffey and Anderson remember the
past kindness of the Kansas executive
and point with pride to Leedy avenue.
Montgomery county men selected In
dependence avenue. Salina chose Sa-
lima avenue and Ottawa has an Ottawa
avenue.
The health of the camp at the close
of the first day is excellent. Only one