The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1898-09-08
A RIGHT TO GRUMBLE
THAT is ONE PRIVILEGE OF THE
AMERICAN VOLUNTEER,
Roushlne 1t Agrees with H~im-Thodgii
the Change frSuh House life I'd h
feRted fisid May Make Hind III DIT
First-valuable Lesson. v

rented Field may MAKE Him Ill at
First-valuable Lesson. v
From hearty every camp Where vol
unteers are assembled murmurs, both
loud and deep, are to be heard. Com
plant is made sometimes that insult
able ground has been selected; in other
cases the water is said to be bad, the
cooking arrangements insufficient, the
rations poor and scanty, the tents
leaky, the drilling severe, and the hours
fer "reveilie' and "taps'' Unreasonable,
says the Richmond iVa:) Dispatch.
Most Of these causes of complaint have
men were hustled from their homes to
the tented field. Time enough for prep
aration was not taken. Too many men
were packed into camp at 6nce. 1t
would haVe been better to have gath
cred them in gradually, so that there
would have been no crowding and no
overwhelming of the quartermasters
and commissaries.
There can be little or no excuse for
the selection of unsuitable ground for
a camp or rendezvous. III the midst Of
an active campaign soldiers must camp
where their presence is most needed,
whether that place be in an old field, in
the woods, on lowland or on highland;
but not SO now. Good, healthy ground
can and should be obtained where COM
Portable camps may be established,
where good water is plentiful and con-
venient and where stores of every sort
may be promptly secured. AS for the
army r~ations, they are very good, in
deed. We venture to say that they af-
ford better meals than the average
American family is accustomed to have
in such times as these. And though
there may be lack of variety, whether
Of meat, coffee, sugar, or other article,
may be easily exchanged for such dain-
ties as the appetite Graves When men
nave marching and fighting to do hear
ly every day in the week, they have no
time or disposition to complain of their
rations, unless they are scanty, but
while they are idling away their time in
camp they are hard to please. Del
monico's bill of fare would not satisfy
all. However, a little grrmbling does
no harm. At any rate, it has eve been
the privilege Of the American volunteer
soldier, and he will never consent to
surrender it. In one of the state camps
the commandant has had the "reveille'
sounded at 5 a. m. and "taps" at 9 p,
m. That is to say, he has had his men
reused out of bed at 5, and all lights in
the tents had to be put out at 9. Now
the great majority of our volunteers are
men who are residents of cities, and
many of them are not used to rising Tin
til 7 OF s o'clock, So the hardship of hav:
ing to bundle out of bed at 8 was very
great. In the case in point the remon-
strances of the officers and soldiers
have resulteds sin an order changing the
hour for reveille from 5 to 6, and fol
taps from 9 to $50. And so far as
drilling is concerned, it may be said
soothingly, yet tr%uthfully, hat it's sc.
verify will lessen every day. 1t will be
wearisome at first to the new recruit
but experience and practice will lesser
its severity very much. And every ole
soldier will affirm that nothing will BIZ
more helpful than for the recruit to bt
we'll shod-to wear a pair of stout
broad-soled, easy-ftting shoes.
The change from house life to the
tented field is sometimes accompanied
by sickness, but with most young mer
camp life agrees very we'll, indeed. Ant
it fortunately happens that this is thu
very best season of the year to go into
camp in Virginia.
We may presume--certainly we hop'
that the spring rains are over, O,
nearly over, and that the ground will
soon be dry and the air fresh and brac
ing. We may be sure that no mistake
has been made in the location of OH,
camp. Camp Lee was a campgrount
for a summer before the civil war, ant
1t was a campground from 1861 to 1866
and was never known to be aught blu
healthy. And in the matter of prep
arations, it is to be trusted that tn,
authorities have taken warning from
the mischances in other state camps
and have all their arrangements in
proper degree of forwardness.
Still, non but a very green sol
der will expect to find all the com
forts of a home in a camp. He will
have to trough 1t" and this he may d,
without serious hurt to his health. o.
the contrary, the life of a soldier will b.
tolerably sure to make a man O
him." He will have no mother, or wifi
mr. sister tn manner him. but IL he he
fellow of average sense he will sool
learn how to cook his meals and roll III
his blankets-the two chief items O
housekeeping to which he will have t
give his attention.