Evening star., 1898-09-12
NOW ON FURLOUGH
District Soldiers Excused for Period
Of Sixty Days.
FORMAL ACTION At BARRACKS TODAY
Men Must Report Again Morning
of November 10.
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS

The 1st Regiment. District of Columbia
Volunteer Infantry, assembled at the Cen
ter Market Armory this afternoon at
o'clock, in response to orders issued by Col.
Harries Friday. which also announced that
the men would be furloughed at that time
for sixty days. Long before the hour of
the assembly the streets leading to the
armory were made interesting by groups of
District volunteers. clad in their new uni
forms, but carrying the same haversscks
and water cups that had been their close
companions through all their experiences
since they first left Washington.
A few had their guns and cartridge belts
with them. Most of them were accom-
panied by friends, and there WAS big
crowd at the entrance to the armory.
Tribute to First Serxeaats.
Here comes one of the men who make
our soldiers said Colonel Harries as
curly haired bright-looking young man
with long twisted-end mustache approach
ed and salutcd 1t was First Sergeant
Whip of Company l.
The first sergeantS are the fathers,
mothers, guardians and disciplinarians OF
the men Of their companies continued Col
of.ei HarrfeS atter the sergeant Hhu peS@'N-
There was some delay necessary on &C
count of the captains making out the rolls
Of their companies. owing to the fact that
many of their men were sick or mad al
ready been furloughed. 1t was impossible
to secure a list of these men, as the rolls
will not be entirely completed for two
weeks.
When the regiment was at last ready for
its temporary discharge from service lt
was noticeable that the ranks were very
materially depleted. Probably on an ever
age there were twenty-five men absent
from each company.
The FurIouSh Granted.
When all was in readiness for the official
furlough Col. Harres addressed the men of
each company in turn, announcing that
they were furloughed until November ~,
1898, at 10 O'clock am, and must then re-
port for duty at the armory send GER
titicate of surgeon that they were unable
to be present or else be regarded as de-
serterS and their records affected.
Col. Harries then placed the officers of
each company waiting orders. 1t was
stated by Col Harries and the regular
army officers present that thu regiment
would be mustered out of the service No
Der 20.
The interval between the 10th and 20th of
November will be devoted to a physical ex
may be compared with what it was when
they were mustered in, in order that any
of them who may be entitled to d pension
| may be ascertained and recorded.
Compliments to the Regiment.
Col. Harries expressed his complete sat
isfaction with the record of the regiment.
Every commanding general" he re-
| marked, has complimented the District
regiment. Gen. Shafter did SO. Gtn.
Wheeler did SO, Gen. Bates did 50. an. Gen.
Coppinger did the same.
The regiment returns with a smaller
death record than that of any other voiun-
teer regiment in the service, and it went
to Cuba, too. Some of our men are now
quite sick. but 1 do not think that the sad
ending of all On earth will be the fate of
many of them
ceremony 1f their mastering in last spring.
When each company ready and lined
up ready to enter the service, Col. Heyl,
the mastering officer, addressed them.
He solemnly Informed them that they were
about to undertake obligations that meant
privation and hardship, suffering aud dis
ease that would prove more dangerous
than the bullets of the Spaniards. ami tod
them that if any man desired to drop out.
und erstanding this, he then had the
opportunity.
Checking Equipment.
There were busy scenes at the drill hall
in Center Market armory from an early
hour today, and here and there through the
vast space were groups of officers and SOL
Giers examining the equipments of their
respective companies and making out lists,
in order to return the property of Uncle
Sam to his representatives, according to
rules and regulations There were bundles
of muskets tied up in shelter tents, and
the stocks showed the scratches of Cuban
trenches on them. Here and there was a
gun with a bent or broken barrel and an
tlesof the other equipments were brought
back, the rest being destroyed, and what
bundles and boxes there were at the arm
Dry had been thoroughly disinfected.
The soldiers who were doing the work
mentioned cid not move with the alacrity
that characterized them when they were
getting ready to leave the same hall. They
are all supposed to be well, but scarcely
man, officer or private, is free from ma
laria. Col Harries was beginning to fes1
the daily afternoon visit of high fever as
early as 1920 o'clock. and Lieut. Chisholm
reported the same symptoms. Both gen.
tiemen said the fever came back every day
or every night They were merely two in
stances of dozens of cases of the obstinate
disc. that experienced physicians declare
will require from four to six months to
eradicate from the system.
Despite their disabilities, the men worked
with a will, and two young iieutenants of
artillery, who were present representa-
returned equipments, kept pace with them.
THE COURTS.
Equity Court. No. 1-Justice Cox.
In re Richard E Stewart Herman CorSe,