The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-10-07

freely. Most officers in all regiments
desire to stay in service, so 1t is fire.
quently not worth while to ask them
questions. These officers were asked
One said so Per cent. of the men, an
other IS, the third CO. One OF them said
he expected tina before the regiment
was sent to Cuba something like $50
men would be dropped and thai per
haps that number would be taken
from the Second regiment. A number
of the men of the latter are extremely
anxious to get in the First When the
time for muster out Of the Second
comes il is by no means improbable
that as many as $50 men will want to
joint the First.
One enlisted man said: Ninety per
cent. of US want TO get out. We have
had enough of soldering. We are not
given the rights of free men. We can
not speak or write. We have a EN-
sor. 1 i've no complaint 10 max of
the fare or the quarters. We enlisted
to fight, not to do garrison duty. We
are worn out with camp life here"
Another said: I'VE don't want to go
to Cuba, because when we get there
we have to clean the streets, and build
railways" Now this is an error. Some
body had fooled this soldier. Another
said: When o come to get right
down to it, the trouble about going
out Of the service was due to one cap
dill III dpout ultccl llIch VI liz COIl-
any / am in that company. The cap
tain is now out Of service" A soldier
said: w got up a petition to be mus
tered out n about eighty in each
company signed it, 1 am told. It was
to be sent to Senator Pritchard. He is
the man who gets discharges. l don't
know what became of it," Another SOL
der said: The whole business is due
to the foolishness of the secretary of
war in saying the regiments hou
say whether they wanted to be mus
tered out. Then the men were not al
lowed to vote. The men were we'll
satisfied until the order came for us
to be mustered out. Then the order
revOking his came and this ratified
US badly. 1t is this continued pulling
and hauling that worries u.s."
A private said: "You ought to have
heard the men cheer and seen them
dance when the news that we were to
be mustered out came. You ought to
have seen how blue we We're when we
found out we were to remain in SER
vice" Another private aid There
are kickers. 1 am not one. I do not
believe over 80 per cent. of the men
would really leave the regiment. /
think that is an outside estimate. We
have good officers. We all love Colo
mel Armfield. We love General Burt.
We love General Lee. 1 want to go to
l ava l. h1lON Oil 1lllC Il
be a somebody there. 1 want to go
there SO much that I would pay my
own way rather than not go. When
the order comes to go o Will see a
willing lot of men. Some of these men
will say one thing today and another
tomorrow. They are all proud of the
regiment and of the Seventh corps.
When they go home on furlough they
brag about the regiment"
The last soldier who was talked to
said: THE fact is all the soldiers here
ought to be mustered out. In all the
regiments except the Fourth immunes
and the Fourth Virginia very nearly
all the men want to quit. All in those
regiments want to stay. We have been
here 50 long and lone nothing that we
are tired"
Department OF THE MEN.
The cases of court-martia1 have not
been numerous. The department OF
the men as a rule is good. Two men
are under sentence for desertion. They
are the Wigs brothers, of the Colds
bOrO company, who are in prison at
Governors Island, New York harbor
The discharge of the Wigs brothers
is recommended and the matter goes
to the secretary of war. To show the
good order in the regiment it may be
stated that in n company Captain
Hannah's) there a been only one
court-martial. The First regiment is
well liked by the other regiments.
Colonel Armfield has looked after
his men wonderfully well. He is like
is a good deal of restraint from The
full liberty given by some regiments
and this has largely kept out certain
I diseases.
THE BILLS OF FARE.
Each comnanv commander ia reouir
ed to file daily the bill of fare TO
breakfast, Dime and supper, am
these are entered on a special boOk
Here are two bills of fare: Compan.
: C~-Breakfast, ham, lightbread, rice
coffee; dinner, sausage, cabbage, light
bread and rice; supper, potatoes, light
bread, cabbage, bacon, rice and coffee
4 Company G-Breakfast, fish, oatmeal
e mOlaSseS, coffee, bread; dinner, Sau
sage, cabbage, potatoes, coffee, bread
= rice pudding, vanilla sauce; supper
= sausage, salmon salad, rice, molasses
e coffee and bread. Meals are inspecte'
e daily. The "canteen' brings in to eacl
S man about SIS cents a month from
r profits, this going to the company FUND
Lieut.. COwleS was asked his opiniOl
e of it. He said: ut is a necessary evil
e The men will either drink in camp O
e out Of it. When they drink out O
s camp we have no control of them"
. SiAOAl iOuSIS, Aoi SSNSI ddyS, Al
given now, so as to give as many me
= as possible an opportunity to go HON
S and see their people, before the de
parture for Cuba, which is expecte
g to be in October or early in Noyem
Der. A number of officers were ah
s sent IN leave.
Colonel Armfield is now the senio
colonel Of volunteers in the Unite
States. Chief Surgeon Wilder is tn
senior surgeon also. Assistant SUI
geOn Jordan is IN duty at the Secon
a division hospital.
e The tent floors are raised eightee
It inches above the ground, on stron
IT supports. The tents are good save
1t one company street. FOur men are
If each tent. Camp is quiet, both da
e and night. The camp site is said
1t be good because it is so full of goph,
n holes. The gopher likes dry sand. +
p comes to the surface and a pile
IS shining white sand marks his piat