The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-29
ECHOES OF THE WAR.

ECHOES OF THE WAR.
Charles w. Fetherolf, former men,
Der of The Trbune's staff of local
writer's, is at San Francisco with Com
pany II, of Binghamton, which is at
| tachcd to the First regiment of New
York volunteers. The regiment will
| leave for Honolulu in a short time,
where 1t will do garrison duty for sew
| eral months prior to leaving for the
| Philippines. In q letter to the Bing
| hamton Herald Mr.. Fetherolf says:
within sight of the far-famed Gold
| en- Gate and in the Metropolis of the
| Pacific coast Company II, with the
| First regiment of New York is en-
| camped. 1t is week and day since
| the company reached San Francisco,
after a journey of nearly a week that
was as tiresome and dusty as it was
| interesting. After reaching here the
regiment went into camp at Camp
| Merritt, where are stationed regiments
| from Tennessee, the Dakotas, Mon
| tana, Iowa and other states. The
| Preside reservation where we are now
encamped, having been removed from
| Camp Merritt the day following our
| arrival on account of the protest of
| our colonel, contains about $1,000 acres
| of land adjoining San Francisco bay
and the Golden Gate. 1t is a regular
| army post with barracks and other
| features like Fort Columbus and Gov
| ernoTs Island. Camp Merritt is short
| ly to be abandoned because of its un-
| sanitary condition and total unfitness
| for camping purposes. When the men
| of Company ii first set eyes on the
| horrible spot their hearts sank with
| in them. The camp is nothing more
| than part of the city divided into city
lots and fenced in. The soil is sandy
and the wind which blows almost con-
tinuouely lifts it in clouds that almost
blind and choke the soldiers and make
everything dirty. 1t was the most un-
| inviting place the company has yet
| seen excepting the vast alkali deserts
passed in Utah and Nevada while en-
route west. When one endeavOred to
walk through this sand his feet sank
six or eight inches, making progress
as laborious as getting through Ell
mira mud. Sanitarily, Camp Merritt
is a failure. Some twenty men have
died there from the filth lodging in the
| sand. To the credit of our colonel he
was the only officer with nerve enough
to kick against such a place. He
kicked ha,d and his superiors needed.
The next morning the regiment left
the pest hole for the Presdio.
In the Preside. as in San Francisco,
and elsewhere in this locality, the cli-
mate is such as to almost appall the
New Yorker. For several hours in the
morning if the fog does not obscure
the sun, it is warm. Then the wind
NxFh a tA1N aI,, ~.
the southwest begins to blow Then
1t becomes cold and the dust begins to
lift. This dust at the Preside appears
TO be omnipresent. We wipe our rifles
and clean them, but ten minutes later
they are again coated with dust. The
cold wind and the grit and dirt cut the
soldiers faces so that they become red
as carmine and almost as raw as fresh
| ly cut beefsteak. The men now pre-
sent a comcal appearance. 1t is i'm
| possible to keep the dust off the cloth
| Ing and all are afraid to shave lest
the elements play havoc with their
| physiognomy. On the day of our ar
rival Corporal Lathrop slept in the
open air with his left cheek exposed.
| The cheek is Just healing and broad
! patches of skin are peeling off. The
the company at Governors Island are
without overcoats and their discom-
| fort as a result is great. Some days
| the lie in their tents smuggled into
| blankest and endeavoring to keep
warm. At night it is so cold that un-
less they can borrow an overcoat some
where they stay in their tents.
| %
| Commissioner John Quincy, who was
wounded in the battle Of Santiago, ar
rived in this city at midnight last
night and was met at the station py
County Commissioner Quincy AMI an
other brother and was taken to the
| formers home" says yesterday z
| Wilkes Barre Record. "He left Sauti-
| ago over a week ago and arrived in
New York city "a few days ago. lis
brother went down to meet him aud
returned with him. Mr.. Quincy IS u
tall, slender man, but is we'll built ana
looks like u soldier. He enlisted IN.
the regular army about eighteen yeats
ago and at the breaking out of the
war was c&rpo al in Company 4,
| Sixth reglT, NJ, When seen b. tho
reporters last night he was tired and
worn out by his journey and would
say very little. Hc was shot thrC ugh
one of his knees and seriously wound
ed in the charge and stormlng at San
Juan Hill and has been at the soldiers
hospital at Siboney for some time, un-
til well enough to leave for home.
Corporal Quincy was in the front
rank Of the charging regiment on July
!. He was shot while charging up the
hill and bullets rained about him as
he tried to crawl away to shelter,
dragging his body along by his hands