Evening star., 1898-06-04
CHICkAMAUGA TO TAMPA.
Graphic Description of the Trip as
Taken With Troops.
From Golfers Weekl,

rfohi toiileF b weekly
Forty-five cars in all. Train divided into
three sections. Each section in sight of
the other, like city cable cars in the rush
hours of the evening. A thousand troop
ers in day coaches. A hundred officers in
sleepers. Eleven hundred horses in stock
cars. Every car window frames a face
Red, white and blue bunting hiding the
numbers of the coaches. Stars and stripes
waving from the platforms. Troopers seat
ed on the coal on the tender. Troopers on
top of the coaches. Troopers hungry and
dirty and going to war armed to the teeth.
Chlckanauga is seventy miles behind. We
reach Atlanta. enter the station. hooting,
sc:eeching, cat-calling. Corned beef and
beans travel from cans to ravenouS mouths.
Caldrons of scalding coffee come out of the
station restaurant The troopers eat. The
soldiers nave II cents each to spend for
coffee-per day. Some of them spend it all
at once. Never mind. The coffee was good
Nearly the entire population of Atlanta
crushes into the station and around the
train They cheer the boys in blue-who
laugh and nod and shout.
General o. o. Howard, cne-armed Union
veteran, boards our train. So does Cen
eral Joe Wheeler, under sized confederate
veteran. The two generals stand on the
rear platform arm in arm; and the popu-
lace of Atlanta cheers itself hoarse Cen
e-al Wheeler is on the way to lead the
cavalry in Cuba. General Howard is COM
ing to show the boys the ways of a Chris
'ian. He represents the Y. M. C. A.
The trains rush on. Jacksonville next
stop. We thunder over the road, away
frcm the red clay of Georgia to the white
sand of Florida. It's an all-night run.
and sleep the best they can In the
sleepers. porters have put our two gen.
erals and'our officers to sleep in comfort
able beds.
A drummer boy is i'll. The rocking of
the train, its carcenng as it rushes round
the curves, makes him. practically, sea-
sick. Earnest solicitude on part of men,
ana ana sympathy ny, and attention. Here. boy,
whisky is poured into his mouth It's all
they have, in the way of medicine, these
men on the way to war.
JacksonvilleIjust at sunrise Jackson
Vile is out of bed.
Fifteen thousand people greet us at the
station. We jump off, pace the platforms,
just to stretch aching limbs.
Again on, to Tampa-an all-day's run
The Sun-phew! it's hot. Some of the
men on the sunny side of the car envy the
men on the shady side. Still, many of
those en- the shady side offer their seats
to those in the sun. They are willing To
take turns-in the sun. They do. No sir
ting atop the cars now. The sun is broiI-
ing. We are in the land CT tall palms and
OF white sand: The soldiers sing "Suwan-
nee River" Fine voices. The band get
out their pieces and play "Old Black joe"
Anything to pass the time-on the way to
war
bo tHey LINK OI war. OF CuDav of hat
tie? of death? Some of them seem uuiet
| saw tears-yes, surely those were tears
dropping down the cheeks of a swarthv
trooper. Perhaps he was affected by the
singing. "Suwannee River is a melody sad
and weary. Or perhaps he is thinking of
Molly, his wife, or of Kitty, his little baby
girl. On, on to war-some jolly some sad.
Some make brave attempts at cheerful
ness. These are the intelligent men, or
rather the more intelligent, more refined.
See these lads, really boys, sons of Off
GERS: accustomed to refinement, luxury,
gentleness. The troopers, some of them,
curse and swear-on the way to war
somehow the swearing and cursing is n
shock to refined ones Still, rations and
coffee and Tampa are near
Tampa? Move do not get Off at
Tampa. On to Port Tampa, nine miles
distant. All local trains make way for u.s.
From the car window we see miles of
tents. the biggest concentration of troops
since the civil war.
Here is more evidence of war than at
any point in all the vast area of these
United States. Tents around the edge of
the bay; camps for miles, as far as you
can see. Supply wagons forming trains
miles long. And hospital and Red Cross
wagons. And mules and horses.
We camp on the edge of the bay in sight
or fleet OF steamers Never SO large a
fleet has been anchored in Tampa Bay
Forty big steamers = transports. Hun
dreds of soldiers are loading them with
ammunition, supplies, medicines, equip
ments. For We are on the way to war.