The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-29
SOLDIERS IN CAMP.
Some of Their Experiences at Nom
fnuk and In the CITY

tnuk and In the City.
The soldiers have not ceased to be inter-
esting now that they have retur1ed from
the front, and at Montauk Point hey are
visited by the curious and the newspapers
keep record of their experiences Writ
ing of Camp Wikoff. at that place, a cor
respondent of the Sun says: .'If in some
spot hitherto regarded as rather remote
there should suddenly spring into exist
ence settlement made up of 5000 per-
sons. and having some OF the attributes
and most of the needs of a city. the re-
suit would furnish a parallel 70 the cir
cumstances OF this camp as it now Is. The
| widest boom of a Western mining camp
never furnished an instance where the
| demand was equally inadequate 10 the
supply. Ordinary rules of political econ
| omy work very queerly in army matters
because of certain formulate Of procedure
| sometimes disrespectfuTy alluded TO as
red tape-and supply does not by any
means adjust itself to demand In the
possible 70 obtain most things here. AT
| present even the commouest necessaries
| are beyond money, so far as Immediate
acquisition is concerned. There is but one
restaurant in the entire camp. and that
| is on the hill overlooking the sea. three
miles from the railroad station. At the
station there is lunch room. where one
may get-if the overworked walters can
| find time TO wait on him-sandwiches
| hard-boiled eggs. pie, milk. and fruit. but
| the place does not pretend TO be restau-
| rant In the same building is a counter
which aspires to the reputation Of a gen
! eral store As IL Is the only store of any
| kind here. II is something 10 be thankful
| for. but its stock has not reached COM
prehensive proportions. as IL consists
| mainly of canned goods. pipes. tobacco.
4 candy. and-5itter mOckery of inanimats
/ OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES All this morning
| files of hopeful purchasers came in search
| Of tooth brushes. soap. socks. twine. mails.
| needles and thread, and other articles
| that one never realizes the vital useful
| ness of until they are unobtainabIe In
| attainable they at this general store
but the proprietor Whose prices. IL Is
| only fair to remark are not exorbitant
| under the circumstances promises ey-
erything that can be desired in a day or
two. or as soon as the gIut Of the ex-
press packages can be relieved
That express Office. by the way is a
wonderland, curio shop on a gigantic
| scale. a storehouse of goodies to safe
| the imagined appetite of a gluttonous
schOoIboy. Boxes bales and bundles
fairly oozing delectabIe things TO eat are
| piled chin high on the floor, with Just
| enough passage space for one person to
/ go through. Besides these there are cots,
I agricultural implements. grindstonss.
cooking utensils. hshpoles. clothing ard
! the thousand and one miscellanies for
which the needy soldiers are obliged TO
send TO the city. But far and away in
| advance of all else are the eatables and
| drinkables IN boxes which are commonly
| labeled. Today three hungry-looi<ing
| regulars walked past the express office
and stopped TO read the labels
Look at them watermelOnS. said one
in choking whisper. oh. look at EN-
And beer, said another a hull BAR
rel of il, Whew, 1 could swim in beer
and never get drowned
a. This side up with care Preserve.
the third man read from label. Oh, ny
Lord Amt it too mucht
..They stayed there and glOated over
the names of the dainties which were
| available to them for imaginative pur-
| poses only. 1t was the grOwn-up version
| of the little ragged boy who CLUES visit
ful face to the bakershOp window II win
ter nights
What is il in a military career that
ipsDires taste for pie? Some expe-
rieneed army surgeon may carry the eX-
nIanatiou locked in his brain, but up TO
the present the phenomenon Is as dark
a. il is undeniable. If II were the New
england regiments alone that evinced this
dietetic popularity 1t might De SET uo"n
To the score of heredity-the brtnr1gnt OF
the stock from whom came Emerson VINO
habituaIIy wrote poetry after eating apple
| ME for breakfast, and il wasn't dyspepilc
| poetry either. But all the soldiers mere
from the colored troopers 10 the New
York boys of the Seventy-frst, pine for
pie They Will tromp all the way 10 the
station to get it and they will make nash
of the laws against profane swearing
when they discover that the supply IS oUt,
as it is usually early in the day The new
restaurant near Newspaper Row laid in
supply today and raked in a choice profit
. bv selling out at 10 cents per eut-i0 cents
! a pie There are prospects. however OF
| low for the sOIdiery. for in the express Of
fee this afternoon the writer counted no
less than ten enormous hampers labeled
'Pie-this side up
AN officer of Col Roosevelt's Rough
Riders invited a dozen Of the genuine
: cowboys in the regiment TO go to a Broad
/ way theater with him last week None
! | of the soldiers had any other clothes to
: wear for the evening than his sOiled uni
: form and il is probable that few of them
T had ever been in a New York theater be-
fore. When the officer appeared at the
5 box Office and asked for seats for his
= men the ticket seller caught a glimpse Of
p the soiled uniforms and said:
II can't sell you a seat. because the
n house is full. but you are welcome TO
z take your men in. and if they can find
5 any vacant seats, let them take them
5 'sThe cavalrymen filed in and stood up
[ in the back of the theater for a few
: minutes. Then man who had an or
y chestra chair got up, and walking back
n to the soldiers, took one of them by the
q arm and led him to his seat Other men
e in the audience followed this example,
and in a few minutes every Rough Rider
D was not only seated, but engaged in con-
versa ton with the people around him.
y Those who had seas near the soldiers
o asked them all sorts of questions Down
n near the front of the house was a Rough
i Rider in a soiled uniform seated between
n two women who had never seen him be-
a fore but were evidently delighted at the
:. opportunity of making his acquaintance.
: Their escort had given up his seat 10 the
soldier. and they evidently felt that they
V were entitled TO talk to him. 1t is only
: fair to the cowboys TO say that the nov
q city of their surroundings did not appear
; 10 embarrass them in the least, and
a their enjoyment of the evening was
!, | marked"
Spanish ships Disappointing.
Il Cant Clark, of the Oregon, in New York
a TrihUne.)
a ''At Santiago we overlook the Cristobal Colon,
Y reputed 10 be very fast ship None OF the