The evening times., 1898-09-10
Why the District Troops We're
Detained at MOntauk.
ALL DAY WITHOUT FOOD
The Regiment Breaks Camp Before
road Station, Where 1t. Is Held
Until S O'Clock mt Night-No Pro-
vi.ion Made for Sick or Well.
...-..-LaI.sc

the District Regiment at Montauk Point:
This time 1t is the First District of CO.
| lumbia Volunteers, one of the crack regi-
ments of the country.
Encountered with twenty-nine sick
men the whole regiment was held up for
twelve hours at Montauk Thursday while
| it's officers hurried frantically from point
| to point vainly endeavoring to get trans
portation. ss-
The I'D. C.'s,'' as they are called, were
| organized at the outbreak of the war.
The regiment is made up of men of high
intelligence and with officers of commen-
surate ability, and in no way is it the
| sort of regiment to make trouble over
| things that could not be avoided.
After brisk record at Santiago the
! regiment came TO Camp Wikoff. AS a.
result of intelligence and care 1t lost
| only eleven men by sickness. and two
of these died at Wikoff. Late Wednes-
| day night Col. Harries got orders to
| move and communicated with the quar-
termasters department In reply he was
| told that trains would be ready for him
| Thursday morning, and to prepare at
| once to leave.
| AS a result of this announcement the
| regiment broke camp about $50 a. m.
| Thursday. The twenty-nine sick men
were carried to the railroad station in
the course of an hour or so, and shortly
| after n. m. the regiment was READY
10 start for New York.
Then began the delay. To find out
| just where he stood Col. Harries sent
over to headquarters to learn when the
train would be ready. There was no
answer for some time. and then the
tardy notification came that it would
be ready about 1880 p. m
This was bad enough, but mere was
! worse to come. The camp tents were
all down, commissary stores were
packed for shipment and the men were
| waiting in the sun with stacked arms.
AS ii drew along toward noon the delay
began TO tell. but. the men kept their
temper admirably
The appointed hour came and passed.
No train was ready. The men kept on
waiting. The hours dragged by, and
| when food became a necessity they
found it lacking. All told. they had
about enough milk to supply half the
command and enough sandwiches to
supply less. So this scaut supply was
doled out. while the officers tried TO
cheer up their men.
Late In the afternoon the order came
TO march The men sprang to their
places with cheers. believing that every
thing was ready. Then brskly and
steadily they took up the three-quar-
ters-of-anhour march 10 the station.
When they got there they found no
train.
Not ready yet reported the railroad
officials
The colonel desired to know why.
Didn't get orders in time was the
reply
SO the men hung round Darkness
came. and they were still there. There
was no food no comforts for the sick.
nothing but the prospect OF waiting there
until somebody or other did something.
The reason for this came out yester-
day. While the regiment waited and its
officers were trying to find out why, the
quartermaster's department and the rail-
road officials spent their time accusing
each other. All this settled down yester-
day afternoon into a plain statement by
the railroad that the army officials had
not taken the trouble TO notify them at
the proper time.
! According to Mr. Pratt, President Bald
wins assistant, the order for the train
did not reach Long Island City until 9
a m. Thursday.
Then it arrived in the shape OF a tele-
phone message asking the road to sup
ton Volunteers. There was no written
requisition, no direct order Any one,
apparently, might have sent the same
order
1--WE could do nothing until noon," said
Mr.. Pratt Although the order came
at 9 am m, we had no cars ready to
send until noon. Other regiments for
which transportation had been ordered
| required all the cars we had here-I mean
the regiments that came up from the
South bound for Camp Wikoff. We had
| to send them down first"
1t was not until 8 O'Clock at night that
the regiment boarded the train. 1t was
| made up in two sections, the first bearing
| almost the entire command. the second
| the officers horses and the camp equip
| ment The first section was made up of
| ordinary day coaches. and into these the
| men piled The sick men were put into a
| separate car. and at last the start was
| made.
| This was the situation: The men had
| broken camp almost at daybreak and had
| waited without food shter the entire
| day In the case of some commands this
| would have resulted in many cases of col
| lapse; but owing to the care taken by
| the officers, it managed to weather this
| last experience in fairly good shape.
IAN aboard shouted the trainmen,
| and out went the train.
4 5
| GERS.
He had been left behind. The trainmen
| had sent off the first section without
| awaiting his moddand.
| The Journey from Montauk to Long
| Island City consumed five hours and for
| ty-five minutes. 1t was 1:45 o'clock yester-
day morning when the first section arriv-
| ed at the Long. Island depot. The Red
| Cross people had been warned of its ap-
| proach and knew also that the regiment
! had been half starved. So the officials
| FASTENED to the rescue. thousand
| sandwiches, many gallons of coffee and
| milk and cocoa and beef tea for the sick
| were prepared. This was all ready long
| before the train arrived, and the nurses,
under Mrs Hammond. were ready to re-
| lieve the starving men. Major Urell was
in command of the first section.
Its the same old Story" said the ma
| jor I'VE have been laid up for hours
waiting for transportation. We have a
| carload of sick men, and have had little
food all day. We hope to get started for
Washington right away, but l can't tell.
| I don't know why we were unable to get
cars The colonel conferred with head
quarters about it and can tell you ALL He
is coming in on the second section. 1t
| ought to be here in little while.
But the second section did not arrive in
a little while. 1t was 2:45 a. m. before it
| reached Long Island City Col. Harries
was aboard.
II understand the railroad officials are
to blame said he. ''They were notified
to provide transportation and didn't.
don't know when they received the order.
The men have stood it very well, but
they are mighty glad to be on their way
home. We expect to be fed on our ar
l riy of Wac will