Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1898-07-31
LETTER FROM CAMP ALeER.

Camp Alger is getting easier for all
the boys, for the grub is getting better
now; hominy, rice or beans being on
the bill of fare every day with piece
of good beef, bread and coffee, and
this of course makes everybody feel
better;as the recruits were not pleased
with their treatment for the first few
days Most of them were mustered in
on Monday and they thought that the
government should supply them dur
ing the journey to Camp Alger, in
stead of letting them look out for
themselves from o'clock Wednesday
afternoon until Thursday noon. Then
! when the arrival in camp was made,
they were informed that there were
no dishes and they could borrow pans
from the old men and get along for
| day or two. 1t seemed to the boys
that the officials should have prepared
for their arrival
About one hundred more raw re-
cruits for the Hospital Corps have ar
rived from Athens, Chillicothe, Logan,
Columbus and other places, and as
they marched in it was our turn to
yell, Look at the Rookeys." Some
of ITEM had tin cups tied to their sus-
penders in regular Wearisome Willie
fashion and they were the lucky fell
lows, for they could get grub without
waiting to borrow pans.
One fellow. a starchy individual
from Columbus, high collar and white
shirt, dug up an old tomato can in the
dump and proceeded to clean it up for
use. But its good training especial
ly for the dudes.
The Seventh Ohio Regiment of Vol
unteers has moved to Dunn Loring,
three miles from Camp Alger, where
the sanitary conditions are thought to
be better
The variety show and numerous
stands along the midway have fol-
lowed and the Hospital Corps will
bring up the rear sometime this week
or early next week.
The Midway" is one of the most in
teresting places around camp;
there are dentists who administer gas,
tailors, barber shops, bath rooms
countless restaurants managed by
blacks and whites, drug store, tele-
graph Office, dime meuseum, dozen
tin-type galleries, shooting galleries,
and places where you can knock down
not the three niger babies that -four
ish at every county fair, but members
of General Weyler's staff down,
one cigar; two down, two cigars;
three down, half dollar
Last Sunday three men belonging
to Company G, 7th Ohio, drank about
five pints of wodd alcohol and all died
from the effects before Tuesday morn
ing. Great indignation was expressed
by some of the men on account of the
treatment of one of these men after
death. The man died at one o'clock
and shortly afetrward his company
left for Dunn Loring without making
the least arrangement for the disposal
of the body, which was left for three
hours where the man died, under the
trees near the camp. The body was
| finally washed and cared for by the
members of New York regiment
One of the men that enlisted at Ma
rietta from q nearby village has been
sick and his father is in camp today
to try and secure his release. Wheth-
er he will be successful or not is now
matter of conjecture.
The army mule is hot stuff. They
! seem to remember every insult and
assault for days. A few days ago one
kicked a man who had been throwing
stones at him sometime previous and
all the men say a mule will remember
a blow.
The peace rumors now in the papers
have dampening effect upon the boys
who are all anxious to do some active
service and it looks now & p. m. Fri
day. as If the war was about over.
The uniforms have been issued to
the boys, together with haversacks
and canteens and everybody feels
more like a soldier. The Hospital
Corps men are given two 3S calibre
blue steel 6-inch barrel revolyers, but
these are not issued until man starts
for the front, and only for use in self
defense.
So hurrah for camp life, with the
grub all dumped on one pan, greasy
. dishes, washed with cold water, wiped
with newspapers, beds Of straw and
pillows of nothing.
Last night a hard rain fell and a
number of men took shower baths
which though chilly were refreshing
: for there are no places to battle here
Only two typhoid fever suspects il
: the last twenty-four hours is the graf
flying report today. Homesick case:
ell getting better.
Boom old Marietta. You ought tt
get the band concerts. We have then
all around US and good bands at that
cheer up any man.
With all sorts of regards to every
body, we remain until we move).