The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-11
LIFE OUT AT CAMP RAY.
INCIDENTS FROM THE DAILY DIARY
OF SOLDIERS OF THE THIRD.

Nuisance Abated-Pen Pictures of
the Existence OF a Boy in Blue.
I'D like to have chance to shoot this
gun, if only for once"
| The private clicked the trigger of his
Springfield again as though there was
music to his ears in the sound.
| why, haven't you ever shot it?'' ask
ed a bystander as the man of the Third
Regiment threw the rifle up to his Shout
der and aimed it at a comrade.
NO not yet, and I am afraid 1 never
will get a chance to, now that the war
is about over. I don't think ever fired
anything more than a pistol or an air
rifle in my life, and I've been dead anx-
ious to try my hand with this But fate
must be against me. When Joined the
army I thought I'd be shooting at a tar
get all day long, but it doesn't look now
as though l would ever be a second b.
gardus"
The DISCONTINUED private was not the
only one in the Third who longs for the
time when he can get chance to really
| shoot gun. No child given a pop-gun
Tor a present ever wanted to try his hand
with it at once worse than these boys in
| blue out at the old water works. For
seven weeks they have been drilling in
the manual of arms, for seven weeks they
nave been clicking the triggers of their
rifles, but never once have they had the
exquisite pleasure of aiming at a target
and letting a bullet go at it, imagining
that 1t represented a Spaniard.
When the regiment gets to Santiago It
VIII get some target practice. At least
that is the hope of every one from the
colonel down. The fact that from the time
it was organized up to now it has been so
| situated that target practice was out of
the question, merely shows the disadvant-
| ages under which the volunteer forces la
Dor. 1t is wonderful. under such clrcum-
stances, that they do as weE as they do
PLEASE give me button as a souvenir"
The girl looked pleadingly into the FRI
Yates face. 1t was hard to resist but the
soldier was equal to the emergency.
Jim" he yelled, throw me a biscuit"
government sOda-biscult fell with a
thud" at his feet Brushing the dirt eff
with his coat sleeve, the private pulled
out pencil and across the face of the
cracker wrote his name, address, company,
battalion and regiment, with the date, and
handed it to the girl She went off happy,
and the soldier looking down at the but
tens on his coat remarked: 1T took enc
months salary up in Macon to keep me
supplied with buttons. The commissary
department supplies the souvenirs now.
There's tricks even in soldering"
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of these
soda biscuits have gone out of Camp Ray
in this way Many a girl will ornament
the one she received with border of pink
ribbon, paste gilt hearts on the corners,
and hang it up by the bureau glass, where
she viii see it when she gets up and when
she retires
STAND aside, please. Now, colonel,
please lift your head a little higher"
Snap! "t've got 1t; much obliged, colonel"
ISN'T he a dear one, though" said the
amateur photographer as she turned to
the young man who had done all the
pedalling on the tandem that brought
them out to the camp.
you girls are regular fools about uni
forms" was his ungalant reply.
Camp Ray has been a KlondiSe for the
amateurs with the you press the but
ton" cameras. Col. Ray has been snap
shotted in every conceivable position,
sometimes with his knowledge and more
frequently without his being aware of the
designs of the photographers. All over
the camp the cameras have found their
graphs would run up into the hundreds. 1t
has been poor soldier who hasn't been
immortalized on a slide this week.
They tell a good one out at camp about
the way Col. Ray had nuisance abated.
The nuisance was up at the Macon camp.
Directions had been issued which seem
to have been ignored or only partly car
ried out The colonels attention was di-
rected to it. Some privates, whose tents
were near by, were the sufferers. If
this thing isn't done as ordered in an
hour" said the colonel, "move these tents
away and put the officers tents here I'M
I'll l direct them changed"
Thirty minutes later there was no
nuisance in existence at that especial
point. And the officers tents were not
changed.
They tell another one, which may or
may not be true, but win pass current
just now, any way. 1t also took place in
Macon.
A negro sergeant of the regular army
was on the street A private of the Third
met him. If he had been white sergeant
the private would undoubtedly have sa-
luted, enough discipline having been in
stilled into him for that. But he drew the
line.
you ought to salute me-" said the SER
geant.
All COOnS look dllhe 10 me- was luS
privates reply as he strobe on.
Here is a sample of how things go In
military lite.
Fifteen members of a company were re-
ported not accounted for at Retreat"
yesterday.
The captain of the company was in
town. The lieutenant was sent for.
Fifteen men from your company are
reported unaccounted for" said the colo
rel. you will take ten privates and two
non-commissioned officers and go TO the
city and place them under arrest"
shall l go?"
Eyes, and do not come back until you
bring those fifteen men. And hereafter
take better care of your company"
Il have done the best 1 could to keep
them in"