The evening times., 1898-05-09
THE VOLUNTEERS IN CAMP
New York Soldiers Are Drench.
ed BY Rain at Hampstead.
COURT-NARTIAL FOR MAScOTS
Troops Suffer From the Weather.
Their Tents Prove Bat . Slight
resentative sulxer May Lead q
Regimeit to Cuba.

Camp Black. Hampstead Plains, L. i.
May Scuba has no terrors for the mel
Of Camp Black after their experience o.
the past twenty-four hours. A terrift
gale has swept over the camp. With al
open space of fifteen miles in which t.
gather strength 1t swooped down on thu
city of tents, and for ten hours turned
the place into roaring scene of chaos
Tents were levciled, leaving men strug
Cling in the whirling maze of canvas ant
ropes. while the rain drenched them Il
the skin. Pools formed In hollows. Fol
hours men stumbled blindly in darkness
buffeted by the gale and stung by the
driving rain.
Day broke on a scene Of devastation
The brave lads worked manfully to rig
! up their shelters again. while the pitiless
storm ragged over the plain and sent hall
! stones biting into their faces.
| There was not a whimper of complaint.
Men shouted encouragement to each other
through the bowling gale, and gr.nned
| cheerfully. There was a drop of ten de-
| grees in the temperature. and. many a
man shivered d!smally in his swaying
| tent.
| The hours of sunshine yesterday after
noon raised hopes of fair weather, but the
! day closed cloudy. At o'clock the first
| breath Of the gale swept in from the
northeast. sending a cold rain along al
most level with the plain. Men dashed
out TO tighten guy ropes and bank side
| walls. The wind settled down to a stiff
| blow.
| Taps sounded at 10 o'clock, lights were
blctted out one by one. and the camp
| sank to silence. Then il seemed the gale
| took a shrller note. Tents strained and
| tapped. and the rain beat on the canvas
| like the rattle of drums. BY midnight
the wind was shrieking over the camp at
the rate Of forty miles an hour. The
rain increased. Every few seconds the
sky blazed with blue lightning. At such
times the white tents sprang out OF the
darkness. and could be seen rocking and
tugging at the guy-ropes. Thunder roar
ed as blackness fell again.
There was no sleep in camp. At 8
the storm had reached its height. and at
daybreak the drenched and weary SOL
diers were still struggling to find safe
shelter Al noon the storm lifted for a
few hours.
Col William Cary Sanger provost
marshal, left his cot at daybreak, and
mounting his horse made a tour Of the
camp through the lashing binding rain,
encouraging the men. and even dismount-
ing to give them aid. Col Holly. quar-
termaster general; Col Olin. chief of
staff, and Major Thurston were also out
early on inspection tours.
The plain was strewn with torn canvas
and scattered tent pegs. Not tent but
was two or three inches deep in water,
and on the lower plain. where lies the
Sixty-ninth. the men stood ankle-deep.
During the night they laborel TO dig
trenches, but they made only hoIlows of
black mud
In the Seventy-first and Sixty-ninth
Regiments there are COO recruits who have
no uniforms. These men. most of them
without overcoats, suffered greatly.
Five tents in the Seventy-first were
completely demolished. and only desper-
ate work saved scores of others. In the
Fourteenth twenty-five tents were level
ed. AT least $50 tents We're blown down
throughout the camp. and hardly one bur
pulled some of its pegs.
The 200 horses in camp huddled with
their backs to the storm, and whinnied
with pain the rain and hail whipped
against them. In the morning most of
them were sent over to Mineola and sta
bled.
Day brought little relief to the men.
The torrents of rain made outdoor fires
impossible. and breakfast consisted of
cold scraps. In a few cases the mess
cooks managed to furnish hot coffee
whisky was consumed in enormous uuan-
titles to stave of Illness
There was an interesting sight at
o'clock in the camp of the Sixty-ninth.
With io-mile gale raging through the
tented streets and rain splashing like
pebbles in the water, the whole regiment
stood, ankle deep, while Father DAILY said
mass. For three-ouarters of an hour the
priest and his men Stood steadying them
selves against the wind and going through
the religious service. When that was over
they turned again to drag order from the
chaos of the camp An hour later the
Rev Harvey Fisher addressed the boys
of the Sixty-fifth Regiment. of Buffalo.
The men were drenched, but cheerful
Seated on trunks or perched on chairs
they smoked philosophically and uttered
no complaint. In most of the officers
tents hollow had been scraped in the
turf. and wet logs tried to burn. The
chief result was smoke. but the officers
coughing and wiping their streaming
eyes. tried to believe their clothes were
drying. In Major General Roe's tent the |
same device was tried, but the smoke |
drove the major general out and he |
sought refuge in the tent of an officer |
who had a small oil stove. Around this |
the general and his staff huddled to con- |
fer on the work of the camp.
Morning trains brought visitors by the |
who fought their way into camp
in struggling lines. At least a hundred |
women braved gale and rain. With UNI |
brellas turned inside out skirts whipped |
by the wind. hair dishevelled and lashing |
their faces, they struggled bravely,
the bundles of comforts they
were bringing to their husbands, sons or |
brothers. From the station the shortest |
distance any Of them had to walk was
Of a mile. straight in the |
teeth of the gale. Most of then, hrouphf |
dry clothing for soldiers.
To hundreds of persons in the city the |
first thought this morning evidently was
for the boys in camp. for the telegraph |
office was flooded with messages like |
this: Are you well? Am anxious. An
swer quick" 1t took two hours to deliver |
all these messages, and there must have |
been great anxiety in city homes. AL
ways the answer went back. "Ail WE'LL
a worthy falsehood.
Regimental and company officers work.
ed nobly for the comfort of their men.
Colonel Eddy. of the Fourteenth. ordered
his guard posts reduced from sixteen to
eight and the time on guard for each
man from two hours to one. Other COM
followed his example Major
General Roe ordered two troopers on
guard at his headquarters to return to
their tents.
Mrs. Frederick D. Grant and Miss
Grant arrived on the first train this
morning and spent the day with Colonel
Grant, bearing hardship without mur-
muir.
The storm raging all morning. routine
vas suspended. Bugles sounded usual
,arade calls, but sounded retreat imme-
llately afterward, and no men but the
guards were compelled to desert the
doubtful comfort of their tents All |