The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-10
But for Some Unexplained Reason
They Were Not Permitted to Go
Aboard the Transports.
COL. BARNETT'S MEN READY
MAY BE SENT FROM CAMP ALGER TO
JACKSONVILLE BEFORE LONG.
RumOrs Current at Chickamaugn
Park that Some of the Volunteers
There Will Soon Move to Florida.
.afr Correspondence of the Journal.

| staff Correspondence of the Journal.
| PORT TAMPA, Fla, June 9.-The men OF
| the hundred ed-and-fifty-seventh Indiana
| Regiment were in fine health tonight, with
| one case only in the hospital. Private
| Driftmeyer, of Company G. is there with
| slight attack of malaria. Several of the
| officers who broke up their messes yester-
day have resumed them. The mails here are
| so irregular that few communications from
| Indiana are received. and equal difficulty is
| experienced in getting letters out.
Writing under date of June Z, the Jour
| nails correspondent at Tampa says: Indiana
| with its fair fields and prosperous commun-
| tiles land of corn and plenty, never
seemed so far away to the boys of the One
hundred and fifty seventh Regiment
as it does tonight Here, amid tropical sur
roundings, with every object in sight prac-
| ticalIy foreign to them, and the word to
| move further, across the sea, to come
soon, they feel their love for the old
Hoosier State, where all they hold dear on
earth is centered, as they never felt 1t be-
fore "On to Cuba which has been mere
| phantasm heretofore, seems to be approach
ing an actuality. war is no more a playth1ng.
Huge siege guns piled on the decks of the
| transports, thousands of ammunition boxes
| passing into the holds, along with an end
| less chain of longshoremen, regulars march
| ing up the gangway planks, marines drawn
| up like penguins behind the portfolios, vol
| unteers preparing to break camp in every
| direction, pack mules jogging along with
| small field cannon or boxes on their backs,
| officers dashing out the roads-everything
| moving in an irresistible current towards
| the black hulks of the expedition, puts the
| final touches to the reality of Cuban in
| vasion.
| 1t was a sober lot of Indianans at mess
this morning. Every man knew the officers
| expected to shout the order to move
| soon. Brigadier General Hall, who is now
| in command of three regiments, one of
| which is the and-fifty-seventh
| Indiana, made no concealment of this prob
ability. officers who had been down at
! Tampa Bay Hotel had seen bulletined there
the final orders for the preparation. Two
| transports had already pulled out from the
docks and sat in the water outside waiting
| Ior the fleet formation. The night before
| group of gunboats had come up, and when
| they signaled with their flashlights every
| glmmer on the transports was doused. The
! guards of the Indiana camps had seen these
| signals, though not knowing what they por-
| tended. If the official order itself had been
| announced, no one would have been more
| thoroughly convinced of what was to come.
Before the sun had gone far past the me-
| ridian. an orderly dashed through the palm
| clumps to Colonel Studebaker's headquar-
ters, and announced that he was to send the
| horses of the regiment to the transports at
| once. Don't take any more than are abb
solutely necessary" was the messengers
|
| were on the way the only extra one being
| permitted Colonel Studepaker, who will
| kindly loan it to Chaplain Medburry, one of
those dear fellows with whom the Indiana
regiments are peculiarly blessed in this war
| Not mule of the troop we'll trained since
they were first issued at Chickamauga is
to go, for the government has already pro-
vded each regiment with a new quota on
the transports. These animals, as we'll as
the surplus baggage and chests of the COM
| panies, are to be guarded by a detail of
twenty men and one officer, to be left be-
hind If the colonel were to announce these
! twenty men tonight, there would be just a
| score of heartbroken chaps in the regiment,
| and so the commander will put off this un-
| pleasant task till the last moment hoping
for the sake of the men. that a guard detail
will be drawn from one of the regiments to
| be held here in reserve. The First Illinois
has been dropped from the brigade in the
new shuttle, and it is understood these Chi
cagoans will remain here among the re-
| serves.
No Oriental splendor can type the reful-
] gent hues which follow the sun as it sets
across the sea at Port Tampa, and tonight
furnished the most gorgeous spectacle the
| Hoosers have seen since leaving home.
| Droves Of them were out at the beach ad-
| miring the magnificent sight Then, with
| the sun down, they tramped back to camp.
| to again repeat their good-byes in letters
| home.
The regiment to-day had a Spanish spy
| story of first rank. one of the sort to be
| given little more credence than Is ordi-
narily attributed to these tales Out of
| Difference to the wise censor il was modi-
| fled to an insignificant incident in the dis
/ patches About o'clock in the morning the
| lonely sentry heard a rustic I'm the low
palms a dozen yards away, and presently he
| could distinguish the form of man stealth
! lily creeping toward him. The soldier had no
! ammunition. He cried at the advancing
man, ordering him to halt. There was not
a soldier absent from the regiment and the
sentry felt confident 1t was no late conner
seeking to slip back to his tent. When he
called out the prowler made a break for
the direction from whence he came. wag-
oner Currter. who had been awake in his
| tent near by, heard the disturbance and
| rushed out with hts revolver He fired five
| shots without effect, at the retreatine fig
| ure The scene of this incident was near
one of the openings in the huge nine that
| furnishes the camps of the Ohio Indiana
and Pennsylvania regiments with drinking