The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-29
NEWS FROM BAT TERYC
The Boys Are Getting Very Tired of
Inacti0n.
WANT MASTERING OUT
NOW THERE Is NO MORE FIGHT
ING TO BE DONE
They Had a Great Feast One Day
The Rainy Season Is Begun and
Makes Things Uncomfortable, But
There Is Practically No Sickness
In the Camp.

Preside, San Francisco, Sept. 20
It is with the satisfaction or we'll
filled man-filled with food, not drink
that sit down here in my little can
vas home to tell the readers OF The
Herald what their boys in battery Z
are doing. They say that the way 10
a mans heart is through his stomach
if that is true then our hearts were GER
tainlv touched today. We have had
three square meals of the daintiest or
dainties known to soldiers. A STEADY
diet of hash. stews, bacon ana coilee
mixed in with four or five hours OIL drill
q dav becomes somewhat monotonouS
after a month or two of 1t, but TO-DAY
has been a red-letter day for the bat
terry and will go down on the log as d
grand event
After 20 minutes drill, immediately
following reveille, the trumpeter soullu-
ed the ever welcome mess call:
Dirty, dirty doughboys come and get
your beans,
Porky, porky, porky, without plI Oh
lean,
Coffee, coffee, coffee, the blacklist ever
seen"
But instead of the famous pork and
beans we were treated to beefsteak.
At dinner our brains fairly reeled at
the feast spread before us, for there
was an abundance of fried founders,
potatoes, coffee and cantaloupes. sup
per in the evening closed the eventful
day with maccaroni and cheese. Is not
this enough to make one say Sood
| things of even his enemies?
One of the boys was raving over the
good things of the day when he re-
marked: "But don't mind me. When
I've got a full stomach I'm liable to
say anything but my prayers
T,r int ay n
discomfort" This morning we rose to
answer reveille and the pale wan rays
of the sun lit upon the ranks of soldiers
clothed in brown canvas fatigue uni
form. The sun itself looked as If 1t
had just taken a ride on the Mcdowell
and had had touch of salt water and
seasickness. Across the sky came thin
lines of clouds-the advance guard and
skirmishers of the army following 1t.
We formed for setting up drill and
these aerial Skirnishers poured Vol1ey
of rain drops into our ranks. Then up
! through the Golden Gate rushed
dense mass of fog and the fog horn at
Fort Point moaned out it's doleful blasts
like some enormous beast in distress.
1t was only few minutes more when
the main body of clouds came rushing
over US and poured Volley after Volley
of rain drops upon us. The order was
given and we hastily beat a retreat into
our CANVAS SIlGllSIS, d1Q 81 DCSdll lllC
rainy season in San Francisco. rms
was the first real rain we have had
since our arrival here, but from now
on rain will be the order of the day.
We are fairly prepared for wet wea-
| Their, but it means great deal or dis
comfort. colds and such things in spite
-of it all. Our tents now have floors in
them and nearly. every man has
rough bunk made of boards. But tents
are not the best of habitation in wet
weather. Everything we own is damp,
and it is pretty cold to climb out of
bed at reveille. But then it is all in a
soldiers life and Uncle Sans boys are
supposed to stand anything.
PRIMITIVE ARMS.
Speaking of Uncle Sans boys re-
minds one of our present condition
Battery c is at present armed only with
! picks and shovelS and side arms con-
sisting of knife. fork, spoon, cup and
meat can. With this formidable arma-
ment we go forth TO do or die. Dig
ging bitches and other fatigue work is
necessary, but The other DAY one of
the boys appeared with the letters U.
S. L. c. in brass upon his collar. When
asked what they signifed ne replied,
| 'Uncle Sans Labor Corps"
The other day the boys had an OPP
POI tuLity to show their accomplish
! ments We had just come III from drill
our hunks attempting to recuperate.
! Suddenly the fire call sounded at the
| guard house and instantly every man
was on his feet and taking his place
in line. In less than a minute the bat
terry was marching at a double time to
| the top of the hill back of our camp,
! where the fire was supposed to he.
| We made the assault like veterans
and we longed for the fray. Here our
| former battles at Fort Douglas served
| US well and we were perfectly at home.
| The first difficulty we experienced was
/ in finding the fire. The fog hung like
! blanket over everything and some of
the boys nearly got lost, but the stem
torian voice of the first sergeant served
to guide US through the maze. But the
! fire had gone out" SO we were in
| formed when we reached its residing
place. The flames had undoubtedly
! beard of our coming and had gone
out" SO as not to receive us. We nave
had three other such calls since then
and one of them was about 1880 at
night, yet in every instance our bat
terry was the first out, which reflects
great credit upon the men.
SICKNESS NOT GREAT.
| The sickness in the battery is not
great, it being confined mostly to colds.
The effect of this damp climate is not
very good upon the men, for 1t is
| great CldJSc l1c QcllSltl - Ioi
weather There has been some fever
among the boys, but nothing which has
! yet resulted seriously.
We have one or two men in the bat
! terry who are troubled with peculiar
| form of dropsy 1t has no effect upon
them except when they have to drill
or work. AT drill this dread malady
presents itself and is manifested in the
victim by a desire to drop out and sit
beneath a gum tree. When this is not
allowed, they drag along until halt
is made, and they then drop to the
ground in a comfortable position. The
best cure known for this ''dropsy is an
hours extra drill each day.
Yesterday some of the boys visited
the mint and the Union iron works. To
describe all we saw would fill volume
too large to write during my present
term of enlistment, so I won't attempt
it here. Suffice it to say that the mint
ing scheme. Gold was handled like it
was old iron, and golden twenties were
made a great deal faster than your
humble servant could spend them, and
that is saying a good deal. The hourly
output of the mint, when running to its
full capacity, is $500, 900, and there is
not enough gold mined to keep it going
at that rate.
The Union iron works was a marvel. 1
1t employs an army of men and is a
wonderful place and makes ones eyes
open at the handiwork of man. The
gigantic battleship Wisconsin is in
course of building in the yards, and the