The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-10-30

tieth Kansas, but who are now once
more civilians and superlatively glad
of it. They are travelling in three trains
of eight Pullmans.
Each and every man is riding with
his feet on the cushions and joy and
eager anticipation in his heart.
The 800 x-soldiers-there are 766 to
be exact, 720 who were enlisted men,
forty-fiVe who were officers and one
who is still a brigadier general-left
San Francisco yesterday morning ana
assembled on the railroad wharf at
Oakland Just before noon- There was
none of the old time military discipline
The party was in a regular CIVILIAN
huddle each man packing a horSelOad
of bulging and most unsoldierIy grips
and parcels and nearly all were chap
erOned by pretty girls, many by three
or four. There was no saluting officers,
nothing of the old routine. The only
Difference shoulder stra ps, got, simply
as shoulder straps, came from the rail-
road officials. They gave the ex-ofhcerS
the rear of each train and sleeping
car just a shade newer than those that
were furnished the men.
OF course the removal of the require
ments of military law did not pre-
vent such popular fellows as Lieuten-
ant Colonel Ed Little getting a round
of hearty cheers every few minutes as
new parties arrived at the rendezvous,
but these salutatiOns were purely per-
sOnal compliments. Most of the one
time dignftaries were lucky to get off
with a "Hullo, BILL or Tom or
Jack" as the case might be, and the
ultra chummy invitation to have ci-
gar.
After nearly an hour of tussIing and
hustling and herculean struggling with
a chaos of luggage, the trains were fin
ally loaded, the pretty girls were duly
kissed gOOdby-this is no figure of
speech. either, the kissing sounded like
a Fourth of July-and at $50 the first
section pulled out, followed at intervals
of twenty minutes by the other two.
Tn Ea r-zf raj in i= q h. r
talon, Lieutenant Colonel Little in
command. This comprises companies
l. B. A and F, or as ordinary folks will
more easily place them, the companies
from Abilene and Junction City, Kan
sas City, Topeka and Fort Scott and
Pittsburg. In this section, too, is the
band and regimental officers and Cen
eral Funston. The second section car
ries the second battalion, Major Frank
H. Whitman of Usage City and the reg
ular army in command. The battalion
includes companies K of Ottawa and
OsawatOmie, NJ of Salina and Minneap-
oils, G of Montgomery, Wilson and La
bette counties and z of Coffey, Ander-
son and Yates counties.
Finally comes the third section with
the Third battalion, Major Charles
Martin of Fort Scott. It has company
H of Lawrence, company D of CraW
ford county, company of LeaVen-
worth and company of Paola and lola
The trains, while hOmeward bound,
are not yet headed for Kansas. They
are going almost due south over the
Southern Pacific and wont turn east till
they reach the Santa F'e at Mojave If
the schedule prepared by the railroad
men can be lived up to the first section
will arrive in Topeka Thursday morning
for breakfast.
The Second and Third battalions will
breakfast at Florence and arrive in To-
peka at 9 and $50.
With all the high jinks over getting
started on the trip home there has been
Tez~ raF+ l7ar ff1
fellows had to be left behind in the hos
pital. No one can say when they will
be able to start for Kansas, if indeed
they ever will. These three are all pri-
Vates-Oscar Rever of company D, who
has just been operated on for appendi-
citis; David Kizer of company I, who
has gastric trouble, and Thad Alder
man of company K, who has typhoid.