Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-08-02
THE TROOPS IN CHINA
WHAT THEY EAT AND HOW THEY
ARE LOOKED AFTER.
The Camp Arrangements OF the different
Natioas Were All Dissimiiar - Our
Trool Paid Small Attention to Dress
Rus SLAMS Had the Best Cooking

-Russians Had the Best Cooking.
The report of Captain Thomas
Franklin, of our commissary corps, al.
ready referred to in these dispatches,
gives very interesting account of
the way the various troops were fed
and cared for during the campaign of
the allies in China. The Japanese
has rice bread, dried fish and tea,
which they supplemented by the use
of the sheep and cattle the country
produced. They also had American
canned meats, but these We're not used
freely, and seemed to be more in the
nature of a special or emergency arti-
Gle of their diet. The British white
troops had Il ration similar to ours in
quality and quantity, but not so
varied or flexible. They used tea in
stead OF coffee. The British Indian
troops had about three-quarters of a
pound of four. about one pound OF
rice, one gill oe vegetable oil, salt, and
once week Il pound OF fresh meat,
bone and all. The Sinks ate only
meat or goat, but the Mohammedans
ate everything except pork. The Rus
slams had little besides back bread
and soup They were given quarter
pound cans of some sort of meat
preparation at intervals, much In the
same way as the Japanese used
American meats. They had the finest
cooking arrangement, though, Of any.
On a springless wagon was mounted
n f,,r cr,I ri oil
boiler, water-jacketed. The boiler was
fitted with tight cover and the whole
was very strongly and compactly
built. Into this they put all the ma,
terlals for a soup or stew that they
possessed-and nothing came amiss-
screwed down the cover, lighted the
fire, and away went the perambulat-
ing soup tureen with its company.
When they made camp all they had
to do was to stack arms" and then
march past the soup machine, the
cook opening a faucet, and each man
receiving his ration of hot, well-cooked
thick soup; the assistant cook in the
meantime was chopping up loaf of
black bread with an axe, and each
man got a liberal chunk. +'.F
The camp arrangements of the DIFF
ferent nations varied rs much as their
nations. The Americans appear to
have kept the cleanest and best po-
liced camps. All garbage was prompt
ly removed and buried in pits at q
distance, and other offal lined or Gov
cred with dry earth daily. The British
kept fairly clean camps, but in
spasmodlc way. They would let them
get dirty and then turn thousand
coolies loose and do weeks cleaning
III two hours. The japanese kept their
immediate quarters clean, but We're
not at all particular concerning their
surroundings. The Russians and
French paid little attention to camp
sanitation, and but for the cool wealth
CT In September would probably have
had hard time On the other hand,
the Germans kept their camps very
clean and guarded the health of their
men by the most stringent rules, but
withal had the biggest sick report of
any. ......, -.q,...f.... - ...,.,' i@s,.s..eaEEt
The American transportation ar
ringement seems to have surprised
the foreigners. We used light wagons,
loaded with from $500 to 1000 pounds,
so as to defy the muddy roads. One
man cared for four mules, and each
mule hauled from 200 to 1000 pounds
of stores. The other armies depended
on carts which carried loads of only
500 pounds per animal, and each ami
NAL required one man to care for it.
The way our mules followed the bell
mare excited general interest; herd
of fifty mules would be turned loose
and kept under control by two or
three men, and when in harness they
could be driven without any change of
speed over a crowded road or through
the laybrinthine streets of Chinese
cities.
The Japanese had many little stall
lions with shaggy names and bulging
eyes, serving as pack-horses with !
panniers, each led by a soldier. Be |
sides these they had a multitude of |
small one-horse carts, consisting OF |
n light platform, with neither sides |
nor ends, mounted on two small |
wheels. The Russians also had carts |
larger than the japanese, with flaring |
sides and ends and drawn by Man |
churian ponies of great strength The |
British had number OF active, vicious |
little pack mules, led tandem, three in |
u bunch, Il coolie leading the head |
mule. The burdens were held in place |
by an ingenious apparatus with loops |
and hooks, but the load did not stay |
on If the mule trotted or acted fool |
lsh. The same army had also at first |
n number of carts with wooden axles |
and solid wooden wheels, which |
proved too cumbrous and We're cast |
aside all along the road. Afterwards
some very good carts, steel built, ar
rived from India and proved service
able. The French, Italians and Aus !
TRANS had no transportation except |
what they picked up In the country
The Germans We're similarly lacking
until late in the season. when a large