The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-05-11
THE CARE OF THE SOLDIER
What the Armies Had to Eat Dur
ing the Chinese Campaign.

Varied HIenu of the japanese and the
Scnnt Fare of the Russians-Amer-
cans Dressed Most Comfortably.
The Arrangements for Cooking,
The report of Capt. Thomas Franklin.
Of the Commissary Department, a synop-
sis Of which has already been published.
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 had rice,
bread, dried fish, and tea, which they sup
plemented by the use Of the sheep and
cattle the country produced. They also
had American canned meats, but these
were not used freely, and seemed to be
more in the nature of q special or emer-
gency article Of their diet The British
white troops had a ration similar to that
furnished the Americans in quality and
quantity, but not 50 varied or flexible
They used tea instead Of coffee. The
British Indian troops had about three
quarters of a pound of -four. about one
pound OF rice, one gill of vegetable oil,
salt and once a week & pound OF fresh
meat, bone and all. The Sikhs ate only
mutton or goat, but the Mohammedans
ate everything except FORK
The Russians had little besides q black
bread AID soup They were given quarter
pound cans of some kind of meat prepara-
ton at intervals much in the same way
as the japanese used American meats.
They had Ehe finest cooking arrangement,
though. of any Upon q -springless wagon
was mounted an iron furnace under
semi-sphericaI boiler, water-jacketed-
The boiler was fitted with tight cover,
compactIy bGilt. Into this they put all
the materials for & soup or stew that they
possessed-and nothing came amiss-
screwed down the cover. lighted the fire,
and away went this perambulating soup
tureen with its company.
When they made camp, all they had to
do was stack arms and then march
past the soup machine, the cook opening
q faucet and each man receiving his "a
ton Of hot, welI-cooked, thick soup; the
assistant cook in the meantime was chop
ping up a loaf Of black bread with an
ak, and each man got a liberal chunk
The camp arrangements of the different
nations varied as much as their rations-
The Americans appear to have kept the
cIeauest and best-pOliced camps All gar
bage was promptly removed and buried
in pits 1t distance, and other offal
The British kept fairly clean camps, but
in a spasmodic way. They would let
them get dirty. and then turn d thousand
coolies loose in them and do a weeks
cleaning in two hours. The japanese kept
their immediate quarters clean, but were
not at ali particular concerning their sur
roundinss. The Russians and French
paid little attention TO camp sanitation,
and but for the cool weather in Septem-
Der 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 withaI had the biggest sick re
port Of any.
The American transportation arrange
msnts seemed to have surprised the for
eiEners- We used light wagons, loaded
with from $500 10 400 pounds, so as TO
defy the muddy roads One man cared
for four mules. and each mule hauled
from 200 TO I,GJ4 pounds Of stores. The
other armies depended on carts which
carried loads Of only 800 pounds per ami
mai, and each animal required one man
to care for It The way our mules follow
co the bell-maTe excited general interest;
4 herd Of fifty mules would be turned
loose and kept under control by two or
three men and when II harness they
could be driven without any change of
speed over a crowded road or through the
IabyrInt hIue streets OF Chinese cities
The japanese had many fierce little stall
lions, with shaggy names and bUfgIng
eyes, serving as pack-hOrses with pan
nfers. each led by a soldier Besides these
they had a multitude of small One-horse
carts. consisting of light platform. with
neither sides nor ends, mounted on two
small wheels The Russians mad carts
also, larger than the japanese. with far
ing sides and ends and drawn by Man
Churian ponies OF great strength Inc
British mad number OF active, VICIOUS
little pack-uuIes. led tandem. three in a
bunch a coolie leading the head mule
The burdens were held in place by an IN
geniOus apparatus with loops and hooks,
hun the load did not stay on if the mule
trotted or acted foolish. The same army
had also at first q number of carts with
wooden aXles and solid wooden wheels,
which proved too cum bTOuS, and were
cast aside all along the road.
AfterHard some very good carts, steel
built arrived from India and proved
seryfceabIe- The French, Itallians, and
Austrians had no transportation except
what they picked up n this country
The Germans were similarly lacking Drill
late IL the SEASON when a large nuHpe.
Of military baggage wagons reached
them But these wagons were not nearly
the equal Of ours IN shape capacity or
strength. and required two teamsters to
All the foreigners appear 70 have paid
more attention 20 the appearance OF their
uniforms than our troops did. but to nave
been less SeuSIb}v dressed In hats and
shoes the american men were better of
than any. and their blue-hannel shirts
were greatly admired The japanese
marched with very little equipment, but
seemed to have all they wanted The
British troops were afsC lightly loaded.
But both thesa nations took along small
army Of coolies to attend upon their men
The Russians carried little Their rough
blankets were rolled. and the ends tied
together and stuck into their soup cans.
and q wooden water bottle and a canvas
haversack completed their outfit. The
French and Italians carried very heavy
packs The Germans were heavily laden,
and seemed to have q belt and pouch
neerschaurn pipe All the armies except
the American reveIed in color and gold
lace in their winter uniforms. and had 20
spend much labor in keeping themselves
pTeSentable-