Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-06-25

lot already well filled. The men IN the
tents did not do much to make us feel
at home, although one or two put on
some appearance of friendliness as
they asked us If we had brought down
anything in pocket TASKS.
We Suinmerton boys were not made
any more comfortable by being sep
arated, us we CHANGED to be. No three
Of us We're assigned to the same COM
pany, much less to the same tent.
There seemed nothing for us to do or
see either, for no drill was ordered
during the morning. Before dinner
call was sounded had lost ali inter-
est In the service and the war. could
think of nothing but our farm at Sum-
merton and the people who occupied
1t. My father had promised to visit
me In camp before winter If the au-
thorities would permit. How hoped
he would not do 1t! should have been
glad to have him see the camp of the
Ninety-ninth, but the cavalry camp
was very different. There seemed no
end Of detached tents and huts, with
no particular purpose that could dis
cover. Nothing was as had expected
After dinner we boys had an oppor-
tunity to see each other again. We
enjoyed the meeting, but not Its pur-
pose, for each new recruit was given a
shovel and set to digging post holes
and bitches for some new stables that
were to be built. could have had
plenty of digging without coming sew
eral hundred miles from home, for my
father had long intended to set new
fence. An excitable young French
man among the recruits seemed some
what Of my way of thinking, for he
suddenly dropped his shovel and shout
ed:
II will not dig re hole! 1 enlist for
Ia glolre, not for dirty work like zis."
"Ah, you wants glory, eh?" said the
German sergeant who seemed engineer
in chief. Den better it is you 60 back
to your own country, we're dey amt
got no sense"
The Frenchman said something be-
tween his teeth and thrust out his fist.
The sergeant collnred the Frenchman
and kicked him all the way to the
guardhouse. There were no protests
after that. Post holes and bitches in
creased rapidly, and was somewhat
astonished to discover that the short
ditch dug by Phil Hamilton was the
most shapely of the lot.
We recruits got some comfort after
supper in criticislng the movements of
the cavalry at dress parade. They
marched with less style than the most
awkward company of the Ninety
ninth, and looked shabby by the lack
of resemblance in their hats, no two
of which set nike, although all were
of black felt.
Signs of hospitality continuing to be
invisible. some of us Summerton re-
cruits concluded to spend the night on
the quartermaster's hay pile. Virginia
dews, however, had grown cooler in
the month that had elapsed since the
Ninety-ninth went north, and we had
to arise in the middle of the night and
indulge in violent exercise to warm
our blood. We talked great lot, too,
so much that the sergeant Of the guard
came over to see what was the matter.
When we told him why we were there
and how uncomfortable we were, he
said:
Serves you right. Men who've been
In the service once before and got out
and hadn't sense enough to stay out
deserve all the bad luck they can find"
l was angry and miserable enough
to believe for the moment that he was
nearly half right.