Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-26
WITH OUR MARINES
LIVING HAPPILY In CAMP ON
THE ISTHMUS.
All Are Well and Are Enjoying
Oranges for Breakfast and Ba-
nanas for Dinner.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
CAMP ELLIOTT. Empire Station,

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
CAMP ELLIOTT. Empire Station,
Panama. December IA, 1903.
We left the U. 8. 8. Dixie on the Sth of
December-we were glad to make the
change. We arrived here by train on the
same day. We went into camp, which is
on the top of mountain. We named the
camp after the commander of the Marine
Corps. 1t is more healthy the noun
tain than in the valleys. where it is very
swampy On the I'd day of December,
about 5 o'clock. we left on the Dixie for
Cherigui lagoon to coal. We arrived at
Cherigui lagoon at 8 o'clock next day, and
coaling ship began. Coaling ship is hard
When they got through they looked like
men who had worked in the coal mines
All next day we coaled. The music
boys in the battalions who were not
on the sick list were detailed to go
over to the beach and get thirty bags of
sand. We went in bathing and got very
thirsty, so music boy climbed one of the
cocoanut trees and threw some down. The
cocoanuts contain cool liquid, and we
drank to our hearts content. When we
went back to the ship We took about fifty
cocoanuts in whale boat.
Explored the Island.
We all had Our revolvers with us. SO we
explored the island We music boys had a
picnic of it., One felt like Columbus
Robinson Crusoe. Dime novels are not
in it with the real thing. We saw snakes
of many kinds and beautiful birds. There
we're no monkeys there, but there were
many on the mainland. as well numer-
GUS wild animals roaming about
We left at that evening for Colon.
which we reached about 1 o'clock Sunday
morning. The U. s. 8. Nashville and the
u. 8. s. Mayflower were in the stream
when we arrived.
December L was ordered to leave the
ship with fifty men to camp a little way
from Empire station.
hear that Capt. Wynne is somewhere
near us. l owe to him many thanks for
the kindness and encouragement 1 received
from him during my apprenticeship In the
marine barracks at Washington He was
very kind and considerate to all the boys.
Once he sent me with a message that gave
me chance to see a circus parade in
Washington. He was a favorite with
everybody at the barracks.
Experience in Camp.
This camp is not much like home All we
can see is native huts in the jungles.
corporal and I made trip through the
jungle. We found oranges, lemons. squirrels
and monkeys and no end of snakes We
expected Colombian troops. and our chief
object was to see IL We could find any in
dications of them. We think that there are
some about ten miles south of us. Our
major says that If they want to fight US
they must come to US. We are all well and
happy. It rains every day, but we are pre-
pared for it. We eat oranges for our
breakfast and bananas for dinner and for
supper we have both. We are certainly
living in clover for ordinary marines.
Lieut.. Bracket bought two jaguars They
are very small, but they have been put in a
cage, nevertheless on the porch of one of
the many houses that belong to the French
Canal Company. Many canal pits about
fifty feet wide and thirty feet deep are to
be seen. Thousands of dollars worth of
machinery is lying idle. There are 300 men
working at Culebra cut. digging through
the mountain about three miles from our
camp.
There are many orange trees all around
us. Bananas grow about two miles from
camp. AT night We can see our ships sig
mailing to one another on both sides of the
isthElus. 1t Is wonderful sight. Our off,
GERS are very good to us. We are much in
teres ted in what is going on.