Weekly journal-miner., 1909-10-20
GEN, THOMAS ACTIVE AS
 |. HE VAS IN EARLY DAYS
Veteran Army Officer, Commanding Department of Colorado, Praises
 This City in Highest Terms.
From Tuesdays Daily)

sent to Whipple and they may be expected by not later than November lI5.
 The assignment of this battalion will be discretionary with the col onel of the Eighteenth regiment of infantry and the companies to be sta tioned here will not be known until after they arrive at the above port.
 General Thomas says that had the accommodations at Whipple been ann pie he would have ordered the head quarters of the regiment to this post. He regrets that until more quarters and a band barracks are built this will be impossible. Officers quar- ters under present conditions are bare ly sufficient for the care of the officers that will arrive and this strength will not be increased until an appropriation is made by congress. Thls he will endeavor to have eOnsid- cred hence the recent recommendation he made to have a regimental post
 The original order of the war de- pertinent assigned four companies of the Twenty-fifth infantry to Whip pie. This is a negro regiment. The order was reseinded.
 Takes Endurance Ride. Digressing from the military mat ] ters above mentioned, Gen. Thomas attention was called to the rigid rule that is prevailing in the army these days regarding endurance tests and ! the physical exaetions demanded from officers and specifically to that If horseback riding He astounded his hearers by saying that it was no trick to fill the bill in this line so far as he was concerned. In his i forty-seven years in the service he has voluntarily tested his staying qualities on several occasions although the discipline of the service require of one of his rank this trying or deal. General Thomas last year "just for the fun of the thing" as he tersely terms it, made five tests of endurance riding, each of ninety miles of horseback riding, and this year he has been in the saddle three times. Ready For More.
 "When I go to Huachuea," says he, "I will take another jaunt of ninety miles more, just to keep in trim, if anything should happen to suddenly take place in the future requiring field operations.
 From this information some idea of the magnificent physique and splen- did staying qualities of this veteran officer may be learned
 A pleasant program has been sr- ranged for this officer during his trip to this section. He will be talk en to Lees lake for a duck hunt and a banquet at the club has been ar ranged. A reception at Whipple is also on the list of entertainments, after which he will go to the south.
 When stationed at Whipple bar racks in the early 7O's he was on the staff of the late General Crook and there are many residing in Prescott today who will pleasantly recall him as a dashing lieutenant and a young man who was universally popular in civilian circles. He knows every foot of this section and land mark of his skill that still lives n the old road that winds up the ravines and crosses over the range from Prescott to Copper Basin. As an en- gineer this thoroughfare was con- structed by him thirty-three years ago for distinetively military pur- poses in that far away day and it is still travelled over extensively.
 Appears Much Younger.
 Personally General Thomas retains his years of long and arduous service remarkably well. His appearance is typical of a man much younger and his genial following makes him . desirable companion on any and all occasions. General Thomas is among the last of the old school of the soldiers that graeed the early life of the west and paved the way for the present generation to come and reap the good that is now in evidence where the soldiers of Uncle Sam first entered.
 The arrival of this famous military man is a pleasant event to chronicle in civilian circles and whenever he comes to this section of Arizona he is generously greeted by a throng of admiring friends. His personality is pleasing and striking and around his long service to the cause of the na- tion he has a record without blem- :.L