Milford chronicle., 1911-12-08

ures during the trip. Previous let
ters have been printed in the Chroni
Gle on November 3rd, oath, and De
cember 1st.-Ed.)
Texarkana Arkansas, Nov. %, 1911.
In my last letter, which was sent
forward under hurried conditions, ]
mentioned our visit to Leaven-
worth, Kansas, but we had such a
fine time through the courtesy of
several people, that I want to tell
YOU of the many things we saw,
which have made an impression on
my memory. As you see by the
date of this letter, we are at the
north eastern border of Texas, but
I will tell you of our visit to Fort
Leavenworth.
We got up real early on Monday
morning at Kansas City, and took
trolley to Leavenworth, Kansas,
and on out to the Fort In my
other letter l told you of going
through the memorial halls, where
the offices and the class rooms are.
We walked around the reservation,
which is composed of officers
houses, barracks for the men and
official buildings, and right in the
centre is a large green of many acres,
on which is a statue of General
Grant, which was erected by contri-
buttons from enlisted men of the
army and officers. The various
commands, infantry, cavalry. bat
terry. etc., have separate quarters. |
There is large fire engine house in
the western section.
The military prison is separate !
from the residence section by large
field, and in this field we saw our
first cavalry drill, which was very
interesting, and to which we referred
in our other letter
At noon we went over into the
town of LeavenwOrth for dinner,
where we were so fortunate as to
strike a grain display made of the
wonderful grain grown in the valleys
of the State of Montana.
After dinner we went 20 the Sol
dier's Home, which is about ten
minutes ride from LeavenwOrth. /
This was one of the most interesting {
points l have visited on my trip s
1t is the western branch of the "Na- I
tioDal Home for Disabled Volunteer (
Soldiers" and it was established in
1885, since which time it has cared i
for over $4,000 different veteran +
soldiers, and its present population t
is 1850 1t occupies about $50 acres il
of land, situated along the Missouri i
River. The buildings are arranged il
along an elevated plateau, from {
which terraces and lawns drop away t,
to the west. The entrance is very
The gateway is composed I
Of six high stone pillars with large s
iron gates thrown wide open. We h
walked up the walk and saw very 0
pleasant old man who kept smiling c
and watching us, So | went over to rC
him and started a conversation. l
don't think | could have selected a is
more intellectual and gracious old al
man. He offered to show US over a
he buildings, which he did TO per- Vi
ectiOn. His name was Oscar Sloan,
md he saw active service in the Civil as
Var at the age Of nineteen at one p,
ime he met Mr. and Mrs. Abraham if
lincoln and demonstrated his ex- to
as a drummer before them. til
Vt sixty-nine years he is as spry and W
.ctive as a man Of fifty years. l.
In the centre of the main walk, as
,laced upon a mound, is a Spanish is
annOn, which was captured by Adj
niral Dewey at Fort San Filipe, WI
ear Manila, Philippine Islands. 1t tel
) about twelve feet long and weighs til
$50 pounds 1t is a very unique tn
annon indeed. Mr. Sloan gave to by
ach of us a miniature cannon which wa
J made of the friction primers that tn
ave been made in firing salutes to fir
ne flag at reville and retreat, or wa
lOrnlng and evening guns. These WI
affairs are mounted on car
ages similar to the big Spanish VIC
lns captured by Admiral Dewey ms
the battle of Manila Bay in 1898, WI
nd each and everyone of these little
UNIONS have fred the big one once. fac
Further on to the right is the band on,
and, which is a very ornate struc- an,
ire where concerts are given three all
mes each week in evenings during sas
e summer. 1t is around this stand
here the soldiers gather with barred enc
sads to salute the flag as it is being VIII
wered for the night. ite,
About three hundred yards north thr
the band stand standing on high the
ound with lawns sloping off from ing
sides, is the Governors quarters, the