The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-17

| soldiers who orcrcapc the difficulty
Of obtaining supplies without money
o. credit 4 groua collected In front
OF suffers wagon AMI dickcrcd over
the price OF shirGs. Meanwhile. anoth-
or so!ulcr crc2t to tic tall board o: the
wagon where hoSshead OF molusScs
stood. With Il @myJnct he drilled Il
hole In the barrel. and then nlled Il
number of cantcens with Inc nuld. His
retreat was the signal for the onItnS
Of the parlcy In the front. aud bar
,c:os$ lcf: w!thou. purchasing. \ few
moments later there was uproar in
camp. The colonel and suffer were
making Il search OF tents for tho Gull
p:u. But IT was In vain. for the SOL
dicrs found Ingenious means of hiding
things so that ii was Impossible 10
uncarth them.
skilled Iahorers Who Make War
Possible.
An interesting phase cy army life is
the laborer who wins or loses Sat
ties at the forge or I'm tho ship There
were over 5000 farricrs In tho cav
airy service ~ tho Civil War, In both
The Federal ana Confederate armies.
These men were Of the utmost I'M
portance. Without them u cavalry
company would soon be without horses
for 1t is the farrler that acts as vet
Urinary scrgeon as we'll ns shocing or
directs assistants In The art of shoeing
horses. The farier is a regularly
enlisted trooper and must show his
credentials for such an Important post
tlon before acceptance. ia ranks next
TO "a second lieutenant in pay.
The farrIcr, with his portable forge
and bellows, followed close behind the
troopers on tic march. His busiest
time came when camp was built
then nearly every horse had - be
looked over and by him was either con-
dcmncd for future service or doctored
up for tho march.
On the outskirts OF Washington oc-
Cured scene of activity in August,
1865. that seldom has heen seen near
that city over 1000 men were sud
denly set to work erecting stables,
hospitals and dwellings, and other
buildings for the housing Of Federal
horses and troopers. Within three
months the buildings wcro complete
and covered an area OF B25 acres, for
which tho government paid an annual
rental of $1,000. The estimated cost
of this tremendous cavalry depot was
si.e25.0o0. The buildings were In
creased and a few months late: could
house 10000 animals: tho hospitals had
accomadations for 1850 horses. While
thirty-two stablcs besides gave shell
ter for 5000 more.
Inis was but onc--though the iarc-
est-of the six cavalry depots for eur
Ing sick horses and for remountinE
troops, The others were ut ST. Louis,
Grccnvillc, La, Nashville. Harrisburg.
Ia, and Wilmington. Del The st.
Louis depot covered 400 acres and en-
ploHcd i.lo2o workers-farriers. smiths.
carpenters, wagon makers, wheel
wriEhts. tcamstcrs, and other laborcrs.
How Gigantic trmicn Arc Fed.
It takes all kinds of people TO ma Ike
war: tho moment on the firing line
is but. one OF the events of Il DAYS
work. Equally as important as the
cannonccr Is the cook His is an cN.
aftcd position by virtue OF tho pcals
nc prepares. .\ftcr a morning'sp drill
In the sharp. bracinS air the me,
hang around tic kettle nnd fires. The
cox vas superior parsonage In the
Civil War. In como cases II was nard.
Is necessary for this dignitary to ben,
upon tho bottom OF pnn-.as was tho
custom in most rcsimcnts--to call the
men 10 dinner: they knew when the
last operation had been performed and
were already clamoring for rations.
formality that came into camp a:
the beginning in the North was ''sour
tasting. An officer of each company
was delegated to this important task
Surrounded by eager men, the officer
solemnly filled mug with soup and
tasted It. lie was the court of last
resort on the question whether or not
the soup was strong enough 10 pass
muster. The custom soon disappear
ed when the officers found they had
enough to do without this honor, and
that the soldiers were fairly good
judges OF soup themselves Not only
the custom, but the soup itself dIsap-
peared. except from hosplta! fare.
Tae regiments In the Civil Wat
divided into mcsses There were gen.
orally four men In each mes. Th,
duty OF securing the rations from tho
commissary was performed by one OF
the men: another acted as cook, while
the other two busted Themselves as
assistants 10 serve the food and I,
wash dishes and clean up. In the Con
federate army this rule was at first
adopted. Tho Suutherncrs however
after the first year seldom found II
| possible TO maintain such system. a
duty" not food became paramount.
The feeding OF tho armies was one OF
| the most serious phases In the war
| Hardtack soon became a staple pro.
Juct. The great provision trains were
| less regular. War ctted down to
| moro gruesome trade. Armies slept OF
! their arms in the beating rain. Frc-
! qucntly they awakened with huge
| blanket or snow drawn over them
| Ira lining. schools. like apprentice shops
| wcro established to teach men Tho
| trade OF war--a trade which appeal.
| to the Imagination rs the most roman
tic, but which in reality is the mos
| morbid and horrible OF all human voca.
| tions.
Most Morbid Trnde In the World.
II was n distinct shock to ma ori
7, ~ OF tho volunteers In both armiet