The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-02-19

Europe, with the many addi-
tionAl %hardships resulting from
the cold, has disabled whole
regiments Of men. Frozen hands, fin
gers, feet, toes, arms and legs have had
to be amputated.
This suffering at the present time re-
calls the severe trial of W~ashington's
little army at Valley Forge in the Win
ter Of ITS.
No story of the Revolution more
wildly portrays the exposure, hard
ship and suffering of the patriot army
than the winter at Valley Forge.
The campaign at Whitemarsh had
closed. The American army was great
ly In need Of tents, clothes, blankets
and shoes, and to keep the ranks to-
gether IN the face of Il cold winter was
a difficult problem. W~ashington's aim
to confine the British to the environs
Of Philadelphia and Valley Forge, on
the Schuylkill, twenty-one miles away
from the city, possessed two great Id
vantages. The town lay between two
hills In the forest, and as a place Of
defense against artillery the activities
OF the hills made it eminently fit for
the mounting of cannon. while a
stream in the rear, which had been a
water power to the iron works known
as Valley Forge, made any approach
for an attack impossible. Besides,
there were several routes Of escape in
case Of defeat.
Arrived Dec. 10, 1777.
On Dec. -, 1777, the army arrived
during a dense snow and, with no place
Of shelter, began the task of Telling
the trees. The woods became a town
OF log cabins" with ''huts matched
with boughs." Washington wrote:
For want OF a two days supply Of
provisions an opportunity scarcely
ever offered Of taking an advantage
OF the enemy that has not been either
totally INSTRUCTED Or greatly 1mpeded.
Men are confined to hospitals or in
farmers houses for want of shoes. We
have this day no less than 2,99S men
In camp unfit for duty, because they
are barefooted and otherwise naked.
Our whole strength in Continental
troops amounts to no more than $500
In camp TT for duty. Since the 4th
Inst. our numbers fit for duty from
h%ardshfps and exposures have decreas-
ed nearly 1000 men. Numbers still
are obliged to sit all night by fires"
The only aid from congress was an
exemption from any penalty for seiz-
nres and a months extra pay.
The snow lay deep upon the ground,
rendering the roads almost impossible.
n as the winter advanced q food fam
Inc was threatened. The soldiers were
told to seize anything they could find;
SO that many in the neighborhood lost
their live stock. The famous order was
now issued for the farmers living
within ten miles from the camp to
thresh all their grain-one-half by the
middle Of February and one-half by
the middle Of March-under penalty
OF forfeiture" and Notwithstanding the
ragged and starving condition Of the
army Washington was advised by Gen
r Sullivan-h1s right aid-to attack
Howe in Philadelphia, "risking every
consequence in an action"
Washington's struggle, now, was
not against the English armies, but the
mutinous spirit Of the soldiers and a
helpless, If not neglectful, congress-.
The camp at Valley Forge was an in
teresting spectacle. W%ashington's
headquarters, that stood off near Il cor
ner, was formerly the house of Isaac
Watts, proprietor Of the Forge, and
was approached by a path. The neigh
hOrinU hn11Sac u-ara coo,,nioI Iy. OK.
Steuben, Lafayette and other officers,
who, after the morning muster, met
a day for consultation, when sen
tries stood at the doors.
There We're also the buffers quarters,
adapted from a barn, and the old
church, used as Il hospital. Morgan
and his ritiemen We're stationed on the
outskirts and the more distant points
were guarded by dragons and militia.
Adventures Of Two Soldiers.
Bill Staples and Jack Carnlack We're
intimate friends, and. living in the
same town, had enlisted as priyates in
he First Connecticut regiment. They
had been In the disastrous retreat from
Long Island and with "Wushington
crossing the Delaware" at the capture
OF Trenton; IL 10Y let us follow
them in that doleful winter-the never
to be forgotten winter-at Valley
Forge. A binding snowstorm fell
when they reached their new locality,
where they stood up III the storm
nearly the entire afternoon and Law
near n fire which was kindIcd when
night came. Heavy rains fell, melting
the snow and forming p,ddles. These
rains were frequently followed by in
tense cold; the mems clothes froze
stif upon them and were thawcd OUT
piece by piece. For over Il fortnight
they toiled with Others in hewin= trees.
saving and hauling logs in the woods.
Like all the soldiers. they built a log
hut, which in its prilmittvcness bore
more than one mark Of Yankee inacn-