The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1916-08-02
(By Special Correspondent
Llano Grande, Texas,
Thursday. July 27

thursday, July II
The deluge came yesterday.
While men up and down the
street stood by and looked on
with a hungry envy, a large de-
tail of Company L boys trailed
back and forth between our
home street and the chaplain's
postoffice burdened on the re-
turn trip with boxes, bundles
and packages. The chaplain in
formed us it had been necessary
to requisition an extra mule
team for the special delivery of
Company L mail from the rail
road to our camp.
Such a shower of good things
there never was. It was just
like a birthday party, Christ
mas tree program or a Harvest
Home outlay, and all "us kids"
bulged over with exciting joy as
the respective gifts from you
were distributed to us. All the
gift boxes arrived in good or
der, from the canned preserves
to the fruit and cake. Since we
left Redwood Falls something
like a year ago." we have been
kindly remembered by home
friends but this particular dis
play Of loyalty and thoughtful
ness is the climax. Individual
ly and collectively we Of Com
pany L look to the north LOO
miles by the air line and return
thanks to all those who moth
cred" the sending of these gift
boxes.
Beginning Monday of this
week the Second Regiment has
been thriving on a rigid drill
schedule. We do not work on
union hours. Our day begins
before daylight at $50 and
closes at. 1870 in the evening,
with rests shortened gradually
during drill periods as the men
become used to the work in
the heat. First mess at 600
o'clock leaves a few minutes to
get dishes washed and canteens
flea for a battalion practice
hike, starting out at $40. We
return in an hour and leave
again at 800 for general COM
pany drill until 1000. One has
hardly time to wash the dust
out Of his mouth before the
bugle calls to school for pri-
Yates" The past two days we
have been given profitable in
struction in the semaphore sig
nal code and with a couple more
days practice we will be able to
wave our arms intelligently and
quickly through the entire al
phabet and numerals. School dis
misses at 1870, a half hour be-
fore noon mess. At one o'clock
occurs another session of school,
restricted, however, only to non
commissioned officers. An hour
later this school closes and the
men of the company, except the
officers, who are hurried at once
to their own private school with
the regimental commander. are
relieved from general duty un-
til 4:15. From that time until
$50 another drill is scheduled,
completing the four periods for
the day, unless there be bat
talon or regimental dress pa
rade immeditely after evening
mess. The work both IN school
and in drill is so varied from
day to day as to keep up the in
terest of the men, and enough
Improvement sought for to de-
stroy the monotony Of routine
drills. By the way, this MORN
ing Major Brandt marched us on
practice hike toward Mexico
for two miles, and stopped us
along the shore of a narrow,
long lake, a rare stretch of wa
ter in desert land like this. We
were ordered out of line and CIV
en- the privilege Of few ninu-
tes swim. incidentally when
ever any group of men want to
take a plunge in this lake, as on
Sunday afternoon, they are re-
quired to go armed, and while
part Of the group is in the wa
ter the rest must stand on guard.
To wander back from this di-
erosion; this regular schedule
is followed closely from Monday
through Thursday. On Friday,
beginning tomorrow, a long hike
is to be taken, the men at first
to carry only canteens as extra
equipment. but to increase the