Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-10-19
LETTER FROM BORDER.
Climatic Conditions of July Continue
at Eagle Pass.
Eagle Pass. Texas,

Eagle PaSS, Texas,
YIN. c. A. First Tenn. Regt
October TO- 1916.
To the Editor of the Free Press:
There have been many letters written
by the men Of the First Regiment of YER
mont from this land of cactus and MES.
quite, and sandstorms, and now. that tine
regiment Is back home again, you ate
doubtless hearing directly from the men
a great deal about 1t all. / feel that any
further description of this Texas country
is superfuous. but 1t may be of interest
to you to know that, even though IL is
nearly the middle of October, the hot
weather still continues, the Thermometer
often registering from 80 to 100 degrees ~
our Y. NJ. c. A. building. and 10 degrees
and over out in the sun, while the coun-
try looks Just as 1t did early in July wnan
our Vermont men first arrived here n,
autumn foliage nor any signs of chang
ing seasons. We have had no rain for
about n month with the result that the
dust Is very thick and the old inha&i-
tants comfort us by saying there VIII
probably he no more rain until next JUS
| might state by way of substantiaiiL-
my statements which may be made about
Texas by our National Guardsmen who
nave been on tho border that n professor
from Southwestern University in his re
cent lecture on Texas said anything you
may say about Texas is true somewhere
between the panhandle and the Gulf of
Mexico"
The Y. NJ. c. 4. work which was 80 ably
started here for the FRS, Regiment Of
Vermont by It's former chaplain, President
John n. Thomas. of Middlebury and which
was privileged 20 continue during the
stay Of the Vermont troops. through tho
kindness of the state Y NJ. c. A. commir-
tee and the generosity of the people Of
Vermont, IL still being carried on in tL,
same building, and on the same caup
ground for the Maryland Field Hospital
Corps, the Third Field Artillery and Rat
terry A, Of Kansas, and tho eI'irst TennaS-
see Regiment which moved into the Yer
mont camp September %, the measles epi-
demc for which they were quarantinc,l
when they first came to Eagle Pass, and
which held them in mobilization camp in
Nashville nearly three months. having
been practically stopped The same vi,
troa is grinding out the same tunes tina.
/ Ii did for the First Vermont Regiment.
the same ice water barrel is furnishir. :.
/ men with the same refreshing drinks Of
| cold water and in numherless ways the
building is serving and helping men win
the same temptations and Weaknesses
but we miss the men in khaki from old
/ Vermont and the familiar faces. our
moving picture machine, furnished by ;he
International Y. NJ. G. a. committee. is
proving great success and with fin,
| service from Dallas, Tex, We are able e.
I nave moving pictures for the men at lie ,st
/ three nights week, which keeps several
hundred men from going into town.
The First Tennessee Regiment like al
most any other regiment in the Unite
States army, is made up Of all classes OF
men and from all walks in life, but the
variation is perhaps a little greater with
this regiment than with some others, tor
they range from the aristocratic Chicka-
saw Guards. Co. l OF Memphis to the poor
whites from the Tennessee mountains
many of whom walked % to 30 miles tc
the recruiting station. barefooted and "
homespun shirt and overalls. and wore
their first undercothes and first shoe
when accepted into Uncle SANS army
| There are many of these Tennessee mel
who can neither read nor write and man,
OF them are from the section which wa!
right in the path OF Sherman's march {,
the sea. so | keep very quite about bein.
from the North for the more ignora1
ones are still very bitter. The Chickasav
Guards have for two generations been
very select social organization from tn
| aristocrotic and moneyed families of Mem
phs and are mostly professional men. ant
men Of position, but along with their so
cial activities they have always taken spe
cial pride in their proficiency in militar,
training. At least 70 per cent of then
are men with college educatiors and in
deed, so great is their social standing an,
prominence in Memphis that even tn
debutantes' ball has had to be given up II
Memphis. and some of the young would
-societyb bellies have had to postpon
their formal bow into society until mex
year because of the absence from socia
circles Of the Chickasaw Guards Til
regiment is about evenly divided, half be
ing from Nashville and vicinity, and hal
from Memphis and the rivalry is yer
great, but special emnity exists toword
the Chickasaw Guards, so much so tina
ut mobilization camp they were attache
by companies from the first battalio
properly armed for real scrap and bU
, for the Intervention of armed guards tn
. affair would have been disastrous. Til
, Third Tennessee Regiment. which went t
, Iharr, Tex, are from the mountains q
, Tennessee. moonshiners. etc. and are
very rough and lliterate class of mer
taken a whole.
Just now all the regiments, both regu
lars and militia. are out on a seven da
, hike to Spofford "a miles, and only Il,
lame and the halt and the lazy are lef
IN camp. except for a few artilerymel
The white army started day in advanC
of the red army. with the idea of occupy
ing and protecting Spofford against III
: advance OF the reds. The order will be re
versed upon their return to Eagle Pas.
Some fine specimens of rattlers have bee
, brought in lately-one was feet long wit