The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1916-11-28
GENERAL BELIEF THAT BRIGADE
WILL BE BACK IN STATE FOR
CHRISTMAS.
ANXIOUS TO LEAVE BORDER
News 10 Circulating in Camp that
Boys Will Be On Way Home BY
December IS. No Provision for
Winter and Getting Cold.

t4e poyS nave got IL into their heads
OF late that they are going home SOON
You hear it everywhere and the Off /
GERS are talking it just as strongly as
the enlisted men. Several efforts
have been made to run down the ru-
mors but none get very close to high
authority. They were telling that an
officer Of the Second Regiment got it
directly from an officer of the Third /
who, in turn, got it straight from one
of Major General Clements aides that
lumber for entraining the North Caro- |
lima troops had been ordered and that
We would be on our way home not
later than December Is. Countless
other stories are in circulation but
there is nothing definite on which to
build a hope. This much, however, is
true: No move has been made to-
ward preparing the Tar Heel troops to
Withstand the rigors Of the winter that
is upon them. Their tents are not
f1oored or walled The Second and
Third regiments still lack stoves and
nothing looks like going into winter
quarters except the new bath houses
with their hot water tanks.
II something is not done for the
North Carolina outfit soon there is
going to be real suffering. Monday
night the thermometer dropped to a
scnnt II degrees above zero and the
cold was so intense that hundreds of
men never slept during the night. Con-
ditions such as these will cause dis
satisfaction and there will be trouble.
the men would bear it cheerfully, for
they have an abundance of Tar Heel
crit but if Uncle Sam wants them to
STAY here and watch the border
trough the bleak months that are COM
ing they would appreciate few Of the
comforts of life while they are doing
it.
The Second regiment underwent an
other rigid inspection at the hands OF
General Young preparatory to a sec
ond inspection by the division COM
mander. General Young was greatly
pleased with the improvement shown
and expects the Second to redeem it.
self handsomely.
The boys on the border are soon to
caterpillar type made famous recently
In the attacks on the German front.
| They were introduced by the British
| over there and for want OF better
| name called tanks" They are tfe-
| mendous steel structures mounted on
tractors of seventy-five horsepower.
These tractors lay their own track as
they 70 along and nothing short OF a
mountain cliff seems to be able to stop
them. They go straight across ordi-
nary trenches and never even hesitate.
Barbed wire entanglements mean moth
ing to this fighting monster and trees
and houses are torn down II they get
in the way.
These tractors are expected to prove
very useful in this trackless country
because they do not need roads. Their
average speed is four miles an hour
and they make that without roads just
as well as with them. Each tractor
will haul four trailers, each trailer
will have carrying capacity OF 10000
pounds, or as much as the average
freight car. One of these monsters
armored sufficient to Withstand small
arm fire and immune to all sorts Of at
tacks short of heavy artillery, can car
ry q sufficient force to protect the
train and more than 1OO, 900 pounds o.
cargo. One of them will do as much
as 80 trucks of the ton-and-a-half type
now in use in the army.
Leave of absence for fifteen days
was granted to Lieut.. B. J. Durham
dental corps, third regiment. He LEFT
last Friday for his home at Asheville
The North Carolina cavalry lef
with the remainder of the provisional
cavalry regiment of the Tenth Division
for a fifteen day hike. They carr,
only such equipment as the regula
tons provide for war strength regi
ments The hike is for the purpose o
finding out if the equipment and ra
tons provided by the regulations ar
sufficient for fifteen days. The wealth
er continues cold, but the Tar Hee
calvarymen left in best of spirits.
Extremely cold weather continues
4 Every effort is being made to secur
additional equipment needed for tn
men and flooring for tents.
Tar Heel troops are in cofinemen
! for arrests during the month of Octo
Der. The First Regiment will be cor
fined six days, the Second eight an
i the Third four. The Third is yer
proud of it's record for the month Q
October 1t appears now that none Q
the regiments will be confined t
camp next month as there have bee
81 very few arrests in November. TIL
bows learned the first month that the
could not drink Ell Paso dry and hav
been doing much better. Coroprs
q Frederick Fagg MaHoy, Troop B Ca'
airy, leaves FOR his home in Ashevill
on thirty days furlough.
q Uncle Sam is a very fine old gentle
q man to be associated with in any sor
s of undertaking, but there is no deny
s Ing the fact that he could improve o
. his business methods. For example
8 the North Carolina Brigade has tire
4 perfectly good dental surgeons
81 B. F. Hall, of Asheville, assigned
8 the First Regiment; Lieut.. Adolphu
& E. Worsham, of Spencer, assigned
8 the Second, and Lieut.. B. J. Durham
3 of Asheville, assigned to the Thirt
81 They have been in the service sine
i early in the summer and drawing thei