Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1916-08-15
news OF THE BOYS
At BROWNSVILLE
Some of The Boys Visit Point Isabel,
a Fishing Village on The
Gulf. !

Inc lOllOWluS luLeIeStluS AcIlci
from Brownsville, Texas, was writ
ten August eth by Reginal E. Gill
more to friend in this city:
Last Friday morning the Second
Regiment had it's first practice
march of ten miles. We came through
in fine shape, but five men from the
entire regiment dropping out. They
dropped out on account of foot
trouble. This remarkable showing
speaks volumes for the stamina of
the Iowan. The Virginia troops,
who have been here month, suf-
fered loss of half their strength
on the same hike. All the regi-a
ments have taken the same route and
the Iowans have been the only ones
| to endure it.
Saturday morning the troops in
the immediate vicinity of Browns
Vile put on review at Fort Brown.
General Parker, commander on the
Lower Rio Grande, was the re-
viewing officer. He complimented
the Iowa troops highly, especially
the Second
Magnificent. magnificent" he
exclaimed "Those boys of the Sec
ond Iowa are the best drilled militia
| I've ever seen. l would take them
for regulars were it not for their,
l. 60 A,,I ha met r
talon is conceded to be the best of
the Second. u
| Even the Mexicans across the riv-
err have learned of the presence OF
the big soldiers from the north. And
every time they repeat the story we
grow larger and more terrible-in
the story mean.
We have cleared off parade
ground. Labor was so plenty that
| we hadn't tools enough. Conse-
quently the work was done as ex-
ira duty for minor infractions of
regulations. We had few wagons
in which to haul off the cactus.
The brush was dragged into a;
nearby ravine.
Every morning last week, except
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we
had an hours hike after breakfast.
covering four miles. These morn
ing hikes, four days per week, are
part of the hardening process. Each
one covers different ground. We
have gone up the river, through the
cactus and mesquite and through
various sections of Brownsville.
Brownsville is the most unhealthy
hole in the United State. At pres
ent nearly all of the inhabitants are
Suffering from dengue, sort of few
err. 1t begins with a severe head
ace, and runs it's course in four or
five days. The worst feature is its
recurrence Residents tell me it at
tacks everybody. The soldier boys
seem to have a singular immunity.
however, owing to out door life and
the absence of the unsanitary con-
ditions found in Brownsville. A
few of Brownsville's streets are paw
ed and the rest are flooded with
Shiny green pools Of water.
Sunday the Rio Grande railroad,
narrow gauge, run an excursion to
Point Isabel, a fishing village on the
Gulf. A number of us took advan-
tage of the opportunity to see the
gulf and take dip in the breakers.
We went out to Padre Island in fish
ing schooners, manned by MeXicans.
On the gulf side of the Island. which
along the Texas coast, the waves
roll up with almost as much strength
as they do at Cliff House. Never was
a dip more welcome. Eight hundred
of us went into the surf in natures
clothing. There is little bath
house there, but they couldn't ac-
commodate us. And we had the
place to ourselves. The Rio Grande
railroad is two streaks of rust
twenty-five miles long. We spent
six hours on the road. The little To-
comotives are wood burners of the
vintage of 1865. Air brakes are I'M
known. The heavy load caused
coupling pins to break several times.
Each time we We're delayed while
we backed up and coupled up again.
Almost everybody in G. company is
in perfect health. Nobody is more
than slightly ill. Heat sores are the
most frequent cause of quarters.