Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1916-11-28
ONE OF tlNCI.E SANS BOYS
I'M TElh.S on IhrE ON BORDER

i
Dear Editor, A few weeks ago |
read an article In your paper from
u militiamau, a private In the Second
Idaho infantry. which was stationed
here at that time, So, not wishing to
be outdone by 4 tin soldier" have
decided to write few lines myself
OF the news down here In Nogalcs.
one OF the main towns OF the border,
for the benefit OF those who care to
know. also TO try and make tew
corrections In regard to some state
ments our national guardsman made
/ about our treatment herd on the
isorder,
| We are not mistreated by Uncle
Sam, nor are we under-fed or poorly
clad, as our friend states.
| There Is no government that takes
as much care Of its soldiers or treats
them any better or gives them any
more privileges than does Uncle Sam.
A soldier. of course. Ia supposed to
be able to stand the hard hikes.
fatigue and exposure. but this Ia not
overdone. and no man Is a soldier
unless he can stand these little hard.
ships.
II is no uncommon thing for us 10
/ ha .,allnl ~ a.lx In th..
OF the night and ride all night. Yet
we enjoy all this. with the exception
OF a few who are naturally grouchy,
Troop + of the First U. s, cavalry.
the troop to which belong. arrived
here the 18th OF March. 1915. from
Monterey. Cal. all In good shape and
ready for whatever was wanted OF us,
But nothing has happened so far: and
don't think ever VIII.
Only the report OF some drunken
Mexican's rife. who has drunk too
much "meseal." causes us to get out
and look around.
We arise from our warm, snug
hunks at 6:l5 a. M. awakened by
the shrill notes OF our trumpeter.
who makes more noise than seems
really necessary.
After dressing and running out
and lining up In front OF quarters.
so our captain can see II we are ALI.
here. comes the one thing we all en-.
JOY most--our hot breakfast.
Each man hW what is called
mess kit" which takes the place OF
a plate. frying pan. and stcwpot com.
bined.
And we have plenty to eat AZ we'll.
Not coffee and bacon for breakfast.
bacon and coffee for dinner. and cof-
fee and bacon for supper. as our
ehoicy suardsman quoted,
After breakfast comes our morn
ing drill. Most Of the time II ts
Just exercising our horses or riding
around. After which We return and
groom for about 80 minutes. tb
Some people get the idea that a
cavalry horse gets hard usage. but
that Ia q wrong impression, as they
do not. and II an ofIicer catches one
Of his men kicking his horse or beat
ing him because he. the horse" tried
to do the four hand on your foot or
favorite corn. you get either an extra
duty or few days at hard labor. So
you see the horses are well cared for.
At Ave y. m. we are all supposed
to be In quarters TO be checked up.
Then we can 10 wherever we please,
except across the line. until eleven.
At eleven every good soldier is sup
posed to be In his bunk. although II
Is not an uncommon thing to find an
oveIcoat neatly rolled up and placed
under the blankets to represent that
person asleep, while he Is still out
having a good time.
Oh. yes, every day In the army is
like Sunday on the farm. II II
wasn't. there wouldn't be 80 many OF
us here.
Troop + ls considered the best
drilled and neatest troop OF the regI-
ment, so you can hardly blame US for
boasting Just a little.
This troop has won the pennant for
having the best athletic organization
OF the regiment. for six years In sue
cession. And more jolly. better
contented bunch OF men than ours
would be hard to find.
As for Nogales. II Is about 70 miles
due south OF Tucson and ls built In
a narrow valley, having a beautiful
location and n population Of about
Ave thousand.
Just across the line Is Sonora,
4 Mexico. Not quite no large as No
gales. but Just as pretty. About one
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