Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-10-06
Army Life In the Far West
Camp Stewart, Texas,
Sept. %, 1916.

Dear Mother:-Sorry I have not
written the last two weeks, but for Is
days we have been moving at top
speed. Two weeks yesterday we start
ed out on a forty-two mile hike to
Patagonia, Arizona, and back to No
gales. We covered IL miles Thursday
and did the other 8 miles Friday morn
ing. Friday afternoon, we loafed at
Patagonia with the Connecticut H.
fantry and Utah cavalry and artillery,
whom we met there. Saturday morn
ing we got up at 2.30 a. m. and
marched out to meet the Idaho infan-
try and California cavalry in a sham
battle. Our company and Company
B., of the I'd Connecticut, were the adj
vance guards for the army attacking
Nogales. About 81 miles out, our
scouts met the enemy and we deployed
a double time up a hill, but it proved
to be only small number of scouts who
hastily Ietreated. We then proceeded
for half mile before we got by the pro-
lection of the mountains and on to fair
ly level ground. Here we were in the
range of the enemy artillery and infan-
try fire, so we quickly deployed in the
shelter of a small hill and advanced by
dashes to Aroya. We were aiming for
a mountain about 800 yards high and
half a mile away on whose crest were
the Idaho troops. After covering
about a mile in short rushes we reach
ed a stretch of level ground about
quarter mile wide, before another hill
gave shelter. We rushed across these
plains, but caught the enfilade fire of
the California artillery and machine
guns about one mile down the valley
aud we were aunihilated-so we rested
and watched the battle proceed between
the defenders and our support and re-
serve, half a mile do wn the valley.
After about an hour of fighting, we
were badly licked. We then went
back to the road and marched into the
pumping station, u miles away in two
hours without a stop. The rest of the
troops arrived in trucks. We reached
the pumping station ABOUT noon, wait
ed for the trucks to come in, hoped on
mi and rode the last 8 miles into No
gales. We got there 3 O'Clock Satur-
day afternoon. Sunday we rested up.
Monday we were up at 5 O'Clock and
went out to the rifle range to shoot
under instructions aud practice rounds.
[ did very good shooting. Tuesday, up
again at 5 a. m. and u to the range.
[ acted as guard on the hill. Wednes-
day, up at 4.45 and went out to shoot
our rounds. L did very poorly this
morning, making only ia out of a
possible $50. Thursday, we were up
again at 4.45 a. m. and went out to the
range. I worked the telephone at the
Butts that day. Each day we took our
lunches. Friday a. m. Qast week. we
were up at 4.30, broke camp, packed up
and pulled out of Nogales on tourist
sleepers about Z p. M. We reached
Camp Stewart about 8 o'clock p. M.
Saturday and pitched camp. Sunday
it was my turn with six others to be on
kitchen police duty and we had a rotten
job cleaning up all the pans that had
accumulated on the train. Monday,
we did fatigue work around the camp.
Monday night till Tuesday night I was
on guard. Wednesday a. m. we had a
practice review on the mesa. In the
afternoon l got permission to go to FL
Paso and / cut retreat, SO L was in the
city. Yesterday, we had a big review
in Ell Paso on the mesa out at Fort
Bliss. We got up at a a. M. and were
on the go till $50 p. M. We marched
about Is mites and almost died of thirst
out on the desert. Last night L went
to bed at 7.3O p. m. This morning we
built a small bridge. This afternoon
we did no fatigue or drill, so l washed
my clothes. That about tells all the
news since L wrote last. 1 like Nogales
better than Camp Stewart. Received
the salt water taffy and enjoyed it
(prefer c%hocolate). Am losing weight
something scandalous. The last night
in Nogales, L weighed 156 pounds in
my uniform. When L left Philly, l
weighed 1870 pounds, but I'm feeling
fine and enjoying myself. The food is
good and plenty of it. Plenty of rum
ours that we are going home soon; but
nothing official yet.
III. PAUL HALLowELL,
ComnanU Il En- Qinears N q 2