Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-03-31
Many Kinds of Weather in
Mexico Test Endurance
of L. S. Soldiers.
FAINT FROM HEAT
AND THEN FREEZE
improved Stoves and Chairs
fJr Officers; Amusing
Incidents.
EIELD HEADQUARTERS. AMERI-

EIELD HEADQUARTERS. AMERl-
II CAN ENPEDITIONARY FORCE.
COLONIA DUBLAN. CHIHUAHUA.
Mexico. March 26.-(By motor to Coll
umbus. y. NJ. March 30)-In few
campaigns has the American army
been called upon for more successive
tests of endurance, pluck and ability
of its men to think quickly in emerg-
encies than in the present chase OF
villa. From the day when the troops
went over the border of New Mexico
and the officers in the hard march
across the desert began calculating on
howamuch water out of their canteens
to pour down the back of half fainting
men and how much to save for the
thirst of the final hour of the march,
every minute has occupied the in
ventiNe genius of the men who are
projecting this expedition more than
two hundred miles into Mexico.
The large problems. such as the
chase of Villa and the supply of
means of existence to fast mounted
columns, are among the military Sc
crets covered by the censorship. But
the hundreds of new problems mostly
individual, which have been solved on
sight by the American fighting men
and which are not forbidden publica-
ton. are to some extent an illustration
OF the spirit of the larger military
questions that have been met.
To-day, for example, snowstorm
swept over field headquarters. The
driving snow particles seemed all the
more uncomfortable because they
struck faces which during the pre-
vious days had received scorchins
stmburns. one cavalry man in dis
gust exclaimed:
Then Build Fires.
The further south we go the
colder il gets" But meanwhile an In
fantryman found an empty tin, rec
tangular in shape, in which he cu'
some Sits near the bottom for venti-
lation. He piled in some wood, started
a fire in the tin, set it outside of a
tent until the first smudge was over
and the sticks were blazing and then
brought 1t inside the tent where II
furnished warmth equal to stove
and a pleasant aroma. 1t worked sc
well that the camp was searched for
oil tins.
At another camp the men had gone
in with baggage so light that no ont
had anything larger than shelter
tent Just large enough for two men tt
' lie under. Three days later. however
to the civilian there was the regula-
ton army outfit and the patrol sta
ton. Probably none except prac-
ticed eye would have noted that the
commanding officers tent had en-
tirely the wrong angle at its top. II
was not Il tent but makeshift pteced
together out of some discarded tar
paulins and part of "A smaller tent.
This officer had what he asserted
was his Morris chair besides some
very comforta BILE barrels. The Morris
chair was mainly a box but II had q
back and roomy side arms made OF
boards reinforced by strips of galvan-
lied iron The officer said he had
found the boards.
How They Built II
"Rut VINO brought nails on hi:
hike" he was asked.
Nobody. we took the nails from
some boxes of supplies which were
used up here"
who carried the saw"
Nobody with our outfit. We bor
rowed one saw while its outfit wa:
halted in front of our camp"
What did the wood carving
THE cooks hatchet."
Instructions not to occupy cities
have multiplied the mems problems
for not only are the camps pitched al
a distance from cities, but the mer
and officers stay away from the towns
which otherwise they might frequent
to make purchases of food supplies ol
souvenirs.
The great cottonwood trees which
abound wherever there is water have
been the first comfort of this expedi
ton.
The cottonwoods have furnished
Asht foot bridges across the creeks
the only natural shade against the
sun and occasionally their immense
trunks have been used as shelters
against the cold, sand and sleet dur
ing the quick changes of the climate
Marking the Roads.
The loss of horses on the forced
marches into Mexico, in itself re
markably small has been further re
<duced by the instincts of self-preser
vation of the trained cavalry animal
when they had to be left to shift 70
themselves. Some of these animal
have managed to trail and finall.
overtake the columns which hat
dropped them.
The roads leading south from Co
lumbus to the expeditionary base ar
marked with ingenious wordless sigi
posts. Engineers or truck drivers up
on discovering fault or turn II
the road which they wished to indl
cate and having nothing with whicl
to make sign board, have use'
the thorny chaparral bushes whicl
cover nearly the entire country to
ncight Of two or three feet. Tn
bushes were cut down and laid dag
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