The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-09-21
FIRST IMPRESSION OF A
SOLDIER AT CAMP LEWIS
Camp Lewis, Washington,
Sunday, Septe mber 16.


Sunday, September Is.
"My Dear Friends:
when fellow has a good type
writer, with plenty OF paper, and
some good friends to write to, he
is not in such bad shape, is he?
And that is the position in which
| find myself, on this first Sunday at
Camp Lewis.
arrived here on Wednesday
evening, little worse for travel
and dust, and was shown to sta
ton in one of the regular company
barracks. The next morning ! went
out and drilled with the rest, but
somehow they discovered that !
manipulated the keys and / was
ordered to duty as company clerk,
and advised that l had been promot-
ed to corporal. However, the next
morning | was detailed to serve in
this hospital, and have been located
here ever since. I take a colonels
letters and make myself useful
about the place generally, and the
prospects are that | will remain here
permanently-at least two months,
SO the colonel tells me. l am
rather disappointed at not being al
lowed to continue my drilling, but
one cannot complain you know, and
I must be content to take what they
want to give me.
"There is somewhere between
five and six thousand men here at
the present time, and they are ex-
pecting about $4,000 to arrive dur
ing the next two months. me
buildings extend from one end OF
the valley to the other, and number
about 1000. They are long, two
story; wooden affairs, designed to
accommodate approximately 200
men, and believe me there Is moth
ing fancy about their construction
or equipment. However, we are Is
sued three blankets each, and one
can manage to keep pretty comfort
able as to warmth. We have all
classes and conditions Of men here
from college professors TO DAY
laborers, and they are all mixed IN
together, with no Partially SHOWN.
The fellow who came over mere WIN
me on this detail yesterday morn
ing. is a former teacher OF Greek
and Latin in some Washin gton uni
yersity. and the day before he did
duty among the Kitchen police,
which work consists Of scrubblng
and washing dishes, pots and pans.
The whole business demands a COM
plete and absolute change Of view
point, which is rather hard to bring
about, but | hope to acco mplisn II
in time. The living is hard, ROOD
coarse, discipline strict, and every
thing dieffrent from what we are
used to, but one can live in the body
if not in the spirit, at least.
81 suppose Fremont (Kutnewsky)
will be transferred very shortly to
his new camp. I haven't written
him since arriving here, but expect
to in a day or two. l rather well
come this office work, as 1t gives
me considerable time to Write let
tiers, and letters are the thing most
of these fellows seem to live Tor.
They sit in all imaginable postures,
with paper and pencil in their
hands. and | believe it would take
three trucks to haul the mail out
of Camp Lewis each day. Fellows
who have never written before in
their lives suddenly develop the
writing fever, and it appears that
they all have a girls picture in their
pocket, which probably accounts for
it.
"Well, my dear friends, shall be
pleased to hear from you from time
to time, and would greatly appre-
ciate a copy of The Idaho Republi-
can occasionally
Sincerely,
FRANK CAR MODY.
Address: Company K, Ihree
Hundred Sixty-first infantry, Camp
T avis Washington