The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-09-21
CONNECTICUT
RECRUITS ARE
HAND PICKED
That Is They Had to Be Un-
loaded BY Hand
WENT TO BED EARLY
vermonters Helped Take Care of
Nutmeg Recruits and Start
Drill Today.

Camp Devens, Aver, Mass, Sept.
21.-The Connecticut recruits arrived
here yesterday There were 1891 men
in all and they came in several special
trains.
Most of them were in good condition
but one trainload looked as though it
were coming home from hard cam
paign instead of just starting. One
of the receiving officers is said to
have remarked 1T must have been a
great day for Connecticut when you
fellows left"
Maj. Rhinelander Waldo went down
personally to oversee the detraining
and march Of the recruits to the reg
istration booths. They tumbled out of
their cars in the pouring rain, were
lined up in fours and the march
started. Most of the new men had no
overcoats and those that started with
overcoats threw them off the train on
the way up, so nearly every man was
soaked as they stumbled through
Camp Devens' Shiny mud to the booths
two miles off. This increment from
Connecticut included the men from
Hartford, Winsted, Ceriden, Rockville,
East Hartford, Avon, New Britain,
Naugatuck and Ansonia.
At the detraining place some OF the
men we're taken to the hospital in a
Red Cross ambulance because they
were so sound asleep that it was i'm
possible to wake them. Others fell
out by the wayside and were picked
up later by ambulances.
When the field was reached and
| the officers tried to keep the men in
line by divisions for registration many
of the men dropped in the mud with
the rain beating down upon them and
tried to sleep.
Others made unmilitary remarks tc
officers and even Maj. Waldo came In
for his share. A rookie took the ma
| jor for a porter and insisted he carry
his suit case, offering dollar tip fol
the service.
As they stood there in the rain ths
regulars went through their pocket;
for liquor and quart after quart
mostly sadly depleted-was taken tt
the side of the road to be smashed
and mix with the rain.
AS officers tried to count the mer
and check them up the most wonder
full confusion imaginable resulted On,
lieutenant had bunch that should
tally SO men, but count them as HI
would it always came out 80 men. HI
finally found, he said. that the ode
man was member of the exemption
board of the division the troops cam,
from, who was too befuddled to know
that he was being counted in with hi
chargeS.uarino9 h1euoli .u9' 'fi- eil
Then the men were ordered to bar
their chests for the inspection OF tn
surgeons and someone started
collarpulling contest. Few came ou
of the Uttered, while many hats fwer
mixed in. Carrying soaked suit case
and paper bundless so wet that
needed two bands to keep their cor
tents together, the thousand me
started in groups of 200 and 800 TO
the barracks assigned them.
Every column had its rearguard @
those unable to keep up, but VIII
were being pushed along by mounte
officers, They wanted to go back {
the train for something forgotte
there. they wanted to so home, didn
like the army, almost anything wa
taken as an excuse for attempted a
gument with the officers. A prancin
horse with heavy shod hoofs, howeve
Is great thing TO stop an argumer
, when properly handled. Then SON
draft soldier reached down, unseen b
, the officers, grasped great handfl
, of Shiny mud and slung II ahead ,
him, daubs of II spattering on me
and officers alike. This resulted in
!, mud fling" which officers had gre'
| difficulty in stopping.
4 But by supper time they were
barracks, fed and most OF them
/ bed. Their soaked clothes were hur
|. up In the buildings to dry and the
crawled in between the dry arm
blankets in the hunks made reat
for them by the drafted men alreaC
a in camp.
Just before supper time anoth
contingent of 500 men arrived al
we're sent to their barracks Th
we're in much better condition thu
the first lot. They were followed
y o'clock by 1900 more rockies. wi
we're examined at the gate by lante
J. light by IL o'clock tonight all OF q
e Connecticut draft men were in or 9
Il counted for.
d Promptly at 6 o'clock in the NOR
s ing they will be routed out by the
r officers, as were the men who car
" yesterday from Maine New Ham
M shire. Vermont and Rhode Island n