Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1917-10-25
What Co. II Is Doing
Down at DOniphan

: they will give mighty good account
of themselves. l only wish 1t was
; my privilege to lead them. | have
always contended that the best be-
. haved and best disciplined bunch OF
men will make the best soldiers.
. What Company H does in the future
, will prove or disprove my theory.
!, Rather than be reduced in rank,
First Sergeant Otto Smith asked to
be transferred and | believe he will
go to the depot brigade with me.
shall use every endeavor to get him
assigned to my company.
Our quarantine camp is we'll To-
!, Gated partly toward the top of hill
at the bend of the horseshoe which
is made by the different organiza-
tions of the 35th division. 1t is close
to the division headquarters, which
overlooks the entire camp, and con-
seuuently we can see almost every
part of this big camp, which now
numbers more than 10000 men. In
the daytime, 5000 men of the 18th
and 138th infantry can be seen drill
| ing on this flats north OF US, while to
the east airplanes and observation
balloons can be constantly observed.
Big army motor trucks, hospital am
] balances, motor cylces and mounted
men pass and repass all day long on
the rock road in front of our mess
hall, and in fact, there is always
something new and interesting to be
seen by those who have never before
been part of big army camp.
The day we reached here, ninety
two rifles were issued to Company II
and guard put on to keep anyone
coming in or going out of the con-
fines of our camp. 1t takes thirty
i four men each day to mount guard
and after "a hours of it they go right
out the next day and drill with the
balance of the company. The men
have been issued meat cans. knives,
forks, spoons and cups, as well as
bed sacks, cots, shelter tent halves,
ponchos and overcoats. They sleep
in fourteen big pyramidal tents, with
about twelve men to tent. While
| it is generally pretty warm here in
the daytime it is quite cold at night
and the men have been forced to-
learn how to keep warm by making
sleping bags out of their ponchos.
Lumber has already arrived to floor
the tents and as soon as stoves are
furnished, the men can no doubt be
quite comfortable, no matter what
the weather conditions. 10.
The principal objection to this
point as camp seems to be the
wind. 1t blows hard most of the
day, generally carrying lot of Ok
lahoma dust with 1t, but at that 1t
Is nothing to the sandstorms the
Kansas soldiers experienced on the
Mexican border last year. OF course,
to a new soldier it seems pretty
rough and disagreeable and possibly
many of the boys have written home
about their terrible" experiences.
MY advice to all of them is that In
soldier life, no matter how bad II
is, the worst is yet to come! This
may not always be cheering, but II
keeps them from getting pessimistic.
Naturally, the Abilene boys who have
used Sand Springs water all their
lives do not think much of the de-
coction furnished here for drinking
and washing purposes. Personally, II
find this water is good enough for
any purpose, and while the quantity
Is not as much as 1t will be when the
big new pipe line is completed, l
have been unable to see where any
outfit is suffering from lack Of wat
er. 1t is hoped that the folks back
home will not put too much depend
ence in idle reports abouts lack OF
water, terrible storms. poor food and
other great hardships. Uncle Sam
will go to any limit to feed, clothe
and protect all his soldiers and while
conditions in new camps may not be
ideal at this time every effort is be-
ing made to straighten out the kinks
and get things to running with well
ordered smoothness. The higher Of
ficers Of this camp all seem to be
able. conscientious men, and l have
no fear that they will permit any Of
their men to suffer.
But II the folks back home think
every preparation is not being made
for war-and for q long, hard war.
at that-they should spend a few
days here at Camp Doniphan. The
men are kept constantly at work
from the time they get up at 5:45 i.
m. until noon. Beginning at l:3Ol