Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-10-10
PAUL HARRINGTON
TELLS OF TRIP TO
WACO ARMY CAMP
SAYS SHOWER BATHS ARE USED
FREQUENTLY TO COMBAT
HOT WEATHER
Waco, Texas,
September 81. 1917.

September 81, 1917.
Dear Brother and Sister and Little
R:
| will start this letter now but
don't know when / can finish it we
are so busy.
We started ~drilling again this
morning and say, believe me, we did
some sweating. We have got show
er baths very handy and we can take
one whenever we have time.
We surely bad fine trip down
here. We left Grayling at 1000 a.
m, Sunday, September 16 and went
by the way of Bay City, Saginaw,
Owosso, Lansing, Jackson, Battle
Creek and Kalamazoo. | went to bed
{ in the sleeper) just after we left
jackson. We were awakened at six
the next morning by the porter and
found ourselves in Chicago at 6:15.
We got off there and had parade on
Michigan avenue.
We left Chicago at HOO a. m,
Monday. / saw the Eastland that
overturned one year ago last spring
in the Chicago river. saw a jack
knife bridge 6peh and some large lake
boats on Lake Michigan.
We stopped at Fort Madison, Iowa
and washed our hands in the Missi-
ssippi River, then crossed over into
Missouri. The trains go about sixty
miles an hour, we went faster than
that once, the road being straight
and the land level. We passed through
the country where Jesse James and
his noted band of outlaws operated.
The country is rather hilly in South
ern Missouri with lots of trees and
grass.
We crossed the Missouri River in
to Kansas, passing through Kansas
City. Kansas is very beautiful
state. We stopped at Arkansas City,
Kansas and paraded there and were
given a good lunch by the ladies from
the M e. church. 1t is a very beau
tiful city. Most of the houses are
just one story in height. The depots
are divided into two parts, one for
negroes and one for white men.
We crossed from Kansas into Ok
lahoma at Chillicothe. Our train
passed through the lO1 Ranch. We
saw a herd of buffaloes there; lots
of cattle and horses. There was some
Indian corn growing down here and
there were oil wells on all sides of us.
| saw cotton growing for the first
time at Guthrie, Oklahoma. The ne
groes with large baskets were pick
ing it. We stopped at Oklahoma
City and changed engines. Soon af-
ter we got started we saw lots of
mountains. not very high, but very
rough. There was some of the most
beautiful scenery here that l ever
saw.
The girls are very pretty down
here. They gave us apples and cook
les and promised to write to us when
we reached camp.
We crossed the Red River into
Texas and reached Fort Worth about
80 at night. We<arrived in Waco
Wednesday, September 10 at $3.50 a.
m. We unpacked and proceeded to
make our camp which is three miles
from the city, connected with electric
and steam railroads. i slept out-of-
doors the first night. 1t is very nice
at night and is not very cold. There
are lots of horned toads here, but
they are harmless.
Waco is a very beautiful city /
sent you picture of the highest
building in the Southwest.
There are troops trains arriving
here every day. The 32nd regiment
is three miles from here and | don't
know whether the artillery is here
yet or not. ~
It is very hot here, about 100 in
thes hade to-day. The people
tell us that it was much hotter
month ago than it is now. am
adopting an altogether different col
or-getting the Texas tan. Some of
the fellows are burned red, but seem
to be getting black.
We sure have fine camp down
here. / am greatly, surprised in
Texas. 1t is just like any other place
in many ways. There are trees and
grass, although they are not so thick
in some places, but there are many
more than / expected to see.
Your loving ybrother,
Paul f. Harrington.
First Michigan Field Hospital, Camp
Macarthur. Waco. Texas.
p. S.-Tell my friends hello for
me and tell them am getting along
fine and like army life.