The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1917-08-16
TN TRAINING CAMP.
DIR. E. D. MCLEAN TELLS OF DU,
TIES AT FORT RILEY.

Fort Riley, Kansas, to which place he
reported some time ago, writes enter
tainingly of the life of the men in
their daily routine, from which letter
the Herald is permitted to copy as
| follows:
Il arrived three weeks ago Sun
day, the 18th. We were met at the
station by auto ambulances and taken
to our barracks which are comfort
able one-story buildings, about two
hundred and fifty feet long and about
thirty feet wide with cots placed on
each side extending towards the cen
ter of the building, leaving an isle
down the center the whole length. We
were issued temporary cots, blankets,
lpillows and chair.
"Our work is one strenuous pro-
gram. Arising at Sis a. M; reveille
at 5:25; breakfast at 5:55-615. We
have twenty-five minutes physical
drill, after that we march up to our
drill grounds, about one-half mile, all
the way up long steep hill where we
have two and one-half hours military
drill, generally including one-half hour
of litter drill. After that two hours
of class work which concludes the
forenoon program.
| After dinner, two hours more of
class work followed by two hours of
| four to seven miles hike over the
toughest country the Lord ever saw
fit to create. II is taken at quick
time, fast walk Of one hundred and
twenty steps per minute of thirty inch
PAGES. To keep from going stale,
they generally give us two or three
double times" trot of one-fourth to
one-half mile each. After each "dou-
BILE time" we get five minutes rest.
1t was pretty stiff at first but now we
are regular "cross country" perform
ers.
| Much depends on our shoes and
socks. Shoes are not to impugn the
toes and must have at least three
fourths inch space between the end of
the big toe and the end of the shoe
and they must be plenty wide. The
socks must be wool and quite thick
or the feet will blister. ~
"Since we have acquired knowledge
of the game, scarcely anyone had
trouble with his feet. g.
"Our lessons are long, consisting of
army regulations, etc, which, besides
teaching the duties of soldier, is a
regular course of the army. The gen.
eral plan being, as we are, is to deal
with and treat soldiers, to first make
soldiers out of us. 1t is the intensive
training given the student officers in
their camps.
sour company is fine and we have
excellent men in it. We have DR.
Buchanan, a nephew of the Mayos al
Rochester, Minnesota, who has beer
connected with the Mayo clinic fol
five years. as well as specialists from
Minneapolis, Kansas City, st. Louis
st. Joe, etc. Our men average about
forty years of age and we have four
men over fifty, so | am one of the
youngsters.
"Our company consists of men from
Kentucky, Kansas, Oklah0",a, Ne
braska, Missouri, Iowa., Minnesota
the Dakotas, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio
Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Ida
no. The Iowa men besides myself
are DR.. Fullian from Muscatine, and
a DR.. Cullifilliam from Keokuk.
Every man seems well satisfied
light-hearted and well in earnest. The
better and bigger the man, the harder
they work, so of course | work over
time.
Our camp and drill grounds is g
tract about 10x7 miles, made up OF
high rocky hills containing at the tor
a series of benches or plateaus, in
size ranging from forty to several hun
dred acres each. When we get on one
of the plateaus in drill we can see
soldiers on other high places as far as
one can see, often having to watch
CLOSELY 10 distinguish infantry, caval
ry or c.-lbulances.
my stomach has just about forgot
ten its existence, so | think this will
eventually make man of me.
Our instructors, in spite of being
exacting, are good and considerable
and almost universally excellent fel
lows.
THE camp is not by any means
completed Acres and acres of new
barracks are being constructed fol
the conscript army of which they ex
pect 10000.
"The general supposition is that the
men here now, the M. DIS, will be as
signed pretty much as to their special
ties, but the ones who accompany the
new army, will see straight battalion
and regimental service.
Each company has mess house OF
its own, the food is wholesome, well
cooked and good in variety and the
only drawback that notice is the
condensed milk and few too many
flies. 1t looks like Uncle Sam is go
ing about things in the proper method
and | think we will have the required
punch to make the kaiser say quit
Although l look for year or two of
! service.