Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-12-20
TRIP TO CAMP PIKE

Paul Sparks, Reedsburg, has re-
ceived the following letter from David
J. Sparks, who is at Camp Pike, Ark,
in the machine gun company, 345th
! infantry:
Well we are located in our new
place now We got in Sunday about
2:30 o'clock We are in the machine
gun company now. Suppose we will
soon get acquainted with those squir-
rel guns.
I will try and tell you something of
our trip. We left Camp Grant about
o'clock and got into the outskirts of
Chicago about II o'clock. I tell you
it is certainly great place. I saw
acres and acres of nothing but rail
road cars and tracks. | got quiet a
view Of the lake. There seemed to be
, a thick cloud Of smoke hanging over
the city I guess it is that way most
of the time. l don't believe the peo-
pie there know what fresh air is.
wouldn't live there if they would give
me the whole city.
as we left the city. We had spoon
full of beans, slice of bread and a
little corned beef 1t was a pretty
feed
The next town we went through of
any size was Kankakee, I'll. That was
quite place. The factory that manu-
features the David Bradley farm i'm
plements is located there. It is quite
a factory.
We got into Champaign, Ill, about
dark. That was the last place we
saw much Of until the next morning
We went to bed about s o'clock. Cliff
ford and | slept in one of the upper
berths and | had to hang on for fear
| would fall out It was certainly some
bed. We went through Kentucky and
Tennessee. during the night and so we
didn't see anything Of those two states.
We got into Memphis just as it was
getting light. We crossed the Mis-
sissippi river there. I didn't see much
Of the river because it was not very
light yet. I should think the bridge
was about three-fourths of a mile long.
After we got across the train stopped
and we had our breakfast Then we
we're in Arkansas and I tell you it is
some state. If it is all like what we
have been through I wouldn't give 100
acres of Wisconsin land for the whole
state. We haven't seen anything but
negroes and cotton fields.
The population in the town seems
to be mostly negroes. The buildings
are rough looking shacks and are not
painted The lawns are all grown up
to weeds and grass. Rubbish is lying
around everywhere. It is enough to
make man homesick to look at it.
We got into Little Rock about 1
o'clock. We crossed the Arkansas
river twice. There are two railroad
bridges and one wagon bridge there
They are between on-fourth and one
half mile long. They say that Little
Rock is place of about so or 70 thou
sand, but it is like all the rest. About
One-half Of the people are negroes.
Everything seems to be poorly kept
up.
We got out to Camp Pike about $3.50
O'Clock. 1t is about ten miles west of
Little Rock. The camp is located in
grove Of timber. We live in barracks
the same as we did at Camp Grant,
but Camp Grant is a paradise beside
this place.
There is a Knights of Columbus hall
about two rods from our barracks.
We are about 900 miles from home.
I guess 36-hour pass wouldn't do us
much good, so I guess we're here to
stay 1t is raining here today. We
haven't done anything in drilling yet.
Well, guess this is all for this time.
I got your letter MIX: " SHRD
DAVID J. SPARKS.
This is the chorus to one of the
songs they sing here:
Keep the home fires burning,
While your hearts are yearning,
Though your lads are far away,