South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-09-30
Keeping the Camps Healthy
By Woods Hutchinson. VI. d.


After putting a roof of some sort
over the soldier man and walls
around him to enclose a small cT-
bicle Of the universe cut out of the
vice. wide world vhich could be
heated ard dried at pleasure. comes
the question OF keeping him dry
under foot. or. in other words.
keeping him up cut of the mud.
The capacity IF even the solid
surface OF terra hrma for turnir x
INTO a semi-hQuId and churnins it.
self into a sticky sea of bottomless
mud under the perpetual paddle OF
feet or the grind of wheels. is
simply limitless and incredible
until seen or felt
The driest and frmest and most
porous path OF the brown surface
Of mother earth only needs a little
puddline during a steady rain TO
turn into a dummy, rubbery sponge.
which holds water as bread dough
does gas and which possesses @
fendish power of apparently eating
ITS own way down into bottomleSs
depths.
So IT happens that when a resi-
ment sits down upon any particular
plot of acres and proceeds TO make
itself at home the rUnaways over
which il passes backward and for
ward upon its lawful occasions rap
idly turn themselves into WINDING
trodghs of sticky glue, until the
i. Of
orally n,iring down
This IS no mere figure of speech
so far as mans faithful partner in
warfare. the horse, is concerned
talked with one French artl-
lely officer. wEo was heartbrobou
over The sunerings of his poor
horses and a.pologizing for then
startlinglv warwOrn condition. He
said that for some weeks during the
winter it had been necessary. for
military reasons. to keep them
picketod or stabbed" in en- open
field with no roof over them. The
ground was fairly porous and well
drained TO start with. The horses
wore Well fed and carefully bldn-
l5eted. so as 10 protect them a.
much as possible but there was a
constant succession of light peltine
rains and under their incessant
stamping and shutting the ground
beneath them steadily and relent
leSSly churned itself into a bog OF
mud. first fetlock deep, then knee
deep until they literally seemed "a
sink into the earth. The hostlers
would have 10 80 round in the
morning and pull some of them
which had been rash enough 20 at
tempt 30 lie down. up out of the
Cog in which they we're embedded
q was impossible 20 move the
horse lines, because this was ths
only patcn Of ground OF suhicien'
size within reach of the battery
which was protected from tbs
euemys ire And my lieutenant
+ who evidently loved his horses a.
|it they were his own children, SAID
/ hc never felt more relieved in IA:
I life than when at last the battery
received orders 20 move and F'
could get his pets once more under
/ a roof and with warm, dry beddlns
/ underneath them.
In the earlier days of the Wa
the condition Of the men in tin,
trenches was not SO very iistantll
. removed from that Of the unfortu
/ nate artillery horses. They wer,
. literally up 20 their knees. anC
often mp 10 their hips. in mud. no
/ empty tin cans mashed flat. bu
only in the trenches. but on IN,
paths and roaos tney had 20 floUn
DEL alons, hack 20 the camps anC
huts. and even between the hut
. themselves.
But all this has Ions beef
changed for the better and largel!
got rid Of partly by sreater skill
and care in the surface Graiuas,
or the camps. partly boy laying dow
solid paths, like little roads. Will
broken stone and ashes. and evei
chiefly by ore very simple but mas
. rlfcenuv useful and effective de