Connecticut western news., 1917-10-04
Letters from Canaan Boys
 at Camp.
Camp Devens

Sept. 29, 1917.
 We're all glad when Saturday after noon and Sunday come as they mean rest from this job that everyone of us agree is harder than the one we left back home.
 This week work started in earnest and we begin to realize that this is not exactly a vacation. Every morning we start for drill at seven o'clock and work till half past eleven. The first hour is taken up with physical exer- cises then for an hour the officials drill groups of us. For the next hour and half the squad leaders try their hand at drilling their own squads, and incl dentally find out how extremely little they know about it themselves. The last hour the whole company goes on hike aronud the camp. None of the roads are oiled or sprinkled either and the amount of dirt we've eaten on those hikes almost spells our appetites for dinner. In the afternoon everyone turns to for an hour and digs stumps out around barrack and grades our yard. At two o'clock the men trying for the position of corporal ana ser. geant assemble in the mess hall and go to school for two solid hours The rest of the men continue the landscape gardening In the officers school we find out that the captain has seen all the mistakes we made while trying to teach our squads i'll the morning and he doesn't hesitate to express his opinions. either. During the latter part of the afternoon the men either drill some more or else attend lectures on military courtesy, guard mount. mar. tial law, etc.
 The most exciting event of the week was our final physical examination on Thursday. The whole 40 from L. Company were examined ir something like three hours so the examination couldn't be very carefully made. To sort of put us in good spirits they vaccinated us and inoculated us against typhoid fever before we went in for the examination. About one out of every ten fellows tainted after the inoculation, but the doctors merely let him lie on the floor till he came to life again and then they put him right through his examination. Again the Canaan crowd proved that they were ready for anything; not one of them fainted and every one passed and signed his papers making him soldier in the National Army. We are to be mustered in tomorrow morning and, what appeals to us most, are to receive our pay the first of this week.
 Friday was day of rest for the whole company as the inoculation had given everyone an exec edingly SO. arm and over half of us had chill all day. However, they got us out to dig out stumps just to keep our arms Him. Der. Today the soreness is almost gone and we haven't anything more to wcrry about till the next inoculation the end of next week.
 Passes were granted to us for this afternoon and we went over to see the big city of Aver. The pass allowed us to stay till ten o'clock in the evening but everybody came back about five having seen the whole town twice by that time. We'll all agree that there is much more excitement in watching the visitors in camp. ..
 Today William Blass was transferred to the Engineers, but at present can not give his new address.
 There are no rules against food being sent to us, so don'+ anyone hesi. tate. We never knew before just how good home things tasted.