The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1917-09-20
HARRY WAL TON
IN WAR GAME
FORMER HERALD REPORTER
TELLS OF EXPERIENCES.
LONG JUMP FROM PEN TO GUN
Harnmering Typewriter and Riding
a Broncho Are Very Different :
Diversions--camp is Located
Somewhere Near Nowhere.

Somewhere Near Nowhere.
Five former members of the repor
torial staff of the Daily Herald are
now in the service, of their country al
widely separated posts of duty. We
have been promised occasional letters
from them and they no doubt will be
of special interest to our readers. The
following is from Harry Walton, OF
Battery B, Sth F. A. After leaving
the Herald Harry went to Duluth, and
from there to Chicago where he held
fine position with the City News
Bureau. He gave up his work to
serve his country. and here is what
he has to say of the service:
Camp Robinson: Wis, Sept. 16,
1917.-There Is much to write about
If / told just what all have gone
through in the last eight weeks,
therefore l will try and only strike
into the interesting topics and let
the little things go.
Despite the fact that this place is
miniature alongside of some of the
new cantonments, there is much to
do and each day This spot is mighty
busy From mass of underbrush
and sand hills into fairly modern
little city within three months time
is one of the accomplishments of the
War Department. Another accom-
plishment is the training of the sew
eral hundred men stationed here.
would give you the exact popula-
ton of this camp but censor exists
here. A man whom have met in my
efforts to market some short stories.
] know him and | know just how far
and how much he will allow me TO
write Therefore this story will be
short everything pertaining to
strength. could tell lot of things
but joined the army to soldier and
not to spend my time In the guard
house. sr.
A greater part of the men are early
war day volunteers and have been
here about three months. have
been here just eight weeks. They
were just completing the squad
houses when arrived and there was
yet considerable plumbing to be in
stalled. So have seen just how a
modern cantonment is constructed.
Believe 1t was not the gayest place
on earth when l first got here. The
water was shut off half of the time
nd on Nu,A nj rhf &c I 10 cln
with some Wisconsin real estate coat
ed over my face. However, today
everything is quite as modern and up
to-date as is possible to make 1t.
An Exclusive Artillery Camp.
Being an artillery camp exclusive
ly there is little foot drilling to learn
and that part requires only a. short
time. But what you don't learn
about foot drilling they sure give you
an overdose of horsemanship. Horses,
that reminds me, they are. getting
to be an abscess upon my fair young
life. There is always something to
do for the horses. 1.g
If you don't have to waterl them,
you have to feed them, and If they are
fed you have to groom them. They
fairly come into my sleep at night
But that Is part of the artillery SO
am going to stop talking about them
after having registered this COM
plant.
Whatever knowledge a man pos
sessed about riding had to be forgot
ten and everything had to be learned
over. There is just certain way
to do everything and woe unto him
who does otherwise. For six weeks
we rode horses bareback and then
with a blanket and then with a sad
die and then we had to ride two
horses. All of the time we were be-
coming more hardened Arm exer-
cises were given while riding. Each
day the work became more intensive.
And today every man in the battery
will mount anything that walks on
four legs. ss1 s6T
Learning the War Game
It was mighty tiresome work for a
fellow to have to sit up in the saddle
and hold the reins in cleft hand all
Jofsthe time and the whip in the right
The funny part of the whip idea is
that you can not hit a horse with It.
One merely carries II for a decora,
ton, ! guess.
That was the real preliminary
work. All Of a sudden the gun squads
were selected and within short per
iod of three weeks the work became
more interesting. Today we are go
ing out on three and four days hikes
Old soldiers tell me that when you
begin to hike you are reaching the
stage OF perfection.
or course perfection in this coun
try is hardly perfection in France. ss