Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-12-01

South:
Camp Greene. Charlotte, n. c.
Friday Evening.
My dear Mel:
It's long ways from Augusta, Me.
Il. Charlotte. y. c., but | haven't for
gotten where you live. Have been
very busy this week and little time to
write. Had a great trip down last
week and saw a lot of country Hit
most of the larger cities on our line,
including New Haven. New York. Phil
adelphia. Baltimore, Washington,
Alexandria and Richmond, Va, and
finally Salisbury and Charlotte.
Stopped about an hour in Washing
ton for exercise and took q run around
the lower part of the town. Saw the
Capitol from the top of high hill and
again from the train as we pulled out
across the long bridge over the Poto-
mac into Virginia.
This is the. largest camp I ever ey
pect to see on this side and | never OK
pect 70 get chance to go over"
The camp is about eight miles square
and cost about Two Millions. Every
thing Is fixed up in great shape. with
q big hospital, mess shacks that arc
almost hotels and each tent has a floor
and side walls about three feet high.
complete water system all over the
camp. electric lights in each tent.
shower baths with hot and cold water
and alltogether it is too real to be
true.
One field has 5000 saddle horses in
j: and there are about 5000 mules in
the camp. This is a re-mount station
for the army and that is the reason.
Got pile of hay, all baled, out in a
field about as big as the Augusta House
and when they want a bale they null
it down with derrick Just as thew
pull logs off the pile across the river.
They have had about 10000 men
working in the camp al one time or
another and every morning now they
come by hundreds. for the place is not
Yet completed.
The country down here is the poor
est ever expect to see You cam bet
that Maine looks good enough for mo,
The cities and towns are pretty good
and have some fine residences. but on
the outskirts there is nothing but one
and tWo-room shacks and inhabited
mostly by negroes. Each house has
from three TO II Kids, and the pigs and
chickens run in and our the. front
door Most of them have no bacl,
door In the country YOU see = lac,
hut, set in the middle of a corn or cot
ton field; made of hewn lumber. with
the cracks filled with the red cIav on
common down here. A path leads fr.or,
the road RI ho
neid. You will run alongside of a road
for miles and see nothing for road
bed but red clay. just the color Of
brick
The only thing they seem to raise
down here is corn, cotton and darkjes
mostly darkies.
went into Charlotte last night and it
surely Is some town About 40 non
people, not counting the negroes. who
are figured down here about the sarne
as real estate
There is one thing they do know
row to do down here and that is to
eat. had the SWEETEST feed last night
Tor half dollar l ever got in my life
Fried chicken, all kinds of potatoes ME
co1fee and bunch of stuff I never
- ioic anu ulun recognize.
The only thing that bothered me was
the bells on the street cars. They use
Dell like that on the Cushnoc hose
team and every time they hit the bell
L thought the Augusta fire department
was coming down the street. Have
about six good theatres and some swell
stores.
camp is about two miles outside the
town, a nickle fare, and it is easy to
get into town. But there are only Ger
tain streets we are allowed to go on