The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-10-17
OFFICIAL LETTER
. FROM CAMP MILLS
Member Of Company L 1esth Infan-
try Writes Of Doinss Of Rain
bow Division Since
August.
INTERESTING SUMMARY
Captain Powell Has Suggested a Let
ter From Different Companies
and keokuk Man
Responds.
INTERESTING SUMMARY

From time to time Keokuk people
have been hearing from members Of
company L. 16Sth infantry, U. S. ex
peditionary forces, Familiarity known
as the rainbow division. Captain Cliff
ford Powell OF Company l., recently
asked a man from Keokuk, one from
Council Bluffs, one from Sioux City
and one from Avoca to write letter
to the home papers, detailing the his
tory of the company, since last Aug,
uSta.
Captain Powell has asked, on &C
count Of censorship regulations, that
the name of the writer be withheld,
and his request is complied with.
/ Keokuk people will no less appre-
ciate the letter, however. or the
spirit which prompted Captain Pow
ellis desire to give home folks news
of their boys.
Here Is the letter:
To the Editor of The Gate City:
Dear Sir: l thought that l would
| write you letter about the men who
were transferred to the Rainbow
| division. When we got over to the
fair grounds, where we were to camp,
| they called for twenty-nine men to
| go to the supply company, and they
said it was up to the Keokuk and thu
Sioux City men. Thirty-three OF our
men volunteered and as they
could only use twenty-nine, they did
not have to take any from Sioux City.
Frank Brown, the military police
who shot himself while in Keokuk,
was left in the hospital at Fort Des
Moines, also Howes, We were Civ
en- one vaccination, and three typhoid
NEGOTIATIONS. We were examined at
Camp Mills twice, for eye sight, heart
and lungs,
When it comes to cooking, you have
to hand it to Sergeant Kingman, for
he sure knows his business. He for
merly managed restaurant in Avoca,
Iowa, and the people Of Avoca can
say that as we'll as Company L. He
sure knows what to cook and how to
cook it, Corporal McDaniels' appe-
tite has about tr1pled since we came
to this company; he eats about as
much as three section hands "Scal-
tiers" McCarten runs him close Sec
ond.
We have four U. S. reserve corps
lieutenants; they are Setter, Jones,
Wallace and Mccormick, and they
drill us by platoons, that is the com
pany divided into quarters; six
squads to a platoon. Sergeant Short
was transferred to brigadier head
quarters as color sergeant, and Priv
ate Hubbard to brigadier headquarters.
The mail is we'll taken care Of,
the sergeant in charge of quarters
delivers it twice day. We have
oq
and received our heavey woolens.
There are men from Keokuk, Coun-
Gil Bluffs and Sioux City, and some
from Avoca, in the company. Our
officers are Captain Powell; First
Lieutenant Mead, Second Lieutenants
Lawson, Setches, Wallace, Jones and
Mccormick. We have for. our equip
ment entrenching tools. 112 shovels,
picks and hand axes. so it looks like
we are a going to do some work.
At Camp Des Moines the boys all
had a good time. They went down
to the fair about four times in the
day time and the whole company
was down every night. Every one
enjoyed the trip east. We went on
the r. l. to Chicago, and the Nickle
Plate from Chicago to Buffalo, N. y,
and the Lackawanna from Buffalo to
Garden City. The tour of America
was fine sight, being away down in
the valley. low aCity was another
fine town, very pretty; also West
Liberty, Davenport, and Rock Island,
and the Rock River canal. We went
through Chicago at 1880 in the night
We got off at Fit. Wayne, Ind, to ex-
ercise. Private Charley Swift gave a
girl a dollar to go and get him some
sandwiches and she kept it. She
told him that he had a. pay day coming
before she did He couldn't get Off
the train to get it back, SO he had to
leave Ft. Wayne the loser. He says
he still remembers it.
Coming through Ohio. we saw the
big oil wells and good many old
style rail fences, We got our ex-
ercise in Cleveland and the Red
Cross met us at the depot and passed
out cigarettes to the boys. In Scran- I;
ton, Pa, we got exercise again, and .
we saw some of the big coal mines.
There was a fire at Scranton. 1t /
started Just as we were leaving. The
loss was $350,000
In Trenton we got view OF some
If the great collar factories. Coming /
INTO New York, we got big recep-
ion from the steamboats, and tugs
glowing their whistles. They have
some great tunnels under the river,
going to New York.
There are about 10000 men in
,arnp here. Our drill was eight hours
, day for the first three weeks; now
7 is four. We have close order for
me hour, exercise twenty minutes,
attended order forty minutes, bayo-
let exercise twenty minutes, COM
,any drill forty-five minutes. We
AVE had a review for Governor Hard
ng. Secretary of War Baker and Cen
raj Mann and General Brown. We
ave PAP men in our company. eight
hort of our full strength. Supply +
Sergeant Green has had big JOB on
lis hands supplying the men with
heir new equipment All of the men
ave sent their trunks home. the only |