Norwich bulletin., 1918-04-17
SOLDIERS AND SAIL ORS What Eastern Connecticut Boys Are Doing In Various Branches of the Service.
Made Trip Through Eleven States.

The Natick Bulletin of recent date | had the following interesting letter from Charles Whitaker of Naticli now in the United States service, de- scrfbing his trip from Waco (aero field), Texas, to Garden City, New York. MT. Whitaker is the son of MT. and Mrs. Walter Whitaker. for merly of Norwich and grandson of Charles Whitaker of this city.
 Dear Folks:-We left Waco at o. clock Feb. 27 in weather just as un- favorable as when we first arrived | there. Then 1t was in snow with mud
 six inches deep, but when we left it was in the worst sand storm of our
 experience and you can imagine how high our spirits ran when the order finally came to leave.
 | Arrived finally in our respective l coaches, looking more like coons than
 anything else. but after good wash took the appearance of white men again. Our coach is the best of the lot and we are served two good cook led meals a day.
 There are three squadrons in this train and the same amount left each day for two consecutive days previous to our leaving. The trip has been wonderful and as different from the one down as black from white We were rUutSu lEOIH waco to Ddila6 Tn a semi circle and then turned east to
 Marshall and northeast to Texarkana. We arrived at that place about noon on Feb. 2S and were taken off the train and given a half hours march. Then we continued to Philadelphia and Little Rock. At the last named 2 place there is an infantry camp of !, about 25,000 and the city is cut into
 two portions by the Arkansas river on
 which I saw a number of stern wheel
 CTS tied to the banks awaiting the cot
 ton season. On the morning of March 1st woke up just as we passed over
 the Mississippi river and entered the
 city of Memphis. The banks of the q river are very low and we crossed 8 : ]. wonderful bridge which seemed miles long. But all the streams and rivers are of a yellow color and not very in = viting to take a bath in, should one y desire to.
 . Memphis was a place of consider 2 able size, but I guess cotton was it, : chief product, raw and manufactured had hoped that I might see a cottor :, field in bloom but the season is tot early and only old plants are stand ing in the fields. /
 Arrived at Lexington, we had an
 other march and received much fun
 tThe place was one horse joint ant . guess everything closed down ant . the whole town turned out. But tn @ one thing that caused the greates = merriment occurred when two goo ' looking girls (and they were dresse, <, right up to snuff, tool came down tn n sidewalk with a big hog followin ' them and the blooming thing followe = a. good deal better than either one 0 . our dogs would do. L. Then we crossed the Tennessee rive l. and passed through Franklin ard int ,r the city of Nashville. We stopped fo . couple of hours at this place an ;S though we couldn't leave the trair we received a very cordial greetin
 from the Red Cross who passe
 around cigarettes, newspapers, ct,
 They were pretty bunch of nurse S and many of the boys wanted to ia st out of the windows and see if the J. couldn't get hurt and never get well. mi At o'clock in the morning on Marc l. End was watching the city of Chat l. tanooga pass before us. After break " fast the prettiest scenery of the whol of trip commenced to develop. It was fe passing through the Appalachia IS Mountains on the run from Tennesse B. to Georgia. The plains of Texas gro le nlonotonous but in this section ther
 was scenic beauty everywhere. W
 would climb the mountains like
 snake and such curves Gall throug .d Georgia) never saw before. The zt we would shoot over trestles and tt m valley way below US. Take anotht ,s horse-sho bend descend and c1im d again. Everywhere great forests m Georgia pine greeted our view as fs 1- as the eye could see.
 sd When we reached Atlanta we wel S+ ordered out of the train and marche sa to the Y. NJ. c. A. This was vel ps big building and able to accornmoda Ssn all of us with locker and show, A' bath. We spent about three hours |:
 this place and then vent back to u
 train and had supper.
 Our route turned sharply north fro B. bere and we again hit the Appalled, h, ian Mountains and followed the rids H. on the east side for miles Then to began to get dark and the nrn1ero, w forest fires were wonderful to see, u
 flames climbing the pines from ba,
 /