The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1918-12-26

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Lowell remained there as an acting
corporal and ] bid him good bye as l
marched toward the ferry. It took
some time to reach the other side of
the bay where we were put on board
s. P. train. Two good friends
shared with me a seat. They came
across in the same company and one
of them ! know to have made the
great sacrifice. II took six days for
US to 60 from the edge Of Frisco Bay
to the banks of the Potomac river. A
variety Of country passed under our
eyes. The first night out was cool
and pleasant, but after we left Los
Angeles it became nearly red hot.
One could see the heat rolling
across the Salten sea and it seemed to
break on the mountains in the dis
lance. Yuma was passed in the Sec
ond night and that second day was re-
markable for heat. How the innumer-
able rabbits can live under that boil
ing heat is a mystery to me. Ell Paso
on the Rio Grande welcomed W one
night ard when the bugle blew assem-
bly, rather than leave a dish of ice
cream to melt unused dashed it in
among some bananas in a paper sack.
I never ate it! Some say that Texas
is large. I'll never dispute a man
when he makes proposition like that.
1t took US about sc hours to leave it
behind. We went thru Fort Worth
and Dallas during the night and
morning found us nearing the state of
Arkansas. My previous impressions
were that Arkansas was the home of
razor backed hogs and long haired
fiddlers, but the rain which fell while
We rested at Texarkana washed that
Utterly wrong impression away. And
that day we saw the smiling green
fields and patches of trees of Arkan-
sas. Little Rock is not as little as one
would think. And as city it is some
pebble. It had washed-clean look
when 1 saw it. Before night was en-
tirely come we crossed the gigantic
Mississippi and reached Memphis.
And ! might say I'm glad it was quite
dark for as it was all / saw was col.
ored folks and l was glad to get on
our way to Nashville. Next day
Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain
were passed. 1t was rough coun-
try to fight in. A triAe worse than
any I've seen in France. But Tennes-
see was really beautiful with its YER
dant hills and placid rivers. The wea-
Their was much cooler than that of
Texas and that helped. One thing
that sort of disappointed me was that
We did not go down the famous valley
where Sheridan rode his great ride.
We turned off at Lynchburg and made
our way over the hills to Richmond,
Va. A short stop and we went on to
Fredericksburg, and then we heard we
were nearing Quantico, our point of
debarkation. They say it's some place
now But little matter of seventeen
months ago it was not so inviting. We
were herded off the train and COM
pany commanders and top sergeants
were there to get their quota Of re-
cruits. Recruits I? Rockies! Chance
threw me with the group chosen by
The goth company. Big Miller was
acting top sergeant and Miller was
captain. They assigned US to tents
after we were divided into platoons
and we marched by and drew our cots,
MEETINGS and mattresses. /
asked the top as he went by, "Arc you
5oiiiS w 1oouS oHCSCo anu PAAloW Ce'o0o
tonight ?" Sheets, He'll, no! You're
in the Army now!' And since that
I've never draped my evening soul in
sheets or rested my weary head on a
snowy pillow while in my allotted
bunk in camp. And l can count the
nights otherwise spent! However,
there was no time to pine: l hit the
blankets and had a fine sleep after
I'd treated myself to Potomac bath.
The next month was full Of work
and pleasure. After the Fourth Of
July, which was spent in Washington,
D. c., we settled down to regular
work. The second day out drilling |
had my chance. l was given squad
to take care of. And was the first
recruit to become an Acting Jack. 1t
gave some help( as l could eat with
the N. C. O.'s. We were listed at one
time as the Overseas Battalion so we
knew here we were going. We spent
our time in varied ways. And all the
forenoons were spent with full pack
and the sun spoke the July language.
In the afternoon we usually worked
on a model trench system and twas
then that short rest under the trees
felt good. ! made three trips to
Washington and had some good sight
seeing trips. We only had a few
weeks left to stay when we moved into
barracks. Then we slowed our mess
kits and like humans once more.
The morning Of July 21st found us
ready to get aboard the train that
took US on our way toward port of
We did not know what