River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-04-25
At Camp Grant

The 'seven-months veterans at
Camp Grant have been putting in
some strenuous work at reviewing
and brush hing up on the first lessons
of soldiery preparatory to receiving
and whipping into shape the recruits
who are expected to arrive during
the next few days.
The range, during the past two
weeks, has been turned over to
practically the exclusive use of the
negro regiments, which are up to
war strength. and the colored boys
have been showing great ability in
rifle practice.
Company D was enlarged a b i t
last week by the addition of Is re-
cruits who had been with the 344th
! Inf. for seven weeks. All of them
are Italians, from the same district
/ in Chicago, and several of them can
not talk a word of English. Among
them is one who is an expert barber,
as we'll as an accomplished musician,
and in leisure hours the boys keep
him employed at one or the other of
his professions. Since Pvt. Thoner,
of Ellsworth, left for the South, Co.
D has been without the services of
barber.
Our boys are always greatly in
terested in the letters from former
leo. d men who have been sent TO
other environments, A recent epistle
from Pvt. Harry Zarske, of Hudson,
who was transferred from here to
the Provisional Recruit R e g. a t
Camp Logan, Tex, tells of the trip
down there early in April. The let
ter was written TO Sgt. Harry Hos
ford, of Hudson. Following are
few extracts:
eve just got into camp (Logan)
and they marched US, wit h our
heavy overcoats, packs, etc., to the
parade ground, in a90-degrees above
temperature, and we just got our
barracks bags into our tents when it
began to pour.
| Eve had good trip down, pass
ing through Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and
Texas, and they sure did make good
time. We weren't allowed to leave
the coaches, except at Alcothe, Mo-,
and Hitchiwitch, Tex where we got
out for exercise. This last one may
sound like the last of the Mohicans
Lived there, but it was a swell place,
of about $4,000 population, and |
guess everybody in town was out to
see us and they cheered us and sure
gave us a great send-off.
Dallas, Tex, is as pretty place
as | have ever seen. The railroad
circles three-quarters of the town
and the houses, parks, gardens and
general neatness Of the place took
away a lot of my former impression
of Texas being shady, cactus waste
for reptiles, horned toads. tarantu-
las an d man-eating spiders-the
Devils Land.
"Our first signs of Spring came
through Kansas, where the trees
were showing signs Of life. and as
we progressed South we found or
chardsin blossom, grass green, and
everything summary" 1t was a
great difference from the barren,
leafess aspect at Rockford.
I'VE had all our meals on h e
train-corn beef, tomatoes, co n
beef hash, all cold, canned stuff, and
bread, coffee and jam was served at
every meal When we got into Tex
as with our heavy northern clothing
on. sweating and prickling all over
from that wool underwear, guess
the people here thought we came
from Alaska. Camp Logan is only
three miles from Houston and but
fifty miles from Galveston, so we
are pretty close to the Gulf of Mex
leo, and those night breezes from the
Gulf sure do turn it cold, making it
necessary to use heavy bedding to
keep comfortable.
Ellington aviation field is attach
ed to our camp, and the aeroplanes
have been swarming over us like
bees. Our fellows are green to this
and they will stop drill to gap at the