The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-02-22

| January 9Jn, lJl>
| Dear Friend
was very pleasantly surprised tie
other day, yesterday believe: to re-
ceive through the mail, a fine box OF
candy from you. Thanks.
The candy arrived in good condition
The wrapping paper was almost all
gone but the card bearing the address
was still attached, and the box was
still whole. The candy was quite
hard, but believe me it didn't last
very long.
In the same mail | received box
Df candy and half cake from Jennie,
ny oldest sister. The whole works
| lasted us about fifteen minutes.
There are fifteen other boys besides
| myself in this section Of our bungalo,
and Of course they all had to be treat :
[ ed too.
Day before yesterday | received th'
etterS from the pupils OF the lappl
Hollow school which the teacher for
Harded. They were all very interest.
ng, and | was quite pleased TO re-
aeiVe them.
! wrote a short letter to the schOo.
and mailed yesterday. If ! get time
| later on I'll ty and write short let
ter to each one who wrote TO me, bu
I'll not promise for sure.
We are in quarantine and thougl
We don't have much TO do, time flies
very fast. Just when we will be sen,
aboard ship, | cannot guess; wheneyei
he quarantine is lifted, | expect
Vt that we may be sent to anotheI
amp nearby for more training,
So far our training has been mostly
military, just the same drills that al
| nfdntryman in the army gets. Then
| too, were learned something winch .
good sailor must know: how TO tie q
to do some splicing OF rope; how to
send messages by the semaphOre faA
signal system; CTwO flags held in dli
ferent positions and places make
each letter. 1t is all very interesting
| think and like it very well. I'Ye
lever been sorry for single minut,
that Joined the navy. SO far we've
'had it on" the fellows in the army:
we've drilled or worked possibly fou
| In 70 Ln i
ten hours.
All our camps are guarded 20
know, and 'in the course Of human
events" it became necessary for n,
TO be sentry at the main entrance Ct
this camp. Lots of negroes used til,
road as a short cut to big saw mil
ust north of the navy yard.
stopped and questioned lots OF
yhem, and as soon as would holel
they would stop and come shutflinl
towards me, with many bows, and il
variably they would say: "Mawnin
mawnin', Cap'n." / very nearl.
,aughed at some Of them, they wer,
50 comical in their looks anC
actions.
Recently Charleston and vcinit
suffered the coldeSt weather that Ia
reached this place in thirty-seveI
years. The sentries kept small WOO,
ires burning at one end of their bea
and one young negro confessed TO m
is he stood over my fire, that he la,
A couple of suits of heavy underwea
on, three or four shirts, two or thre
pair Of trousers, coat et> etra wa
amused at him: though TO the south
erners, | expect the weather was cold
snow lay on the ground three day
and the thermometer probably drop
ped to ten degrees above zero. All 0
the Jackies consider the weathe
warm, in fact most of us are still
wearing our summer underwear.
Our camp is seven miles north ives
Of Charleston. We're probably eight
rods from the shores of Charlestol
Harbor. We can hear very planl
the whistles from boats in the harL O
The Navy Yard is on the water from
just east of US. Large buildings O
the docks shield the big war shin
from our sight, but we can see IT,
masts and yards of some of them.