Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1918-09-27
LANDING $4,000 MEN IN A DAY.


July 30.--Long lines of Lhaki clad
men just embarked from American
Transports and now on the WY to
their first camp packed the stree :,
from curb to curb, and stretched
away for miles. Ii was fo,,' n les
and up hill most ef the way thru
city, suburbs, and country lanes
from the sen-front to the great
reception camp outside Tho town,
one of the largest camps in the
world and capable of caring for tho
population of II metropolitan city.
Hour after hour, from 6 this morn
ing until late this afternoon, the
steady tramp of marching thousands
had been going on, for this steady
stream is the army Of $4,000 just
arrived on thirteen American trans
ports, making the record dcbarkation
from ship To camp within twelve
hours.
a steady downpour swept across
the ranks and the men were dripping
as they trudged through the rain
soaked mud. They we're nj route
step, without The regularity Of para
ding troops, and each man carried
besides his rife, al his belonging
on his back, seventy pounds Of tents,
blankets, clothing, Shoes. AMI all the
miscellaneous equipment of soldier
headed for tho from, Their last
camp WAS in the wcll-cQ.iprcd can
tonments in the United States.
where they slept on cots ard had II
scmbance of modern comfort. Now
they were on the war-swcpt soil of
France and had seen the last Of cots
and comforts II WAS their first
glimpse of real war conditions.
"rhcre arc more troops arriving"
said Major X, the engineer officer in
charge of the camp, MS he led the
way, ethan the total strength Of the
United States Army short time
ago. And with such an influx we
have to provide very elastic camp.
capable OF immediate expansion
from thousand up to hundred
thousand men"
The Major was well qualified to
explain the magnitude Of the work,
for he had been constructing cngi
neer Of the New York subway
system, had planned and built II good
part Of the system, and had made
the population figures on which sub
way construction was based.
ITO get mn idea of the camp" he
said, compare il with Central Park.
We have $500 acres here. Central
Park has 800 acres. Why, the entire
area of New York City on Manhnt-
tan Island is only 1900 acres"
On both sides Of the road, for mile
after mile az we sped along in an
army car, n city of tents was risin,,
and there was the hum and hustle
OF camp activity on vast scale
This morning all the ground had been
stubblefield from the newly cut
wheat and barley. But now every
available fot was being laid off by
the army engineers, working with
tripods and instruments like n PARTY
of surveyors. Tented streets and
avenues, headquarters tents, mcss.
Kitchen and hospital tents, and vast
parks for SUPPLIES and artillery and
horses, were rising in the fields and
spreading for forty square miles
over this huge Enclosure.
In one of the fields where we
stopped two battalions of 800 men
each marched in and were preparing
to pitch their tents. The great stretch
OF plowed ground, just cleared of
gram, was ran-soaked, and the
storm had set in for the night. The
men stood ready, each with half
OF n shelter tent, to drive the stakes
and lash it against the clements.
and then crawl in. 1t seemed an end
less, wait for all the formaitics of
laying out the camp with engineer
ing cxactness, yet all of this was
essentian to the smoth running of
such a large concern.
At last the stakes were driven
and soon the great field was dotted
with thousands of little khaki mounds.
about as high as man waist, called
pup tents" under the tent there is
Just rom for two lying down, and if
the ground is soaked as it is tonight.
the rubber poncho keeps out some
OF the water and kindly nature ana
the iron of youth must do the rest.
Field Kitchens and water carts
were wheeling up TO all the camps
as the tens went up. Filtered water
- brought in hogsheads and each
command has its apportioned lot of
hogsheads. Later on there will be Il
splendid system of water mains for
the whole camp. Each man carries
Els emergency rations for three
days. Some of them were nibbing
! it before climbing into the pup tents,
but most of them waited for the
smoking field kitchen to get into
action with its cooks, serving out
hot coffee and hot soup and meat
The item of feeding an army with
precision is in itself a gigantic task.
ave served 100000 meals last
month";" said Major X, cor 100000
army rations of three meals to the
ration"
And besides all the feeding and
watering and sanitation there is the
immense paper work" of such an