Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1918-01-17
NS< ~ t5e7s e'S7F t7tE ttF Ftt z g
ROOKIE WRITES A
LETTER TO MA;
6 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

'DedF ma, Az tore you before L
left home | would write you az soon
az i got hear am going to do so to-
mite. l amt got very much to tell
you about now only what they have
done to me since got hear and that
is enough for this time. l got hear
after we had rode on train for two
days and had eat all sorts of things
that was good to eat. Ispent mighty
near all of the money that you and
dad give me when left for bannan-
ers and popcorn while we was riding
on the train, Every once in a while
a feller all dressed up IN blew suite
came thru our car hollering oranges,
bannaners and handy. Now Ma you
know didn't know what he meant
the first time he came thru. / thought
he was givln them er way and took
three. Then. Ma, would you ber-
lieve me he wanted me to pay him
for them. Well of course didn't
want them other fellers what WAS
drafted to think dida't know no
better so just reached down in my
pocket and give HIM a nickel and he
made me give him another ssyin that
they was three for dime .{kicked
and told him that could get them
fer three fer nickle at Tom Parsons
store and hetole me to go and get
them there but as had eat two of
them bannaners could not give them
back SO let him keep the dime.
"Well we got hear at the depot at
Jacksonville about nine O'Clock at
mite and feller all dressed up in a
purity uniferm kome runnin up to us
and asked us where the man IN charge
of our squad was. 1.tole him that
it was Jim Tompkins, you know Jim
Ma for he is the felier what use to
sell us sodawater at the drug store in
town. He made Jim holler at us
and run us around awhole lot of
trains until we got on another one
and then they brought us out to
kamp. We got here about eleven
o'clock and another feller all dressed
up the same way with yeller clothes
and big Texas hat on his head with
a purity string wrapped around it
and pieces of tin on his shoulders
and leather wrapped around his leg
from his nees to his ankles to keep
him warm | guess hollered at us to
fall out of the car. Well Ma | did
not want to gethurt SO | grabbed
my grip and beat it out the door. He
then hollered at us, Ma everybody
down here hollers at us, to fall in. l
couldn't see anything to fall in 30 |
lust stood there and watched the
other fellers fall in but they just stood
there and all got together in two long
lines. Well | got in the line myself
and terrectly he hollered at us twos
right didn't know what he meant
but some of the other fellers did and
they started and | followed them
The Teller that wos all dressed up
led us around a lot of houses and fl
nally to house that he gave us to
stay in.
oMa this house Is the funniest thing
YOU ever saw. 1t looks just like the
meeting house at the cross road sept
# is taller than that and has two flores
in it. 1t Amt got but two rooms and
one is on top of the other. A whole
lot of us sleep in that one room on lit
tie iron beds on top of which we have
got a straw tick. Taint like sleepln
in one of yore feather beds at home
cause feller KANT keep warm In it.
The first mite we was here we all had
to sleep on these ticks on the floor
and Ma we had to fill em up with
straw. Next mornln they woke US
sp before SIX o'clock, but was used
+, that cause | done that at home
every mornin but a whole lot of the
fellers didn't want to do it but fel-
Ter that they call Mr.. Top Sergent
made them get up. We had break
fast about half an hour later and then
they took us out on field about the
sixe,of the horse pasture at home and