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Show SOLDIERS AT SAN ANTONIO WONDER WHAT COMES NEXT By Leased Wire to The Tribune. SAN ANTONIO, Texas, March 11. An army almost equal in numbers to the force that followed General Win-field Win-field Scott into tho City of Mexico on the fourteenth of September, 1S-17, is in camp tonight on the plain of San Antonio, adjoining the reservation of Fort Sam Houston. Major General William' II. Carter, chief of the officially of-ficially designated "Maneuver division" divis-ion" of the United States army, is in command. Late tomorrow night, five days after the issuance of the unheralded order, the forces of demonstration or pacification pacifi-cation will have been assembled almost in their entire strength, stretched along the Mexican border or within striking distance, from Galveston to San Diego. Major General Wood, chief of stall, is coming to the camp at Fort Sam Houston next. week. The date of his arrival is not pfiicinlly announced hero. He is expected Tuesday or Wednesday. Wednes-day. News of his corning passed from mouth to mouth among the higher officials of-ficials today and. served only to compound com-pound rumors and intensify curiosity among army men. An entire trainload of po.ntoons coming com-ing with the engineer corps from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, excitod comment all along its thousand-mile journey. Thirty-three flat cars brought this vast amount of impeditnentia- for use at "maneuvers" in the country which has no streams across which a man can not walk. Jjan Antoninus, loath to admit, ad-mit, that their country has any faults, remarked when they "saw- this unusual caravan that there is not a stream this side of the Kin Grande that has not been so dry from the long drouth that it could not bo bridged completely by a single one of the big scows, which are carried on pontoon wagons, ono wagon and pontoon a car. The Itio Grando can be crossed on foot now. Soldiers Aro Excited. Frankly speaking among themselves, the men" in khaki, do not know why they are here. More eagerly than civilians civil-ians they scan the dispatches for iionic inkling of the real purpose of tho mobilization. They believe, that Major General Carter and some of tho staff know. He inspected the' camp ground this morning soon after his arrival. Tired by his long trip, unbroken for two nights and a day, ho rested all afteruoou in the residence of the de--artmcnt couunauder, General Duncan, and announced that he did not wish to see the newspaper correspondents who are here in numbers sufficient to muster an insurrecto colonel's command. Officers and men alike believe they are here for an indefinite stay. Thoy refer only officially to this as the" "maneuvers division." Not onco in conversation has an army man been heard to speak the word " maneuver" today. The weight of- ninety bullets in his cartridge belt docs not s'pell maneuver maneu-ver to the enlisted man. Tho consensus of opinion among officers of-ficers and men is that they are duo for field service until Moxico is paoi-fjqd, paoi-fjqd, be that a fortnight or a year. The faith of those who took unquestionably the announcement of "maneuvers" was shakon today' by the news that Col. OIkiii nliiof mm rl-nmrn c rA 1 partment of Texas, lias received orders to procure supplies sufficient for 10,-UU0 10,-UU0 men for four months. Some Bush Orders. A tplegraph order to rush another aeroplane here to replace tho 'ono wrecked last Saturday in tho Rio Grande and orders for large supplies of typhoid antitoxin were additional straws pointing with the possible cur-rout cur-rout of events as anticipated at Washington. Wash-ington. At any rate they are so taken by the encampment of soldiers speculating specu-lating on what the next few weeks mean for them. The railroads have arisen to the occasion, nnd there being no floods in tho great rivers of the southwest, have moved the miles and miles of army trains with expedition that has surprised even the officers in command. To date there has been reported re-ported only ono accident of consequence, the burning of eight horses of the -signal corps at Durant, Okla., where a hot-box hot-box set fire to a ear. Unloading facilities are excellent. A loop nnd eight spurs afford trackage for (500 cars. Detraining has been in progress since daylight and is going ou topight. Trains of soldiers, horses and ircight are arriving hourly over the "Katy," the International & .Great Northern and Southern Pacific. Generally Gen-erally cars were furnished by the railroads rail-roads within twenty-four hours after requests wero made by the government, and the rogiments were ready to entrain en-train long before cars wore available. In camp hero tonight, within a rifle shot of the historic Alamo, are inorc than four thousand officers and men. Twelve thousand arc to be assembled hero of the 20,000 ordered out for this mobilization. |