| Show TRIP TO CHICKA MAGUA PARK chickamauga uga park georgia may 1898 we the last of the regular army contingents arrived here the alt and are now encamped on an this historic and once famous battleground now preserved as a national park after 35 36 years of blissful repose being principally the resort of pleasure seekers and relic hunters it has been aro aroused used from its slumbers and re animated the dead have come coma to life so to speak and it has resumed an aspect in some respects similar to 63 with ane one distinction and even the very statues both union and Conte Confere date that main maintain taID silent sentry over this sacred place seem to bestow a smile of approbation at knowing this time they are united in a just and cammon cause cau e all is life and excitement here and presents a decidedly warlike aspect horses and wagons by the hundreds are rushing in every direct direction lon baggage is piled up everywhere supplies are continually coming in thousands of soldiers accompanied compa nied by the clank of sword and spur are hurrying to and fro f ro and above all the trumpets clarion sound is 10 continually heard or the distant trains strains from bands playing this or ahat regiment in or out lots of hugging backslapping and handshaking are going on as old comrades meet after many years of separation around the once quiet and sleepy depot are booths erected containing necessaries necess arleO and luxuries for the accommodation of the soldier and outfit of the vendor the barber leans his pier glass against a tree and as he tans fans the flies off his bald headed customer who complains 9 of his hair standing on end shouts about next the me various camps are charmingly channIn glY situated and viewed from the many points of vantage make a pretty picture the heat la Is intense in fact so are we in tents tenta but is tempered towards evening by a pleasant breeze which renders the nights delicious it is then as ae the little spark of a firefly goes flitting by in the purity of th 5 evening air that we are reminded of being in the sunny south since we have been here ten bat teries of light artillery the ninth caa sury ary and the twenty fourth and awen ty fifth regiments of infantry have left tor for tampa fla still here are the first second third sixth and tenth cavalries caval ries and the second seventh eighth twelfth and sixteenth infantry regiments and we are expect ing a large number of volunteer troops bat at this point of mobilization every regiment has its squads of recruits drilling dally daily there axe are a few foreign officers attached to the staff fot for observation the camps are continually besieged f by excursion parties who come from chattanooga every day and which by the way is situated 13 mies northwest from here after our all too brief but pleasant sou journ in salt lake city the paradise of the west which we left with many a pang of regret we passed through utah into the colorado through the royal gorge but unfortunately tuna tely at night sunday evening was spent in the beautiful city of glenwood denwood springs col monday we 1 were in pueblo col then crossed the 1 plaits plains of kansas where the eye can wander across the country apparently for or hundreds of miles in every direction with here and there a solitary house 1 to relieve the monotony and your next door neighbor is 40 miles away where the houses are lashed to the ground to prevent the cyclone and devastating tornado from depositing you in the next state or a cellar is ie dug wherein ato to seek refuge on such occasions travelling Tra velling farther east na attire aided by art has amply atoned lor for her prejudice against the western portion of the state and no better do we see it exemplified than in and ground the pleasing little town of 10 is the home of john brown a liberator who way was hung for living 50 ahead of his hig time then on to aars Kari asail BaB city a city of railroads genoke gt moke noke bridges aad commerce the sur hills dotted with palatial res ubences overlooking the missouri river A foretaste of returning civilization yen e n on t through missouri to st louis ct city ty which is fortunate in possessing e of the finest railroad depots in the XU ht ry and contrasting with its grandeur a and that of the city general eyare are still to be seen here and there then evidence dence of the terrible hurricane that tto aught so much destruction two nars tears since crossing the missouri river breath with wibb life and industry in every diton dilon h ct to east bast st louis we traverse ft south through much swampy A not nd d and where the colored population em to thrive in their miserable but k pa habitations to cairo in aa i the ohio river occupied by general want ra nt during the civil wax war and where te concentrated his army for his at ack k on vicksburg then crossing the L hlo 0 river and the southwestern porton n of kentucky into tennessee we A ollye ve at nashville thursday morning we were greeted with a uniformity j good fettling feeling the entire route both tay and night firing of guns the anvil music and cireo arks lid ind the singing of god be with you U 1 we meet again our congenial chaplain Jha plain responded to the expressions am S welcome with appropriate remarks all suitable occasions the only we experienced was our in supply of soldier buttons to sleet beet the demands of the fair sex and wr ar which they would trade hat pins and in some cases articles of 4 addaree AD Dp Darel arel and when the supply became jS hausted they were willing to take put tons not of brass one man broke fu A s arm writing autographs i athe 11 e watchword all along the line was hell with spain remember the rith f maine thursday evening we arrived at chattanooga after passing through portions of Ten tennessee hessee and a narrow strip of alabama lavish with natures charms charma both hill and valley alike displaying a luxurious and umbrageous growth which renders the little hamlets here interspersed cool and shady and here a glorious panorama presents itself we discover that we are traveling along almost at the base of and parallel with missionary ridge and lph lookout ko U t Mountain which rises in majestic splendor on our right covered with trees and foliage fol liage and extending along its summit for miles are to be seen hotels pleasure resorts and private dwellings with here and there an ail occasional observation tower and so forth indeed it is a grand sight and one ne that would amply repay us for any discomfort we might hereafter experience in our nomadic career eventually we reach chattanooga a city strongly savoring of the hospitable south and aher we remain over night and finally coming out here as I 1 before mentioned on the following dabon da on the backward and forward railroad d THOMAS J BEECHING band sixteenth U S infantry |
