musicians of the post were summoned to the parade ground and five
minutes later the _reveille_ was sounded. At the signal both officers
and men arose. Soon the rolls of the companies were called in front of
the quarters; the quarters were put in order; the ground in front swept;
and the horses fed and watered. At eight-thirty the sick in the
barracks were taken to the hospital, and at nine o'clock breakfast was
served, preceded by a second roll-call. Then the various tasks of the
day were performed under the direction of a captain or subaltern daily
detailed as the "officer of the day".

A party termed the "General Fatigue" swept the entire parade
ground--unless there were enough prisoners in the guard house to perform
this unpleasant duty. A police guard furnished sentinels to watch over
the prisoners, the colors, the quarters of the commanding officer, and
the arms of the regiment. Other soldiers were posted at the front and
the rear of the fort. Certain detachments were formed for reconnoitering
and foraging--the nature of the tasks depending on the season of the
year and the needs of the garrison.

At three o'clock in the afternoon the third roll-call was followed by
dinner; and thirty minutes before sunset the music called out the
regiment for dress parade, where various maneuvers were gone through and
orders were read. After the parade, when the regiment was again in its
quarters, the arms were placed in the arm-racks, the horses attended to,
a fifth roll-call endured, and tattoo sounded. Then the lights were
extinguished and all were expected to be quiet for the night.

This monotony of the daily program was equalled only by the monotony of
the meals. The regulation diet prescribed by Congress in 1802 consisted
of a pound and a quarter of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of
pork; eighteen ounces of bread or flour; one gill of rum, whiskey, or
brandy; and for every hundred rations were supplied two quarts of salt,
four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one pound and a half of
candles. In 1832 coffee and sugar were substituted for the liquor.[227]

During the early years of Fort Snelling these supplies were brought from
St. Louis in flatboats. With the development of steamboat traffic, the
steamboat was utilized, but it did not entirely displace the earlier
method. Difficulties often hindered the transportation of supplies. The
summer of 1829 was extremely dry. The average monthly rainfall was less