earing overalls, blue shirts or any other old article that was
obtainable, the company was greatly shocked one morning when the news
came that part of our equipment had arrived. Here again another dream
was shattered, for it seemed that the good fits for the men must have
been lost in transit. The large fellows received clothing too small for
them, and the small fellows received clothes that would have looked well
if they had had about fifty more pounds of muscle upon their skeletons.
But as a matter of fact everyone was very proud of the new uniform.

A few days before the uniforms arrived a proposition was laid upon the
table for the debate of the company. The great question was, "Shall each
member buy leather leggins?" Nobody knew at that time about the uniform
rules of the army. Leather leggins looked fine and seemed to be the
fashion according to posters and magazine pictures. So the debate was
closed and the whole bunch bit on the eight and ten dollar pairs. We
used them several times, in fact we wore them in two parades, and were
granted the permission to wear them to Doniphan, were we soon sold them
at the average price of $5.00 per pair.

On August 13th the boys received their physical examination. A few were
disappointed at that time to find that they could not pass the
examination and go along with the company. That afternoon Captain Arthur
L. Donan of the 3rd Kentucky Infantry placed himself before the company
and mumbled a few words. After the company was dismissed the main
question was, "What did the captain have to say?" It was soon found out
that he had mustered us into Federal Service.

On the Saturdays of the first two weeks at camp we were treated fine
(just kidding us along). On the third Saturday we were lined up in
formation and were sent to the infirmary. There we were told to get
ready for the worst. Both arms were bared while iodine swabs, the
medics' famous panacea, were thrown around freely. There were three
doctors in one corner ready for action. Two of them were puncturing the
right arms with needles and with a little push of a plunger our body was
given some extra fluid so that we might be able to combat that great
army disease of former years, typhoid fever. The other doctor was
cutting a few nitches in the boys' left arms so that the smallpox
vaccine could do its duty. Fainting was in order on that day, as well as
on the following three Saturdays, when the puncturing process was
repeate