This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ... Towards evening the country grew more barren and we saw any number of jack rabbits and prairie dogs, and just before sundown we saw a coyote. He wasn't more than about forty yards from the track and never budged when the train passed--just stood and looked at us. Tuesday, July 11, 1916. On waking up this morning we found ourselves well out on the plains. We exercised at Carrizozo, New Mexico, which we reached at 7.30 A. M. We now have Mountain Time. Noon mess was early and we reached Fort Bliss at 1 o'clock. Our camp is about three miles from the station on the opposite side from El Paso and eight miles from the Border, and as nothing had been prepared for us at all--even the water lines were unlaid--we had quite a proposition before us and darkness had fallen by the time all our canvas was up. Fortunately, today has been cloudy and not excessively hot. We have the same tents as we used at Mt. Gretna, and as no new tents have been given us, we are quite crowded--three men to a tent in almost all instances--although they are only meant for two. Our camp is situated on an arid plain about one-third of a mile from the railroad tracks and west of us about six miles away is a range of mountains, the highest of which is over 2,000 feet above the plain, which in turn is 3,700 feet above sea level. Far away to the southwest we can see a range of mountains which are in Mexico. The soil is an alkaline clay, but so dry that it seems like sand--you have to drive a stake about six inches down before it even begins to take hold. There was a lot of talk about rattlesnakes and three diamond-backed rattlers were killed before nightfall. They say, however, that they will go back to the hills just as soon as they find out that we are here. There are also...