Militia Encampment Under Siege by Rain and Mud
Washington's National Guard troops endure a damp, difficult training session near Olympia, marked by runaways, a fistfight, and dismal weather.
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A soldier's life is not always a happy one, especially when one dines with a cold stream of rain the size of a knitting needle running down his spinal column, and at night lies down in wet clothes enwrapped in damp blankets. However, such slight disadvantages as existed in the militia encampment Thursday and Friday did not serve to dampen the ardor of the sturdy and rigorous manhood that compose the National Guard of Washington. Today, under bright skies, everything is serene and the camp is under military rule. There are now about 1,350 men in camp. The monotony of camp life has been relieved by the usual incidents. There have been two runaways, with no disastrous results beyond the demolition of a vehicle and the knocking down of tents and fruit stands. In a collision between a mounted officer and a cart, a sergeant of C company, First regiment, had a narrow escape from serious injury. John Lyon, of C company, Vancouver, was accidentally cut in the shoulder by a glancing axe, and will be temporarily disabled. Early this morning, what threatened for a moment to be serious trouble occurred between members of Company C of the First and Second regiments. The trouble grew out of an attempt by members of one company to drive others from their tent, which was resisted, when a fist fight was commenced in real earnest and grew as one after another joined their comrades. The guard was called and charged, dispersing all the participants.
“A soldier's life is not always a happy one, especially when one dines with a cold stream of rain the size of a knitting needle running down his spinal column.”
The tension between various volunteer regiments often mirrored the shifting political loyalties of Washington in the 1890s. Today, the National Guard remains a core part of state civic infrastructure, though their training grounds have shifted from muddy fields near Olympia to much more modern, less hazardous facilities.
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