tton dresses, but nothing heavier. It
never rained, and the climate was superb, although it was always hot in
the sun. We had heard that it was very hot here; in fact, people called
MacDowell by very bad names. As the spring came on, we began to realize
that the epithets applied to it might be quite appropriate.

In front of our quarters was a ramada, [*] supported by rude poles of
the cottonwood tree. Then came the sidewalk, and the acequia (ditch),
then a row of young cottonwood trees, then the parade ground. Through
the acequia ran the clear water that supplied the post, and under the
shade of the ramadas, hung the large ollas from which we dipped the
drinking water, for as yet, of course, ice was not even dreamed of in
the far plains of MacDowell. The heat became intense, as the summer
approached. To sleep inside the house was impossible, and we soon
followed the example of the cavalry, who had their beds out on the
parade ground.

*A sort of rude awning made of brush and supported by
cottonwood poles.

Two iron cots, therefore, were brought from the hospital, and placed
side by side in front of our quarters, beyond the acequia and the
cottonwood trees, in fact, out in the open space of the parade ground.
Upon these were laid some mattresses and sheets, and after "taps" had
sounded, and lights were out, we retired to rest. Near the cots stood
Harry's crib. We had not thought about the ants, however, and they
swarmed over our beds, driving us into the house. The next morning Bowen
placed a tin can of water under each point of contact; and as each cot
had eight legs, and the crib had four, twenty cans were necessary. He
had not taken the trouble to remove the labels, and the pictures of red
tomatoes glared at us in the hot sun through the day; they did not look
poetic, but our old enemies, the ants, were outwitted.

There was another species of tiny insect, however, which seemed to drop
from the little cotton-wood trees which grew at the edge of the acequia,
and myriads of them descended and crawled all over us, so we had to
have our beds moved still farther out on to the open space of the parade
ground.

And now we were fortified against all the venomous creeping things and
we looked forward to blissful nights of rest.

We did not look along the line, when we retired to our cots, but if we
had, we should have seen shadowy figures, laden with pillows, flying
from the houses to the cots or vice versa.