July 28th. Hot as Jupiter! Men and animals suffering much from the prolonged spell of hot weather, and especially from the horrible swarms of flies, a nuisance we cannot abate apparently. The large deep well the regiment has been making was finished to-day and yields abundance of fairly good water. It is just a trifle cooler than the water in the shallow wells, but there is much more of it, which was the chief object in making it. From 6 to 7 P. M. the troops were drilled by brigade, Colonel J. R. Brooke commanding; subsequently, every regiment had a dress parade. We get no news of the enemy and curiously think very little about him. Have settled down to a regular camp life, and are enjoying its quiet comfort. Experience is the one thing soldiers cannot do without. There are certain things essential to one’s comfort, only to be learned in actual campaigning; once acquired they become a part of one’s existence. One of these things is contentment. “Take no anxious care for the morrow!” “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Two golden maxims for a man of war; faithfully observed, they save a world of anxiety in such stirring times as these and are well worth practicing.
