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BY

GEl^ERAL W. H.

CARTER
IM

Author of " Frorn Yorktown to Santiago with the Sixth
Cavalry," " Horses, Saddles, and Bridles," etc.

THE LORD BALTIMORE PRESS
THE FRIEDENWALD COMPANY
BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A.
1906

COPTRIQHT, 1908, BY
Briq.-Gen. William H. Carter, V. S. A.

THE ROSTER OF TALES PAGE
forewokd  7
An Outlaw's Gratitude  15
Captain Cecil's Dream  37
Our Bayard  53
A Garrison Reform  71
The Force of Discipline  85
A Brand from the Burning  101
An Old Dragoon  125
The Recruit's Revenge  153
Courage  165
A Cavalryman's Ride  177

FOREWORD

HOSE who read the de
tailed history of the
Republic will learn
that after each war
the progress of
knowledge in mili
tary affairs and the
active presence of
new leaders of heroic mold tend alike
to mark a distinct line between the old
and new armies. In those troublous
days of 1798 when Washington, Knox,
and Hamilton met in Philadelphia to
canvass the relative merits of the vet
erans of the Revolution, for appoint
ment in the new army authorized by

8 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Congress for the then impending con
flict with France — happily averted —
the difficulty of fusing the old and new
was made clearly apparent. The War
of 1812 hewed a sharp line of demarca
tion between old Continentals and the
new levies. Then, with the exception
of a few officers and men — rare charac
ters many of them — the army disap
pears for a time from view. A partial
awakening comes in 1821, followed a
few years later by the Black Hawk
and Florida Wars, marking distinct
changes in the personnel, Next fol
lows the Mexican War, with a new
generation, which, at the close of hostil
ities, has an official standing which leads
to preferment when the dark and soul-
wrenching days of the Civil War period
arrive. Four years of conflict, the rise of new

FOEEWOED 9
leaders and the breaking of old ideals
mark a new era, and the ' ' Old Army of
Before the War " passes into history.
Some of the older generation survive
and tell in garrison clubs the tales of
self-sacrifice, courage and character
which leave an impress on the new gen
eration, composed principally of young
men — some mere boys — who had won
preferment upon a score of historic
battlefields of the Civil War.
Then come many years of supposed
peace, during which the frontier gar
risons go unostentatiously about their
work of carving the path of an empire
and making the settlement of half a
continent possible, without expectation
of other reward than a consciousness of
duty right nobly performed. It was
during this period between the Civil
War and the war with Spain that most

10 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
of the characters and incidents briefly
portrayed in this volume held the stage.
During a quarter of a century the
army not only guarded the settlement
and development of what had been for
merly characterized dimly as ** The
Great American Desert " and ** The
Rocky Mountain Region," but kept
alive that knowledge of modern war
which meant so much for success when
the country was again called to arms in
Cuba, the Philippines and China. With
these campaigns came another reorgani
zation and with the doffing of the his
toric blue and donning of the khaki
there passed again into history another
" Old Army."
There is no other life in which may
be encountered greater extremes of
comedy and tragedy than in that of the
old frontier garrisons. The incident of

POEEWOED 11
the baU on the eve of the battle of
Waterloo has been sung in song and
story for near a hundred years, yet there
is scarce one of the old posts from Fort
Duquesne to the Dalles of Oregon, and
from Michilimackinac to the Rio
Grande, that has not vdtnessed similar
scenes, when refined gentlewomen have
nerved themselves for the farewell re
ception and dance usually given in
honor of gallant men departing on dis
tant and dangerous enterprise.
The author was long engaged in col
lecting material for a history of the
cavalry regiment with which he rode on
the frontier for more than twenty years.
The volume, when published, contained
these remarks:
" It has been the constant endeavor,
in the preparation of the story, to pre
sent an honest and unpretentious repre-

12 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
sentation of service as substantiated by
the records, avoiding alike the tempting
realms of speculation and tradition.
The search for facts has developed a
mine of interesting incidents and regi
mental tales, but the author has felt
constrained not to enter that field."
The author had the misf ortiine to lose
the greater part of the edition of the his
tory, by fire, in Baltimore. The plates
of the illustrations, which had been gen
erously contributed by Remington, de
Thulstrup, Christy, Zogbaum, Gaul,
Klepper, Larned and others, who took
a kindly interest in the volume, escaped
the general destruction. In order that
such artistic work should not be wholly
lost, some of the illustrations have been
reproduced with the sketches relating to
the same periods and incidents as those
of the more pretentious history.

EOEEWOED

13

The stories are presented without pre
tence of literary merit, but with the
hope that having much foundation in
fact they may serve to illustrate some
unique types of character and services
encountered in The Old Armv.

AN OUTLAW'S GRATITUDE

N a fringe of mesquite
underbrush, bordering the
San Simon Flat where the
old overland stage road of
Arizona begins to rise to
Apache Pass, two cowboys
— one desperately wound
ed — were engaged in ser
ious argument. " Now,
Sandy, you must stick on till we git to
the fort where the Doc is and we'll have
you fixed up." " No, Curly, I'm that
petered out that I can't ride back to the
boys, and I'd rather die right here than
be tumed over to a Tombstone sheriff."
The sinewy, bronzed-faced Curly held
his younger companion in the saddle

16 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
with a vise-like grip but continued to
argue with him as to the urgency of
medical aid, while the younger, with
that reckless disregard of life which was
the pride of the outlaw cowboy, refused
to make any further effort to save him
self. The sound of hoof-beats coming in
from the Flat caused Curly to move the
horses quickly behind a tall mesquite.
He had hardly got to cover when a jack-
rabbit sprang into the road from the
other side, followed closely by half a
dozen greyhounds running mute. The
rabbit realized the hopelessness of a race
in the open road and after a few strides
turned into the cover behind which the
cowboys were hiding, the hounds close
at his heels. The horses shied apart and
the wounded man, weak from loss of

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 17
blood, slowly relaxed his leg grip and
slid to the ground just as a horseman
crashed through the fringe of brush on
the opposite side of the road. The
huntsman pulled up short in front of
the cowboys who, true to frontier na
ture, were on guard; Curly with his
Winchester ready for action, and
Sandy, lying with his head raised
against a bit of sage brush, with a
cocked six-shooter in his hand.
Sandy, though sorely wounded, was
the first to find speech and his remark
was, " God, Curly, what a cracker- jack
horse that feUar's got! "
Curly recognized the trim, blonde
mustached young lieutenant as one of
the officers of the cavalry squadron up
in the mountain pass, at the little adobe
post known as Fort Bowie, and whose

18 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
cemetery head-boards contained fully
as many names as the rolls of the gar
rison and nearly all of them bore the
legend " Killed by Apaches."
The officer was mounted upon a beau
tiful race mare which had been given
to him by his doting Missouri father,
who was imbued with the creed of the
state, that " when a gentleman rides he
should be able to keep up with his com
pany." It was no wonder that the
wounded horse-thief's eyes fell admir
ingly upon the young officer's mount,
for her like had not been seen before in
that part of the frontier. Now as she
stood breathing strongly but smoothly
as a well-oiled machine, her nostrils dis
tended, ears forward and eyes glued in
quiringly upon the little cow ponies she
made a rare picture.

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 19
The handsome face and frank blue
eyes of the young cavalryman were
alone enough to remove suspicion, but
the cowboys were particular to note that
he was unarmed. Curly took the pre
caution to ask if he was alone and
learned he was out for a gallop with the
hounds just to keep himself fit. As
Curly returned his Winchester to his
gunboot the huntsman blew his whistle
and called off the hounds, which had
lost sight of the rabbit in the unusual
mix-up. Realizing that he was face to face with
the aftermath of one of those frontier
tragedies to which, although not long
out of West Point, he had already
grown accustomed, he looked at the
wounded man, who had swooned after
his admiring remark about the horse.

20 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
and simply asked, " What's the mat
ter? "
*' Well, the fact is, lieutenant, we had
some trouble with a party of Mexicans
down near the line, this side of Fron-
teros, and Sandy got hurt. I left the
other boys to fix the Mexicans and I was
taking Sandy up to the little spring in
the canon and was calculatin' to git the
Doc from the Fort to do something for
him." Louis St. Joe dismounted and taking
from his saddle the canteen of fresh
spring water which he carried for the
hounds, he poured some down the
wounded man's parched throat and
sprinkled his face. The unusual at
tention served to arouse Sandy some
what and as he came to a realization of
things he reached for the canteen,

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 21
closed his eyes and let the water gurgle
down his throat. Wlien he handed the
canteen back, St. Joe made a basin of
the top of his hat and calling the panting
hounds he slowly emptied the water into
the improvised vessel while the long
tongues lapped it greedily.
Turning to Curly young St. Joe said,
*' He needs help ; keep him in the shade
until I come back with the ambulance,"
and springing lightly to his saddle,
without use of the stirrup, he called the
hounds to heel and started rapidly up
the grade to the pass. It seemed not
long to Curly before he saw the dust and
heard the screeching noise of the brake-
blocks scraping the wheels of the ambu
lance, yet distant, but coming rapidly
down the grade. The time had passed
quickly while the devil-may-care fron-

22 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
tier outlaw gave himself to pondering
how such a decent young fellow should,
of his own volition, hurry assistance to
a youthful but notorious cowboy who
had come to grief in a horse-stealing
raid across the border. Curly had done
many chivalrous things during his mad
career and feared neither man nor devil,
but the simple act of humanity on the
part of the young cavalryman had
touched his rough, outlaw nature in an
unaccustomed way.
Arrived at the mesquite bosque the
doctor examined the wounded man and
decided not to disturb the rude bandages
which had been applied by Curly.
Sandy was lifted gently into the ambu
lance and the trip to the post hospital
was made as rapidly as the fine four-in-
hand team of mules could cover the
distance up the steep grade.

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 23
Arrived at the post Curly, who ap-,
peared uneasy and suspicious, asked St.
Joe in a low voice what he was going to
do and the young officer, with a look of
surprise, said, " Why, put him in the
hospital and fix him up, of course.
What did you expect? "
When Sandy was put to bed Curly
had a brief whispered conversation with
him, the gist of which was, not to talk
much but lay low and when well enough
to be about, to go around on the San
Simon side of the peak and send up
the smoke signal and one of the gang
would come for him with a horse and
bring money for the doctor. In the
meantime, for fear the former owner
of Sandy's pony might happen along,
Curly would take him back to the out
law rendezvous.

24 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
There was usually not much to oc
cupy St. Joe when in the post and he
called at the hospital several times
to see how Sandy was getting along.
With proper attention and good
food nature rapidly reasserted it
self, and later, when St. Joe re
turned one evening from a short
scout he learned that a strange cowboy
had come to the hospital about dusk and
that Sandy took a walk with him and
had not been seen since, although the
doctor had subsequently received an
envelope with a roll of new treasury
bills, with numbers corresponding to
those lost by the paymaster when he
was held up and his escort shot to
pieces by a gang of outlaws up near the
Gila River.
As time passed the depredations of

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 25
Indians continued, often with ac
companiments of fiendish barbarity,
but it gradually dawned upon those
whose duty it was to pursue and
punish marauding bands, that In
dians were being accused of many
crimes committed by men who did
not wear moccasins and who rode
shod horses. Once when this very sub
ject was under discussion at the adju
tant's office, one of the herders dashed
into the post leading a badly scattered
herd. After the stock was corralled it
developed that while part of the guard
had come in for dinner, several cowboys
began firing off their pistols and
charged through the herd and cut out
some horses and the fine team of six
grey mules habitually used on the water
wagon; they had gone south and the

26 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
corporal was following the stock and
would send up a smoke from whichever
pass they used to get out of the valley.
St. Joe was dressed for a morning's
ride and his striker, was standing at the
door of his quarters Avith his race mare
" Lady." Accustomed to being sud
denly summoned to rescue a mail coach,
to raise the siege of a ranch or to pur
sue renegades escaping from the Indian
reservation, it required but a few min
utes for a detachment of cavalry and
Indian scouts to move out on the trail
leaving a guard to follow with the
pack mules. The Indians circled
the herd grounds and soon cut the
outgoing trail which led straight
towards the Mexican border, al
though Jack Dunn, the guide, said it
would turn long before it got to the line.

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 27
St. Joe kept the animals at a sharp trot
until late in the afternoon, when one of
the scouts in advance raised his hand
and pointed to a fresh smoke away to
the left front in the Steins Peak range.
The party was divided and St. Joe, with
the guide, and a few well mounted men,
cut across the coimtry straight for the
smoke in the pass, the others following
the trail to see if any of the stolen
stock had dropped out.
As the sun was setting behind the
Chiricahua range, on the opposite side
of the vaUey, St. Joe came upon the
plucky corporal standing guard over
the water wagon team of greys. The fat
mules, accustomed to parade about the
garrison at a slow gait in highly decor
ated harness, were not equal to the pace
at which they had been put through

28 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
and when they struck the mountain trail
they could go no further. The keen
eyes of the horse thieves had caught an
occasional glimpse of dust in the bosque
far back down the valley, and as they
did not wish to enrage their pursuers
by the Indian trick of killing played-
out stock, the overfed greys were aban
doned and later gathered together by
the corporal.
Halting to let his detachment get to
gether again, St. Joe carefully in
spected the animals and after tighten
ing cinchas, he led the way up the
mountain trail and on far into the
night. The horse thieves well knew
their pursuers would not halt until
they struck water. After they had
watered their own stock and filled
their canteens at the only tanks

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 29
in that part of the range, they moved
on and sought shelter some miles beyond
in a glade where the animals could
graze, surmising correctly that the de
tachment would stop to rest until the
moon should rise.
As soon as the trail could be followed
the Indian scouts led off with the de
tachment close behind. It was not yet
dawn when the Indians stopped and be
gan searching for the direction taken
by the horse thieves, who had scattered
before entering the gulch leading to
their resting place. They had calculated
that the detachment would lose some
time in finding and closing in on their
hiding place and in leaving it they had
made a wide detour to regain the trail.
The sun was well up when the trail,
which the unerring Apache scouts had

30 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
located, began to descend to a wide
stretch of plain with a clump of cotton-
woods just visible, far across, on the
other side. Fresh signs were encount
ered along the trail but not a glimpse
of man or horse had been obtained.
Descending to the almost level plain,
covered with short sage brush and with
not a living thing in sight, St. Joe was
puzzled, but he followed closely the
movements of the scouts. The trick
of the fleeing outlaws was soon dis
closed through the discovery of a long
gulch, seamed out of the level plain,
which had enabled the horse thieves to
keep out of sight and save their animals
for the final run in to their goal which
was evidently the Cottonwood grove.
Dropping the trail and moving
straight for the head of the gulch the

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 31
detachment gained rapidly and it was
not long before a cowboy was seen peer
ing over the bank to observe the pursuit.
Seeing that their trick had been dis
covered, the horse thieves dashed out on
the opposite side of the gulch and made
straight for the Cottonwood grove. St.
Joe had already reached the conclusion
that his cavaLry horses, hardened by
much scouting, could overhaul the horse
thieves in a fair race, and he had been
careful to conduct the pursuit so as to
have something left in the animals for
a spurt. Cautioning his men to take
plenty of room he swung his mare into
a free gaUop, steadying her just a bit.
The pace soon began to tell and when
they came into the glade near the cotton-
woods the pursuers were rapidly closing
the gap.

33 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Suddenly two of the horse thieves
turned the loose stock they were driving
towards the foot-hills and the other men
rode straight for a group of low adobe
buildings, surrounded by a high wall of
the same material, at the edge of the
cottonwoods. Drawing rein but slightly, St. Joe de
tached a party of troopers and Indian
scouts to follow the loose stock and with
the others pursued the horse thieves
toward the buildings.
There was a commotion at the corral
and a line of cowboy hats appeared
above the wall as the big gates swung
wide open for the fieeing outlaws to
enter. As the horse thieves dashed in
the gates closed, and as rare a group of
dare-devils as ever got together manned
the loopholes and walls to defend the

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 33
most notorious outlaw nest on the Mexi
can border.
St. Joe pulled up his horse and as
sembled his party. He could hear the
outlaws knocking off the lids of ammu
nition boxes and see them taking posi
tion to fire. He directed his men to
stand fast and advanced within hailing
distance. A tall, athletic looking fellow
who appeared to be the leader mounted
the wall and demanded his business. St.
Joe replied that he had trailed stolen
government stock direct to the ranch
and pursued some of the men within
the gates; that other animals had been
stolen prior to this and were believed
to be here, and he, St. Joe, had come to
recover them and was going to search
the place.
The outlaw leader laughed scornfully

34 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
and there were loud guffaws and cries of
'* Come and take your horses." The
leader raised his hand for silence and
said, " We don't want to hurt you, lieu
tenant, unless you are spoiling for a
fight; if you bring your soldiers and
Indians any closer we'll open on you
and keep it up as long as a man is left
standing in sight. I'll give you five
minutes to get out of range, for some
of the boys are already quarreling as
to who is to have that fine mare of
yours." " Fine mare, did you say? Hold on
there and let me take a look! " When
Curh^ had shaded his eyes and taken a
squint at St. Joe he turned around and
shouted, " Put down your guns, boys,
and open them gates — that's the lieu
tenant that saved Sandy! "

AN OUTLAW'S GEATITUDE 35
Never was there so sudden a change
from a condition of war to the knife to
one of benign peace.' The gates were
thrown open and the hardened outlaws,
all of whom were below middle age,
crowded around to get a view of the
young officer who had been good Sa
maritan enough to take in a wounded
horse thief.
It seems hardly necessary to say that
not only did St. Joe recover the animals
he had been foUowing, but also all those
in the outlaw herd branded U. S. and
stolen on former raids from his owti
and other stations.

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DREAM

AR had come once
more to the fair
colony of Vir
ginia and our
troop of horse
had been associ
ated with the
Duke de Lau
zun's French legion. During the concen
tration of Washington's army we had
been in bivouac on " The Neck " below
Williamsburg, observing Tarleton's out
post at " The Grove " on the James, and
were kept constantly on the alert to pre
vent that enterprising leader from
escaping with his troopers to the south.

38 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
The British detachment in our front
comprised a lusty lot of dragoons who
had become provoked with Cornwallis
when he allowed his army to be cooped
up about Yorktown and Gloucester, and
while in this state of ill-temper they had
despoiled the historic mansion where
they were quartered and devastated the
neighboring estates.
Our bivouac in an old field pine for
est was not very cheerful, but the officers
of the Light Horse occupied it in pref
erence to the only building within sev
eral miles, an ancient brick church with
a local reputation for bats and uncanny
noises. The troopers generally avoided
the place even by day for the slaves all
pronounced it to be " shorely hanted."
Philip Cooke and I, Hugh Cecil, were
the youngest cornets in the Light Horse.

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DEEAM 39
We had grown up on adjoining planta
tions and had but little respect for the
many superstitions of the slaves. I will
not say we were entirely free from fear
as to the future, for I noticed Philip al
ways carried a horse chestnut in his
pocket, and as for myself, if any one
happened to step over my feet when we
were lying about the camp fire I was
sure something would happen to my
disadvantage unless the steps were im
mediately retraced. I presume it was
a knowledge of these little peculiarities
which caused our seniors to become very
jocose when PhUip and I announced
our intention to sleep in the old church
on the next rainy night rather than
trust to the " lean to " of pine boughs
to keep us dry.
I am not quite sure that I really in-

40 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
tended to carry out the plan, but when
we were subjected to so much chaffing
at the hands of our older companions
in arms I determined to sleep in the
church at all hazards. It was a dreary
ruin which had been abandoned as a
place of worship when the tobacco fields
had become so worn out as to be no
longer profitable, and the planters had
moved on to more distant but richer
lands. Philip and I took our body ser
vants and examined the old rookery by
daylight and decided to make our prepa
rations for at least one night's stay to
save our reputations.
The ruin consisted of a main church
building with two small exterior rooms
at the altar end. One of these was evi
dently constructed for a robing room
and was in better condition than the

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DEEAM 41
other parts of the building for it still
possessed a roof, heavy wooden shutters
for the window openings and a rough
board floor. The upper part of the main
church was in a bad state of decay and
clouds of bats flew in and out of the
holes in the roof and through the shut-
terless windows.
The building was flanked upon either
side by numerous old graves, long neg
lected. The whole place presented an
air of utter abandonment as if the origi
nal settlers had flown from a plague.
No tender hands had ever reset the'
faUen stones, many of which recited
numberless virtues in the lives of those
laid to rest in the prosperous days of
the early colonists.
Philip and I decided to prepare the
smaU robing room for our use. There

43 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
was a huge fireplace and we had our
boys bring in wood and start a rousing
fire to dry out the damp and musty walls
and to smoke out the colony of bats in
the chimney. We had more wood
brought and piled beside the hearth, to
be in readiness when we should come to
remain all night.
It was evidently not intended that we
should abandon our threatened occu
pancy of the old ruin, if through ridi
cule we might be held to it. This we
plainly saw upon our return to camp, as
we had begun to call our bivouac, which
did not contain a marquee or any shel
ter except that afforded by the pine
boughs. We did not have long to wait to put
our courage to the test, for the very
next morning the sky was deeply over-

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DEEAM 43
cast and the vivid flashes of lightning
and riotous thunder grew in intensity
as night came on.
Providing ourselves with candles and
a cold repast in case we should not be
able to sleep we mounted and rode
away. Upon reaching the old stone
horse block, we dismounted and re
moved our holster pistols from the sad
dles, for we did not intend retaining our
horses for fear we should be tempted
to flee from the dreary and lonesome
place. Our negro boys were in no mood
to tarry with us and when they learned
that we were " shorely gwine to stay "
they hurried off to camp with the horses.
Philip and I groped our way through
the main buUding by the aid of the
lightning's flashes. We pushed open
the heavy oaken door, the creaking of

44 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
the hinges being heard above the storm,
and entered the dark and gloomy room.
We had much difficulty in making a
light because of the fitful gusts of wind.
There were still some live coals in the
ashes from our fire of the day before
and we were not long in getting a big
blaze which went roaring up the huge
chimney. As long as we were bustling about the
fire we gave no heed to the storm, which
had increased in intensity, for we could
hear the wind howling and the trees
straining and the Umbs breaking.
When we had dried our riding cloaks
we put a big back log in the large fire
place and felt secure for the night so
far as light and warmth were concerned.
We had been told many times that
there was nothing to fear until about

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DEEAM 45
midnight, so we decided to remain on
guard together until after that time and
then to take turns at watching. We
seated ourselves with our backs to the
waU, one on each side of the big fire
place, so that we should have the light
behind us and could watch the door,
against which we had placed a log. We
examined the priming of our heavy
dragoon pistols and drew our swords
from their scabbards. We laid the
weapons upon the floor within easy
reach and, as our eyes were shielded
from the Ught, we soon grew accustomed
to the surroundings and would be able
to detect the slightest movement which
might take place.
Our conversation gradually died
away but the dreary monotony of
watching within and the vivid lightning

46 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
and pealing thunder without, played
the one against the other in holding our
attention upon the object of our vigil.
The lightning gradually ceased and
the thunder which now came at inter-
yeds, vdth a booming resembling a dis
tant salvo of artillery, rolled and echoed
far away down the valley.
I heard a slight noise and leaned over
to speak to Philip and learn whether he
had observed it. I was surprised to find
that Philip 's head had settled calmly in
the chimney corner and that he was
sleeping heavily. The noise continued
and now it appeared to be light foot
falls directly under the room where we
were stationed. I was ashamed to
awaken Philip yet felt that it was unfair
to have all the burden upon my own
shoulders.

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DEEAM 47
While I was endeavoring to decide
what to do a trap door in the floor was
slowly raised. I seized my sword and
rose quietly to my feet. I was confused
by my attitude of defense when I beheld
a beautiful but most pathetic face
emerge from below. With slow and
measured steps a young woman, dressed
in flowing black robes and with her fair
hair hanging down and partially shad
ing her face, came up a secret stairway.
Reaching the level of the floor she
glanced toward PhiUp and placed her
finger upon her lips as if to indicate
that he should not be disturbed. Seeing
that I comprehended her meaning, she
placed her hands together as if for
prayer and then slowly turned and
moved down the stairs beckoning me in
a most appealing manner to follow her.
Once I endeavored to speak to Philip

48 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
but my lips refused to utter a sound.
The fear of ridicule rather than genuine
courage urged me to follow the myster
ious creature. As I passed down, the
trap door closed with a muffled snap and
gave me the same sensation I exper
ienced whenever a comrade stepped over
my feet at the camp fire.
There was that tearful dignity about
my guide which made me follow at a
respectful distance, although, I was
overcome with curiosity to know of what
manner of flesh and blood was this
strange beauty who inhabited a ruin so
wretched as that which we had just left.
My guide led me along a winding gal
lery of such length that I soon reaUzed
that we must have passed beyond the im
mediate vicinity of the old church. I
noted a gradual change from the musty
air of the underground passage and con-

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DEEAM 49
eluded that we were nearing the end of
the gaUery. My guide now stooped low
and folding back the ferns which con
cealed the entrance we emerged into a
beautiful glade where the storm had
entirely died away.
Again the woman in black beckoned
for me to follow her as she walked
slowly toward the end of the glade. She
seemed to be deeply affected and fre
quently gazed up at the starlit sky, now
beginning to pale, denoting the ap
proach of dawn. Reaching the end of
the glade she stopped and raised her
beautiful arm over a mound of earth
resembling a long-neglected grave.
Motioning to me to stand at the opposite
end she pointed with trembling hand
to the mound and there came over her
face a pained expression indicative of
loss of hope and faith such as I pray

50 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
it may never be my fortune to witness
again. I knew not what to do, yet reaUzed
that moments were precious to this
strange, weird creature who but waited
and prayed that I might comprehend
and aid her. I could only conceive that
there was need of opening the mound,
or at least determining what it con
tained in order that this enchanted soul
should no longer be enthralled.
With no definite idea as to its effect,
I stepped quickly to a position opposite
the center of the mound and inserted
the point of my dragoon sword. My
lady of the black robes covered her face
with her hands and as I drove the blade
home to the hilt, the earth trembled, I
fell violently on the green sward and
my guide faded away as a loud blare of
trumpets rang out in the glade.

CAPTAIN CECIL'S DEEAM

51

I awakened and sprang to my feet
just as the Indian scouts were moving
out of camp, with cat-like tread, for an
early start on the renegade Apache trail
we had been following in the Mexican
Rockies and heard the voice of my sub
altern asking from beneath a nearby
blanket, " Captain Cecil, are you often
afflicted with intermittent nightmare? "

JUST FROM THE FRONT. — iJe Thulitrup.

OUR BAYARD

HE tortuous trail had
led us across the bor
der and far down
into Sonora, where
after indescribable
efforts *' Our Bay
ard " had brought
the renegade
Apaches to bay. He had boldly as
saulted them in a position of their own
choosing and with the aid of our nimble-
footed scouts had corralled the band
which counted in its numbers some of
the master minds known to the annals
of border Indian warfare, and whieh
for two years had foiled the army at
every turn.

54 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
During a lull in the fight the rene
gades had called for a parley and had
practically agreed to surrender and
await in their position the arrival of
that gallant veteran and distinguished
Indian fighter known in all the Indian
country as " The Grey Fox," and who
was toiling forward over the rough
mountain trail with the rest of the regi
ment. It was an armed truce in every
sense of the word, for while there was a
grim satisfaction at having Mangus
Colorado cry out for peace " Our
Bayard " was too old at the game of
Apache warfare to relax his vigilance
for a moment.
Of all the strange incidents that have
happened to turn the tide of battle the
most surprising now occurred. A Mex
ican battalion, composed principally of

OUE BAYAED 55
convicts and commanded by officers un
dergoing a species of frontier banish
ment, had happened to cut the Indian
traU and had boldly followed it. Coining
up just as the parley had been concluded
and the Indians had agreed to sur
render, and in ignorance of what was
taking place, they began creeping for
ward and were discovered just as they
had secured positions in rear of the
Indian scouts encircling the renegades.
They opened fire and the scouts quickly
changing position let the surrendered
renegades go and turned their attention
to the Mexicans. " Our Bayard " real
ized instantly what was happening and
directing the interpreters to call off the
scouts he climbed to the top of a large
boulder and as his tall figure stood out
prominently against the sky line he
raised his hand in token of peace.

56 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
The firing had ceased and the Spanish
interpreters had explained in loud tones
the dreadful mistake being made when
a miserable wretch who had crept close
to our lines took deliberate aim and as
the solitary shot rang out on the moun
tain side " Our Bayard," beloved of all
men, slowly and tremblingly sunk to
rest upon the sloping face of the
boulder, with a ghastly bullet hole in
the very center of his forehead.
There was grave danger for the mo
ment that Americans, scouts and rene
gades would turn upon the Mexicans,
but discipline asserted itself. Tenderly
" Our Bayard " was lifted from the
boulder where he had fallen and carried
to a mossy bank in the shade of the
caiion wall. In the eyes of the little
group gathered about the unconscious

OUE BAYAED 57
leader there was a changing light of sad
ness, of horror and of fierce desire for
revenge. They recognized that in this
mountain fastness they stood in the
presence of the most atrocious crime
which had ever occurred in a country
notorious for its lawlessness.
The surgeons gave no sign of hope,
but a litter was quickly constructed, and
during the evening hours, when the
fevered body of the wounded soldier
could be shielded from the fierce glare
and heat of the borderland sun, the slow
and toilsome journey back to the main
column began. Far into the night the
sure-footed scouts reverently bore the
white chief to whom they had given
their unreserved faith from the first day
when he had appeared among them as
their agent. Lying by during the heat

58 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
of the day the journe}' was repeated the
foUowing e^'eiiing and the main column
was rejoined in a mountain glade to
which " The Grey Fox "had hurried
forward when informed of the sad
tidings borne by the Indian runners sent
back on the trail to meet him.
Under the heavy foliage of a juniper
tree " Our Bayard " was gently laid.
His mortal hurt was beyond the power
of the human healer and the surgeons
but watched and waited with the silent
and pain stricken group gathered about
their fallen comrade, whose career had
always been a model for and source of
pride to the officers and men of the regi
ment he loved so well.
" Our Bayard " had come out from
West Point with the nickname of
" Chevalier " during the last year of

OUE BAYAED 59
the great Civil War, and without
thought of leave or recreation from his
long continued academic work, he had
hurried to join his regiment in the field
and foUowed Sheridan through the
closing months of the greatest military
drama of the century.
During the four years of cadet life he
had strained at the leash for there was
a constant succession of maimed young
feUows coming back to relieve those in
structors who had recovered sufficiently
to rejoin the armies in the field. The
fame of Wilson, Merritt, Custer, Upton
and others, yonng in years but ripe in
war experience, came floating back to
stir ambition under the grey coats that
waited aU impatiently to exchange for
the blue. The fickle goddess never
found lodgment in " Our Bayard's "

60 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
breast, for his great soul was cast in a
simple mold and longed only to serve
where his country's need was greatest.
He joined his troop when it was so
depleted by losses that it was consoli
dated with another, and so scarce were
regimental officers that he found himself
in command of the combined organiza
tions whose ranks were filled with
bronzed campaigners, boys in years and
demeanor but veterans in war experi
ence. Zealously and devoutly " Our Bay
ard " took up his life's work aud was
but a brief time in winning his spurs
and generous recognition from the hard
riding regiment with which his fortune
had been linked. Like thousands of
other cavalrymen he became accustomed
to the scenes which prevail around the

OUE BAYAED 61
ragged edges of great battle-fields where
flanking columns reach out and strive
to strike mortal blows, and to those of
the advance and rear guards, where
straggling piUagers betray all the scale
of degradation to which civilized man
can descend when he ceases to be the
hero of a principle.
Through it aU " Our Bayard " passed
without a sign of weakness in his own
Ufe, and while wreaking the fuU
vengeance which the law commanded
upon the despoilers of the helpless non-
combatants, he yet felt for them a char
itable regret that their upbringing had
not been based on a more righteous
foundation. He was not much incUned to linger
over memories of the past, and only
once in after years he described his first

62 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
battle. In simplest language, he told of
being in command of the extreme ad
vance guard and of his nervous anxiety
lest the enemy should run away and de
prive him of the chance to try conclu
sions with them; of the attack of out
posts — the coming up of supports — the
advance of the line of battle — ^the cav
alry charge — the defeat — the retreat —
the rear guard action — ^the fruitless
effort to save a wounded comrade — con
cealing nothing of the sadness and des
peration of it all.
With utmost pathos he related how he
was holding a desperately wounded
brother officer in the saddle, hurrying
to the rear, when he and his party were
surrounded and a young boy clad in
grey fired a revolver in his face, fright
ening the wounded man's horse and

OUE BAYAED 63
causing him to wheel and dash his help
less rider to the ground. Without
thought of revenge or unkindness he
had knocked the young lad from his
saddle and, with his few remaining
troopers, cut his way out and rejoined
the regiment, leaving his wounded com
rade to the tender mercy of a brave foe.
Some months had passed when the
regiment again found itself at the scene
of its bitter defeat. The officers had
just dismounted when a farmer, observ
ing their insignia, remarked that he had
buried an officer of that command after
the last battle. The story was discred
ited, for the regiment had accounted for
its losses including three officers cap
tured. The man adhered to his story
and described the scene of the hand-to-
hand rear guard fight with such accu-

64 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
racy that " Our Bayard " called for a
detail and accompanied him to the spot.
There at the foot of a large oak, was a
grave in which were found the remains
of the wounded comrade who instead of
being captured had passed away while
the conflict raged about him and had
been left dead upon the field of battle.
The horror of it all struck home even to
the group of war-hardened troopers who
had long since grown familiar with the
gruesome sights of battle-fields.
The records were changed to read
" killed in action " instead of " cap
tured and confined in Libby Prison " —
that was all the official action, but in the
manly soul of Our Bayard " there was
implanted a lifelong grief. He weU
loiew it was his duty to cut his way out
and rejoin his regiment with his able-

OUE BAYAED 66
bodied troopers, but the thought of his
comrade's life ebbing away while men
shot and cut each other over and about
him in the madness of battle, rended a
heart-string in " Our Bayard's " breast,
which in after life gave a tinge of sad
ness to a naturaUy quiet and reticent
character. With his regiment always, he had
marched in the Grand Review at the
close of the great Civil War and then
passed on to other scenes of activity on
the far away borders of Texas. From
the lower Rio Grande to the Staked
Plains he had traUed and fought the
roving bands of Comanches and Kiowas.
More than once he had saved exposed
settlements through his quick and fault
less judgment. The Indians had
learned to respect him for his persever-

66 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
ing courage and his ability to outwit
them, and, when he was illy rewarded
for his splendid services by being de
tached with his troop to an isolated
Indian Agency, the real warriors were
the most outspoken in their gratitude at
having one in control upon whom they
could rely.
As years passed on he continually
added to his great score of knightly
deeds performed far from the haunts of
civilization, unapplauded and unrecog
nized save by the manly men and cour
ageous women who followed the guidons
to the sparsely settled frontiers in the
days of our fiercest Indian wars. His
regiment had long been on the northern
border of Mexico and there was no
water hole or trail in all the Southwest
land that was not familiar to him. He

OUE BAYAED 67
had been the Indian's friend in the
truest sense and now when the labor of
years was about to reach its highest re
ward in bringing back to the paths of
peace the last remaining band of rene
gade Apache warriors he had been
stricken down at the critical moment.
The end Tvas approaching. Slowly
and surely his life was ebbing away and
not one sign of recognition did he vouch
safe to his comrades. He had made the
good fight and now the light went out
from this God-fearing man as he lay in
the borderland mountain glade sur
rounded by those who loved him as a
friend, respected him as a comrade and
revered him as the highest type of
Christian soldier.
His body was laid away in the shadow
of the great juniper under which he had

68 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
breathed his last, and when the grave
had been filled " The Grey Fox "
stepped to the foot of the mound and in
the absence of the chaplain pronounced
this unbiased and all too brief review of
" Our Bayard's " life:
" His early years were spent midst a
stern environment which imbued him
with a conscience to which he ever ren
dered honest and strict account. An
intense appreciation of the rights of
others shaped his ideals and governed
his achievements. In his heart and
mind there ran a living stream of tender
sympathy and infinite charity for all
humanity which safe-guarded him from
ignoble thought or deed. He came to us
a high-minded and fearless young man
with all the legitimate aspirations of an
American soldier. He has served faith-

OUE BAYAED 69
fuUy and loyally to the end and leaves
upon the pages of his regiment's history
the simple, sweet record of a courageous
and honorable Ufe. Nothing could have
induced this whole-souled cavaUer to
serve in other than a righteous cause
and he never failed to use the blade
when once he had drawn it. He saw
honors and promotion come to others
of not greater merit, yet uttered no word
of complaint. If his great heart ever
knew the sting of envy or disappoint
ment the knowledge of it will lie buried
with him. He has gone to render his
last account at the bar of the Almighty
but he has left with his comrades a name
which in years to come will be the syno
nym for chivalric courage, high en
deavor and all that is noblest in the com
radeship and f eUowship of right minded

70

OLD AEMY SKETCHES

soldiers. God bless his memory and
peace be to the ashes of our comrade."
The veteran sergeant-major stepped
forward and with trembling hands laid
upon the mound a tear-stained cross of
mountain crocus — the soldiers' tribute
to commissioned worth. Three volleys,
a trifle ragged from manly sobbing, and
then the last sad notes of taps wailed
forth and were echoed and re-echoed
along the canon sides.
' ' One finds the Rose and one the Rod,
The weak achieve, the mighty fail.
None knows the dark design l)ut God,
Who made the Knight and made the
Grail."

A GARRISON REFORM

N the outskirts of civili
zation in far away
Arizona, before the
advent of railroads
and copper kings in
that benighted re
gion, garrisons were
maintained at many isolated posts.
" Ours " was officially stationed in the
Verde VaUey, but for more than a year
all the troops had been in the field and
what with short rations and night
marches over stiff mountain trails
every one was fagged out. When the
Indians were at last corralled once
more on the reservations the detach-

72 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
ments made their way slowly back to
their stations and everjdhing but
guard, herding and police were dis
pensed with to give officers and men a
weU earned rest. It was about this
period that an energetic, ambitious
young fellow from West Point joined
the regiment and he immediately be
came known to the old campaigners as
" ThePlebe." As time went on the arrangement of
duties seemed to fit so perfectly the gen
eral temper of the garrison that no one
thought of suggesting a change. When
" The Plebe " made a casual remark
about the strange absence of military
duties he was told by his captain to go
out each day and hunt up fresh grazing
grounds for the animals and a hint to
the adjutant, a second lieutenant of reg-

A GAEEISON EEPOEM 73
ulars but ex-lieutenant-colonel of volun
teers with four years' war service to his
credit, brought forth details as recorder
of all the boards of survey and judge-
advocate of the garrison court-martial
which kept grinding away at the unpar
donable lapses.
Things drifted along and " The
Plebe " still maintained his enthusiasm
in a way which held the attention of all
and won the admiration of many of the
garrison. He went shooting almost
every day and judged by the generous
distribution along the officers' row of
wUd ducks, quail and other birds, he had
fairly good luck. He cUmbed the neigh
boring bluffs and investigated aU the
ancient cUff dweUings and ruins which
abounded in that locality. The regi
ment had long possessed a fine pack of

74 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
greyhounds and he undertook to keep
them exercised. He seldom returned
from an hour's gallop without one or
two jack-rabbits, and a rare sport this
was in the old days before the barbed
wire fence had penetrated the frontier
— just the kind of cross country riding
to make a good cavalryman.
It was only on rare occasions that he
could induce any of the older officers to
take a half da}^ with him for shooting
or a run with the hounds and he finally
concluded that it was all on account of a
game of poker which seemed to fasci
nate nearly all the officers at one time or
another. In fact, while only a few
played at any one time there was always
a candidate in waiting ready to fill the
vacant seat whenever anyone dropped
out of the game. WhUe " The Plebe "

A GAEEISON EEFOEM 75
never ventured any criticism or remarks
on the conduct of his superiors, it was
observed that he never took part in any
games for money stakes and to their
credit be it said the most incorrigible
players advised him to stick to his good
resolution. On several occasions he had been seri
ously disturbed in his ideals when he
saw men permitted to play in the game
who were not on the visiting lists along
the officers' row. He pondered long
over this phase of the matter and finally
concluded that the whole command had
been demoralized by overwork in the
field and that they had grown indiffer
ent to appearances. All they needed, in
his opinion, was to have it made more
pleasant elsewhere and then they would
gladly quit wandering to the dingy card
room at the post trader's.

76 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
With this idea fixed in his mind ' ' The
Plebe " broached the subject to the
kindly, hospitable and experienced wife
of the commanding officer. She was
thoroughly in accord with his views as
to the desirability of bringing about a
reform but she feared that where there
was such absolute isolation as then ex
isted at the posts in Arizona it was
hardly possible to wean the hardened
sinners away from their only amuse
ment. When he unfolded to her his
scheme for effecting a reform she gladly
acquiesced and promised to induce all
the ladies of the garrison to work to
gether without creating any suspicion
of interference with the time-honored
rights of man.
" The Plebe 's " plan was very simple
for he only proposed that card parties

A GAEEISON EEFOEM 77
be given several evenings a week in the
cosy quarters of the officers, which were
far more attractive than the grimy
rooms of the post trader. He expressed
a wish to inaugurate the sly scheme by
giving a whist party at his quarters for
the officers and promised a game supper
as an attraction. Upon the success of
the initial event would depend the order
of the other functions.
Invitations were extended by " The
Plebe " for a whist party and when the
commanding officer accepted without
delay the others aU foUowed his lead.
" The Plebe " was out with his gun
for several days and when the evening
for the card party arrived a choice as
sortment of game was ready for the sup
per. A bowl of punch was placed on the
sideboard and also a decanter of

78 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
' ' straight ' ' for those who had acquired
strong habits in Civil War days.
At the appointed hour the officers
commenced to arrive, and a handsome,
bronzed lot of soldiers they were. They
all appeared to enjoy the novelty of the
thing and were bubbling over with good
humor and with reminiscences. It is this
reminiscent habit of army men which
always makes a civilian feel awkward
in the presence of old comrades who
have drunk from the same canteen. It
appears impolite and really is so, but
military men cannot escape the habit,
for it is only through constant repetition
of the incidents of service by fiood and
field that traditions attach to and be
come fixed in regiments.
It was a typical and goodly lot of fel
lows who gathered about the whist tables

A GAEEISON EEFOEM 79
that night in the Uttle frontier garrison.
They were young in years but old in war
experience, for some of them had al
ready participated in half a hundred
battles and skirmishes and since then
have gone forward to high professional
distinction. When the play was fairly on there
was silence, except when the punch was
passed around, and the young host was
growing inwardly gleeful at the thought
of the interest they were exhibiting in
whist and how very easy it is to wean
a man from a bad habit if you only pro-
"sdde a proper and attractive substitute.
In fact when supper was ready it had to
be delayed because of the interest dis
played in one of the games where a rub
ber had to be finished to determine the
victors.

80 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
The birds were toothsome, well cooked
and well served. The rubbers were
talked over and mentally played again.
Good-wiU, a good supper and a deter
mination on the part of each guest to
be entertaining was a combination that
should have made any party a success.
Everything was just as it ought to be
and in furtherance of the cause of true
reform — of the poker habit — it is to be
regretted that the drop curtain could
not have been lowered immediately
after the midnight supper, when honest
whist players should have gone to bed.
There is some doubt as to exactly
what happened after supper, but this
much of the story was told next
morning to the commanding officer's
wife by " The Plebe," because the
lady in question had promised to give

A GAEEISON EEFOEM 81
the next whist party in the reform
series :
" You see, madam, it was all going
along so nicely and they had about
finished their after-supper cigars when
someone mentioned a fine poker hand
he had held in the last game down at
the trader's store. All of a sudden there
was a general sUence and when it was
most profound that miserable poker-
playing doctor remarked : ' This would
be a mighty cosy place for a Uttle game.'
** They forgot about whist and the
lateness of the hour ; even the absence of
chips did not deter them for they called
for beans, and no army mess could
safely deny having beans about the
premises. WeU, you know when poker
gets interesting the players do not let
the feUows on the outside see their cards
to any great extent. By and by the low

83 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
tones of ' raise you ' and * call you '
grew fainter and fainter and I knew
nothing more until roused about 3
a. m. by a voice saying ' Here,
" Plebe;" the servants have all disap
peared and you will have to get some
more lamps for the lights are going
out.' " Ashamed of having gone to sleep
while guests were in the house I bustled
around and arranged fresh lights, and
the game for blood went on. With no
one to talk to I grew drowsy again and
laid down. I soon dropped off to sleep
and knew no more until my captain
shook me gently • and said, ' Your
striker has eome to call you for reveiUe
and morning stables.'
* ' I took my cape and forage cap, ex
cused myself to the weary but intent
players and went to my morning troop

A GAEEISON EEFOEM

83

duties. When I came back from the
troop stables, some time after sunrise,
the party had dispersed and my quar
ters are stiU being aired to get rid of the
smoke and the memory of a reform
movement that was side-tracked and
faUed."

CAVALRY TRUMPETER. — Zocjha-un

THE FORCE OF DISCIPLINE
>OUNGING about a camp
fire in the mountains
of New Mexico,
back in the early
seventies, was a
group of bronzed
and hardy-looking
cavalry officers. They had been having
a long and anxious discussion as to the
chances of success of the different col
umns out after a band of hostile In
dians. Several detachments had come to
gether here in a Uttle pass in the moim-
tains, which had been often used by the
renegades to effect their escape after
committing depredations in the sparse

86 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
settlements, but not a moccasin track or
Indian sign had been seen.
" Well, I guess they have gone out
North or old ' Dutch ' would have
pushed in here," said grizzled Captain
Starr. " The old man has had bad luck
lately for he has always landed on a cold
trail and had lots of trailing and no
catching, and I sincerely hope he will
get a crack at them this time. ' '
In the party were several young
officers who had been in the regiment
for some time but had not seen any
thing particularly military about old
" Dutch," as Captain Emil Dunkard
had long been known, because he could
not speak German, yet talked broken
English like a true son of his father.
The chances of Dunkard 's accomplish
ing anything were very remote from the

THE FOECE OF DISCIPLINE 87
thoughts in the minds of some of the
recently appointed young lieutenants,
and one with the utmost frankness said,
" WeU, if he gets anything it will surely
surprise me, for I have been wondering
ever since I joined the regiment how
such a f eUow ever got into the regular
army at aU ; he is so different from any
ideals I had formed of army officers,
especiaUy those of a crack cavalry regi
ment." " Young gentlemen," said Captain
Starr, ** don't get on the wrong trail;
Dunkard cannot speak either English or
German correctly, and the sad part is
that he knows it ; but he has a heart as
true as steel and big enough for a regi
ment. He gave me this old brier root
pipe after my first Indian fightin Texas,
and I have always attributed the brevet

88 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
I got for that affair as about evenly
divided between Dunkard 's advice and
my bull-headed luck. I wiU tell you how
he won his spurs in the volunteers, and
was mentioned so favorably in dis
patches that it resulted in his coming
back into the regulars as an officer.
Never turn the cold shoulder to Emil
Dunkard; he is true to the regiment,
true to his friends, as square as a dollar,
and regards obedience to orders as a re
ligious duty. This is the story as I heard
it recited at a reunion of his old Penn
sylvania volunteer regiment several
years ago, and what's more, there is
nothing in their part of the state too
good for Dunkard."
Back in the early days of the Civil
War when the armies which marched in
the Grand Review had not yet been

THE FOECE OF DISCIPLINE 89
molded in the fiery furnace, there was
hourly need of example and leadership.
There was courage, patriotism and abil
ity to overflowing, but those wdth ex
perience and ken of vision to recognize
ambition's opportunity were not crowd
ing each other in the narrow paths lead
ing to success.
The Army of the Cumberland was
toiUng slowly across Tennessee and the
advance guard had bivouacked for the
night, with pickets in sight of the
enemy, guarding a bridge at the only
practicable crossing of a narrow, deep
stream coursing its way through
rugged bluffs. The enemy was bold
and enterprising and had fallen back
only when hard pressed by superior
numbers and fighting stubbornly.
The advance of the Pennsylvania vol-

90 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
unteer cavalry regiment, to which Dun
kard belonged, and which had been lead
ing the column on the main road during
the day, was relieved and withdrawn at
dusk. The men were just settling down
in a cheerless bivouac w^hen the division
and army commanders, wdth a small
group of staff officers, halted on the
turnpike nearby and entered into con
versation with the colonel. The com
mander of the invading army was in fine
spirits over the success of his strategic
movement, but there was evident
anxiety as to the morrow on account of
the stream immediately in his front.
With a desire for more accurate infor
mation the general asked for the officer
who had conducted the advance party
during the day. The colonel's orderly
was sent to the bivouac for Captain

THE FOECE OF DISCIPLINE 91
Emil Dunkard, and soon a travel-
stained but soldierly-looking young
man came forward. Upon arriving
near the party and hearing the gen
eral's voice, he suddenly assumed the
position of attention, rendered a smart
salute, and stood waiting for recogni
tion. " Captain," said the general, " you
commanded the extreme advance guard
to-day; describe the conditions in our
immediate front. ' '
Captain Dunkard, with an accent un
mistakable in its locaUzation, accurately
described the situation at the old cov
ered bridge, at dusk, when he received
the order to withdraw his men from the
front. " You have seen service before, cap
tain. Have we met? "

92 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
" Yes, general, I served with you on
the Utah expedition. I was a sergeant
in your troop of the old Second Dra
goons just before you left the regiment.
I was discharged and went home about
the time this cavalry regiment was being
raised for the war. ' '
'' Oh! I thought I had heard you
speak before. I remember you very
well and am glad you are here. I wish
we had more experienced soldiers in
every one of these fine volunteer regi
ments, just to show the way. I expect a
lot of good work from this regiment,
captain. ' '
Long before dawn the drowsy troop
ers were roused and were standing to
horse in the nearby fields and woods,
when the infantry moved up and began
forming for battle. As soon as dawn en-

THE FOECE OP DISCIPLINE 93
abled them to see, the lines of skirmish
ers pressed to the front, and the fight
was on.
It was soon evident that the enemy,
with exception of a small rear guard,
had withdrawn across the bridge, which
was defended by two pieces of artillery
and a small infantry support well con
cealed behind the neighboring bank.
The guns were served accurately and,
aided by the fire of the infantry from
the opposite bank, held the advance of
the enemy in check.
The skirmishers were creeping for
ward in the fields to stop the spiteful fire
of the two guns, which covered the long
stretch of road on which the army was
approaching, when suddenly the noise
of tearing up the bridge flooring was
heard.

94 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Word was sent back to the supports
and the skirmishers closed more boldly
on the guns, which yet held their
gromid. Nothing could stand on the
road and cleared ground before the
grape and canister which at every at
tempt had been poured into the advance.
The commander of'the army, who had
come forward to observe the situation
from a neighboring knoll, behind which
the cavalry regiment in advance had
been massed, concluded that the guns
were to be sacrificed by the retreating
enemy. Delay meant destruction of the
bridge, for with his field glasses he could
see the infantry support slipping across
a few at a time. Just as a message in
formed him that the bridge flooring was
being torn up there was a cessation of
fire and two artillery teams, whose pres-

THE FOECE OF DISCIPLINE 95
ence had not been discovered, dashed
from their place of concealment and,
limbering up, started across the bridge
with the guns.
Divining quickly that the boards had
been loosened and that the passage of
the guns would be followed by im
mediate destruction of the bridge, the
general turned to the cavalry and his
eyes f eU upon Dunkard sitting erect and
motionless in the saddle, with his men
well closed up, with nerves at high ten
sion and appearing confident of their
leader. " Dunkard," said the general, " that
bridge must be saved at any cost ; lead
your men to the charge ! "
The infantry skirmishers had already
noted the movement of the guns but they
were stiU subjected to a constant and ac-

96 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
curate fire from the opposite bank. Sud
denly a column of cavalry filed into the
road, which had been previously kept
clear of troops by the enemy's guns, and
quickly increasing the gait and without
sound of bugle or command other than
Dunkard 's " Follow me, men," they
dashed for the bridge. The distance was
not great but the pace was furious and
the column strung out, with Emil Dunk
ard well in the lead.
The guns had already reached the op
posite side of the stream and were about
to unlimber. A party of sappers were
pulling up the loosened planks in the
middle of the bridge when Dunkard and
the head of his column thundered on the
board floor. There was a rousing cheer
from the line of battle in rear and the
welcome noise of friendly guns, which

THE FOECE OF DISCIPLINE 97
had at last come into action against the
enemy on the opposite side, but there
was no sound in Dunkard 's ears but,
" That bridge must be saved at any
cost! " Dashing forward at headlong
speed, with his saber arm full extended
across the roadway as if to indicate that
none should pass in front of him, he sud
denly discovered a yawning gap in the
bridge flooring where it had been torn
up after the guns had passed. Drawing
in the reins slightly and closing his legs,
Dunkard steadied his horse for the leap,
and as he rose in the air he realized that
not many of the heavily-weighted troop
horses could clear the gap. Landing
safely he found himself alone on the
enemy's side, but giving his horse the
rein he dashed on with a loud and ring
ing cheer.

98 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
The thundering noise of the charge on
the bridge and the increasing fire of the
advancing troops had caused the enemy
to break, and Dunkard found himself
alone with the two guns, just unlimbered
to sweep the bridge and the gunners
scampering in all directions. Some of
his men dismounted and passing over
the gap by means of the stringers
quickly joined him and opened fire on
the retreating gunners and their sup
ports. The way was clear and the rest
was easy. The bridge floor was rap
idly repaired and the crossing of the
army began.
The cavalry was highly elated; they
had found a hero in their ranks, and his
brother officers crowded around to show
him their keen appreciation of his suc
cessful charge.

THE FOECE OF DISCIPLINE

99

" By George, we are proud of you,
Dunkard! " said the adjutant, " How
did you ever have the courage to jump
over twenty feet of water on to a pile of
loose flooring boards? "
" Didn't you hear my old captain
say, ' Dunkard, that bridge must be
saved at any cost — lead your men to the
charge.' There was nothing else to do."

A BRAND FROM THE BURNING
ELL, I know it
looks bad, but I
am sure that he
is entirely in-
^^'^v nocent of any
intentional
wrong - doing. Ap
pearances are often
deceitful, you know. StUl we must round
him up and find out where he stands. It
won't do to treat these debt complaints
in a perfunctory manner."
Thus spoke the colonel as he handed
to the adjutant a War Department
document of a tenor quite unfamiliar
to the usual correspondence of his regi-

102 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
ment. Indeed the case looked very bad
from the money-lender's standpoint,
and he had spared no harsh words in
urging the Department to bring the de
linquent to a settlement or cause him to
suffer dire consequences.
In every department of the public ser
vice there are some who imagine that a
meagre government salary justifies the
gratification of every whim so long as
credit holds out, and who become
furious at the mere suggestion that a
settlement would be agreeable to their
creditors. Others there are who incur
debts in a dazed sort of way, trusting to
blind fate to bring relief.
Lieutenant Wilful Hazard belonged
to neither of those classes, and the
colonel was disposed to go slowly and
determine just what was the matter be-

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 103
fore allowing the name of one of his
best subalterns to be entered in the
records of black sheep at the War De
partment. CaUing for the return of the
document he locked it in his desk and
salUed forth on his morning rounds of
the garrison.
The early driUs and the mounting of
the guard were over and those officers
not on duty had gone to their quarters
or to the mess to glance over the mail
before turning out for the next function.
The colonel had looked over one of the
barracks — ^he inspected them in turn
each day — and was passing the stables
when he glanced across into a troop
blacksmith shop and was surprised to
see Mr. Hazard hard at work shoeing a
horse, and doing the job too as if he
was accustomed to it.

104 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
The colonel crossed the road and stood
watching the operation and was highly
pleased to see that it was being well
done. When the young man had finished
turning down the clenches he dropped
the horse's foot and, as he straightened
up, discovered the colonel observing
him. With his fine form, handsome
young face and blonde hair he looked
anything but the horseshoer which the
long leather apron betokened. As soon
as he recognized his commanding officer
he removed the apron and in his inimit
able and pleasing manner said, " Good
morning, sir! Won't you walk in? " —
just as if he was inviting the colonel into
his personal quarters.
' ' Well, what are you doing here, Mr.
Hazard — rather unusual, is it not, for
one of my officers to be depriving a good
man of his job as horseshoer? "

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 105
" Well, colonel, you see, the last time
I went on a scout one of the horses lost a
shoe on the trail just as we had to cross
a long flat, covered with bits of lava, and
while every man had horse shoes and
nails in his saddle pockets, not one knew
how to put on a shoe, nor was there a
shoeing hammer or rasp in the entire
party. I felt ashamed for the regiment
and I determined never to be caught
that way again. I have ordered every
man of the detachment to learn how to
tack on a shoe, and I am setting an ex
ample by learning to do it myself. ' '
The colonel was highly pleased and
wanted to give the full commendation
which the youngster so well deserved,
but he remembered that miserable debt
complaint in his desk and was not as
profuse as he otherwise would have

106 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
been. Tlie colonel knew that old Major
Gall w^ould have suggested, had he been
there, that the young man had planned
this scene at the blacksmith shop just to
curry favor with the commanding officer,
but such a thought could find no lodge
ment in this gallant old veteran's mind.
Still the good name of the regiment was
too valuable to be questioned by a pro
fessional money-lender and the colonel,
with just the least little effort at serious
ness, said, " Mr. Hazard, I would like
to see you at my quarters this afternoon
at three o'clock," and then turned away
to continue his tour of inspection.
How could it be possible for such a
young man to go wrong. He had strug
gled through four years of almost prison
labor at West Point to obtain his diplo
ma, was always ready for field service,

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 107
proficient in all his duties, ambitious for
his regiment as weU as for self, and
withal an amiable and companionable
gentleman. AU this the colonel pondered
over as he stroUed about the garrison,
and while his heart-strings pulled him
to the side of leniency he determined not
to be made ridiculous atthe WarDepart-
ment by any exhibition of weakness in
dealing with the derelictions of a plausi
ble but perhaps wayward officer. And
so he braced himself for the ordeal of
quizzing the young man concerning his
financial affairs.
Mr. Hazard was entirely unconscious
of any official act committed or duty
neglected which should cause the colonel
to appoint so unusual an hour for him
to caU at the commanding officer's quar
ters. He presumed that he alone knew

108 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
of his financial entanglements and of
the economies he was compeUed to prac
tice to clear himself of debt. He had ut
tered no complaint and had asked no as
sistance. He contributed his share to all
garrison functions demanding assess
ments, though he well knew there was no
compulsion in any form. In fact he was
bearing his own burden with the full
consciousness that his family were not
in position to do otherwise than add to
the weight of his load. Imagine then the
shock he received when, having seated
himself in the colonel's den, the hitherto
kindly gentleman opened the conversa
tion with: " Mr. Hazard, this is a very
disagreeable duty, but the honor of my
regiment is at stake, sir ! This communi
cation from the War Department about
your loose financial methods is shocking,

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 109
sir, shocking! I don't imderstand how
a young man so recently out of The
Point could have become entangled in
this way unless he is just naturally bad,
sir!" There comes in every man's life some
moments when, if he be not a milksop,
all his self-control and cool judgment
are required to prevent him from taking
a course dictated by chagrin and anger
and which seldom leads to any other end
than vain and deep regret. The fateful
moment had arrived for Wilful Hazard,
and it was fortunate for his future that
he was too much shocked to make im
mediate reply. The hot blood surged to
his head and face. It was some moments
before he could coUect his thoughts, and
in the meantime the colonel, who had
shot the rude bolt he had been forging

110 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
before Hazard's arrival, began to see the
effects of his language, and then his own
gentle character reasserted itself.
It was a strange, sad voice that came
from the young lad's throat. He ap
peared to have suddenly grown old and
to be walking in one of life's pathways
strewn only with ashes. He had gazed
fixedly at the formidable looking docu
ment whicii the colonel had handed him
at the close of his harsh speech and Haz
ard 's only words had been '' Silverberg;
is it possible ? ' '
" Come, Mr. Hazard; tell me the
whole truth and we will counsel to
gether." It was not the stern com
mander who now spoke, but one of
nature's noblemen whose soul had re
ceived its greatest wrench when his own
boy, just verging upon manhood, was

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 111
taken away by the dreaded typhoid
fever which had swept through the little
frontier garrison two years before.
" Colonel, my first impulse was to
treat this wretch with scorn and let him
do his worst, and even now I may have
to do it. You have always been so con
siderate of your officers and men that I
feel that the whole story should be laid
bare. Perhaps I have done wrong, and
if I alone might suffer I fear my resent
ment at Silverberg would not down.
There are others now to be considered
and you shaU know it all without re
serve. " When I joined the regiment I was
free from debt or any obligation what
ever. My father had died while I was
still at West Point, but he had left trust
funds to support my mother and sister

113 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
in the hands of his friend, the cashier of
our home bank, one of the most promi
nent members of our church. I had no
one to care for but mj^self and my pay
seemed like a fortune after my Spartan
life as a cadet.
" You remember when the general
and his staff were here a year ago and
attached me to their party for a visit to
headquarters. A railroad president who
had been with the general all through
the Civil War, joined the party at Kan
sas City, and we went on to Chicago in
his private car. He was very kind to
me, and after we arrived he put me up
at a swell club where I was treated roy
ally by a lot of elderly and wealthy
gentlemen. ' '
" Before I left here I went to say
good-by to the mess, and Major GaU was

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 113
very particular to impress upon me be
fore aU the young officers that if I failed
to hold up my end with the Chicago
crowd I had better take the number off
my cap and try another regiment. I did
not know then what a double-faced old
cynic the major is and I determined the
regiment should find no fault with me."
" I had a splendid time for a few
days but met my Waterloo one rainy
afternoon at the club when my partic
ular friends were aU absent. I was look
ing over the newspapers when old Mr.
Croesus, to whom I had been introduced,
came over and asked if I would join a
little card party on the floor above. I
had no idea of getting into a game of
poker for I had noticed in the rules that
no games of chance, for money, were
aUowed in the club house. I know little

114 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
or nothing about cards but I was
ashamed to back out. Well I thought
of Major Gall's parting words and
stayed in the game, with the result that
I was indebted to Mr. Croesus to the ex
tent of about five hundred. I told him
I was in the city for a few days only and
would ask him to take my note until
I returned to my station. He waved me
away and said never mind any note, that
it would be all right to pay when con
venient. I have no doubt if he had
reaUzed my predicament he would have
tried to cancel the debt then and there,
for he is a big-hearted man with a barrel
of money.
' ' I came back a bit wiser, but was not
worried for I knew my mother would
help me out. I wrote a frank statement
to her and she answered that she had

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 115
turned over everything to the bank
cashier to invest for her, but enclosed a
check for the full amount, which she had
borrowed on her personal note in order
that her boy should not be under obliga
tions to a stranger.
" A few weeks afterward I was hor
rified to learn that my father's friend,
the cashier, had disappeared with every
cent of my mother's funds and that she
and my sister were left dependent upon
me. " I had paid several small debts for
uniforms and had begun to put aside
some of my pay each month to take up
the note which my mother had given on
my account, so that I was able to send a
smaU amount for immediate needs. The
shock incident to being left penniless,
through a trusted friend, brought on a

116 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
serious illness and my mother has never
regained her strength.
" I managed to keep my head above
water for some months, but when the
doctor's bill and the note my mother had
given on my account all fell due at the
same time, I was in a quandary.
' ' It was then my real troubles began,
for in glancing over the serviee papers
I saw advertisements offering financial
assistance to embarrassed officers. One
of the firms was headed by a retired offi
cer long in the business and the other
was the complainant in the papers re
ferred to you.
' ' I concluded that to pay my mother's
note with interest, and to meet the other
bills of my mother and sister, about a
thousand dollars would be necessary. I
divided the amount between the two

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 117
firms and obtained loans from them on
notes secured by the deposit of pay ac
counts " The retired officer's firm let me have
the money at one per cent, and I closed
with them at once. This left the later
pay accounts for Silverberg, and he de
manded two per cent. I had to get re
Uef so I signed the notes without stated
interest, just to cover any flaws which he
claimed sometimes existed in pay ac
counts. Before the accounts became due
an officer was tried for some queer finan
cial transactions and Silverberg lost
some advances he had made to him. He
wrote to me that his risks had become so
great in handUng this class of business
that his charges would be three per cent
after the first of the following month,
four per cent the next month and there-

118 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
after five per cent. It was a tight place
for me for I had no security to offer
anyone but my pay accounts and Silver
berg had those already. The interest
rate did not worry me at first for I had
never borrowed before, but as my debt
grew steadily I saw I must reduce my
expenses to the lowest possible amoimt
or I would soon be swamped."
" Why, Mr. Hazard," said the colonel,
" you surely did not expect to borrow
money for less than five per cent per
annum ? That is quite reasonable ! "
"But, colonel, I did not say that; Sil
verberg is charging me five per cent per
month! "
" Sixty per cent a year ! " shouted the
colonel, " w^hy young man I don't won
der you look troubled. This will never
do in the world. Go and bring Silver-

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 119
berg's letters and a statement of the
debt to me at once. This is scandalous,
sir; absolutely scandalous! "
When Hazard returned from his
quarters wdth the threatening letters
from the retired usurer who had since
been paid and those of the blood-sucking
Shylock — Silverberg — the colonel was
pacing the floor and muttering to him
self, and as the young man was about to
push aside the portiere he heard, " All
wrong to gamble, but he lost and paid
like a gentleman ; just think of the hypo
critical hound who robbed his mother
and the retired officer who advertises
offering financial assistance to dis
tressed officers and then this Silverberg,
the scoundrel. ' '
Hazard tapped gently on the door cas
ing and was promptly bidden to enter.

120 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
The colonel calculated the rapidly ac
cumulating interest and, taking a tele
graph blank from his desk, wrote this
message to his brother in New York:
"Go to Silverberg 's, Broadway, take
up note and pay accounts Lieutenant
Wilful Hazard — draw on me for
amount — express my opinion of firm
and its business in your choicest West
ern Reserve Dialect." The colonel's
brother had been addicted in early life
to such strange oaths that he, the
colonel, who was a model of propriety,
had characterized the profanity as
Western Reserve Dialect.
The colonel awaited further action un
til he had Silverberg 's accounts in hand
and then returned the complaint
through the official channels accom
panied by proper receipts. In order that

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 121
the young officer's character should not
be permanently injured by his indiscre
tion and misfortune the colonel wrote
to his old friend the general in Chicago
and so the story got to the ears of
Croesus, now more wealthy than ever
through a favorable turn in the market.
Croesus immediately mailed a check to
young Hazard with a profuse apology
for having invited him into the game
and asking him to accept the amount of
his losses. Promptly the check came
back with a very polite note from Wil
ful Hazard stating that he appreciated
the spirit in which the check was tend
ered, but that under no circumstances
could he accept it.
Old Croesus was very thoughtful
after reading the note and only re
marked: " Egad, the youngster is game

122 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
all through and I want to know more of
him. ' '
And so it came about that when one
of his confidential clerks reported to
him, after several months of investiga
tion, that the young officer's troubles
arose mainly from losses incurred
through an absconding cashier, and that
the defaulter was a distant kinsman of
Croesus himself, immediate steps were
taken to relieve the bondsmen and make
good the losses inflicted upon the small
country bank and through the theft of
trust funds.
Wilful Hazard never knew how this
restoration came about, but it made him
light-hearted again when he had
squared accounts with the dear old
colonel, who on the surface had acted
to save the honor of his regiment, but in

A BEAND FEOM THE BUENING 123
his heart had planned to save a lad who
had been caught betAveen the upper and
lower millstones.

EAGLE FEATHER. — Laninl.

AN OLD DRAGOON

PON promotion to the
grade of first lieutenant it
was my fortune to be as
signed to the troop com
manded by Captain Jim
Kerry, as rare a bit of
character as could be
found in the old army. My
orders directed me to go
to the camp of one of our squadrons,
guarding the construction parties at the
end of the transcontinental railway then
building in Kansas, there to take charge
of a detachment of recruits and the pay
master 's escort and proceed further
west to my new station. After a racking

136 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
trip in the caboose of a work train I ar
rived at the end of the track and found
the squadron camp located in a fine
grove of cottonwoods.
The regiment had been long dispersed
over Texas in small detachments and
was just now being concentrated by
squadrons, because of the danger inci
dent to operating againstlargerbandsof
Indians than had been previously en
countered. I had met nearly all the offi
cers of the regiment but there were still
a few, including Captain Kerry, whose
acquaintance was yet to be made. I was
warmly congratulated by the officers
gathered at the squadron commander's
tent on having, after a long apprentice
ship, become a first lieutenant. Promo
tion was dreadfully sIoav in those days
and lieutenants who in many cases had

AN OLD DEAGOON 127
commanded battaUons and regiments in
the Civil War regarded a single fiile as
an object of serious ambition.
" And so, Mr. Blake, you are going to
join old Jim Kerry, the Irish Dragoon,
and they tell me you have never met be
fore," said the major. " It adds much
interest in Ufe to have such a man as
Kerry in the regiment. A rare old fellow
to be sure but not half bad — ^not half
bad, Mr. Blake, as you wUl learn if you
ever get in such a closed pocket as we did
together at Brandy Station." This
speech of the major's was foUowed by
knowing smiles and sly winks on the
part of aU the younger men.
" There is nothing the old man Ukes
so much as an argument on any subject
except one involving the 'parformance
of juty ' as he calls it. He has his own

128 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
well-established opinions of regulations
and the customs of the old dragoons,
which are to him the customs of the ser
vice, and you will be wise, Mr. Blake, not
to run counter to his ways if you wish to
lead a peaceful life," continued the
major. I had heard many different stories
of " Old Jim Kerry," one dating back
to the time he nearly spoiled the plan of
escape from Libby Prison because he
stopped in the tunnel through which the
prisoners were crawling and began an
argument as to who was responsible for
mashing his fingers. I had some anxiety,
but I vowed that I would not be drawn
into any argument or indiscretion until
I could solve the old dragoon's personal
equation to my OAvn satisfaction. Then
as my family claimed descent from a

AN OLD DEAGOON 129
few Irish kings I thought that might
strike a favorable chord in the old vet
eran's heart, and indeed I subsequently
had every reason to beUeve it did.
The journey to my new station, dur
ing the beautiful autumn weather, seems
now like a dream. Day after day, mov
ing slowly over the rolling prairie, cov
ered with a luxuriant groAvth of grass
and fiowers, not a house or sign of civili
zation as far as the eye could reach,
rarely out of sight of the buffalo herds
traveUng slowly southward; antelope,
deer, and AvUd turkeys springing from
the Cottonwood bottoms along every
stream, — ^these were the scenes that
made the dangers of frontier life fade
away in the keen appreciation and en
joyment of nature. The whole country,
far west into the foothills of the

130 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Rockies, was a sportsman's paradise
and, as one of the liberty-loving sub
alterns expressed it, the life of an officer
under such conditions would have been
ideal but for the existence of soldiers
and Indians. But all journeys have an
end and one fine morning we drove into
the camp still occupied by the troops,
Avhile work on the rough board barracks
and quarters was progressing sloAvly.
Aside from the popularity of his call
ing the paymaster was a personal favor
ite from Fort Leavenworth to Sante Fe,
and AA'hen the team stopped, a tall,
broad-shouldered, raw-boned officer
Avith reddish hair and huge mustache,
thrust in his big hand to grasp that of
the paymaster.
" Well, old man, " said the paymaster,
" I have brought you a fine addition to

AN OLD DEAGOON 131
your military family. Captain Kerry,
let me introduce your new first lieu
tenant, Mr. Blake, whom I hear is also
descended from one of the royal fam-
Uies of Cork. Anyway he is a devilish
pleasant traveling companion, and I
hope you won't be hard on him."
" Glad I am to see you, Mr. Blake,"
said Kerry. ' ' Strange we never met in
Texas, but I heard of you from Sandy
Curwen, who has a soft spot in his heart
for you ever since that affair on the
Staked Plains. Fine man, Sandy, but
he made the mistake of his life when he
enUsted for the Mexican War in the
Mounted Rifles instead of the old Dra
goons." They had both been promoted
to the grade of second lieutenant the
same day at the outbreak of the Civil
War in '61.

132 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Captain Kerry showed the paymaster
to his tent and left him there to complete
the muster and pay rolls. He gave direc
tions about my baggage and then went
with me to have a look at the squad of
recruits just coming in with the wagons.
The squad was composed of selected
men who had been under instruction at
the Cavalry Depot, and they fell in
ranks with much smartness for they too
had heard of the big dragoon who was
to be their future commander. He went
along the line, viewing each man Avith a
critical eye, then placing himself in
front and facing them he said with his
inimitable Irish brogue, " You have
come to join the finest regiment now in
the service ' ' — his old dragoon regiment
had long since been merged Avith the
cavalry — " and I expect every man to

AN OLD DEAGOON 133
do his fuU duty. There Avill be enough
to do to keep you out of mischief unless
you are hunting for trouble ; there will
soon be a new toAvn growing up here,
when the railroad comes, and I expect
you to preserve order and not make dis
order. Beware of intoxication, for if
you get drunk the sergeant AviU arrest
you, I AviU try you and you'll get $5.00
blind and thirty days. You'll have to
day to draw your kits and clean up. ' '
As we turned and walked towards the
tents of the officers Captain Kerry said
to me, " Mr. Blake, you can begin to
morrow and take reveiUe and retreat
roll calls, morning stables, driUs, non
commissioned officers' school and — "
just here the captain stepped in a
gopher hole, stumbled and recovered
himself Avith a Adolent effort but with

134 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
such a loss of temper that he forgot my
other assignments or I should have prob
ably had ever3i:hing in camp on my
shoulders. I was not long, however,
in learning that Jim Kerry was neither
lazy nor careless. He had others take
reveiUe roll calls but he was out be
fore any of them. He was here, there,
everywhere at all hours ; never interfer
ing unnecessarily but seeing that noth
ing Avas neglected and that the interests
of the government were ahvays of the
first consideration.
As time passed and I became accus
tomed to his harsh Irish brogue and his
straight-laced methods of duty, I felt
sure the odd old soldier, whose personal
gallantry was the pride of the regiment,
was not half as bad as he had been
painted. The first collision we had arose

AN OLD DEAGOON 135
over the proceedings of a Garrison
Court-Martial of which I was the re
corder. As the commanding officer.
Captain Kerry reviewed the proceed
ings. He was not satisfied vdth them
but appeared dubious about asserting
his OAvn beUefs. He sent for me and
argued long and most positively in de
fense of his views. I stood my ground
and he finally demanded why I held such
ideas of the evidence, and I replied Avith
some warmth, " Because it is the law,
sir! "
" Ah! Mr. Blake, show me the law,
sir, and I wiU Avithdraw my objections."
I went to my professional Ubrary,
limited to about a dozen volumes, and
found what I regarded as an unassail
able defense of my position. Returning
to the captain's tent with a feeling of

136 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
assured Adctory I read the law on the
case in question; he knitted his brows
and seemed provoked, and told me to
read it again.
Slowly, and Avith the most effective
emphasis I could give it, I read the
selection again. He only muttered
" Humph! humph! "
Suddenly he reached out his big hand
and took the volume. He closely scanned
the page from which I had been reading
and then turned to the fly leaf. He re
turned the volume to me with an air of
scorn and said, " That is only Mr.
* Blackstone 's Opinions; ' it is the law
I want, Mr. Blake."
Soon after this occurrence rush orders
were received to send out the troops at
the camp to head off a band of Cheyenne
Indians, who had left the reservation

AN OLD DEAGOON 137
in Indian Territory, with the avowed in
tention of joining the northern branch
of their tribe in the Sioux country. The
three captains junior to himself were
started immediately to cover the coun
try to the south and keep in touch with
each other. Within a few hours Kerry
had organized the convalescents, the em
ployes and the extra duty men to guard
the camp, leaving the quartermaster in
command, he marched at dusk and soon
after midnight bivouacked in a heavy
grove of timber thirty miles to the
south. The other troops had passed be
yond this point and were covering the
broad prairie which stretched away in
an apparently endless plain. Orders
were passed to the men to unsaddle,
lariat the animals in the luxuriant grass
and go to sleep ; no smoking and no fires
were permitted.

138 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
At the first sign of dawn Captain
Kerry rose from the saddle blanket on
which he had been resting and gave
orders to saddle and " stand to horse."
Taking the half-breed guide and an
orderly he went towards a low knoll be
yond the edge of the timber and soon
he and the guide were lying behind the
crest scanning the prairie. Creeping
back to their horses, they mounted and
rode up the stream, the captain sending
the orderly to me with instructions to
follow under cover of the trees and un-
dergroAvth. We had marched about four
miles when the captain rejoined and
halted the troop at the mouth of a broad
dip in the prairie, which served to drain
a large area into the valley of the stream
along which we were marching. Here we
remained concealed during the day,

AN OLD DEAGOON 139
while the captain and the guide watched
patiently from the nearest vantage
ground. It was about two o'clock when Cap
tain Kerry came back rapidly from his
lookout station and dispatched couriers
up and doAvn the stream AAdth orders to
cut the trails of the outgoing troops,
overtake them and guide them back Avith
aU possible speed. The saddles were
adjusted, arms examined and every
thing made ready for a fight. We had
not long to wait for soon there came
in sight doAvn the broad coulee a few
Indian bucks foUowed by a caravan of
ponies, travels, squaws, and children,
AAdth a group of splendidly mounted
warriors bringing up the rear.
Kerry sent one trumpeter up and the
other doAvn the stream to carry out cer-

140 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
tain confidential instructions. Allowing
the Indians to approach nearly to the
mouth of the coulee he moved out in
skirmish order, covered the exit and
swung his flanks around, putting the
Indians completely in a pocket. As
Kerry had anticipated, a dozen or more
white flags went up immediately from
various parts of the traveling band and
their rear guard dashed furiously to
the front to defend their families with
their Ufe's blood, as was their custom.
Kerry knew weU their fighting charac
ter, and secretly sympathized Avith their
longing to go to their old hunting
grounds up north. He did not, however,
Avish to bring on an action if it could be
avoided, for fear the women and chU
dren would suffer.
He sent the half-breed guide to sum-

AN OLD DEAGOON 141
mon the chiefs, and to his surprise one
of them drew forth a pass for a party
of Arapahoes to hunt outside the Terri
tory. Captain Kerry appeared to be
much gratified to find this was not the
band he was after. He casually Ufted
his hat and there was a series of trumpet
calls up stream, immediately followed
by others from the grove below. He
hastUy dispatched two orderlies to halt
the make-beUeve commands. Soon the
trumpeters sounded the " halt " and the
orderUes returned. Kerry outwitted
these famous Indians completely and
made them go into camp on the open
prairie, where they were carefully
guarded until his cordon of troops was
found and brought back to reinforce his
smaU command. When daylight came
again the Indian found themselves

142 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
hemmed in by three troops and the
fourth in sight, coming rapidly across
the prairie.
In due course of time the runaways
were returned to the tender mercies of
their agent and in bidding farewell to
the crest-fallen chief Kerry remarked,
* ' Eagle Feather, the next time you want
to use that Arapahoe pass just take off
your Cheyenne moccasins, by Jupiter ! "
The Indians were not the only crest
fallen people in the vicinity, for several
ambitious young cavalry officers never
ceased to wonder how the long-headed
old Dragoon scooped them so badly in
bagging the quarry. As for Kerry he
was generosity itself, for he not only
never chided his officers for letting the
band slip through their cordon but even
said, " Mr. Blake and I just showed

AN OLD DEAGOON 143
old ' Eagle Feather ' a trick or two that
time." We did not settle doAvn to a monoton
ous existence, for by the time our rude
quarters were completed, the advance
guard of the railway constructors was
upon us and there was abundance of
excitement and trouble. Upon one
occasion there was to be a celebra
tion in the canvas viUage which had
sprung up on the toAvn site and
aU the officers were speciaUy in
vited. I was serving a tour as
officer of the day, and although much
interested in the novel scenes going on
around us I had no idea of asking to be
reUeved from guard to go with the
party. To my utter surprise, when I
made my report at retreat, Captain
Kerry said, " Mr. Blake, you are a

144 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
young man and it is not every day you
have a chance to see the things that's
going on here. If you want to go AAdth
the party, I Avill take your saber."
Had it been anyone but Captain
Kerry himself I should never have ac
cepted, but a suggestion from so strict a
disciplinarian was equal to a command.
It was arranged that I should * ' take my
saber " again upon my return at mid
night. When I did so, and went to the
guard house, I found that a prisoner,
being held for the town authorities, had
escaped and No. 1 had had his belts
taken off and was endeavoring to un
ravel the tangled skein of trouble in the
solitude of a cell.
It gave me sincere regret to know
that Captain Kerry had lost a prisoner
and had been put to so much trouble

AN OLD DEAGOON 145
while acting for me, but I was dumb
founded next morning when I marched
off guard and reported Avith the new
officer of the day. I made a formal re
port of the loss of a prisoner and that
the sentinel who was responsible was in
confinement awaiting trial. Captain
Kerry glanced toward the new officer of
the day and began a fierce tirade about
slack methods of guard duty, and closed
by saying, " I have never lost a prisoner
in thirty years of service, sir ! "I took it
aU in silence, for if it meant so much
to this old veteran, whose greatest
source of joy and pride was the accuracy
Avith which he performed his routine
duties, I was AviUing to accept the onus
involved in the escape of a prisoner, par
ticularly one held as an act of accommo
dation for a frontier constable. I did

146 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
not observe any difference in the cap
tain's manner towards me afterwards,
but I could see that he was not dis
pleased with the way in which I had al
lowed the blot to be kept from his duty
escutcheon. As luck would have it, when the track
was laid up to the edge of the new town
site, and the event was to be celebrated
by a night carnival and a flag-raising the
foUoAving day when the rails should
reach the station, I was again officer of
the day. I was sitting in my quarters
during the afternoon when Captain
Kerry called to say that he thought I
might enjoy going to the carnival and he
would " take my saber " during my ab
sence, and also that he would like for me
to accompany him next day to the flag-
raising. I went to the carnival, of course,

AN OLD DEAGOON 147
and never gave any sign that I con
nected the offer in any way Avith my
silence about the escaped prisoner.
WhUe in the toAAm I was informed that
the captain was to be called on for a
few remarks on the occasion of raising
the flag and I haA^e always been glad
I did not warn him about it. I learned
when I returned to the post that not only
had no prisoners escaped but that I had
one more than when I left, a belated
recruit who had encountered the cap
tain himself.
Next day the troops were paraded,
marched through the toAvn and formed
in line, to AAdtness the driving of the
sUver spike to mark the end of the divi
sion and the temporary end of the great
overland road which had come to dis
sipate the romance of the old Santa Fe
trail.

148 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
The second captain took command of
the squadron and Captain Kerry was
escorted to a front seat on the platform,
my seat being immediately behind his.
The master of ceremonies handed to
each of us a program of the exercises. I
saw Captain Kerry stiffen up as he read
it and I am sure he would have escaped,
but the seats had been rapidly filled and
he was hemmed in. I glanced at the
order of ceremonies and saw:
Music by the Prairie State Band.
Driving of the Silver Spike.
Oration. By the silver-tongued son of
Colorado.
Address, The Flag, By Captain James
Kerry, U. S. A.
Music by the Prairie State Band.
Slowly the massive shoulders turned,
the old Dragoon looked searchingly in

AN OLD DEAGOON 149
my eyes and asked, " Who is responsible
for this? "
I could only say I would try to find
out. I edged my way out and got hold
of the members of the committee, and
told them they would have to make their
peace Avith Kerry. I never knew what
was said to him, but the old Dragoon
finaUy agreed to stand up, as the flag
should break from the halyard, and say
a few patriotic words.
There was music by the " raw-hide "
band which, for the day, represented
the Prairie State. During the last
strains of the music the spike was driven
home. Then came the brook-like flow
of flowery language from a young, but
dissipated scamp of a laAvyer who was
foUoAving the westward-ho of the iron
track. Then came the Star-Spangled

150 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Banner, and the flag was given to the
breeze. As soon as quiet was restored the mas
ter of ceremonies introduced " That dis
tinguished veteran who has devoted his
life to aiding and protecting those en
gaged in upbuilding the great Empire
of the West."
Slowly Captain Kerry, first, last, and
always, one of the old Dragoons, rose to
his six feet two and said in his finest
brogue: " I never made a speech in me
life, but I love that ould flag. I have
fought for it from Albuquerque to Ap
pomattox, and I heartily agree with
General Dix, that if any man iver hauls
it doAArn, shoot him on the spot ! ' ' Amidst
loud applause he was about to take his
seat when suddenly straightening up
again, he raised his hand for sUence and

AN OLD DEAGOON

151

added, " Except when lowered hy the
corporal and file of the guard at re
treat."

THE RECRUIT'S REVENGE

OADED beyond
his pow
ers of en
durance
the recruit at last retaliated on his tor
mentor and not a bit of sjrmpathy did
the corporal get from any of his com
rades. It was aU accomplished too Avith
such an appearance of innocence that
the captain never suspected anything
wrong and credited the affair entirely to
the mistake of a stupid recruit.
Surrey had joined as a solitary re
cruit several months before, and as he

154 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
was alone he was put in a squad of re
cruits who were well advanced in their
drill. This placed Surrey at a great dis
advantage and Corporal Braxton Burr
made it much worse by constantly be
rating him for his apparent stupidity.
Now Surrey had spent his youth on a
Small farm which could not furnish a
satisfactory support for all those de
pendent upon it and consequently there
was always more or less bickering and
growling at hard luck. Surrey was ac
customed to being blamed for many
things for which he was in no wise re
sponsible and had long since learned the
wisdom of silence.
Many of the older troopers sympa
thized with him, yet a few, wdthout ma
licious intent, began a practice of say
ing, whenever anything went wrong in

THE EECEUIT'S EEVEN6E 155
the troop, " See Surrey about it! " The
lad showed no resentment until one of
his fellow recruits attempted to be
facetious at his expense, when he
promptly knocked him doAvn.
About this time one of the troop lieu
tenants returned from a leave which he
had spent in Europe and soon inspired
the captain Avith some of his enthusiasm
conceming the methods in vogue at the
celebrated French Cavalry School at
Saumur. The horses and men steadily
improved under the new methods, and
the fact that other troops began to copy
after them made the troopers anxious to
hold the lead which they had already
gained. The recruits were taken daily to the
drUl ground or riding hall to attend
hurdles or bars and observe the instruc-

156 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
tion of the older troopers. Corporal
Burr was participating in the new drills
with the troop and was usuaUy tired
when he got around to his squad of re
cruits, so that Surrey settled doAvn to a
stoUd conviction that he was back on the
old farm again and that impatience and
fault-finding were to be taken as mat
ters of course. It was an evil day, how
ever, when Corporal Burr lost his tem
per and called the silent lad a " farmer
clod." The first sergeant, a veteran of
nearly thirty years service, happened to
pass on the way to attend Orderly Call,
and he promptly rebuked the corporal
in no unmeasured terms. The poisoned
arrow had been shot, however, and while
Surrey showed no signs of violence, the
spirit of his mountaineer ancestors had
been awakened and a desire to humble

THB EECEUIT'S EEVENGE 157
his conceited persecutor took possession
of him. As time passed the coveted op
portunity often appeared at hand but
Surrey waited patiently until aU things
should fit the particular vengeance he
AATshed to Avreak. He had been long
suffering and there was no haste.
It was at about this time that a varia
tion in the instruction of the troop was
introduced by the lieutenant and which
hecaUedthe" Saumur melee." A num
ber of old saddles were stripped of stir
rups and a stuffed body Avith a head,
representing a trooper Avithout legs, was
firmly attached to each saddle by means
of an upright, flexible rod Avith braces
screwed to the saddle tree.
The horses selected to bear these un
canny dummies soon caught the spirit of
play and would dash over the hurdles

158 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
and dodge about the hall in a most dis
concerting way when pursued by
mounted troopers.
The purpose of this practice was to
accustom troopers to the actual use of
the saber in the melee resulting after a
charge, and it was soon apparent that
the riding school did not fulfiU these
service conditions, A dusty piece of
drill ground was selected and the
hurdles and other obstacles scattered
over it. Here, day after day, the prac
tice went on and no one observed each
and every detail more intently than
Surrey of the Rookie Squad.
Occasionally a horse would go doAvn
in the mix-up, but no one was seriously
hurt. The grounds became gradually
cut up and in the rush after the loose
horses the clouds of dust added a spice

THE EECEUIT'S EEVENGE 159
of danger, but the men enjoyed it and
their horsemanship steadily improved.
The recruits were now being taken
out mounted, after a course of instruc
tion in the riding hall, and each day
they were brought near to observe the
troopers pursue the loose horses, point
ing and cutting at the dummies with
their sabers.
The captain now ordered that the re
cruits be equipped with single sticks for
practice on the dummies and, in trying
a few blows on the wooden horse in the
troop gymnasium, Surrey broke his
stick soon after receiving it. Corporal
Burr was not particularly gentle in the
manner in which he informed Surrey
that if he did not get another single
stick before morning drill he would be
sent to the guard house for destroying
government property.

160 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Surrey did not seem annoyed nor in
haste to go in search of another single
stick, but when the squad Avent to saddle
for drill next morning he appeared with
a stick partially concealed, of govern
ment pattern apparently, but larger and
heavier. The troop had a short, sharp drill
across country that morning while the
recruits were leading out the extra
horses and adjusting the dummies. The
air was a bit cooler than usual and the
horses were fresh and lively. Arrived
at the hurdles which marked the melee
ground the captain brought the troop
up to observe the work of the recruits
and explained that in the pursuit each
one must stick to his " dummy " and
punch and slash him Avith the single
stick as often as he could be reached.

THE EECEUIT'S EEVENGE 161
Surrey had not yet accomplished the
mUitary seat to perfection, but he could
stick on an unbroken colt as well as the
oldest trooper and was afraid of noth
ing. He was ready when the horses were
cast loose and had heard the captain
teU Corporal Burr to follow his squad.
At the signal to begin Surrey gave
the horse in front of him a sharp blow
on the croup and he shot out in front
and over the hurdle, the others follow
ing in a cloud of dust. As soon as Sur
rey had cleared the first jump he pulled
out sharply on the side furthest from
the troop and let the others pass. So
quickly did he f aU in behind the rushing
squad that in the whirl of dust no one
observed the maneuver.
In a moment there was a perfect vol
ley of blows on the head and back of the

162 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
last one over the hurdle, and this hap
pened to be Corporal Burr. No matter
how he turned and tAvisted there was a
horse just to his left rear and a stick
coming doAvn at every instant on his
head and body, varied only by an occa
sional punch in the ribs. The recruits
were yelling and Burr's shouts were all
unheeded. In his efforts to escape the
corporal collided Avith two of the re
cruits and unhorsed them, making more
confusion, but nothing interfered with
his assailant.
At last the corporal got his bearings
in the clouds of dust, dashed out to a
flank and tumed towards the troop, but
his pursuer was still thumping him at
every stride. Leaning well over on his
horse's neck he dashed at full speed to
the troop, hatless and AAdth bleeding head,

THE EECEUIT'S EEVENGE 163
shouting, " Take him off, take him off,
he's crazy." His Rookie Nemesis pur
sued him until he had found safety in
the ranks, and then puUing up his horse
and regarding Avith an air of well-
feigned surprise, the dusty and bleeding
figure he had been chasing, Surrey spoke
for the first time, loud enough for all the
troop to hear, and aU that he said was,
" Gosh! I thought you was a dummy! "
The whUom natty drUl-master, Cor
poral Burr, was completely humiliated,
and although he grimly contemplated
some deep revenge, it was aU knocked
out of him when the troop was dis
missed, for the men aU began slapping
each other on the back and shouting
" Gosh! I thought you was a dummy! "
This went on in the quarters, at the
mess, at stables, in fact it was dinged in

164 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
the corporal's ears by day and it came in
his restless dreams at night, until, in de
spair, he applied for a transfer to a
troop of the regiment on patrol duty in
Yellowstone Park.
And through all this Surrey was
going about his business with an inno
cent look, but the old first sergeant
thought he detected an alertness that
might turn to dangerous resentment on
further provocation by the corporal,
and so he detailed the lad at the troop
garden until such time as the corporal
could make his arrangements to leave
for his ncAV station.

COURAGE

ANY stories of the
chase had followed
one another so rap
idly in the smoking
room of the officers'
mess, that several
distinguished civiUans, who had come
from the East on the iuAdtation of the
colonel for a buffalo hunt, had begun to
imagine themselves in a hunter's camp
rather than an army post ; but this was
in the halcyon days when saddles of
venison, antelope steaks and buffalo
tongues were more common than beef at
aU the frontier messes.
A jaunty looking young lieutenant

166 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
was seated on a high brass fender, sent
over from England by a guardsman who
had been entertained by the regiment
during the previous autumn AAdth some
rare sport after elk in the Black Hills.
During a lull in the conversation the
young subaltern remarked that he had
just been reading a book devoted to the
question of the courage of various na
tions, and had found in it some remark
able statements not at all in accordance
with the usual impression regarding the
subject. " And, sir, of course you found old
Ireland furnished the bravest of the
brave in every war," said Captain
Kerry. " Well, captain, they do appear to
have fought on both sides of nearly
every question in dispute for a couple of

COUEAGE 167
hundred years, but the author does not
credit them Avith being the only fellows
Avith courage, although he rates them
very high," replied the youngster as he
struck his pipe against the fender.
There was a general exchange of
views on the subject and many instances
were related of rare courage, by flood
and field.
In the midst of the discussion the
colonel of the regiment entered the
room. AU the officers arose and greeted
the distinguished officer, who was ad
mired not only for his genial and
kindly disposition but for his OAvn high
courage proven upon many hard fought
fields of the great Civil War.
" Well, general (he was a brevet ma
jor-general for distinguished bravery
on the field of battle), to what nation do

168 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
you award the palm for courage? "
asked Captain Kerry with a counten
ance aglow with assurance that the ver
dict would be awarded to the sons of
Erin. " Well, gentlemen," replied the gen
eral, " all men have courage under cer
tain conditions, but the bravest man I
ever knew was a Jew, and I can never
think of him without a lump in my
throat." If a caisson had exploded in the room
it could not have created more astonish
ment than the general's remark, and he
was asked on all sides for the eAddence
on which he based such an unusual
opinion, and as a response he told this
story :
' ' Well, gentlemen, most of you know
that I am of Southern birth, and of all

COUEAGE 169
my kindred I alone remained under the
old flag when my State seceded. Two of
my brothers fought through the war un
der the stars and bars, and one was mor
tahy wounded at Missionary Ridge and
passed away holding my hand in one of
our field hospitals the night foUoAving
the battle in which we had fought in op
posing armies. The other brother went
unscathed through the four years of
campaigning, and I did not see him un
tU several years after the close of the
war. He had gone back to his planta
tion, but in common Avith aU our people
had found things going from bad to
worse, and Avithout capital and without
labor he soon faced the most dire pov
erty of aU — that of refined men and
women, accustomed to luxury and sud
denly deprived of homes and fortunes.

170 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
' ' While my brother was engaged in a
futile struggle to accumulate enough by
his law practice to supply food to his
family and pay interest on his debts the
inevitable plantation mortgage and
foreclosure followed. There were few
banks in the State and these were gener
ally in the hands of new-comers, so that
it was no longer possible to borrow
money Avithout collateral, a new method
of business to that generation of old-
fashioned Southern gentlemen.
' ' It was a sad day when the old home
went under the hammer. Not one of all
the kinsmen who had so long been the
gentry of the county could muster
enough money to save even the manor.
My broken-hearted brother remained in
his little den of an office wdth closed
doors during the morning set for the ac-

COUEAGE 171
cursed 'Going, going, gone ' of the na
sal-voiced auctioneer, groAvn callous
through the oft-repeated execution of
foreclosure sales.
" As the sun reached the meridian,
his old neighbor and friend, who had ac
companied him as staff surgeon aU
through the war, gently opened the door
and dropped weakly into a chair. ' It is
aU over, general,' he began in a tremu
lous voice, ' and what is worse the old
place was bought by a Jew, and it is the
first time one of them was ever known
to buy a plantation in this state. '
" The two old friends sat brooding in
sUence untU the sun was far doAAn in the
west, when my brother puUed himself
together Avith a mighty effort and made
ready to go and break the news gently
to his Avife, who during the four long

172 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
years of his army serAdce had managed
with a few faithful negroes of the old
school to keep the plantation going.
" The foUoAAdng day my brother was
like one dazed. He went to his office and
tried to force himself to accept the sit
uation which had overwhelmed so many
of the gallant sons of a lost cause.
" On the second day while he and his
friend the doctor were still worrying
over the crushing blow and planning to
save the family from actual hunger,
there came a knock, and, as my brother
courteously opened the door, to the doc
tor's horror the Jew entered. He walked
with some difficulty and leaned heavily
upon his cane. He seated himself in the
chair offered by my brother, and this is
his story as repeated to me by the doc
tor:

COUEAGE 173
" ' General, when the war broke out,
I was in business in the little toAvn over
on the river and joined the first regi
ment raised in the state for the Con
federate Army. Life was not always
easy for a lone Jew in such company but
I got along somehow. At Shiloh, when
the regiment was pressing forward
across a clearing in the woods, I was
struck by a piece of a shell which shat
tered the bone of my leg. It was hastily
bandaged and I was taken back from
the line of battle and laid beside the
country road by comrades who filled my
canteen and hurried back to the regi
ment. When the army began falling
back, I asked many times to be taken
along, but not a soul of aU the thousands
who passed me Ufted a hand and many
thoughtless boys laughed at the Jew.

174 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
They did not know my agony and I have
long since forgiven them.
" 'Just before dark you rode along
with your brigade headquarters, and
seeing me, you halted and had me lifted
into a wagon. That night when you
made camp you helped to put me on
your own cot, and later had me carried
to a place where the doctor could oper
ate on my leg. The doctor took it off,
and in some way I pulled through. I
managed to reach home and later
escaped from the country on a blockade
runner and eventually got to Europe,
where I secured an artificial leg. Your
kindness was always in my mind, gen
eral, and I determined to come back and
join you and see the war through under
your command. After reaching Charles
ton I could not get in touch Avith your

COUEAGE 175
brigade at once, and my services being
acceptable I joined some troops hastily
assembled to repel a cavalry raid from
East Tennessee and was wounded again.
Upon my recovery I again joined the
army in the field, and not being able to
march was assigned to duty with the
supply trains and served with them un
tU the end of the war.
" ' I came back home and Avith the
financial aid of some of my famUy I got
started in business again. My Confed
erate army service helped me in the
community, and I gradually got most of
the business in our small toAvn. I have
prospered, general, and when I heard
your plantation was to be sold for debt
I came over to buy it. I have made the
transfer of the property back to you,
and the laAvyers tell me the deed is all
right. Do me the honor, general, to ac-

176 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
cept it, and if you or your family ever
again need financial assistance send to
the Jew whom you tenderly lifted to
your OAvn cot AA'hen he was sorely
wounded and scorned by more thought
less comrades.'
" There, gentlemen," continued the
general, " is the simple story of a man
without a country who, having had a
fiery baptism in war and neglected by
those who should haA^e cared for him
when wounded, nevertheless, returned
from foreign shores, risking capture at
the hands of innumerable guard ships
of the blockading fleet and resumed the
fight ; and who in the end has given us
examples of broad human charity in his
forgiveness of those who neglected him
and of rare gratitude in his memory
and recognition of tenderness to a
wounded comrade."

INDIAN WARRIOR. — Reiiniifjlon.

A CAVALRYMAN'S RIDE
ROUPED about a
camp fire in
Texas, the officers
of the first squad
ron of the old
Sixth Cavalry
smoked their
pipes in silent enjoyment, for they had
just passed through the terrors and dis
comforts of a three days' " Norther."
This was in December, 1870, near Fort
Richardson, when Texas was in the des
perate condition immediately following
the close of the Civil War and the rov
ing Kiowa and Comanche warriors
made the tenure of life aU too uncertain

178 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
for those whose duties or inclinations
led them to brave the dangers of travel
upon the prairie.
As the force of the cold wind mod
erated they had partaken of their first
meal in peace for several days, and the
quiet following the storm was only
broken by the munching and paAving of
the horses on the picket line and the
distant barking of a coyote. After a
prolonged silence the major knocked the
ashes from his brier root by striking the
pipe on his boot-heel and said, " Well,
gentlemen, we have not had much luck
this time, and we have had to hug camp
during two northers. I am afraid our
chances for catching those Comanches
on this scout are rather slim, but I do
not AAdsh to go back to the post until we
know positively they are not in this

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 179
region. We will march early to-mor
row and scout doAAm the creek. If we
find no Indian signs we will cross the
divide and work up the river, so as to
have Christmas dinner at home, but re
member there must be no hunting or
firing at game until after we cross the
river. And now I think all should turn
in for a good night's rest."
The general joy was so great at the
thought of terminating this fruitless
scout by Christmas that it was a long
time before the hum of conversation
died away in the various bundles of
blankets scattered about the bivouac. At
last, however, the murmur of voices
ceased and the only sounds of life were
the muffled footsteps of the sentinels
pacing around the animals. Only those
who have experienced camp Ufe in the

180 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
far West can imagine the deep sleep
and utter relaxation of nature which
foUows the intense strain on mind and
body during the prevalence of a bUz-
zard or norther.
In the hour of deadly stillness which
usuaUy precedes the daAvn the guard
was just starting the cook fires when
the voice of the outer sentinel challenged
sharp and clear, " Who comes there? "
Instantly the guard surrounded the
horses and the corporal ran to the out
post to learn the cause of so unusual an
occurrence. The sentinel pointed out
the dim figure of a horseman, and cock
ing their carbines they advanced a few
paces and repeated the chaUenge.
"HeUo, sojer! Me Tonkaway scout;
got paper for chief." The corporal
sUpped quietly forward with his car-

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 181
bine ready, and finding the Indian
alone, conducted him within the lines to
the fire, when he recognized him as one
of the scouts left behind at the post. He
had come out on the traU Avith dis
patches and a packet of letters, for
whenever a courier starts from a fron
tier post to troops in the field word is
quickly sent to those famiUes AA'hich
have absent ones Avith the command.
The major, ever on the alert, was puU
ing on his riding boots when the cor
poral conducted the scout to him. Ris
ing, he took the package to the guard-
fii-e, which was heaped Avith dry brush
and burned brightly, carefuUy read the
orders brought and glancing at his watch
found there was stiU an hour of dark
ness before reveiUe. But the arrival of
the courier had been noticed, and as

182 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
word was passed from blanket to blanket,
sleep was out of the question; officers
and men puUed on their boots and began
to gather around the fires. Noticing this,
the major ordered the trumpeters to
sound the reveille, summoned the offi
cers around him and thus spoke : " Gen
tlemen, the second squadron struck the
Comanches about thirty miles south of
the post three days ago and had a severe
fight. The Indians have scattered in all
directions, but it is believed they will
come together to the west. " C " troop,
Avith both officers disabled, was left Avith
the supply train, the wounded and aU
whose horses were unfit for rapid
marching. I am ordered to send an offi
cer back at once, as every available offi
cer has joined in the pursuit. I have
selected Lieutenant Milan for this duty

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 183
because he has the best horse in the
squadron. Milan, you Avill start as soon
as the escort can be served Avith coffee.
I AAoU send ten men Avith you over the
divide to the middle ford and the escort
AviU scout back along the divide and re
join the squadron to-morrow on the
march doAvn the creek. Keep a good
lookout, MUan, for the Indians have
scattered and some may have swung
around on this side of the river. Once
across you are all right, and your horse
wiU carry you to the post some time to
night. We cannot be more than fifty or
sixty miles away."
MUan hastily prepared for his jour
ney by taking everything from his
saddle pockets he could dispense -mtla.,
for his experience had taught him how
every pound tells on the horse in a long

184 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
ride. His horse had recently been shod
but he caused the blacksmith to tighten
the clenches. Coffee and bacon having
been served Milan and his escort
mounted and started up the foot-hills
leading to the big divide, from the top
of which the timber line of the river was
visible and the middle ford at the big
bend could be located. It was sunrise
when the squadron mounted, and as
they moved out on the march the single
file of horsemen composing the escort
could be seen starting up the long bare
slope beyond the foot-hills. Milan rode
at the head of his little squad, walk
ing the horses over the rough places
and jogging along whenever the ground
permitted. Coming upon a long stretch
of good country he halted long enough
to tighten the cinchas and let the horses

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 185
recover from the climb up the foot-hills.
But time was valuable, and soon re
mounting he SAAomg his horse into the
eavaU-y trot, which gets over so much
ground Avithout using up the horses as
the gaUop or canter does. There was no
talking for aU eyes were on the lookout
for Indian signs.
As the sun indicated the hour of noon
the Uttle squad was just rising the top of
the main divide, and had travelled a
good twenty-five mUes. Gazing far doAvn
at the river MUan saw he was not more
than half way to the ford, with full
fifteen miles to ride after crossing be
fore he could reach the fort. Putting a
sentinel on a neighboring knoll the
horses were unsaddled and lariated to
graze and rest after the exertions of
cUmbing aU the forenoon. An hour soon

186 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
passed, and as Milan closed the field-
glass, AAdth which he had been scanning
the country, he said, " Well, sergeant,
there is not a sign of life between us and
the river. I am afraid the major was
deceived about the distance you would
have to cover to rejoin him. I AAdU dis
miss the escort and you can rest your
horses awhile and then move along the
diAdde and camp to-night on one of the
small branches running doAvn to the
creek. You can rejoin the squadron
to-morrow by striking down to the
creek early and cutting the trail, for the
foot-hills are too rough to make good
time. Tell the major I am all right."
Milan remounted and started doAvn
the long slope, realizing that he must
lose no time if he hoped to pass the
dangerous ford before dark. He took

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE ISr
advantage of every bit of ground to
make rapid progress Avithout taking too
much out of his horse. As he reached a
long, rolling plateau, which stretched
away to the foot-hills near the river, he
glanced back and caught a parting
glimpse of his escort in single file, sU-
houetted against the sky-line, on the
very top of the diAdde. The river stiU
seemed far away, and in his anxiety to
make progress he mechanically touched
his spurs to his horse and the Avilling
animal broke into a canter. Milan soon
stopped this, however, for his experi
ence taught him not to Avind his horse on
a long ride. He puUed up and settled
the horse doAvn to a steady trot, letting
him walk occasionaUy when his breath
ing became rapid. Thus he passed over
the long stretch of upland prairie and

188 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
was about to start doAvn the broken
ridges leading to the timber, now only
a mile away, when his horse pricked up
his ears and whinnied. Glancing up
quickly he saw an animal dash down
from the edge of the table-land into a
gulch half a mile away. It appeared to
be a horse under control, yet no rider
was visible during the brief glimpse he
got of the animal. He took out his
field-glass and scanned the country far
and wide for smoke or other sign of life.
He was much puzzled because the ani
mal did not reappear, crossing some of
the little ' ' hog-backs ' ' running toward
the river.
Milan was not the man to turn back
unless something more real barred his
path than a loose horse or a single horse
man. He was not alarmed, but vigilant.

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 189
UnbuckUng his pistol holsters he
started doAvn one of the numerous game
trails leading to the river, being careful
to keep concealed as much as possible.
Reaching the mouth of the gulch he had
been f oUoAving doAvn he slipped off his
horse and crawled up the side of the
bank and carefuUy examined the bottom
and timber in the direction of the bend
where he knew the ford must be located.
Satisfied that he had been needlessly
losing time he arose, adjusted his
saddle, tightened the cincha and
mounted. He now moved out into the
bottom and struck out in a trot for the
bend some distance above.
Suddenly his horse again pricked up
his ears and he was just pulling him in
when a rifle was fired from the timber
in rear and the buUet whistled close by

190 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
his face. Before he had time to collect
his thoughts about a dozen mounted Co
manches dashed out of the timber and
gulches in front and started for him at
full speed. Whirling about, he rushed
down the bottom past his rear assailant
before he could reload and fairly flew
along for a short distance, although he
knew his brave but tired horse could not
keep up so furious a pace. Speaking to
his horse he reined him in a trifle, know
ing he could easily beat the Indian
ponies in a spurt, but that his tired horse
was in no condition for a long run.
Every stride was carrying him
further away from his route and the
possibility of succor. He had only his
pistols, but on the other hand he felt
encouraged that only one shot had been
fired. The Indians were apparently de-

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 191
pending upon bows and arrows, either
from lack of guns or being short of am
munition since their recent fight. It was
CAddent that they wanted to capture him
aUve to avenge the losses they had re
cently sustained.
This Avild race for life was beginning
to tell on Milan's horse and the Indians
were evidently aware of his condition,
for now they were shouting and yelling
to one another, whereas they had ridden
in sUence after their first Avild outburst.
He could hear the incessant cracking of
their rawhide quirts as they lashed their
ponies at every stride. Something would
have to be done to hold them back or
they would soon surround him. He was
nerving himself for a hand-to-hand
fight AAdth the best mounted Indians,
who were riding close behind him.

192 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
Glancing ahead, he saw a wide, deep
gulch ; to turn to the right or left meant
instant capture, for the Indians were
scattered across the flat evidently to
keep him from the foot-hiUs. He knew
he rode the best jumper in the regi
ment, and if his horse had been fresh
there would have been no thought of
failure. As he drew rein a trifle to let
his horse gather himself for the leap
the Indians yelled louder than ever, for
they felt sure of their prey now. For
tunately for Milan, he struck the nar
rowest part of the yawning gulch, and
as his plucky horse rose high in the
air he felt sure he could never have
cleared so difficult an obstacle at any
other time. The gallant animal landed
safely, but he had taken so much of his
strength in the effort that he stumbled

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 193
and almost fell before he had fairly
regained his stride.
Most of the Indians turned toward
the foot-hiUs to head the gulch, but sev
eral immediately behind Milan drove
their war ponies at the spot where Milan
had crossed. Hastily drawing one of
his revolvers he turned in his saddle and
fired for the first time at the leading
buck as he rushed at the gulch. The
Indian saw the flash just in time to un
nerve him for the jump ; his unAAdlling
pony got a bad take-off and landing with
his fore legs and nose on the opposite
bank, toppled over AAdth his rider to the
bottom of the gulch. The others pulled
up and turned to follow their com
panions around the gulch.
Milan collected his thoughts during
this brief respite and turned squarely

194 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
off to the river. Following a game trail
through the timber and thick brush
bordering the stream he emerged Avith
his panting, tired horse upon the brink
of the SAvift, icy current. Coaxing his
horse he moved into the stream, when
both were plunged suddenly under. As
the horse rose Milan slipped out of the
saddle and, grasping a lock of mane, he
floated down-stream around a bend,
looking for a favorable landing place.
At last fortune seemed to favor him and
he gently worked the horse's head
toward the shore. Fearing he might
hinder the animal's landing he slipped
back and grasped his tail. The horse
started up the bank, when his footing
gave way and he fell backward, knock
ing Milan under and stunning him. He
rose to the surface and found he was

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 195
SO weighted doAvn with his boots and pis
tols that he could not hope to keep long
above water. Floating with the current,
the brave horse foUoAving, he was car
ried close to shore. Seizing some over
hanging bushes he puUed himself up
and crawled through the fringe of Avil-
lows and feU insensible from sheer ex
haustion. Far in the night Milan awoke to find
his faithful horse standing beside him.
A strange numbness pervaded his sys
tem and seemed to duU his senses. He
endeavored to rise and found both feet
frozen in his heavy cavalry boots,
which were filled vsdth the ice-cold water
when he became insensible. His efforts
to rise were aU in vain and he fell back
powerless and Avith a feeling that all
would soon be over. The patient sentinel

196 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
standing beside him put his warm
muzzle against Milan's face and whin
nied gently. This roused again the al
most insensible man and he began to
move his arms and hands to start up the
circulation. Sitting up, he managed to
warm himself enough to keep awake,
and thus passed the dreary hours of
darkness. DayUght appeared but no sun rose
to take out the chill from Milan's aU but
frozen body. His faithful horse re
mained beside him and Milan tried
again and again to rise and mount, but
all to no purpose. His agony had long
since caused him to forget his Co
manche pursuers, for he had thought it
could be no greater torture to die at
their hands than to suffer as he was
now doing. Slowly and painfuUy the

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 197
day wore away and a hideous night of
suffering came on. KnoAving he must
not sleep, yet unable to keep awake
alone, he spent his time muttering and
patting his horse. Whenever he lost
consciousness for a time he was roused
by the animal rubbing his muzzle
against him.
So aU through this second night and
another day he lay in agony, Avithout
hope and waiting for the end to come.
Once when his faithful companion left
him he felt that all was lost and that
lying on the bank of the stream he was
dying of thirst as weU as of hunger and
cold. When aU hope was gone and he
had closed his eyes for his last long sleep
he was again aroused by his horse,
which had left him only to quench his
thirst and get a few mouthfuls of grass,
for he too was nearly famished.

198 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
As the horse came close beside him he
realized that it was growing dark for
the third time since he fell in this hor
rible spot. He could never hope to live
through another night. Painfully he
rose to a sitting posture, and grasping
firmly one of the stirrup straps he tried
to tear his frozen boots from the ground,
but there was no strength in his limbs.
Clucking gently to his horse the animal
moved slowly and literally tore him
from the ground, and he rose to his feet
only to find that they would not sustain
him. Falling to his knees he moaned
with agony, but held firmly to the stir
rup leather, and rousing all his energies
he puUed himself up, inch by inch, until
his hands grasped the saddle. Strain
ing every nerve he pulled himself slowly
upon the horse, and, as if fate were still

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 199
against him, he could not lift his leg
across the saddle. Slowly and carefully
turn ing, he at length dropped one frozen
foot upon each side and firmly grasped
the saddle to sustain himself.
As darkness began to settle again
over the dismal landscape he guided his
faithful horse up out of the bottom, and
turning his head in what he believed to
be the direction of the fort, he let the
animal pick his way alone, for he had
no strength to guide him ; his only hope
was to keep in motion and trust to the
animal's instinct. Suddenly it daAvned
upon him that the horse had pricked up
his ears and was moAdng toward a fire,
which he could see fiickering some dis
tance ahead. It might be Indians for all
he knew, but he must risk it boldly ; he
had not strength to long remain in the
saddle.

200 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
As he approached he tried to hail the
camp, but his voice failed him. Riding
on, he suddenly found himself con
fronted by several white hunters Avith
rifles cocked. Realizing he was at last
near help, he reeled and lost conscious
ness as he was taken from the saddle
by the rough, but tender-hearted, fron
tiersmen. They carried him into their
dugout, and by dint of rubbing him and
pouring hot coffee down his throat re
vived him sufficiently to learn something
as to his condition. One of the hunters
caught up a pony and was soon gallop
ing away through the darkness for aid
from the fort. It was sunrise when he
returned, guiding the ambulance and
surgeon to the hunters' camp.
The surgeon began work at once, care
fully cutting away the boots and reveal-

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 301
ing both feet frozen so solid as to be
beyond aU hope. Recognizing the neces
sity for amputation, he hurriedly pre
pared MUan for as comfortable a jour
ney as possible and stowed him away in
the bottom of the ambulance. Arrivingat
the post hospital, efforts were renewed
to thaw out the frozen members, but all
in vain. One leg was amputated below
the knee and the other at the ankle, but
the effort to save the lower part of one
leg was unsuccessful and next day the
operation had to be performed again.
Milan bore aU bravely and yet he
fuUy reaUzed that in the prime of life
his days of active duty were gone for
ever. His greatest anxiety seemed to
be for the noble animal that had stood
by him so bravely in his ride for life
and his hours of torture on the river
bank.

202 OLD AEMY SKETCHES
A few days before Christmas, when
the squadron returned from the field,
and his comrades marched silently and
AAdth tear-stained eyes into the w^ard, he
greeted them so cheerfully that the sad
ness disappeared from their faces and
they all vowed they would have their
Christmas dinner together anyway.
Thus it came about that screens were
placed around Milan's bed on the day
before Christmas and the ward was
filled Avith the bustle and hum of prepa
rations. Flags, guidons, crossed sabers,
and evergreens transformed the sick
ward into a miUtary bower. A table
shaped Uke a large horseshoe was ar
ranged, and when the hour for dinner
arrived and Milan's cot was brought
into the open heels of the shoe all the
squadron mess and the surgeon stood at

A CAVALEYMAN'S EIDE 303
their places. Tears filled Milan's eyes,
but when the major caUed " Atten
tion! " and the large double doors
SAvung open and Milan's striker, dressed
in fuU uniform, entered leading the
faithful horse, groomed until his skin
fairly shone, Milan was overcome Avith
emotion and tears flowed doAvn his
cheeks. The horse was led away and
the major commanded that all care and
thought of the past be banished, for now
was the time of good cheer.
And thus did brave Milan take his last
Christmas dinner Avith the gaUant regi
ment that holds in loving memory his
heroic courage and manly endurance.

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