The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-01-29

5. army.
A dispatch from Prescott. Arizona,
says; Fire this morning destroyed the
building containing the officers head
quarters of the department of Arizona.
Only a small part of the records were
saved. There were several iron safes in
the building, containing money and val
liable papers, the contents of which are
thought to have been injured.
A Soldier Gives a sketch of Life in
the Regular Army.
FoRr MCKINNEY, Jan. II, 1881.
Contributed to the Omaha Herald.
There are very few people among the
millions in this country who know any
thing about the regular army, and life
of the soldiers therein.
l would like very much to give the
readers of the Herald a description of
the army and army life, but it would
require more knowledge of it than |
possess; at any rate l will write briefly
concerning the recruit. The imaginary
romance connected with the life of a
soldier is seldom if eyer realized.
The recruit presents himself for en-
listment; he is questioned, examined,
and If accepted sworn in, issued his uni
form, which hc thinks makes him a SOL
dier, blankets and a bunk, and first intro
duced to army life by a course in fatigue
otherwise manual labor, until lie is
assigned to his company. The fatigue
continues during his term of service,
and it is never so little as 10 displease
the soldier. BY the way, government
clothing is usually issued regardless of
size, and if the recruit is a small man
he is very likely to get a No. A blouse,
pants and shirt. They fit HIM exactly,
like a meal sack would a broomstick.
and with enough room in the abdominal
portion of the pants for a beer keg.
There is little shape to the clothing,
thus compelling the recruit to pay the
tailor for altering them.
After being assigned to a company,
and furnished with gun, belt, etc., and
being instructed in the manual of arms,
he is put with the company for duty.
In the meantime he has learned the
rules, to be ready for roll call at six or
seven a. M, reveille at eight, drill call
or target practice at nine, fatigue call
at nine or ten, guard mount, retreat,
sunset. TATTOO, $50 p. M, to bed and
silent after taps, o. p. m.
How romantic TO march TO tile music
of the band, or the quickstep OF the
bugler, at guard mounting. Guard
duty is the most responsible duty the
soldier has to perform, and the recruit
feels a sensation creep over him when
he is walking some lonely post at dark
midnight on the frontier. Here he be-
gins to realize the vanity of the romance
of army life. He soon learns to keep a
sharp lookout for the officer of the day,
who visits the sentries during the
night.
Time will pass, all is well SO far with
with the recruit, he is pleased with the
duties of a soldier. Order, regularity,
promptitude and cleanliness are re-
CURED, and if not too much fatigue or
guard duty, the recruit has plenty of
time to read, study, or sleep, with no
melancholy thoughts of soon being out
of a job and money, of being sick and
no place of refuge, or of paying board
and clothing bills now due, He is sure
of his board, clothing and n~ecessaries
for five years, unless he deserts. Then,
il caught, he gets a home in some mill
tary prison.
The recruit must shape his destiny-in
the army to be one Of good department,
and receive the reward for the same,
1. c. the esteem of the officers, promo
tion, etc.; or, If he anticipates a jolly
good spree On pay day, he may contem-
plate the serious results of the same.
Pay day the recruit receives $26, six
of which will pay his company debts,
the balance is his to use as he wishes,
and it is now he shows his %colors, either
by saving his money or by blowing it
in" on a spree, the result of which will
prove disastrous to him, a he usually
finds himself in the "Mill' guard house
with charges preferred against. him of
missing roll calls, drunkenness or nom
performance of duty. He is tried by
court martial, gets $40 and ten days, or
possibly he may be fined for every trivial
offence in the future. Whiskey Is the
bane of every mans ruin, and he soon
realizes it in the army. Old soldiers
say the officers s'have it in for the dissi-
pated man." and every chance they give
it to him, 1. e. they try him, confine
him and fine him. Here is where the
recruit will again fail to realize the ro-
nance he formerly anticipated, and
here he will say:
II can cnrse the day l went away,
To the regular army Or
The recruit may have been a reckless
citizen, and be a steady temperate SOL
der.
Many reckless young men join the
army, go from bad to worse; others re-
form and become gentlemen. 1t is a
mistaken idea that the army will ruin
any man, but rice rersa, some men will
ruin the army, or at least make it very
disagreeable for their comrades.
Discharged soldiers often become use-
full citizens; and when the recruit has
become an old soldier, or when his five
years is nearing a close, if he has done