The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-12-21
ELECTION DAY IN TIL ARMY.
How the Soldiers in Front of Chatta-
noozn Accomplished N Difficult

Feat
Inter Oceanl
Election day in the army called out many
queer traits Of soldier character At the
time Of the October elections IN 1853 the boys
were penned up in Chattanooga They pre-
Pared for the election with the greatest care.
They read tho instructions over and oyor
again, and still they were in a state Of be-
w!lderment, Thoy understood one thing.
There was to be a ballot oox, and Sergeant
Hopper made it good AMI strong. BE tin
ishedi the day before the election, and, put
ting 1t under bis blouse, carried It secretiy TO
the oaptain's quarters. The boys were duly
impressed With the my5tsry, and strange as
it may APPEAR thought It was the right
thing 10 do.
On the morning Of the memorable day the
boys cana out promptly at roll call. IL WIS
raining. Everybody was keen To swear that
1t always rained on election days at homs.
Therefore 'things was moving" The boys
took breakfast In ~slence, and then brushed up
their guns It was an easy thing to run an
election anybody could do it-there was
nothing to do, you know. They wers nearly
al young men Whom they came to think
about it there ought 70 be some old men for
Iudgea. The captains quarters were thrown
open tmprossively, and the tent gradually
assumed tho appearance Of a general confer
epca room. At last the question. who's 60
ing TO run the boatF' began to circulate. The
captain got nervous, and the lieutenant got
nervous, and finally everybody got nsrvoua
These men who Cached" to storm Mis-
sion Ridge dArod not make a single move on
tits ballot box. AT last Peter Piper, the old
est man in the company, raised TO bis fee
ard took OF his hat Everybody else took of
bis hat, and the captain unc~eremoniously
cirucked his lighted pipe into his pocket Old
Peter said: 1T pears to me that we ought to
organize" That's what / think" remarked
several, and everybody nodded thsir heads
in approval. After an embarrassing silence
old Peter said: ~ move that Capt. Crocker
be chairman Of this msetin'." A half dozen
seconded tina motion with activity, and when
It was put the repressed emotions found ut
torrance in n Numbering "Ayef'
The captain took the chair with great dig
nifty, but there was a break. Old Peter had
exhausted his stock Of suggestions and the
thing ''hung fire" much to the embarraSs-
ment and disgust of everybody. AT last,
growing desperate, the captain rose to his
feet and said abruptly: THE polls ought to
be openel In Ave mlnuteA II they are not
we viii lose every burned vote" This was
TO the point, and finally judges and secre-
tRrie5 were elected, the box was placed ON a
table and voting commenced How i'm.
~ AAAIA No A1AA WYNN ALo
uame. and with what care the judge would
take the ticket and put it in the box, clap
ping his outspread hand over the open
ing as soon as the ticket was in How
patiently they sat there all day, even
though they knew there could not possibly be
another man to vote, and at the close how
pompously Hopper cried from the tent front,
20. yes; o., yes, the polls will close IN five
minutes although the boys were not quite
sure whether this was Legitimate or not.
Tbeu came the counting out, and the energy
with which "tally" was said by the clerks
was truly refreshing.
Not u man In the company felt easy until
the whole thing was finished, and then with
intense relief, they talked about common
affairs until nearly midnight. They wore all
agreed on one point-that the moet difficult
thing the soldiers In front of Chattanooga
over attempted to do was 10 run an election.