The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-10-09
Some Phases Of Army Life.

''There is a report gaining more or
less credence," said Lieut.. Davis, one
of the army officers at West Point,
when speaking to a Tribune reporter
recently, that the sons of army otfi-
GERS have more favors shown them and
get along easier ard stand higher st
the academy than those who have no
backing, but unfortunately an eX:imi-
nation of the reports proves the Oppo-
site to be the case. l have ran down
the list, and with one or two excep-
tons the officers sons occupy honor
able positions in the rear. The reason
is rot difficult to understand, either,
for the son of an army officer is either
brought up away from his father and
allowed to run wild or else if Ire is to
have the benefit of paternal restraint
and advice he must spend his boyhood
at some out-of-the- way post, where
the advantages of education are, to
say the least, limited. In either case
he is poorly equipped to withstand the
strain of work piled upon him here,
and he soon seeks his natural level
at the bottom of the class. The ex-
ceptions to which I have alluded are
the sons of engineer officers stationed
in the eastern states. Here at West
Point, as in every other college, it is
the man without frie1ds or station or
backing, who has his own way to
make in the world, that digs in for all
he is worth and conaes out at the head
of his class.
1.-The most popular branch of the
service at present is the cavalry. Not.
as some suppose, because officers are
killed off faster there, but because they
are used up and retired, which results
in the same thing, geneI ally pro-
motion. a Let me give you an idea Cd
the work which had to he done out in
Arizona lately, where they have been
bowling about the inefficiency of the
troops. The problem was about like
this: Given aGetachment of troops at
New York and another at Montreal;
required to catch an enemy movin G
from Albany to Pittsburgh, with she
possibility of finding water twice be-
tween New York and Albany; mind l
say the possibility. not the certainty,
Or even the probability. And then,
when you catch up with the Indians.
they just scatter, and that's the ead OF
it as far as striking any serious blew is
concerned. The only way anything
can be ACCOMPLISHED is to take along
some friendly Indians, talk the thing
up over theecamp-tire, make up your
mind about where they're going to
meet again; and lay for them. These
fellows that have been tearing up and
down Arizona are simply a lot of
roughs and outlaws that came up
from Mexico some time ago, and the
sixteen Thousand peaceful Apaehes in
the territory would like nothing bet
ter than tosee them all killed off.
@*Our regiment was stationed en that
ground for four years, and we have
lost fifteenaofficers from the effects of
it, while as many more have been re-
tired, utterly used up. I've known a
detachment of troops to 60 seventy
two hours without water, Nntil their
tongues hung out and swelled up SO
they ceuldshardly speak. The settlers
there are either lot of desperadoes
or else they're green and easily. stam-
.peded. They're always ready to howl
for troops to protect them, and then
when safe.te turn around and ,n,urder
a lot of .peaeeable, innoceat saNages.
rveseenlthe time when had to turn
out my whole force with bayonets
fixed ito guard the Indians from a
band of settler thirsting for their
gore. ."-Meay York Tribune