St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-03-07
A "PIROOTER" BY NATURE.
The Queer Character OF Gen. Dar
Macauley's Regiment.
How Gen. Willis A. German Pun
fshed Him.

The piece de resistance at the Cincinnati
meeting of the Loyal Legion was Gen. Dan
Macauley's address; his theme; ''Sau
Trick, private soldier i'm tne old Eleventh
Indiana, who came TO the regiment rs q
raw recruit after the war was well on.
and who was, as Dan describes him, "a
most unheroic fellow. whose roguish
tricks, unconscious wit and Unsuitable appe-
tite for mischief and punishment was al
once the delight Of the regiment and the
perpetual deSpairof the unhappy rascal him
self. He never especially meant to be funny
and was rarely known TO smile; on the
contrary, he seemed as simple and
serious IN manner as he was cadaV-
erouS in appearance. Tall, very slim,
freckled and hOmely, awkward, born
poacher. controlled instantly by his slight
est impulses for mischief. and apparently
without knowledge of wrong from right, Inc
passed his DAYS between devilment and
plunges into spasms of repentance and re-
morse when confronted, as he was almost
daily, by the various puniShmentS
in vogue i'm camp" Such was sam
Trick, who after the war drifted into
matrimony much with the same purpose
that he had gone soldering. and not long
since lost his life by falling from n ladder
while painting q school house at Nelson
vile. d. Trick was a born fOrager. Ma
cauley says of him: He could have robbed
those old masters, Sherman's bummers, OF
the very horses they sat upon; and his
mania for stealing was only checked
by articles too big or hot or wet TO carry. "
He called it ''pirooting," and anybody
knowing Macauley can easily imagine that
when Tricks fame as a 'pirOOter' spread
beyond company quarters he was speedily
detailed for service at headquarters. Ii
was a point of honor with Trick never Ia
steal from those with whom he was en-
gagged, but as against all the rest of the
world, he flew the black flag as ''pi-
rooter." Macauley gave a score and more
illustrations of Tricks eccentricitieS, OF
which a few will suffice:
Al one time when we were under q
rather severe muskeiry fire, Sam was heard
TO whine out most piteOusly:
"Oh, Lord. don't / wish / was IN my
fathers old banw
Why he should wish 10 be i'm that pecul-
lar place Just them aroused curiosity. and
some one asked him why?
ITO see how blamed quick I'd get into
the house." he chuckled.
We were once on an expedition far in the
enemy's lines, and the orders against forag-
ing were absolute and peremptory. The
troops were so instructed by general Motif
cation, while to Sam / felt il necessary u
privately read the riot act in italics.
The next day, riding out to the picket
line, and turning a sharp corner in the road.
/ met the guilty wretch face 10 face. riding
a remarkable caricature OF horse which
he had managed TO achieve" somewhere.
In front of him was large box or bundle
closely wrapped in his blanket and Rugged
in both his arms, while he held the bride
in his teeth.
He nearly fell off the horse as he met
me, tried 10 salute, dropped his bride.
clutched at the box and falling blanket,
and away he dashed. covered with bees
from the hive he had stolen, and yelling
like wild Indian.
lie came to me once with his gun, and
asked meekly what he should 10 with it.
'Clean it," suggested.
mo, don't mean that" he said; "but
where shall put it? My time is out, and
I'd like to have you make out my dis
charge"
Your discharge! You lunatic! Why,
you've got year and half TO serve yet 3"
''Yes, know about that: but you see,
colonel, you've had me OH double duty the
last year OF so, and 1 thought maybe that
ought TO let me out now" and then he
marched away with hurt expression at so
plain proposition being questioned.
One winter we were for many days on q
Mississippi river expedition down below
Helena, Ark, with fleet of steamers I'M
der Gen. Willis A. German. The weather
was most inclement, and the men suffered
very severely from cold and exposure.
Under such conditions a soldiers bump
Of reverence for anything he can worry
suffers great shTinkage. Sam had
taken a violent dislike TO Gen. German,
because, forsooth. that gallant gentleman
had been forced to join in the famous re-
treat from the first Bull Run battlefield.
Why Sam should have considered that
Gen. German had any special monopoly
or responsibility in that great national
fOot-race. or that he had developed more
speed than was absolutely necessary 10
keep up with the procession, is hard q
understand. but so il was, and several
! times during this expedition, as i after
ward learned, when our steamers were SUI
iiciently near, Sam would electrify the gen
eral by bowling at him most derisively:
Hello. Old Bull Runw
Once he made a mistake. Headquarter.
steamer was brought alongside of ours and
within few feet for consultation and Oh
the upper or hurricane deck stood the gen
eral himself.
sam was on the lower forward deck OF
our vessel, out near the bow. and, bracing
himself, he yelled up into Germans very
teeth:
Hello. Old Bull Rmr'
The general was too quick for him; lean
ing over the side. he shouted down To the
guard: Throw that man on my boat here
quick!' And. sure enough. they did.
Sam, sprawling through the air like a frog.
was pitched headlong on TO Germans boat,
and during the remainder of the day, al
various distances, near and far, we could
see him. long and lank, and lean, tied vi
like iiuttering scarecrow to the jack-stafl
OF the steamer. 1t was cold and gusty
day-foT Sam-and no especial attention
was paid to waffies and quail for him ('pi-
! roofing" being temporarily paralyzed with
its CHIEF apostle), and so when along toward
night the boats were brought together
! again, and he was chucked back to us, stuff
as "A wooden Indian, it might reasonably be
supposed that for once the great irrepressi-
BILE was squelched.
No. not the least in the world.
lie gathered hlmselt together, ana chilled,
blue and starved as he was, came creaking
and grunting up stairs to me in the cabin.
Colonel" he grOaned, Il wish you'd
please have my discharge made out right
awayw
Your discharge! Your funeral, YOU
mean, if you're not more CAREFUL"
mo; my discharge, colonel, I've been
put on Germans staff"
A fter the war Trick came hack here and
wanted to run for city treasurer, but was
headed off, and then he turned to tin roof.
ing. Once afterward Macauley recognized
q