The Arkansaw traveler., 1889-09-21

loafing or prowling Indians, tn, sutler's shop, with its lounging gambling, yarn-spinning privates guard d-mounting, with glitter o uniforms and thrill of bugle-calls, [ sudden call to "boots and saddles" ai the scouts bring in news of an Indian break from reservation; night in tn. almost deserted barracks; wives and sweethearts lonely and anxious; th' far trumpets, giving their most pathetic call, "lights out" . shifting of scene to the rocky canyon, a sharT skirmish with half seen foes: 6 heroic rescue of comrade by comrade, per. haps; the parade ground again, and the nearing music, which tells of tn, home coming of the troop, which perhaps, has been reported as being cut to pieces. All these are but tn, most fragmentary from Q hundred suggestions, rich in dramatic possi, bility, which arise whenever on, familiar with frontier army lift dreams of a play which should mirror 1t. Of possible incidents, the sugges. tion is legion. The gulf between officer and private, not lessened s hairs breadth by the frequent fact oi the private being of gentle birth and education, and, through misfortune or recklessness, finding himself in & posi- tion whose humiliations to such as ht are endless. The jealousy between comrade officers-founded, perhaps on sentimental rivalry-which nigh, tempt one to fssten on the other soms court martial offense. The possible loss of some charming girl, say guest at the post, by abduction by Indiani while too far outside limits, or by being overtaken by a sudden blizzard Brander Matthews description in ( recent story of the stirring prepara- tions in camp for & rescue in the last. named contingency should in itseli give the playwright a hint for q scene to "bring down the house. And always and everywhere "blue coats and bugle calls :" or if, as critics of "Bootles' Baby" seem to think scarlet coats are more thrilling to the susceptibilities of the average audience a few artillery officers from some light battery have but to be brought on the scene, and for brilliancy of coloring the scarlet coats are practically here.
 The eagerness with which Ameri- cans welcome any glimpse of the remote, unfamiliar life of their regular army is testified to by the immense popularity not only of Captain Kings pretty romances, but of Mrs. Clusters simple and unaffected descriptions oi every day army experiences. Captain Kings romances founded, as so many army people know, largely on actual happenings, bear witness In themselves what rich material our army offers to the dramatic writer of intelligence and sympathy. "The Deserter,o for instance is almost drama as it stands and the scene where the civilian hus- band, in rage at the insult offered his wife, defies alike army etiquette and army bayonets, and with no weapon but his fists, clears his invaded sitting room, ought of itself to make the suc- cess of any play.
 If conditions which make of the American army an alien world within 6 world; conditions-in its frontier cavalry service ct least-of daily pos sibility of peril, of life heroically risked and sometimes nobly lost of strange scenery, most picturesque daily incidents, and a society which is unique in America for its oligarchic lines Of social division-if these things do not make our army life pictures ue, then must the eyes of the onlooker be