News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-06-05
NOT UNDER THE ENEMY'S FIRE.

When the Rifles of His Own Soldiers
Covered Him He Was Frightened.
"Was | ever afraid in battleG' said
an English army officer MANY times.
But there are different kinds of fright.
l have served in India, in Egypt and in
Western Africa, but the worst funk l
was ever in was when there was no en-
emy within thousands of miles of me.
Il was captain at the time and was
stationed at Port Royal, Jamaica. We
had just got a lot of recruits on our
hands, the rawest, greenest recruits you
ever saw. l was drilling them in rifle
practice at long range, and had great
trouble to make them obey orders with
precision. In fact, one could never be
sure whether they would fire when you
wanted them to present, or present
when you wanted them to fire.
81 had been sending them through
practice one afternoon, and they were
so terribly stupid that l got into vile
humor The day was fearfully warm,
and the sun beat down SO fiercely that
my horse a wicked brute, got into al
most an ungovernable temper, sat on
my horse at the right of the squad, and
was giving them volley practice at long
range. When my patience was entirely
gone, the men seemed to gain a little
sense, and began to fire with rapidity
and accuracy. Things were running as
smoothly as clockworl, and l was soon
soothed into cheerfulness despite the
heat. Not SO my horse. He was never
more vicious.
I'VE were getting along so well by
this time that it was Ready! Present!
Filer and the volley would ring out
like a single report.
''Once | cried out 'Readyp and the
work was as pretty as that of veterans.
Present, and every rifle went up
to shoulders in perfect form. At the
very instant l was about to say 'Firer
my fretting horse bolted, cutting direct
ly across the range. l was not twenty
feet from the squad. My eye caught
the glittering rifles leveled right at me,
and instinctively | closed my eyes and
ducked my head. If you know what
British soldiers are you can imagine
my feelings, my terrible fear, for, as
said before, | was never before in such
a funk knew that if l opened my
mouth those recruits would riddle my
body with rifle balls, for they were eX-
pecting the word 'Firep and probably
would have taken any sound for that
My desire to cry out, AS you werep to
get the rifles off my body, was SO great
that l had to clinch my teeth to keep
from crying out. OF course, the whole
thing took only a few seconds, but it
was many minutes longer than that to
me.
"When my plunging horse had car
ried me from before the motionless
rifles, managed to wheel him. AS he
came around | cried Fire! and every
one of those stolid men obeyed the
command with absolute precision. That
assured me all the more that had /
opened my mouth while crossing their
range | should have been a dead man,
for they were not drilled sufficiently to
distinguish a different order at the last
instant, and yet followed ones words
with blind fidelity.
81 have often thought, added the
officer, with strange smile on his lips,
that those recruits fancied | had cut
across them to test their drill, for they
showed no surprise, not the faintest
sign of emotion when suddenly wheel
ed and cried 'Firer But you may well
believe that this was not the case. And
l pledge you that never afterward in
rifle practice did l get caught in so
dangerous and helpless a situation. -
New York Tribune