Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-02-06

mock OF sheep Here again thought
our trouble would end for At least the
present But it was not to be. As ILL.,
luck would have it . schooner loaded
with cocoanuts was anchored near by, and
In some unaccountable way about q
hundred recruits got on board of her and
storm of cocoanuts was the result The
Empire City was bombarded until the
supply of ammunition gave out The
entire cargo had been transferred with
out the formahty of bill of lading.
Some months after an effort was made
by the owners of the cocoanuts to have
their value in money charged against the
pay of the two officers in charge Of the
detachment, but it was clearly shown
that it was not the officers fault. and
think finally the Government paid the
bill.
1t was with feelings of unalloyea
pleasure that / heard the signal given
for leaving, and when the lines were cast
OF and We were under way for the DRY
Tortugas 1 thought we might enjoy at
least short interval of peace. The
capac1ous swallows were gorged to re-
p1etion with cocoanuts and cistern wa ter
and we hoped much from this fact. Nor
were we disappointed Quiet reigned
until the Tortugas or Fort jefferson was
reached at an early hour the next morn
ing.
As our ship came to the wharf the re-
cruits began to jeer at and chaf the
colored sentinels, throwing bits of hard
bread and pork at them. They did not
know that colored sentinel is the worst
person in the world to fool with. as he
feels to an unusual degree the impor-
lance of his position, and is quite ready
at any time and on the slightest provo
cation to shoot.
1, knowing this, several times warned
these wo1ld-be wags of their danger.
They took no heed. however, of the
warning, aud while ut the height of
their fun I saw the sergeant of the
guard deliberately come forward and or
der his guard 10 fall in When about
forty men were in line and before 1 or
the recruits could understand their in
tentions they fred volley point blank
into the ship. They were preparing to
fire again when commissioned officer
came hurriedly upon the scene, putting
stop to the proceedings
The effect on the recruits was most
satisfactory to me. In a moment not
one could be seen above the guards of
the ship. Some plunged headIong down
the steps leading to the hold Others
Rugged the deck until satisfied that the
war was over. The ring1eader of all the
disturbances was shot in the mouth. and
several others were pretty severely
wounded. No more bacon and bareback
were thrown after this, nor any more
chat INDUCED in.
70
twelve hours and then steamed off for
New Orleans, where in due time we ar
rived without any more dlsagreeable ex-
periences.
The skirmish at the Tortugas we re-
garded as a most fortunate occurrence.
The effect certainly was gratifying to
lovers of law and order.
While in New Orleans the detachment
was confined. like so many conscripts. in
cotton press and guarded by nearly
regiment OF infantry. When marched
to the Texas steamer, notwithstanding
all precautions, a large amount of whis-
ky was Struggled aboard, and when
about half way down the river its effects
became alarmingly apparent The ut
most lawlessness prevailed, and fears
were entertained that the recruits might
take full possession of the ship. At one
time a regular battle was going on in
the forward part: a ring having been
formed by about a hundred, with some
fifteen or twenty in the center engaged
in an all-around fight. first with fists,
but as the excitement arose knives were
drawn and many severe wounds resulted.
The officers were powerless among SO
many, and it was only the giving out
l., -, c1~ r.
awhile to quiet down. Otherwise some
thing serious would certainly have hap
pened-
AS calm generally follows storm,
so did quiet and peace return after this
at Port Lavaca, and went into camp
about ten miles out. on the line of the
old dilapidated railway. between Port
Lavaca and Victoria. Here we were to
await the train which was loading with
the baggage and rations from the ship.
During the night ''wet norther" set
in, and on a bald prairie-without stick
of wood for a fire, the temperature freez-
ing. no tents to shelter us-the situation
was wretched enough The recruits
pulled ties from the track and made
fire, but the wood was soaked with water
ana aHOfQoO out UGCle warmth ne
train arrived the next morning, and took
us aboard; but the unusual weight was
too much for the wheezy little engine,
for after crawling a few miles the train
came to dead stop, nor did it move on
again. The track had sunk in the mud.
The outlook was most depressing to
the six hundred tired, hungry and shiv-
ering human beings, who were now
forced to get off the train and face again
the pitiless sleet which was being blown
from the north at a terrific rate To
make a long story short, it was nearly
night before the train was pried out of
the mud and we were again rolling along
in the direction of Victoria, one-half of
the detachment, however, being obliged
to walk and push the train up any little
grade. After few miles an exchange
would be made; those on the train would
take their turn at walking and pushing.
and so on. alternating, until atlast with
one mighty effort, taking nearly the en-
tire strength of the detachment. the
train assembled the steepest grade of all
and rolled majestically into the Little
town of Victoria.
l,-o ho,rd ~ ouon