The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-08-29
THE OLD REGIMENT.

OWeIlS In tho memory OF the soldier
as Long as He Has Breath.
Ask an old soldier where he has
served, and his answer will invariably
be. with the old til" infantry, cav
airy or artillery, as the case may be.
Then perhaps he may tell you sohere he
has served, whether in the hot sandy
deserts of Arizona, or under the biting
blasts of Dakota billiards. whether un-
der the dun canopy of sulphurous smoke
at Gettysburg, or with the wild yell Of
the savage ringing in his ears at the
big Hole;" but his first reply-which
In his mind comprehends every thing
will be, with the old TIL" The reg
iment is the home of his manhood's
most glorious days, the memories Of
which stay with him throughout
all the after-years of his existence.
be he still a soldier or be he retired to a
quieter field of action in civil life, and
many a time his thoughts will turn
with affectionate sympathy to those
comrades in whose company he has
fought and marched, with whom he has
cast his jokes and sometimes quarreled,
shared dangers and pleasures, the perils
of the battlefield and the routine Of
the garrison. Mutually dependent upon
one another from the very nature of
their occupation and of the stern dis
cipline that controls their lives, the
friendships formed by soldiers among
themselves are strong, pure and un-
selfish as human nature will permit of,
and the representation of this mutual
dependence on one another, this COM
radeship that will lead them to do and
dare together, to suffer together, to die
together, is embodied in the number
embroidered on the siIken folds of the
regimental colors.
And the women of the regiment? All!
they too share the glory of the old til,
from the matronly, soft-voiced, pleasant
faced wife of the commanding officer,
to the buxom, faithful, hard-working
partner of the humble private-the
laundress. How many time have they
opened wide the hospitable doors Of
their houses to the stranger among
them! How often, with tear-bright
eyes and trembling, proud voices. told
of what the til had done. and how they
too share together in their feminine
way the joys and privations of military
life! And which is the harder to bear.
think you--the hardships and dangers
of the men in active service at the
front, or the fears and hopes, the dread
suspense and sickening anxiety of their
women left behind at the lonely frontier
post from. whence the regiment has
marched to its duty.
The writer once lay in camp in the
wilds of one of the Territories with a
famous regiment of cavalry. We were
not far from railroad recently con-
structed, and the news came one day
that the General in command of the de-
partment would visit the camp on a GER
tain date. This oHcer had formerly
commanded the regiment as Colonel,
and had left it for other tours of duty
some years before; but the memory of
his soldierly qualities, his strict adher-
ence to duty, his Indaunted courage in
the presence of danger, as we'll as of the
goodness and kindly tact of the
gracious lady, his wife. was
strong in the breasts of the COM
mand. and it was this feeling-far
more than the respect to be paid to the
General officer-that prompted the off,
GERS to ride out from the camp in q body
to meet and welcome their old comrade
and commander. And later in the day,
as he sat out there on his horse on the
broad prairie, and barred his head in re-
spouse to the lowering Of the yellow
standard and the bright flashing of the
long line of sabers presented in salute.
his stern soldier features softened and
his eyes lightened as he saw once moro
before him the familiar weather-beaten
blue uniforms and bronzed faces Of the
men of the old regiment-Harper's
Weekly.