San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-01-21

former post commander. cavalryman
like himself, had not paid much Stten-
tion to this sort of thing. and the in
fantry had grown to look upon the short
cut as "A sort of thoroughfare sacred to
their uses; no officer ever had occasion
to go that way. When, therefore, the
beaten pathway was plowed up and re-
sodded, and an order was issued that the
men must confine themselves to the
gravel path or roadway there were just
few old foot soldiers who saw fit TO
grumble, and some of them. returning
late at night from visit on pass to the
neighboring town, made sarcastic allu-
sions to the new order as they trudged
homeward under the windows of the
officers quarters on the south side.
Others still, trusting to darkness and
a theory that all officers should be abed
at that hour, proce, d to wear parallel
path, and these two transgressions be-
ing occasionally repeated and the officer
Of the day having twice come upon the
trans. Eressors without havlngkcaptured
one of their number, for the dough
boys" were feet of foot, second order
was issued. requiring all enlisted men
returning to the post between tattoo and
reveille TO enter their barracks from the
rear. and not to cross the quadrangle
bounded by the fence. There was road
all around in the rear OF the barracks
and quarters, but in the wet spring
weather it was often deep with mud and
generally dark as Erebus. What Won
der, therefore. that many parties still
managed to slip in, not exactly in def
ance of the order, but because the enlist
ed men had a fine appreciation of that
principle of international law which pro-
vides that mere paper blockade is not
entitled to respect? Then it was that
the "old man." as the soldiers called the
colonel, ordered out his blockaders. An
extra sentinel's post was established, a
sentry was ordered stationed at the
southwest gate from tattoo until reveille,
and as all the cavalry were barracked
on the west side near their stables, and
as the infantry were manifestly the Of
tenders $50 argued the coloneD, the three
additional sentr1es required were ordered
taken from among their number.
This order made guard duty n trifle
harder and the infantrymen trifie
madden. Ont of sheer mischief sOme of
them took to passing up the road be
tween the guard house and the traders,
entering the northwest gate and stalking
across the parade in stealthy column of
files from that direction, faCetiOuSly dec
Grating their trail with empty beer bot,
ties, whisky TASKS or sardine boxes. over
which the police sergeant spent some
time and blasphemy after reveille next
morning. Then the colonel ordered the
northwest gate locked at tattoo, and the
laughing rascals climbed the fence. He
would not order out more sentries, but
he gave the officer of the day directions
to have patrol in readiness at the flag.
staff between II and l that night, and
then some fine foot racing resulted, in
which the patrol came out second best.
The colonel ordered the FIVE infantry.
men who happened to be on pass arrested
and brought to trial before Il garrison
court, and the court promptly acquitted
every man. Ii was established that they
had all obediently gone around the gar.
rison; they had even taken the trouble
to call the attention of the sentry on No.
1 to that fact; and then it dawned upon
the commanding officer that some of
those infantry scamps were, as they
would have expressed it, putting mp u
job" at his expense, and that half a
dozen of the feeteSt footed among them
were just for lark slipping out Of quar-.
tiers after IL o'clock AID around to the
northwest gate, vaulting the fence with
the agility OF monkeys, and then play
ing the old game of tom, Tom, pull
away with his patrol. They had moi
had so much fun in u year.
= Col. Morris had sense enough to know
that if he lost his temper and got to
clustering the men would regard it us Il
victory. He issued no new orders. Sus-
picion had fallen on a squad of rolliCli.
ing young Irishmen in Company T, all
of whom were members Of the battalion
baseball nine. 4 match game was to
come off two days later with the club
from Fort Lawrence, and local interest
and bets-wcre running high. Alas!
when the morning of the eventful day
came around, four of the feetest base
runners in the Rife nine languished in
the guard house. arrested ut reveille by
order of their own captain for absence
from quarters at midnight. The colo
mel had simply let them get out, then
ordered check roll call, with doors barred,
and they stood self exiled. Fancy the
CONSERVATION among the lovers of the
national game! Even the cavalry had
backed the local nine against that from