Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-08-14
NOT UNDER THE eNEmrs rlaE.
When the Riass Of Hta Own Soldiers
Covered Him Ue Was Frightened.

When the Riass Of His O~n Soldier.
Covered Him ue Was Frightened.
Was ! ever afraid In battleY' saId
an English army officer Many times
But there are different kinds of fright
| have served in India, In Egypt and In
Western Africa. but the worst funk
was ever in was when there was no en-.
envy within thousands Of miles OF me.
II was a captain at the time and was
stationed at Port Royal, Jamaica. We
had just got n lot of recruits on our
1 hands, the rawest, grecnest recruits You
ever saw. | 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.
Il had been sending them through n
practice one afternoon. and they were
50 terribly stupid that got into vile
humor. The day was fearfully warm,
and the sun beat down so tiercely 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 clockwork, and WAS soon
, soothed into cheerfulness despite the
3 heat Not SO my horse. He was never
. more vicious.
D We were getting along so well by
: this time that 1t was Ready! Present
. Firev and the volley would ring out
|, like a single report.
D ''Once | cried out Ready and tile
; work was a. pretty as that of veterans.
. :" Present, and every rifle went up
i to shoulders in perfect form. At the
n very instant was about 10 say Fire I
n my fretting horse bolted cutting direct.
e ly across the range. ! was not twenty
a feet from the squad. My eye caught
the glittering rifles levcled right at me
p and instinctively closed my eyes and
q ducked my head II you know what
}. British soldiers are you can iInagin,
II my feelings, my terrible fear, for, as
" said before was never before in sucl
a funk knew that II opened ny
II mouth those recruits would riddle III,
,e body with rifle balls, for they were ex
u pecting the word FIRE. and probabl,
n would have taken any sound for that
At Ny desire to cry out, As you werer I,
a get the rifles of my body, was SO grea
that had to clinch my teeth to keel
a from crying out. OF course, the Who'll,
Ia thing took only few seconds, but /
Ne was many minutes longer than that t,
II me.
Q. When my plunging horse had car
N ried me from before the motionles
k rifles, managed to wheel him. As Ia
came around cried 'Firer and ever,
III one of those stolid men obeyed tn
es command with absolute precision. Tina
n assured me all the more that had
no opened my mouth while crossing thei
a.. range should have been dead man
nj for they were not drilled sufficiently &
Il. distinguish n different order at the las
s instant, and yet followed ones word
lie with blind fidelity.
- Il have often thought" added tn
IA officer, with strange smile on his lips
that those recruits fancied had Gu
across them to test their drill, for the
70 showed no surprise, not the faintes
10 sign of emotion when | suddenly whee
re ed and cried 'Fire!' But you may we
re believe that this was not the case An
y pledge you that never afterward |
y rifle practice did get caught in 8
!, dangerous and helpless situation"