The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-07-13
gave the .deserter a chance to begin

| That evening after retreat" Dick
and sat on our hunks, polishing belts,
| cleaning brasses, furnishing our saber
scabbards and getting things ready for
| guard mounting next morning, for
| Dick was a great fellow Ito run for
| orderly"
AS we smoked and talked and pol
| ished l wormed some of Dicks ex-
| pcrience out of him.
Say, Dick" asked; ''what was your
| first cnlistment?"
WELL" said Dick, with laugh, my
first soldering was sailoring. listed
in the marines and was sent down to u
fyblown hole in Florida. The heat,
the bugs and the style of the marine
officers sicllcned me, so l resigned.
'Resigncd?" l queried.
'Gave them a French resignation,
you know. | struck New Orleans in a
Cuban banana boat, dead broke, and
Joined company of 'doughboys' at
Baton Rogue That place was worse
than Florida. The first pay day set
tied me, and took n trip up the river
They charged me with two rifles, a
my muster roll, when skipped. Handy
thing for a dcscrter, wheelbarrow!
often wondered that they did not charge
me with Tom Germans wife, who lit
out with n coon about the time ! re-
tired"
"Where did you go, Dick-St. LOUISE"
eyes. Thought I'd take n flyer in the
cavalry. Got sick of old Bully WEIGH
there, and was glad enough to go with
Il detachment to the Third in Arizona.
Wen, that's lovely country to get
away from. If there's hell on earth,
Arizona is the place. ! was stationed
at Verde, and the malaria, bad grub
and Apache chasing changed my views
of the cavalry. Three of us skipped
the first time the paymaster got round,
and we worked down through Apache
pass into New Mexico with our hair all
right. We struck the settlements, sold
our horses, and separated. l worked
down to Ell Paso and went broke on
monte game Invent over to Fort Bliss
and took another blanket. | liked
soldering there first rat, aad got the
chevrons; but the captain broke me
for raising a row down town and
humping grcaser. That made me
mad and / went on the retired list once
more. That quartermaster sergeant
was daisy, and, as was chum of his,
he socbed it to me-charged me with
siX-mule harness. grindstone, two
spades, a long Tom and q hundred
rounds of ammunition. just think of
me hoofng it across desert between
Quitman and Davis with grindstone
under my arm! Must have thought l
wanted 1t to sharpen my appetite.
got job as teamster at Fort Clark, but
ran across fellow knew at Eaton
Rogue, and he was always hard up and
had an idea that l was q bank, and
concluded to go cast"
And then?' insinuated.
''Then," resumed Dick, Il guessed I
had all the west l wanted for awhile, so
| honored the artillery. made mis-
take was in a fort where you could
see nothing but sea and sand, and
where it was cold enough to freeze
brass monkey. Lord! but the artillery
is tough and dull, all guard duty and
buttons and drill. That heavy artil-
lery made 4 flying artillery man of me.
| waited for pay day and lett without
leaving my address. Well, my muster
.Oll caught it. They landed me on the
pay roll for a caisson and fifty rounds
of fixed and strapped ammunition and
other trifles."
Draw it mild, Dick" suggested.
''Wcll, if they didn't" said Dick,
earnestly, may be 'bobtailed' put
out for the west and listed in Coving-
ton in the 'doughboys' again, like a
fool. was just in time to be rounded
up for a batch of 'Johnnies' going to
Montana, the worst lot of fresh fish
ever got into. Tough? Well! say We
hoofcd it all day and stood guard every
other night We had chap just APP
pointed from civil life in command,
and he was scared to death. And the
our post and had to build new stables
for the cavalry. Fatigue duty every
day and dress parade every night made
life hardly worth living. Then | was
detailed to guard railroad survey
That was exciting, for the Sioux had
spite against us, but ! concluded thir-
teen dollars month was too small
bet to stake my life against. Four of
Us said good-by and waltzed for the
railroad, sleeping III ravincs by day
and trampiag by night. Once more |
figured big thief on the muster rolls.
The post quartermaster sergeant sold
six mules to freighter and the team
turned up on my pay roll, with plumber
enough to start Il suffers store"
well, go on, Dick" said.
''Oh, to make a long story short, /
kept getting in and out all the time.
Had to keep going and changing my
name, for | was always running into
some fellow that knew ne. Not many
fellows will blow on you-but you
can't help thinking they will. Then u
fellow that knows you have skip
: against You finds you very convenient
to borrow tobacco from and money. and
a chap winds up by getting out. Now,
there's Maclcy who just joined. He
was with me in the Nineteenth. | was
nervous about him, though he never
pretended to know me; bat he owned
up to four himself. I'm going to stick
this time and get out fair and square
/ I. i