The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1893-08-04
APR0FESSIONALSKIPPER
The Trials Of a Deserter as Told
by himself.

Desertion was, and is, the open sore
OF the American army. Like all other
evils, it has its causes. In the old days /
when the frontier was the frontier,
harsh treatment, bad food, hard service
in the field, the monotony of garrison
life and the lack of amusements and |
recreations in the isolated and shabby
little posts were among the causes that
impelled men to desert their colors
Among the enlisted men desertion
was regarded as a very venial offense;
and 1t was held that men who were ILL
treated had right to desert; men who
were disconnected ought to desert; and
men who were found to be rogues were
encouraged to desert by public senti-
ment and certain rude but significant
hints
This constant depletion of the ranks
by desertion, and the great expense in
transporting recruits to distant sta
tions, as well as the difficulty of OBJ
tanning recruits for the hard and unro-
mantle service Of the plains, made the
evil very serious problem for the war
department. TO solve.
Fort Wingate, situated on the slopes
of the Zuni mountains in Campbells
pass, New Mexico, being without tele-
graphic communication with the inner
world, suffered great deal from deser-
ton.
After each visit of the paymaster
there was a decrease in the ranks and
stables Of the garrison. The officers
were used to it; the men expected it;
and the fight of these military birds of
passage became one of the pleasing ex-
elements of the post. They furnished
weeks holiday for pursuing party,
which chased the fugitives as far as
San Mateo, where they remained to
have good time with the daughters of
the town as long as their cash lasted,
and then returned leisurely to the post,
to report that the deserters had es-
capped.
In the ease and safety of skipping"
as it was termed in army slang, the
cavalryman had the advantage over the
mere infantryman. While the poor
"doughboy" deserter was hiding in the
hills by day and tramping over dusty
trails by night, with a heavy "long
Tom" on his shoulder, the cavalry
skipper" was riding gayly to freedom,
careless of pursuit, able and willing to
stand off any too-oficious civil officer,
confident that his comrades would not
bother him unless he ran into their
arms, and certain that his good troop
horse was worth a hundred dollars in
the settlement, when he had cunningly
burned out the U. s. brand with q red
hot currycomb.
The experience of Fort Wingate was
duplicated in every western post, and
soldiers deserted in parts of the country
and reached civilization when it was
deemed hazardous for armed trains tc
travel Strange as it may appear, mer
never deserted in the field during an In
dian campaign; it was garrison dull
ness that made deserters not the fight
ing and hard riding of plains and sier
ras.
In 1878 Gen. Grant issued procla
nation pardoning all deserters whC
surrendered to the military authoritie
and returned to their colors. TIL,
president wisely concluded that thi
would bring back number of men in
to the army and stop the outflow TO
awhile; but he hardly realized eth
story it would tell in the army itself
At Wingate the proclamation was tn
universal subject of talk in the com
NJ
made as to the number of men VIII
would avail themselves of its clemency
Out of total strength of eighty me-
in my own company, some twenty re
ported themselves as shippers"
Then we began to hear from posts i
Arizona, Utah, Kansas, Texas, Dakota
in fact from all parts of the America
military world, from men who wer
getting in out of the rain, and, pc
contra, there was constant deman
for the records of elusive soldiers VIII
in times past had slipped away unoi
tentatiously and were now willing t
return to their first love.
The most interesting of all this hos
of prodigals, to me, was quiet, smar
clean, well set-up fellow in my ow
company, named Dick Brandon, VIII
modestly admitted twenty-three d
sertions Dick had evidently been 0
the move for years and had nervol
objection to remaining long 'anywher
What troubled Dick, now that his d
sertions were wiped out, was the haun
ing dread Of the big charges that wei
with his skipping"
The captain of company in IL
army is responsible to the governmel
for every piece of property in his car
and he must account for it all or pay fl
it. Now, the most painstaklng officer
the world loses things, and unless the
are covered, some way, the unlucl
officer would never draw cent on
pay certificate. Hence the milital
,o.ooev,, h,,rlad "a eol6ia,. xuha1,