The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1893-07-06
APR0FEssIONALsKlPiP1ER,
Tho Trials OF . Deserter a. Told
by Himself
D...r,>a "a, q Epsna.4e,

wren the 1foot1er was theA1rO0tier.
harsh treatment, bad food, hafdser1tS
In the field, the monotony of garrison
life and the lack of smusements and
recreations In the isolated and shabby
. little posts were among tho causes that
"impelled men to desert their 'coolodrris. @*''s"
Among the enlisted men desertion
was regarded as q very yenial oftense;
and it was held II 1t men who were ILL
treated had . rig to desert; men who
were discontente4 ought 70 desert; ana
men who were fd<nd to be rogues were
encouraged to dert by public senti-
ment and certaiurude but significant
hints.
rhis constant Rlssioe Fl The senkas
transporting RECRUITS to distant sta
tons, As well assthe difficulty of OBJ
tanning recruits Dr the hard and unro-
mantle service ofthe plains, made the
evil . very serio, problem for the war
department to seize.
. Fort Wingate, ituated on the slopes
of the Zuni mqisntains in Campbell's'
pass, New Mexidh being without teles~
graphic COMMUNICATION with the inner
world, suffered 4great deal from deser-:
ton. a.~x.s.s.us..S,
After each Wit of the paymaster
there was decrRse in the ranks and
stables of the garrison. The officers
were usedtot athe men expected It;
and thessdight Of these military birds of
assagabecame ne of the pleasing Nex-
ritements of theSpost. They furnished
= weekly holida tor a pursuing party,
which chased e fugitives as fara as
San Mateo, wfre they remainsd...tos
have food tim1swith the daughters of
the town as LONG as their cash lasted,
md theh return1 a leisurelY to the post,
to report that he deserters had es-
In THO ease anil safety of "skipping,"
as it was termd in army slang: the
s @:rs bfantss sysi 81
"doughboy'' deserter was hiding in the
hills b day and trampinR over dusty
trails by night, with heavy ''long
Tom bn his.psshSulde the cavalry
''skipp1 r" w.s riding gayly to freedom,
carelesS of pursuit, able and willing to
stand od any too-ofRcious civil officer,
confident that his comrades would not
bothers him unless he. ran into their
arms, and certain that his good troop
horse was worth hundred dollars in
the settlement, when he had cunningly
burned out the U. s. brand with q red
hot cufrycomb.
The kxperienee 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 to
WY dessf tsd II t,se nz1d during az IN
dian campaign; it was garrison dull
less that made deserters, not the fight
ing and hard riding of plains and sier-
ras.
In 1873 Gen. Grant issued q procla-!
nation pardoning all deserters who
surrendered to the military authorities
and returned to their .colo1s. The
president wisely concluded that this
would bring back number of men in
to the army. and stop the outflow for.
awhile; but he hardly realized the
story it would tell in the army itself.
At Wingate tHeproclamation, was the
universal spHject Of talk nfthe com
.pany qnaStsSs, and seenjectures were
made as "A the ntnber of men who
would AVN Aemselvea of its clemency.
Out of SOL fghgth sof eighty men
in my OH 4ompaay, some twenty re-
ported hf&se1yes as SKIPPER :,
: Thief WSb2gan to hear from posts in
Arizo1hs Utah, Kansas, Texas, Dak6ta,
in fa& ~ all parts Of The Ameri{ ian,
militaEy eorld, from men who Were
gettHtain out Of the rain and, per
contrk, thF. was q constant demand
foy the reeEdR Of elusive soldiers who
iHt4a& pa bad slipped away unos-
tdhtSH0usl spd were now willing to
reelrn . t1ef hrst love-
The m6it interesting Of all this host
Of pr6digalsr tkme, was quiet smart;
CLEAN wen: set-up fellow in my own
j company, named, Dick Brandon. who
appletlys submitted <twenty-threo de,
,se9tionss, Dick he'd evidently beer on
The move Tor Years and had q nervous
objection to remaining long ,anyssh ere. 4
What trou bled Dick; now that. his de-
ssr ti0nsI were wiped out; War HE hannt-
ofSthsbiS charges thRt went
with his ss'slkipping.'n ss ss,y Or, luz : :,
al The captain, of 4 company in the
army is responsible. to the government
for every piece Of property IT, Ills care, 7
s4nAA39h1stat dbupt1or itah Or paysfor
it. Now, the most painstak,ng officer in
gleaean things, and unlesss they.s
are covered, some way, the unlucky
officer would never draw q cent on his
sl4y &xtilcatf Hence thes military
~saf cAsm hnfl6k at ae~sokiers when he
loses q cartridge or anything else:
Lost it, di41QqfS WellV YSer Anl al
. On your muster r0ll!"
Now smart quartermaster sergeant
found 4 convenient outlet tor, al losses
ii desertion. When = man skipped he
.stas charged with not only, all he. &C,
tsaily took, but with all that the frugal
qrartermaster sergeant had lost. This
was simple and effective. The extent
vuEist1 sso1.al alleged BE-
stolen BY deaerters would stagger any
eAt4pPtt Hs experiefqsdy company
81 ergeant f. 4 dill As7s
partment auditor. They knew from
experience that q desertar mas capable
of stealing anything from ramrod to
battery Of artillery.
When the last of Dick Brandon's &C.
counts came in, we figured 1t ont, that
he oeVed Unslea $eWs About; fopr thou-s
sand doll9fs; q end, as. he ruefully
scsa1 lis head, Dick guessed he
3dopl sssp eenay Hon The spiders home
by the time the bill was settled. He
M lfss, aaz.ai9 eID IS g ss;1 t sse.s
a from s ssn.a E e s ,s s ,Rk1 laina