The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-07-08
A PROFESSIONAL SKIPPER
The Trials of a Deserter as Told
by Himself.

of the American army. Like all other
evils, 1t 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 amuscments and
recreations in the isolated and shabby
little posts were among the causes that
impellcd men to desert their colors.
Among the enlisted men desertion
was regarded as very venial offense;
and it was held that men who were Ill
treated had Il right to desert; men who
were discontented 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
tainiNg 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 Campbell's
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
We're 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
Il 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 advn,'agl 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-otficious civil officer,
confident that his comrades would not
bother him unless he ran into theil
| 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 red
| hot currycomb
The experience of Fort Wingate wa.
duplicated in every western post, ant
soldiers deserted in parts of the country
and reached civilization when it wa.
deemed hazardous for armed trains tx
travel. Strange as it may appear, mer
never deserted in the field during an In
dian campaign; il was garrison dull
ness that made deserters, not the fight
ing and hard riding of plains and sier
| raS.
In 1878 Gen. Grant issued a procla
nation pardoning all deserters wht
surrendered to the military authorities
and returned to their colors. TIL,
president wisely concluded that thi
would bring back q number of men in
to the army and stop the outflow fol
awhile; but he hardly realized tn,
story it would tell in the army itself
At Wingate the proclamation was tn,
universal subject of talk in the com
pany quarters, and conjectures wer'
made as to the number of men VIII,
would avail themselves of it's clemency
Out of a total strength Of eighty mel
in my own company, some twenty re
ported themselves AL shippers"
Then we began to hear from posts il
Arizona, Utah, Kansas, Texas, Dakota
in fact from all parts of the American
military world, from men who wer
getting in out of the rain, and, pc
contra, there was n constant deman,
for the records of elusive soldiers VIII
in times past had slipped away unos
tentatiously and We're now willing Il
return to their first love.
The most interesting of all this hos
Of prodigals, to me, was quiet, smart
clean, well set-up fellow in my owl
company, named Dick Brandon, VIII
modestly admitted twenty-thrce dc
sertions. Dick had evidently been o.
the move for years and had neryou
objection to remaining long anywhere
What troubled Dick, now that his dt
sertions were wiped out, was the haunt
ing dread of the big charges that wen
with his skipping"
The captain of company in tn
army is responsible to the government
for every piece of property in his care
and he must account Tor it all or pay lu
it. Now, the most painstaking officer /
the world loses things, and unless Lac
are covered, some way, the unluck
officer would never draw cent ON hi
pay certificate. Hence the miitar
sarcasm hurled at soldier when
loses u cartridge or anything clst
Lost it, did you? Well, you'll find
On your muster roll!"
Now smart quartermaster sergeau
found q convenient outlet for all losse
IN desertion. When man skipped h
was charged with not only all he q,
tually took, but with all that the frug,
1uartermaster sergeant had lost. Th
was simple and effective. The exter
and variety Of property alleged to /
stolen by deserters would stagger an,
body except an experienced compan
luartermaster sergeant or dull d.
partsnent auditor They knew fro
experience that dcserter was capab
n sfaalinU unvti,iner f.<.,s, .. ra,n,<.a