The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-02-03
THE vouNosTER.
Mistake OF . Raw Second Lieutenant
Among tho Indiana.

lteutenant-a young and beardless
graduate from West Point-and tho
fighting indians for three years smiled
in contempt. Pity was mingled with
contempt, however. 1t was unj Just to
the boy to put him up against the saw
age Apachcs for his first trial. Even
some of the veteran officers of the war i
had made bad failure of it when they
came out to the plains.
The youngster. as the men called |
him, had been with us fortnight |
when the colonel ordered him out on |
q scout. We were to go down the valley |
four miles, turn to the west and ride |
down the bank of Walnut creek three |
miles and then come back over the !
hills. One sergeant, one corporal
TWENTY-FIVE troopers in all. At
that time the chances were against
sighting an Indian. but the movement
would tell their spies that we wero
alert and watchful.
In due time reached the creek
and turned in. 1t was lined with trees
and bushes and offered cover to an enc
my. The youngster gave no orders. how
when he looked back and observed the
attitude of the men. They held their
carbines ready for what might come
and obliqued off against the hillside.
think the officer was about to hurl
some indignant protest at us when we
man in that troop realized on the in
slant that we had only ten or a dozen
etiskins to deal with-every man but
the officer. Had we wheeled into line.
fred a vollcy and charged, we should
have driven them from cover and
had good show to eNterrni-
nate the band. The youngster
was ratified by the suddenness of the
attack, and because two or three horses
went down he lost his head and ordered
us to push forward at a galloP. leaving
two men who had been dismounted.
but were unhurt, to be deliberate ly
| shot down as they sought for cover
We had dashed forward about half a
! mile, when every trooper suddenly
pulled up and wheeled about. No one
| gave the order. but all acted in con-
! cert. We were too late to save our
comrades. but the sight of their mutt
lated bodies brought shouts for re-
| venge as we charged the thicl<et. We
! got feeble volley, and another horse
| went down. but in ten minutes we had
| wiped out the last warrior. Nine of
them had put the twenty-five of us to
flight.
| The young.tcr was brought back to
us by the sound of the firing His face
! wore IL look of establishment and dis
| may as he saw the dead. When he was
| in formed that we had made d cowardly
| retreat before such a small force. and
| when a trooper held up the scalp locks
| of our dead comrades and Erowlcd out
that they had been a bandoned to their
fate when cool head would have saved
! them, the face of the. young man was
white as death, and he made no reply.
| a trooper was sent to the fort for an
ambulance to carry in the dead. and
after beating up the bushes again we
sat down to await his return. For Il
| long time he sat with his face in his
| hands gazing at the earth. and there
wasn't one of ns who didn't feel sorry
for him. by and by he called the ser
geant over to him and asked:
3 Sergeant, did You realize that we
were being fired on by SO small a
force?'
81 Judged them to number from nine
to twelve, SIR" was the reply.
| "Apd had you been in command what
action would you have taken"
''Fours right. wheel, and II vol1ey
and charge. That would have been
nv way if they had mum bered one hun
dred, for IA dash would have driven
them from cover and let us in
''And the order ] gave was to push
! forward, which was the same as re-
treat?"
so we understood. sir
!, And you returned and STACKED
without ordcrs?'
.:Without orders. sir.
! That will do. sergeant. The am
bulance should be here soon. You sec
} bout the DOOlCS. Try ana Lcll pldlI.
straight story about the fight when
you report to the captain
With that he got up and moved up
the hill as if surveying the country.
and no one happened to be looking at
him when he put his revolver to his
head and sent a bullet into his brains.
He was dead before we reached him.
Poor youngster! A court ma rtial would
! have dismissed him from the service.
Even had no charges been preferred
, he could not have held his head uE
, among men-ighting men.
5 Say exclaimed the sergeant, as
, we stood looking at the body, ''he
, made a mistake, but paid for it with
; his life, and no man shall speak i'll Of
him. He was youngsters, and hat
; never seen an Injun, and that's al
that allied HMM. Y. Sun.
But Not Getting Better.
Mike Roonan was as honest an Irish
man as ever carried hod. He had q
family of nine children, who were al
! ways hungry and whose shoes were al
| ways out at the toes: so when the hare
! times struck his ward last summer and
4 | Mike found himself out job. he fell
: that fortune had dealt him pretty
= hard blow. However, Mike was no.
wholly disheartened, and he hustled
about to find some honest employment
The prospect was discouraRing, bu
he kept boldly at it, and was at las
). rewarded by securing a place with