The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1894-11-15


turned over to the WAITING officers a:
the cavalry depot, was marched out TO
camp and set TO work grooming n horse
the very evening OF his arrival and
turned out for drill the next morning,
when, barring certain quaint habit
OF throwing the left foot far out 10 the
front ut the command march," and n
queer way OF executing "abodt face"
IL was found that he was far better
drilled in the rudimcnts, at least. than
the corporal detailed as his instructor.
The carbine manual was strange TO
him, but not SO the saber. lie handled
IL like a master. IC knew how to
clean and polish arms, belt buckles,
etc, in n way that the few old hands
at the post recognized at once rs Tex
pert" He was besieged by German
scrgeants with queries as to his past
history, but said he preferred 70 keep
all that To himself. Yes, he had served
No use in denying that. lie had been
through certain cadet schools and en-
tered n certain regiment Of hussars;
which one he wouldn't say, neither
could they find out by writing. It was
nobody's business but his own, anyhow,
said he: The United States had adopt
ed him. ar1 he was now an AmerilIaner,
"Freiwilliger," too. Long -.
weary march TO the hills was over ..
had demonstrated the fact that he wa3
n fine horseman and Il good shot. Lieut..
Ray, commander of the big detach-
ment, had more than once spoken of H.
and so, when finally they reached the
wild romantic hills and were distrib-
utcd among the regiments there await
ing them, Schramm looked with won
dcrmcnt in his soul, if not in his eyes.
at the slouch-hattcd, rough-shirtcd. uu-
shaven officers, ut the ragged mob Of
the rank and file, ut their gaunt slSelc-
tons Of horses, and marvelcd that his
strange fortunes had made him sol
der in So strange service.
Wisely he kept his views TO himself.
making no comment even TO the Ger
mans. who were disposed to be so-
ciablc and to question him as to his am
tccedcnts. In two days strong coll
umn marched away-all brolscn-down
men and horses and all raw recruit.
being left behind--but with Schramm,
evidently an educated cavalryman, rid
ing buoyantly in the ranks of ID troop
on the spirited roam he had bestriddcn
all the way from the railway. What
ever they look" thought he, these
fellows are nightly at home on the
frontier Scrgt. Schultz explained
that they always left their uniforms in
garrison when in the fielo after In
dams, but called his attention to the
fact that they never lived better in the
old country than these rough-looling
fellows were living now. Already the
ills of the summer were forgotten.
Whether he forgot or not, Schramm
made no reply. lie was we'll content
with his rations, for field appetite is
wondrous sauce, and soldier coffee,
with bacon, beans, Dutch oven"
bread and antelope steak have relish
in the keen October air known only TO
the fronticrsman. Schramm, from
looking pale, peaked, and u trihe pa
thctic when he stepped from the crowd
ed train at the railway, had sproutcd
fuzzy beard, blistered the skin of his
checks and nose in the hot noonday
sunshine, scared his eyelids by in
temperate additions in alkali water,
and was making commendablc prog
rcsS in plainscraft and plains ENGLISH. !
In three weeks scouting down the
South Cheyenne, with the Bad Lands |
on the right and worse lands on the |
left, he became SO proficient in the cav
airy art Of pre-empting good patch of |
grass for his horse that his troop com !
mander, closely Watching his new re- |
cruit, remarked that that young follow |
would DC valuable nou-commissicrcd |
oiiiccr some day, if he hadn't been al |
ready. Like the Germans Of his hGt- |.
crogcneous troop, the captain was fthc |
opinion that Schramm hcI history. /
One evening, far down the valley |
where not an Indian had been seen or .
heard OF, the outlying scutries report .
ed bunch of black-tailed deer in the /
foothills To the northwest. Lieut.. Nor 1
gan was in command of the guard. and 4
his captain was officer of the day. Nor ,
gan took n squad OF three on four men.
mounted and rode away down the I
wind, while party of officers scram-
blcd up the bank To the cdge of the
broad prairie 10 watch the sport. Ii .
was just then that Schramm. his blue
eyes abla2e, clicked his hccls together,
stood bolt upright, and began, color
ing even redder in combined eagerness
and embarrassment" Bittc. Herr Ritt-
meistcr,' then, desperately plunging
into troopers English as he had heard
it spoken; kin GO along nit dem fell
lers alretty?' and us Manning nodded
assent, he saluted with marked prccis-
ion, bored hole with his heel in the
allsali dust in punctilious execution
Of the ''kehrt," sprang bareback on his
horse and rode away, carbine in hand,
after his trooper comrades. Half an