The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1894-10-27
A HOWLING SUCCESS
Being an Accoun of Young BartOn's
Attempt to Enliveu the Post.

Being an Account of Young Barton's
Attempt to Enliven the Post.
Barton was young, and IS enthusiast
tic as only a second lieutenant can be.
Moreover, he had theories, which, N
cept in popular novels, are very bad
things for young officers to have; if
they are not absolutely useless, they
are apt to be worse than useless. very
much in the way. He came straight
from West Point to a fort near a good
ly sized town in the Western States
and brought with him, besides his W
acceptable presence in Il community
including five girls and two bachelors,
the idea that there should be such Il
thing as sociability in the small circle
Of an army post.
Being Il young person of determina-
ton, he meant to put his theories into
practice, and at first even went so far
as to hope that he might bring the non
speaking families to terms again and
act the beautiful role of peace-maker.
1t is in fiction, and in fiction only,
that everybody in a garrison is as
sweet as strawberry jam and lives in
perfect harmony with his neighbor.
Remember that the army is q fighting
institution; if it has not Indians or
fairer foes to battle with, it will set up
a system of civil strife wonderful in it's
compleXity. What do they find to
quarrel about, you wonder? How is it
possible to ask ask, knowing that a
handful of people, all with more or less
natural energy to be disposed of, are
shut up, year after year, within the
narrow limits as a reservation, with
out ever a change of scene and rarely
having new blood infused into their
veins. Familiarity is said to breed
contempt. In this one phase lies the
reason of it all. These dozen or two
of %congenial and uncongenial people
are for at ime on a footing of the
greatest intimacy and familiarity; no
wonder, then, that contempt follows
and is in turn followed by dislike.
After a very little experience, Bar
ton gave up the role of peace-maker.
He found that it was most likely to
end in his inheriting not the earth, but
Il corner of Coventry. So he tried to
work out his theories on the few re-
naming mortals who were not yet ON
strictly official terms.
1t was astonishing to his young and
htAl CpllC tIuO 81 lndly pcoplC
could be so entirely lost to a sense
of the pleasures to be gotten out of this
world, such as moonlight rides and
walks, picnics, private theatricals, and
hops. He suggested rides. The two
bachelors We're cavalrymen and said
they rode for a living and not for fun;
two of the girls could ride, but one
hadn't a habit; the other two We're
afraid to try it. Barton got up some
riding parties of two-himself and the
one girl; but she was the least charm
ing of the quartet, SO ne found them
dull. He ventureu upon suggesting
some walks, but the idea was secuted.
Walk in that alkali dust, with coyote
bowls the only sounds in the air! They
Knocked at this youthful ardor. The
boardwalk around the parade ground
was good enough for them, if they
wanted to stroll; but as that was per-
fectly within the range of vision Of
some two hundred and fifty enlisted
men it was not agreeable to saunter
along with a nice girl under their eyes.
Barton gave that up and tried picnics.
All the world knows that a picnic is
trying to the sweetest temper, to the
most complacent souls. The outcome
of this particular one was that it put
one more family on the "official terms
list. No one could be worked up to
the private theatrical point, for in
army, as in civil, life every one wanted
to have the star role.
Anyone else would have been dis
heartened at these repeated failures
and have settled down into the ordin-
airy round of duties of the ordinary
lieutenant. But Barton had the max
ing of a general in him, coupled with
a desire to be a leader of men; he
could not reconcile himself to getting
IN a reveille; going to bed again and
sleeping until breakfast at the mess
at nine o'clock; twirling his mustache
and incidentally his thumbs in the suit,
ler's store all the morning; sleeping
from luncheon to retreat; dining and II
twirling his mustache and thumbs I'M
til taps. OF course he could have put
in his time at reading and thinking,
being intellectual, but a man in his
position should not be intellectual.
No. Barton would make a last ant
supreme effort to awake these lethar
gic people from their stupor. He would
get up a hop. Visions of old Yves
Point dances arose before him and fill
ed his soul with longings. He made i
next the order of the day to find
room big enough to hold IN ordinary
|. set of lancerS. There was no ballroom
nor was there the usual available Ii
brary-room which so often does Serv
ice. OF course none of the quarter!
would answer the purpose; he be
, thought him Of one of the hospita
/, wards, and got the doctors permits
t sion to use it. 1t was not big-no
t more than twenty by thirty feet-bu
) it could be made to do; the floors wer'
, rough, but sperm candles would max
g, them slippery; the walls were bare ant
the plaster clacked; he would draw OF
private houses and the suffers stor
10 decorate them. Nothing shOult
daunt him.
: SO he sent his own striker, to sweep
} and dust, and scrub; he gave h pos
children a jubilee by letting them SHAY
candles on the boards and slide abou
to smooth them down. 1t was lots o
= fun for the children, and Barton tool
. pleasure in watching their pretty gam
hols until the C. O.'s youngest sol
slipped and broke his wrist: when tina
y happened, even this inexperienced
: youth knew that it was little short o
y Il calamity for him; that it would b
: many Il long day before the command
e ants wife-therefore the commander
/ himself-would smile upon him again
l. He carried the child home, and sui
o mitted in silence to the stony glar
1 from his mothers eyes. When he trie'
t to explain. she walked away. 1t wa