Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1895-05-25

IKE nllnSeII, n3u NOT pau nlucn aJleil-
ton to this sort of thing and the in
fantry had grown to look upon the short
cut as a sort of thoroughfare sacred to
their uses; no officer ever had occasion
to go that way. When. therefore, the
beaten pathway was plowed up and re-
sodded, and an order was issued that the
men must confine themselves to the
gravel path or roadway there were just
q few old foot soldiers who saw fit To
grumble, and some of them, returning
late at night from a visit on pass to the
neighbOring town, made sarcastic allu-
sicns to the new order as they trudged
homeward under the windows of the
officers quarters on the south side.
Others still, trusting to darkness ana
a theory that all officers should be abed
at that hour, proceeded to wear Il parallel
path. and these two tranSgreSslOns be-
ing occasionally repeated and the officer
of the day having twice come upon the
transgressors without having captured
one of their number, for the dough
bows" were fleet of foot, a second order
was issued, requiring all enlisted men
returning to the post between tattoo and
reveille to enter their barracks from the
rear. and not to cross the quadrangle
bounded by the fence. There was road
all around in the rear of the barracks
and quarters. but in the wet spring
weather it was often deep with mud and
generally dark as Erebus. What won
der. therefore. that many parties still
managed to slip in. not exactly in def
ance Of the order. but because the enlist
ed men had fine appreciation OF that
principle Of international law which pro-
vides that mere paper blockade Is not
entitled to respect: Then it was that
the odd man" as the soldiers called the
colonel. ordered out his blockaders. An
extra sentinel6 post was established, a
sentry was ordered stationed at the
southwest gate from tattoo until reVellle.
and as ali the cavalry were barracked
on the west side near their stables, and
as the infantry were manifestly the of
tenders $50 argued the cOlOneD, the three
additional sentl1es required were ordered
taken from among their number
L MS OtClSI 1lldtlt SudIN llllN a. u liz
harder and the infantrymen tritie
madden Out Of sheer mischief some of
them took TO passing up the road be
tween the guard house and the traders.
entering tho northwest gate and stalking
across the parade i'll stealthy column OF
files from that direction, facetiously dec
Grating their trail with empty beer bot
II IL
which the police sergeant spent some
time and blasphemy after reveille next
morning. Then the colonel ordered the
northwest gate locked at tattoo, and the
rascals climbed the fence. He
would not order ont more SentrleS, but
he gave the officer of the day directions
to have patrol in readiness at the flag
staff between II and 1 that night, and
then some fine foot racing resulted, III
which the patrol came out second best.
The colonel ordered the five infantry
men who happened to be on pass arrested
and brought to trial before garrison
court, and the court promptly acquitted
every man. 1t was established that they
had all obediently gone around the gar
rison they had even taken the trouble
to call the attention of the sentry on No.
to that fact; and thea it dnWned upon
the commanding officer that some of
those infantry scamps We're, As they
would have expressed it, putting up
job at his expense, and that half
dozen of the f1eetest footed among them
We're just for a lark slipping out Of quar-
ters after / o'clock and around to the
northwest gate, vaulting the fence with
the agility OF monkeys, and then play
ing the Old game of Tom, Tom, pull
away" with his patrol. They had not
had so much fun i'll year.
Col. Morris had sense enough to know
that if he lost his temper and got to
clustering the men would regard it as a
victory. He issued no new orders. Sus-
picion had fallen on squad of rollicli-
ing young Irishmen in Company L, all
of whom were members of the battalion
baseball nine. a match game was to
come off two days later with the club
from Fort Lawrence, and local interest
and bets-were running high. Alas.
when the morning Of the eventful day
came around, four of the feeteSt base
runners in the Rifle nine languished in
the guard house, arrested at reveille by
order Of their own captain for absence
from quarters at midnight. The colo
mel had simply let them get out, then
ordered check roll call with doors barred,
and they stood self exiled. Fancy the
CONSERVATION among the lovers of the
national game! Even the cavalry had
backed the local nine against that from
Lawrence, and well knew that if substi-
tutes had to be put in there was no
earthly chance of their winning.