The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-26

Tuesday morning about 1:O0 O'Clock
the quiet slumbers of the post residents
were disturbed and the peaceful moon
light slightly "ricoshayed" by the des-
perate attempt of prisoner Cooper OF
Herbert. late of the Second cavalry,
Fort Wingate, to escape from the SELL
try who was guarding him.
The attempt was failure and the air
was harmlessly punctured by couple
of the new Krag- Jorgenson bullets 1t
happened in the wierd, ghostly hour
when the might cart was rumbllnS on
it's lonesome rounds. The sentry, Prl-
vate Richardson, of company Z, had
reached the quarters of Lieutenant
Newton, on the south end of the semi
circle with his prisoner, when sudden
ly he dashed through the yard, around
to the front of the residence, slam
ming a door as he went in the face of
the charging Richardson who COM
manded Halt! halt!-or- III Kill you!
at the same time trying to get a car
fridge in his gun. Leaping the low
picket fence in front, Cooper sped like
a yeritable blue streak down the south
side of the parade, in front of the line
of company barracks. Richardson
was in hot pursuit. He fired at the run
ming prisoner as soon as he cleared the
fence. and loading up again, ran down
the line at a. 10 is gait and succeeded
in gaining ON his man near company
B quarters. Here he slowed up and
taking aim fired again. Cooper lodged
and went down the hill behind the
I,o L-o1 Ey ia
aroused and rapidly hurried to the
scene of action. The officer of the day,
Captain Whitall, Captain Mcfarland
and a number of others Joined in the
chase and searched high and low, far
and near, but could not find Cooper.
They were just turning away from the
pursuit in disgust when two members
of company D, Priyates Schmale and
Platt, who had walked up from the
city, came over to see what the trouble
was and ran across Cooper lying in a
ditch with the water running over him.
When pulled out he was chilled through
When asked what he meant by trying
to get away he replied, What do you
take me for? A c. d fool to stay
and get two years?''
Taken back to the guard house and
examined, Cooper was found clad in
civilian suit underneath his uniform
and canvas.
Corporal Thordon, of company 3,
says he had a narrow escape from re-
ceiving g. bullet through his upper sto-
ry- He was coming up the hill near
company a, when Richardson fired
the second shot, and he is positive that
the bullet clipped a curl from his
right temple just under his hat, where
upon he lost no time in placing all
the available buildings in the neighbor-
hood between him and that wicked
Krag-Jorgenson.
Sergeant Phillip Rintz of troop E,
Second cavalry, Fort Wingate, N NJ,
identified Cooper as Herbert, formerly
of his troop. a number of years ago
RintZ was a "non-com-" in the Four
teenth infantry when that regiment
was stationed at this post. He will
leave today for Fort Wingate.
The attempt of Cooper to escape
will no doubt go hard with him and
his sentence may be a severe one.
The examining board with Colonel
Merriam, Seventh infantry, as presi-
dent, and Lieutenant Baker, Seventh
infantry, as recorder, has been direct
ed to meet at Fort Logan, Colo, in
April to make the preliminary exam
ination of the following enlisted men
to determine their eligibility to enter
the competitive examination for pro-
motion to the grade of second lieuten-
ant: First Sergeant f. W. Fonda,
troop C. Seventh cavalry; First Ser
geant William H. Faringhy, company
c, Sixteenth infantry, and Lance Cor
poral J. ]. Bernard, troop I, First
cavalry.
AS the time of the annual examin-
atoms for promotion draws near the
case OF Corporal Sharpe late of COM
pany C, Sixteenth infantry. is called to
mind. Sharpe was married and en-
listed as a single man and soon began
TO study for commission. Then came
the great railway strike of 1894, and the
regiment was ordered to Nevada for
duty. Reno was Sharpe's old home.
The companies that were stationed
there learned his pre-military history.
He had been married to woman of
that town and she naturally enough
made inquiries among the troops about
her missing Sharpe. This interesting
news reached the colonel through
company officer when the troops re-
turned to the post and when Sharpe
went before the board and was ex-
amined for promotion he passed all
right in everything except character
His percentage in that was zero. and