Evening star., 1897-05-01
A QUEER ADJuTANr.
An Army Incident which is Interest.
ing In More Ways TAaa One.

An Army Incident which is Interest,"
ing In More Ways ThaA One.
.It has never been in the nswspapers,' -
remarked the retired army o1lcer, referring
to something he had been eaying as the re-
porter Joined the group.
1T must have happened thousand
miles from q printing presD Or . post Office
then" ventured the reporter, who has an
idea that everything worth knowing Is to
be found in the newspapers.
I was just on the point of telling a
story" said the officer. "of peculiar hap
pening which occurred some. twenty odd
years ago In Montana. To make II a bit
clearer may say for the benefit of those
country Is divided for military purposes
into departments and districts, having a
major general, let US say, in command of
q department and some subordinate In
ment are several districts, and in the dis
trlct are several posts: the post command
ers being of still lower rank In this in
stance colonel had been given the district
appointed the adjutant Of his regiment. a
west POINTER, by the way, as his acting
assistant adjutant general, whose chief
GUY II was to promulgate the orders of his
Blank, district commander: Ifeut Rlank
acting assistant adjutant general: and n
was obligatory. of course upon any one in
the Jurisdiction of Col. Blank to obey these
orders without question.
AS time moved on under the new conn
manoer and his A. A. A. G.. we began to
notice that the adjutant had queer spells
a ana acted strangely. but 1t was not quite
enough 10 cause alarm. and we gave It no
great amount of thought until one day he
left the post with a detail Of men, q four
mule team hauling their stuff, and drivins,
along with them lot Of government horses
3neo ana mules. The colonel commanding had
left the day before for St. Paul to attend q
court-martial. and the officer in command
during his absence had nothing to say be-
cause the adjutant showed him the orders
OF the district commander to the effect that
he take such a detail and the stock and 70
ON an expedition to the south to deliver
them at another post. That's all any Of US
at the post knew. and whatever we may
nave thought OF 1t. 1t was meme of our busi-
ness to question orders which were as plain
and regular as apparently were those the
adjutant was acting on.
Nearly three weeks after the adjutant's 8
departure the detail of men and their four
mule team returned to the post in COM
mand of the sergeant who reported that he
had been ordered by the adjutant to return
to the post with the men and team and he
would report later. This was the extent of
the official report. but some of US conclud-
ed We would make some further inquiry,
which developed the rather startling fact
that the adjutant had proceeded south for
two weeks at very leisurely pace. selling
as he went along to any one who would
horses and mules he had with him in his
train. and he had kept going as long as his
stock lasted AS soon as the supply was
exhausted the detail was ordered back to
the post.
"On this information the colonel, on his
return few days later, made an investiga-
tion of the adjutant's books and papers
and of those officers who had furnished
he uav yxyifI, nd
1t was discovered that every man who had
anything in charge that the adjutant want
ed to complete his expedition. could show
a proper order for the same duly signed by
the district commander and by the acting
assistant adjutant general. Everything
was done regularly, and of course every
subordinate who had received any orders
from the adjutant had FASTENED to obey
uEtil all he needed had been turned over
to him. and the whole had been duly au-
fhenticated. Nor was 1t forgery exactly
for the adjutant was very nearly acting
within his powers as far as signing his
CHIEFS name was concerned, anyhow.
Then the colonel and everybody else
made an effort to find the adtutaut, who
had disappeared as completely As II the
earth had swallowed him. Nothing came
of II. however. and his army and home
friends had given the case up In despair
when one day at a post In Arizona, nearly
two years afterward. a lieutenant who had
just arrived at the post met an enlisted
u!oii SoAhS"hcic duout lHe pace VINO SEEM
ed like some one he knew. He watched
the man for a few minutes and then went
after him. He at once called the soldier by
the name OF the adjutant. vino had been
his classmate at the academy, and the ad.
3utant responded. but could only very
vaguely explain why he had disappeared,
and stranger still why he hal gone back
into the army as private soldier. OF
course the lieutenant at once had an in
vestigatfon set Oh foot, which resulted in
a private hearing. which further resulted
In the squelching Of the case on the ground
OF mental alteration and the return Of the
demented man to his home
AT last accounts. which was two years
ago. he was still living, and though not to
say crazy. was beyond any question very
Gec,detly Off. so tina: # is probably just as
well that verdict of insanity was return-
ed and Uncle Sam sEouldered the loss Of
his horses and mules In silence"