Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1897-02-03
IPoIwr.
Zion Herald

Young Jimmy Stevens went from
the pillow to the bayonet, with little in
tervening time in which to prepare for
the handling of his new implement.
The intention had been that young
Stevens should stick to the pillow, for
his father and mother were getting old,
and the two elder brothers had already
gone to the war, expecting to be home
in three months, and now two years
had passed without their return; one Of
them, indeed, it was guessed, would
never come back, although his name
was not in the list of dead, but In the
apprehensve roll-call of the missing
Much as the farm needed Jimmy, his
country appeared to need him more,
and 1t called out his name blindfold,
by means of the draft. There being
NO money in the Stevens family to buy
a substitute, Jimmy let 90 the handle
of the pillow and shouldered a gun
There was little time to waste in the
camp of instruction, for the country
was loudly calling for more men, and
a farmers boy can stop a bullet as
well as the most expert soldier, even
though he may not direct it with much
accuracy. So with the faTm-yard cries
scarcely out of his ears, Jimmy found
himself in the rough and ready turmoil
of the camp, flung unprepared into sol
diering; splendid material to make a
warrior of in time, through the hard,
unsympathetic handling Of that great
machine, the army. lr but the bullet
that was searching for him failed to
find him for some months, what with
marching, countermarching and sleep
ing in a blanket, Jimmy would be MS
good soldier as the rest Of them, ready
to kill or be killed.
Hard as farm work may be, 1t is at
least regular and in the quiet of the
country a man gets a good nights sleep
Jimmy found that the only regular
thing about soldering was its irregu-
larity. He had been up two days and
a night on the cars, he had marched
not knowing where he was going, coun-
ter-marched halted, slept when he
could, bugled up again, as it seemed,
almost before he had lain down, and
of all things on earth that Jimmy most
wanted was one uninterrupted good
nights sleep; but grim fate, who was
waiting for him, decreed that Jimmy
should be sent out from midnight till
o'clock as a sentry, where, most import
ant Of all things he was not to do, he
must not fall asleep. The Captain had
the unfortunate Idea that young fell
lows fresh from the farm, or from the
workshop, made better sentinels than
tricks of the trade,
1t was ten minutes to 10 when Jim
my was awakened by a rough shake
from a rough hand grasping his shout
der. He was drunken with sleep, and
would have given anything for another
hour of it, but he was marched through
the camp, and then across a narrow
field to the edge of plantation; here
he relieved a man whom he could not
see in the darkness, and who had been
standing under a tree.
Jlmmy's instructions were that he
was not to. march up and down nor to
move from the foot of the tree: he was
not to fire his gun unless directly at
tackled, but If he heard anyone ap-
proach he must make for the camp as
silently as he could and give warning.
If suddenly surrounded he was to fire
bis gun, but 1t was impressed upon him
that the great point was to keep the
enemy in ignorance of the fact that he
was there; therefore he must not walk,
nor move, but stand with his back
against the tree and keep his ears wide
open.
The relieved man of the guard walk
ed noiselessly away, and Jimmy was
left alone In the deep darkness caused
by the oyershadowing tree. He was At
the edge of a wood, and If the enemy
came, it would be through that bit OF
forest.
The night was very clear. very silent,
and very dark. The clearness of the
air was shown by the brilliant twink
ling Of the stars. Jimmy pulled out his
open-faced silver watch, and found that
by holding It at a certain angle, the
light from one clear star would just
enable him dimly TO discern the time,
although he had to look sharply to see
the position Of the large hands on the
broad, smooth face of the watch.
-Fiye minutes after twelve" said