Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1897-11-16
PRIVATE LAUFER.

I remember well the day we all met
at the adjutant's Office to receive our
portion of a big batch of recruits who
arrived on the previous day. Recruits
are sent out without assignment except
to the regiment in general, "25o re-
cruits to the Tenth cavalry" for in
stance.
Then the colonel, stiff old West
Pointer, from the general list assigned
to each troop the number required to
fill up the gaps the last campaign had
left We were all standing around the
porch as Church, our adjutant, called
off the names of the men for each troop,
A, b, Q, d.
AS each mans name was called he
stepped one pace to the front and side
step to the right, so that they would
| form separate squad when the list was
completed. When my troop, j, was
reached, L naturally had a general in
terest in what manner of men might
fall to my lot, but l confess l was not
so absorbed as i would have been if l
was receiving 20 horses instead of re-
cruits.
However. l was short of good timber
| just then and was struck by the appear
ance of the man who stepped out as
! Church called George Laufer. His
crisp, distinct Here" in reply to his
name made me think that it was his
own and a name he was proud of. The
vast majority of enlisted mems names
in the army, like those in the peniten-
| tiary, are fictitious and run from Chris
tian Scripture to George Washington,
with only one rule seeming to govern
| their selection-the better the name the
worse the man. Christian Scripture was
| the worst soldier. drunk or sober, ever
knew.
Laufer, however, had every mark of a
we'll bred man about him, was of an aver
age height, with light. strong frame,
weighing I65 or ITO poundsi young,
with brown eyes and hair, small dark
mustache, clean, we'll groomed face and
complexion that dissipation would
have ruined in a week, but which was
now clear and healthy.
My sergeant took the squad and
marched them down to the troop quar-
ters, where, with my heutenants, in
! spected them, listening to the stories Of
all the rest-the same old story l had
heard n thousand men tell and vary only
| in detail-as to where they lived, wheth-
er they were married, why they had en-
! listed, etc Laufer promptly told me all
that it was reasonable l should know
and as promptly showed his manhood
when any irrelevant question was pro-
pounded by declining to answer.
was satisfied that he had told the
| truth and that | had luckily picked up
jewel of man. | made up my mind
that should he fulfill my first impress
sions during his setting up and grad
nation from recruit to a private he
should be a corporal after one or two
tours of guard duty
| The colonel frequently came around
from one troop to another during the
ceremony of stables. Morning and even
ing a cavalryman's horse is thoroughly
groomed, fed and watered, each private
| and corporal grooming the horse he
rides, the extra horses being taken care
of by the recruits or by the stable guard
when there were no recruits
That afternoon 1 was right glad to
walk down with the ''old man, as we
called our colonel He was harsh one
and swift in his punishments, yet not
slow in his rewards-just, but cold
| blooded and almost unmerciful, man
in many ways cordially hated by us all.
yet in many more ways idolized by
every one who knew him. We turned
into my troop stables, and to my utter
astonishment found my stable sergeant
standing with Recruit Laufer. ready for
my order to put him in the guardhouse
Dressed now in his white stable frock
and trousers, he looked typical caval-
| ryman, but there was that in his face
not defiance, rather determination
plainly showing that he had made his
decision.
What's the matter, Sergeant Cars
well2'' asked the colonel
Recruit Laufer refuses to groom his
horse, sir, - reported Carswell, with his
hand at the visor of his cap.
Refuses to groom his horse, chr
the colonel asked. with that twang in
his voice which every soul from the kid
bugler to the lieutenant colonel knew
meant mischief Then, turning to Lau-
fer. III a manner to make stout nerves
quiver, ne asked:
Why won you groom your horse:'
Because | am no groom. sir, and be-
cause such was not explained to me as
part of my duties when enlisted. - said
Laufer, saluting, but steady as veteran
"The-you say. roared the old man,
now mad beyond all hope of calming.
Sergeant Sergeant CarswellI Ser
geautP he yelled
"Yes. sir. said the sergeant, who
had stepped aside to look after the 9TH
er recruits.
Sergeant Carswell, have the saddler
make halter for this man, tie him up
in this vacant stall when it's ON him.