The Winslow mail., 1898-07-30
I WHY lie ENLISTED
! By BARTON PiTTMAN.

A ) Iii = recruits commenced 10 Scd =
u ter around in the shade. the jour
aIist and TIE Hancock volunteer pro
eeded toward the headquarters of the
oIonel of the regiment. After the sal
t.tations had been exchanged before the
tent Of the commanding officer the vol
unteer addressed the colonel, saying:
''Cap'n If you need any more of Har-
cock county boys, I'll get'm for you"
"Ifthey're all as fne-looking physical
specimens as yourself" said the colonel,
jovially, 'Pd like to have whole army
of them; our regiment will be filled up
in day or so, but I'll let you know IN
time
After they had left the quarters OF
the colonel and were stretched upon
the grass in the shade the newspaper
man took occasion to put his favorite
question: "Why did you enlist?'
Sometimes this question elicits ar out
burst of patriotic ardor which fills the
air with stars and stripes and eagles:
some times (most frequently it calls
forth a hard-lucl1 story, which paints in
glowing cOlors the virtues of the victim,
but on this occasion the answer was
merely: "Well, have nothing to lose,' .
.But," protested the newspaper man,
there's no telling how long yon'Il have
TO be from home, and there's TO man
that will take he same interest in run
ming your plantation that you do, for
presume you are farmer?"
That's true, sir; that's true" was
his deliberate response; ''but you see
things amt just as they was. Before
Mary left took interest in everything,
but now-I jes' turnt the farm over to
acouple of fellows and though nights
WELLS to come TO the front and fight for
my country. I'm "a years old, and l
amt never done nothin' but farm, and
L thought I'd take a little fightin' in
mine jes' at this stage"
Here a forced smile played over his
rugged, care-worn features. The cor
respondent wished 10 follow the clew
just thrown out about the desertion Of
Mary, but didn't know just how to pro-
ceed. "Well, [ don't want to discou.-
age your patriotism" be said, "but
you're giving up the peaceful leisure of
rural life for the dangers and excite
ment of campaign in which disease is
as much to be feared as Spanish bull
let's"
Stranger" said the volunteer, "that's
jes' it. From the way you talk bout
peaceful leisure 1 see you amt never
lived in the country. Farmin's a good
thing if mans got money or don't
mind workin', and l don't, but that was
jes' the whole trouble. 1 bleve now
when I think of it that if L had had
more time to make her happy she'd a
been contented to stay, but it seemed
TO me we was married at the busiest
time Of the year, and then afterwards
it looked like l had jes' as much to do
at all times. / always had to look after
the milkin' at daybreak, and then be-
sides the regular work there's enough
chores and the like to keep a fellow
hustlin' all the time. Even on rainy
days there's harness to mend and such
But, friend" and here his face bright
ened up until it was radiant with the
recoilections, "if you could have seen
that little wife of mine in the dairy,
you'd a seen the prettiest sight you
ever saw. In a little speckled calico,
sllimmin' the milk and washin' the
crooks, singin' the whole time, jes as
happy as lark. Sometimes it seemed
to me she was more like an angel than
woman. But beg your pardon, sir, :"
he concluded, refillng his pipe, "you
said you wanted to meet all the Han
cock boys here, an I guess I'd better
go make you 'quainted with 'em stead
Of tellin' you all my personal affairs,
which isr't the right things to tell to
strangers"
This sudden halt in the narrative an
noyed the journalist, who had inter
viewed woman suffragists, heard the
confessions of criminals, syEopsized
the prayers of ministers and even in
vaded the sanctity of the home for the
purpose Of publishing to the world the
secrets of private life. The stcry had
somehow placed him in that super
sympathetic condition from which tact
takes fight, but, summoning the little
skill which remained, he determined to
make the man lay bare his heart.
No." he said, don't apologize for
anything you say to me. I'm interested
in it all. When a man is manly and pat
riotic his life is always interesting to
me-. We all have our sorrows, and it's
relief to tell them occasionally. Did
you say your wife is no longer with
you?p
Blundering as this speech may seem
to a mind which seeks and finds hidden
motives, it was sufficient to satisfy the
simple son of Hancock county, so he
continued:
"Yes, sir; it's over three months
since 1 saw her. Understan', now, I
amt blaEin' her at all. She was young
and pretty and full of life, an so I'd jes'
rather to think OF it all as big mistake.
For little time after we was married
she seemed to be happy. but then L
noticed that she didn't pear to take the
same interes' in things. It was ies'
after she had spent the day at Sulphur
Springs with a lot of young folks. I
drove her over there to q picnic enc
mornin' and then come for her in the
evenin'. There were a dozen or more