Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-06-04

came out logged out like Buffalo bi,i;
He had revolver and a big pair of fed
glasses and wore SLOUGH hat and high
boots. with his trousers tucked in. 10 US
he was a new kind, something qui'e on
ferent from the other reporters VINO 'hSiu
come out to see us. In fact. he WASH
Il reporter at all, but special cominlS-
Sioner or something of that sort from me
Brooklyn-well. I'll let the name OF the
paper go. as it has since reformed some
what. At that time it was giving fore
taste of yellow journalism. This chap
had a morocco notebook. in which ne
made elaborate notes. SAID he was Solhs
to make the regiment famous ana Sp.'h'
a good deal of unnecessary time trying
to make us realize our prospective dept
of gratitude to him and the paper ne rep
resented. 1t didn't take us long TO gei
onto the kind OF person he was. anu
some of the boys filed him up with the
peris of our position and told him how
the ferociouS strikers would lie out in the
swamp tufts and pot our men with rlfes
and reviewers. This excited him very
much and he inquired rather anXiousiy
if a civilian would be in danger. We as
sured him that the strikers would shoot
at anybody. piece of information when
he took in with Il gulp.
I'm the territory which we We're guard
ing We're a couple of side tracks with fiat
cars which had escaped the big burning
when the rioters fired the cars. These
tracks had been pretty well sprinkled
with railroad dynamite torpedoes. which
aren't big enough to do any damage but
make a sharp flash and report like
rifle. Ordinarily they are used for sig
nails. | suppose the strikers had put them
there thinking they would give us a scare
if the cars were moved Somebody had
sent a switch engine up after half doz-
en- of the cars and as our brooklyn WISH
tor started back to town the cars began
to move From my tent | heard a sharp
firing, and running out saw the flashes
from the tracks. | knew it was the
torpedoes. But the special commissioner
didn't. He ealloped along yelling at the
Help! Help, Don't shoot I'm not a
soldier. Help. Save yourselves. The
camp is attacked.
Like a streak of wind he went by the
sentry and | shouted to the man not to
fire on him. OF course the camp was
reused but the truth was soon found out.
and we turned in, enjoying a good laugh
and supposing that the incident was
closed. That's all we knew about it. The
next day we looked for our Brooklyn Wis
itor but We're not surprised when he
didn't turn up. We We're surprised. how
ever, when kilograms from Brooklyn be-
gan to pour into camp. They were
adorned with all kinds of signatures but
the general purport of them all was:
Has anything happened to our Willy?
Reply at once.
"All that afternoon there was a line of
telegraph boys filing into camp ana fling
out again. The colonel was blue In the
face and the officers were expressing
command, The general impression was
that somebody had been playing a practi-
cal joke on us, otherwise how explain
such messages as:
Are YOU hurt? Very anxious. YOur
mother Frustrated with anxiety.
or this kind of thing:
Wild with anxiety. Unless we hear
| by wire Immediately shall start for Buff
falo at once. Sue
The regiment nearly went broke on
Geographic replies and il wasn't until
the following morning that We found out
the cause of it. Then a New York report
er came into camp with copy of the
special commissioners Brooklyn paper.
. Is this the way YOU fellows try to
work up excitement? he asked I've inst
had telegram from my office saying
that brooklyn Is panic-Stripken.
He threw down the Brooklyn sheet.
and there in staring headlines was the
result of those torpedoes upon our WISH
tors nerves. Buffalo Bathed In Brook
lyns Best Blood was the substance Of
the heading. and the article told how in
a night attack by the strikers fully half
of the regiment had been shot down be-
fore they could get into lighting trim
and how your commissioner barely es-
capped through Il hail of bullets He had
massacred us while we slept The one re-
deeming feature was that he had given
no names. consider that after that OK
pcrience We have a right to regard our
selves as veterans But it took volumi-
| nous Correspondence TO convince some Of
our '1hiilrS ,nat we were not Killed or
| even ven wounded.
-, MAJ more eNcltement than were
lhciS 10 nave thlS campaign, remarked
one OF me o,herS: But what became OF
| 'ht commissioner
wish somebody Would tell me said
NE hrooklNn OFFICER. = d IKE to follow
up 't"l promising cafeer-With n gun.
gan "d" something TO that, said one
VI the newspaper men. ihat fellow
ilill!' was NeudS' ana hel"Ne that he's
Nd'i'Sien Oh 'he lace OF the earth. |
"Ha az l,uiidio uuiliiS the StflhcS ana ran
across nm there. He attracted attention
~ ms very hrSt appearance" by coming 10
nv i!opuolS' Wh'r' most OF us were stay
MS tui iliS !Ht register around length
mi VI, "'tu pu1tihS ms signature across tn"
~ 1tIL Pc me TINS: ffedtrick NeddS,
ISL "l,eV1 ~" commissioner or the Brook
~ lic resi- OF US uldh see much
.. nun h"Niils more important Things to
Iittnu 10, put ms revolver and Held
sl'lHSSS IId general equipment added
ttolSluefaplN TO the pictureSqueness of
~ IN oCtaNloh. men we got the queries
rom our various otfces IN regard to the
, nt,i'ri Ioiii'l peat OF me brooklyn man.
We we're NOT NIUE worked up. and some
| rived.
tIeunS NAG disappeared from the hotel.
i-n,e Ih"t afternoon Il railway official
,.ieitin, ,o - n.y. sdNlHS 'nat one OF me
i n,fminS colreSpondentS had been badly