The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-06-24
WOMEN OF THE ARMY.

These are the times that try women's
sauls as we'll as mems, and nowhere
more sorely than in the regular army.
Used at all times to inconvenience
which make their sisters in civil life
stare with amazement that they should
endure them, just now their life is more
than ordinarily hard. For, of course,
the regulars are the backbone of the
army and are ordered hither and
thither as the wind bloweth, and their
families are not left safely behind in
their own homes, but must vacate those
quarters to the next corners.
At almost every post in the country,
in lieu of draperies and br~ic-a-brac,
packing cases and burlap are the adorn-
ments of halls and rooms! and the
"housekeeper struggles along with as
few dishes, pots and pans as she can
SO that the last days packing may be
as light as possible. Instances of the
philosophic way in which she accepts
the inevitable are without number. For
your true army womand regards war
n the discomforts it entails on her as
a doctors wife does his night calls or
his irregular hours or his visits to a
patient with a contagious disease. It
is a sad part of his profession, but a
part, no matter how dire it's conse-
quences. So The army woman-and
the ideal is probably the daughter Of
OllS OlllCtI dIlN Tie vile Ol dnOLHoT~
packs away her pretty things and tries
to think only of the prizes war can
bring-not it's blanks.
1t is told that the meeting of father,
sons, sons-in-law and brothers at
Chickamauga was the first occasion
when all had been together. But the
pleasure of the meeting was marred
by the knowledge that wives and
daughters, mothers and sisters had been
left hQhin6 To c0Fnn1Qfo tho nookinO
Think of what that meant, We women of
the cities, when it is remembered that
the posts were removed from cities and
that all dependence for carpentering.
packing, ETC., had up to that time been
placed on the soldiers. When the troops
were withdrawn the women had their
w hammering to do, and who shall
say how many crates were made by
hands that the satirist accuses of be-
ing unable to hit a nail on the head?
The haste with which the final orders
came-When they did come at last-for
mobilization was another hard feature
for the army woman to face. One
young engineer gave up his bridal tour
and carried off his day-old wife to his
new post. That was no such hardship,
however, as came to a young cavalry
officer far away on the plains. His be-
trothed was visiting her sister on the
post when orders came at night for
the troops to march at daylight. The
young officer hurried over to the house
where she lived and besought her to
have him On the spot. AS there was
sure to be uncertainty if not danger OF
death ahead of them, she finally con-
scented, and her sister agreed that such
a course of action would be for the
best. BY the time everything was
ready it was midnight, and when the
groom left the new wife discovered that
she had been married with only one
slipper on. In her and ex-
element she had not noticed the fact.
Another young woman, whose we'd
ding occurred but little before the
Maine disaster, disregarding all 'signs
of the times" came to her new home
and settled down with all the pretty
fixings and furniture of a bride. No
sooner was she in order than the artil-
lery bill was passed, and her husband
was transferred to a new regiment.
They packed up all the fine furniture
which they had enjoyed so short a time
and left for the new post. Since then
but a month or so-they have had two
moves, and the bride pluckily observes
that while she feels sure she'll never
settle down again, she doesn't grieve
as much as one might think, because
there can't possibly be much left OF
her household goods after all the trav-
cling they have gon through.