The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-18
GEN. YOUNG At SAN JUAN
CONSPICUOUS MARK FOR SPANISH
BULLETS ALL DAY LONG.
CooI-Headed Courage His Marked
Observation-Disclosures Difficult Work
i'm Laying Out Camp WiI1ofT.


New York Evening Post.
The series of quick changes in the COM
handing officers of the camp ended, as far
as anything of a permanent nature was
concerned, yesterday, when Gen. S. B. M.
Young took his departure for Camp Meade,
Pa, where he will be in command of a di-
vision. When General Young came to Mon
tauk his mission was merely to lay out the
camp, expecting to be superseded by the
first senior general who should arrive. His
task was hard one, and so complex that
even after all the other generals had come
they were glad to leave to him the lions
share of the executive work. Now that the
work is done. the secretary of war has re-
called him and sent him to his new COM
mand. General Young came here from
sick bed, and was the first man to prove
the recuperative qualities of the place.
General Young found only waste of hills
and valleys on the day of his arrival, and,
having nothing to work with and no one
to help him that afternoon, he climbed up
to the highest point of rocky ridge and
thought the matter over. A later train
brought Colonel Forwood, the assistant sur
geon general. who was to build the hospital,
enjoyed the exalted title of chief of staff,
but what the staff was no one could see.
General Young himself did not know, and
when asked the next morning by railroad
officer who was on his staff, he replied:
''Staff-where is it? You are the first man
have seen yet who had any idea that l
needed such thing In spite of that fact,
the plan for the camp had already taken
form in the commanders mind, and the
next day, in shirt sleeves. he drove down
the first stake. The succeeding trains
brought captain and lieutenant who
Joined the general in his labors and began
driving stakes also.
The hardest thing that General Young had
to encounter in his Work-far harder than
either the planning or the building-was
that of convincing the natives what and
just how much the word hurry means.
His first encounter with this peculiar genus
was on the first day after his arrival, when
he went to the little railway station and
began writing kilograms ordering the thou
sand and one different things needed
urgently
Not dreaming how slow and easy going
Montauk had always been and how much
slower and more easy going all It's tnhabi-
tants consequently were, he wrote the tele-
grams and pushed them through the little
window to the operator. An hour later he
happened to return to the office, and, find
ing the kilograms still lying where he had
placed them, asked: Here, OPERATOR oid
you send those meSSageS?
The operator licked away at his key with
out replying. The general waited an instant
and then said in a louder tone:
Operator did you send those messages
The general intended to speak In tone
only a little above the ordinary, but MS
voice, which Is as big as ne, rose 10 roar
that brought the operator out OF MS revere
Were you speaking to me?" he asked in
dazed way and then as # reea9g very
long while before, he said: Messages! on,
yes. Did you put these here! On, yes; you
wanted them sent right away, olon you:
with them, and, you know, we don't take
any messages collect here. You had peter
put them on the regular blanks. That Is the
rule here"
All this was said slowly, and by. the time
that it was ended General YoungS amaze
ment and anger had settled down 10 ai ~. 8:
ment, and he gave vent to his Ieellngs IN
hearty laughter. The operator did not Know
who the big man was, as ne wore clvllla s.,a
'If you don't put them things on the prop
er blanks they won't go through, an l
amt kiddin' We. either. Now. them's the
D' ACTIVE MEASURES.
That was too much, and General Young
grabbed the forms and made a stride for
the office door. The operator made for 1t,
too. but not to open it, and did not meet
the general half way. Failing in that move
he sprang away in the direction of the desk,
but was overtaken. Though pale and thor
oughly frightened, he turned paler when he
found that he was not going to be mauled,
and fairly shook in his shoes; Cor the gen.
erals face BODIED him no good. The bunch
Of messages were thrust under his nose, and
in the mildest of voices the general asked,
xviii you send these messages now, OF VIII
YOU have me make you do 1t
The operator seized them haStlly anu Win
one glance at the signature changed the
plugs in his switchboard, thereby cutting
Into two closed circuits ana preaKlng OH tne
train dispatching wire. His call went clear
through to Long Island City with a bang,
and the one word government gave MIN
the right of way; The MESSAGES esa; t wSas
to tell the story and from that day on tne
sound of the generals footsteps on the plat
form or the jingle OF his spurs was sun In,
and pound away at his key at sucn rate
that the chief operator down the Ilne' pc
leving that he was mentally ~, asK tu MN IN
if he did not want relief Later, When ne
had become little more used 10 nurrylng'
like a wild horse being. broken to harness;
he became General Young connueiitial
man. and handled all his messages IN a
manner that was entirely satisfactory
That was the first adventure. Inc second
came an hour later when he nad occasion , 10
consult a carriage driver. It showed MIN
that the natives possessed out ohS Goill-
mendable quality, and that was so lacking
in even shadow Of prae1tcaty J vhai 81 Va"
General Young found the driver had but
one idea in his head concerning any proJecL-
ed tourney, and that was TO be on time; II
did not matter what it was or whether tnere
was any necessity for his being on time, ne
ALWAYS started out with that notion ana
would hitch up his horses at IL o CLOCK IN
the morning in order to finish nIteen mil
utes' trip to the railway station 70 De on
time for the o'clock train. WINE the tele-
graph operator was still in his fright II pc
came necessary for General Young 10 go 10
a distant part of the camp site, out tnere
staff of one were cogitating as TO wnat tne
best move might be-there was uWellilus
and an outbuildng suspiciously like STAPLE
within view half a mile aWay-a ndtlHe
driving a pair of horses attached TO soou-
looking surrey came up GeneraI 1ouns,
closely followed by his stan, cnmpeu mo NO
the vehicle and remarked: Drive me up the
hill and don't waste any time.
Cant do it," calmly answered tne NAIVE
"You can't, Ell? Why not?' querled Gen
Young in the tone of man unuseu W nav
ing his commands disobeyed
s'I've got to be in time for the tram; =,
"You have. Don't you call yourseif IN
time now Win an noun any
ION. yes" the native answered. "put
haven't got any time to lose. . .
There was the trace of smile lingering
about the corners of General Youngs mouth
and the staff in the rear was stli1lng MS
laughter behind his handkerchief
nv DO 1py yDe menu me M the hill when the train
doesn't come for an hour?" the general
asked. ~x.r~xx,Y-
The native undoubtedly had an answer
ready, but it never got farther out than his
10 nath fFacr