Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-09-04
AL PROUD OF ROOSEVELT.
Rough Riders Tell Stories Of Their
Colonel's Bravery.

FIRE IS OF THE WAY HE
! FOUGHT. LIKE A WILD INDIAN
COL. WOOD ALSO PRAISED BY
THE ROUGH RIDERs-oNE NIGHT
| AT THEIR CAMPFIRE.
Camp Wikoff, Montauk Point Au.
gust 28.-Bugle had answered bugle
across the hills in the beautiful notes
OF taps" From off the sea an invig.
Grating breeze was brushing the cob.
| webby clouds into one corner of the
! sky, so that the moon should have &
falr field for shining. The distant
sound of surf drummed an undertone
to the music OF the colored troopers
| who were singing harmoniously on the
ridge above. II was an absolutely per
! feet night; such a night Ss makes thi.
point one Of the loveliest places in the
world. A little group Of rough rider.
! was stretched about dying fire ovel
which they had been making coffee
| for taps does not imperatively mean e
| to bed In the camp, where the soldier:
who have worn themselves TO skin ant
bone In the nations service are sem
| to recover their strength and spirits
in the way which best suits them.
Who'd have thought 1t six weeks
| ago?" said one of them, yawning lux.
| uriously. Spider, pass me bottle Of
beer"
"Pampered beast" observed Spider
tossing a bottle Of beer upon the de.
| pleted abdomen CT the first speaker
| doubling him up temporarily. Give
| up some of that ported chicken. You
eat too much. Think Of what you had
to get along with at San Juan"
"Haw, haw, haw!" laughed a blond
youth, known to his comrades as the
Weeping Duchman,. for the excellent
reason that he Is a Swede who has
never been known to lose his cheerful
ness. "Haw, haw, baw! ! tank Mac
he Get grass den an pat his belly hard
! Haw, haw!"
so l did" agreed the first speaker
| -Four blades of grass and half a spare
boot that some guy who'd lost his ap-
petite gave me- | think that was my
dinner, but maybe my memory deceives
me- My insides felt like can of ole
iron scraps for month after the fight
anyway"
Come Off" said the Spider. "You
know you had line of bareback uI
your sleeve.
! Had nothing up my sleeve but a
bloomin' scorpion. When he let fly and
| punctured my tire I went head over
heels. thinking I'd been hit by Maui
ser bullet. It's the proper caper tc
tumble over when you're shot, so
collapsed. At first was paralyzed
when | found my arm was still there
but after the damn bug had nipped me
again swatted him, and then l felt
| better"
"One O. them scar-peens come mighty
nigh to disgracin Soapy Smith. This
observation was from Metropolitan Bill
who came rightly by his name by virtue
| of having an aunt who lived in New
| York, though his own home is in Ari-
zona. He was UP there in the trench
es blazin away at Spaniards along with
the rest OF us, when all of sudden
seen him turn kinder yeller. First off
| wondered If the fever could q nailed
him that quick Then be backs out an
I'm mustang If he didn't wheel
around an push the breeze for the
| rear
Wanted himself to be seasick behind
a tree" remarked the Weeping Dutch
man, who had observed that not UNI
common phenomenon of battle which
aflicts fighting men with almost I'M
bearable nausea.
mo. sir" replied. the other. He
was scairt. That's what allied him.
Guess again" chorused the Others
derisively, for they had had opportun-
tiles of observing the slandsred man in
trying situations.
That's what Just scairt.' He
paused to give effect to this then con-
tinued: Bud not Of the Spaniards. THIS
| was what was botherin Soapy. He's
most powerful jiggity about bugs, an
as he was lynn there pikin' at a tree
that nad been spoutin' Mausers in our
direction a big scar-peen came scuttlin
over to the bank right fer him.
swatted it and yelled to Soapy to come
| back. but he didn't hear me-
What happened them" asked the
suave and quiet voice of Mississippi
river gambler and bad man" whose
mild conversation, always half whis-
pered had earned him the sobriquet OF
the Screeoh Owl.
why. he run plumb into a officer
ana SOC COAJdl GU L OOi SOatI NNNNA'
was chatterin' so he could hardly ex-
plain, but when he did, the Lieuten-
ant lugged him back into spot where
the bullets was kickin' up the dirt
mighty lively. There amt no scar
poems there says the Lieutenant;
, they've all got shot if there ever was
any SO Soapy he lays down there
very contented and pinks Spaniards till
night.
"H's curious remarked the gambler
WHAT sort Of things frighten men that
Won wouldn't think would be afraid of
ANYTHING. The nerNiest man I've ever
known would yell like child when a
moth-miller f1uttered near him, and
had a pal that was in more than twenty
gun-piays before he finally choked to
death on fshbqne. and that man
would try to dodge fash of lightning
that wasn't aimed within a mile OF
him. I've never seen the man yet that
isn't afraid of something
Il tank | guess you don't scairt oar
Colonel yoost very much" sing-songed
| the Swede.
That's right" put in Mac. In the
city we all knew that Teddy had. moral
courage to burn, but since I've seen
I