The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-12
Gaines Men Fighting Fire In the
Parks.
KEEPS THEM ON THE JUMP
FAITHFULLY PERFORMING THEIR
DUTIES AS SOLDIERS.
No Bloody Battles and No Spaniards,
But They Are Making a Good
Record Just the Sandstone In
cidents of the Campaign-Pro-
tested Against Being Starved.
(snec,al corresnondence.l

| Ncpecidl correspondence
Wawona, Cal, Sept. 7-Captain
Gaines troopers are buster just now
than ever before since their or=aniza-
ton. 1t happens today that every man
who is physically able to work has
something to do. Sergeant Richards
and Corporal Howell, with a detail of
II men. are at Big Meadows, S5 miles
north of here. lighting forest fires.
| Their squad comprises Privates Fair
clough, hampton, Hansen, Hyde, Lund,
| Milligan, Nelson, Robinson, SDenSt,
Wolsey and Woodford. Those men Will
go down in the troops history as the
! first to see actual service of any Elnd.
This afternoon Corporal Goliath was
sent in charge of Privates Barnett,
Daniel, Dennis Hodget, Lee and Whit
| ing, TO help arrest a forest fire near
! the big Wawona hotel, a mile away.
Every other well man is on guard, "a
| tigue. kitchen or stable duty in camp.
The sick list is larger than ever be-
/ fore. on account of an epidemic OF diar-
! rhoea that for some reason recently
struck camp. None of the TROOPERS,
| however. are seriously i'll.
MUTINY IN CAMP.
! For some time after the troop struck
| Wawona rat;ons were little slim. A
week ago squad of men did harsr
mornings work on a track for bare
| back riding. They came To camp for
dinner. tired and hungry, and found
that MOST of the meal had been de-
voured b.. the rest of the troop ahead
of them. Soon afterward drill call was
sounded. and Sergeants Fortescue and
Brice. with Privates Brattain, Dun
ford Freed. Groo. Hodgert, Miller and
Rich. refused to answer the call until
CHI fal
arrested and courtmartialed, the pri-
Yates being punished by extra fatigue
duty. and the non-commissioned Of
ticerS by the following reprimand, read
at retreat a few evenings later:
"Sergeants William a. Fortescue and
Charles S. Price, having been summon
ed before the summary court, sitting at
these headquarters on the morning of
Aug. 80. and having pleaded guilty to
absenting themselves from the after
noon drill roll-call on Aug. 20, 1898,
were sentenced by said court to be
publicly reprimanded by the command
ing officer. The actual offense COM
mitted by these non-cOmmissioned Of
hcers would not be serious under ordi-
nary circumstances. but the fact that
the offense was prompted by motives
contrary to the spirit of military dis
cioline. calls for censure. Both men
have denied any intention of mutiny
or of leading others to rebel, and have
admitted the gravity of their offense.
Considering all of the circumstances,
and in view of the fact that these nom
commissioned officers have borne an
excellent record in the past, and have
apologized for their present offense, the
commanding officer is willing to have
them continue in their present grade
SergeantS ForteScue and Price are
hereby reDrimanded and are admon-
ished to live I'D to the letter and the
spirit of the articles governing the
armies of the United States"
The above document was signed by
Captain Caine, who Immediately made
personal and minute investigation
into the cause of complaint, with the
result that the subsequent fare has
greatly improved in quality and guam
tity.
CORPORAL REDUCED.
Order No. IA. signed by CAPTAIN
Caine. reads:
Corporal F. K. Cambridge Ritchie is
hereby reduced TO the grade of "a pri-
vate. Private Jefferson F. Howell is
hereby appointed corporal, vice Richie,
reduced. Private Richard II. Weather
by is hereby appointed lance corporal
for q term of three months from date
hereof"
The cavalrymen will eat mutton
chops this evening. A stray "McKin-
leyiIe" wandered this morning inside
the park lines. where sheep have no
right to browse. trotted within gun
shot of Sentinel Walter Cannon, who
walked post one in q military manner,
and now hangs skinned and dressed in
the meat house. SO long as stock con-
tinue to feed in these forbidden pas
lures and Soeckled beauties keep
swimming in the brookiet nearby, no
deaths from starvation will likely be
recorded. unless ammunition gives out,
and fish rods are all hooked.
APPEAL FOR REINFORCEMENT
This evening Private Ben Hampton
rode into camp. bringing to Captain
Game the following communication
frem SERGEANT Richards, with whose
detail Hampton was at work in the Big
Meadow region:
Big Meadows, Sept. captain ]. E.
Game, Camp a. E. Wood, Yosemite
Park-The old fire burned itself out
yesterday, but some one has started
three more above us. near Tamarack |
fiat The country west of Crane creek |
is all covered with underbrush, and l !
fear that if the fire gets in there it win |
burn over to the Tuolumne bic trees.
above Crane fiat, on the Oak fiat road. |
We Will start a back fire along the |
north fork Of Crane creek this morn |
ing. but will need more men to turn it |
over to the Oak flat road, near Tam |
arack fiat. and keep it confined to the |
country between Crane creek and the |
Oak fiat road on the north and west. |
and Bald mountain on the east The
old fire is on the south.
There has been a herd of sheep in
the north fork of Crane creek. They /
moved out day before yesterday. We /
suspect that the sheepmen started new
fires. and l viii take one man and try /
to head them off today. Send new men
to camp at Tamarack fiat, and 1 will
join them there. Send as many rakes
as possible, as we have only four"
Complying with this request, Captain
Game chose Privates Campbell, Conk-
lin. Jensen, Ladd. Lee, Merrill. Page,
Racker Rich and Morley to go, with
Corporal Young to the relief of Rich
ards and his SQUAD. They leave early
tomorrow morning. JOHN METEER.
C1,,o,,% 1