Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1898-09-11
TWO STORIES OF SKATER.
Ho1v He Treated the Untruthful sol- dier Moving Tale of
 Rabbit Stew.

Rabbit stew.
 Most of the regular army officers who have had experience in western campaigning know .Peeos Bill' Shsf- Ter well, and tell many whimsical st3- ries of his Falstaffian humor. Sone are doubtless authentic and some ana not; here, at any rate, are couple t4 the latest to go the rounds: When Shafter was senior colonel of the armv he was temporarily in charge of soma western post, and numbered in hia command an exceedingly bright, can able fellow, whose cleyerness was con. tinually getting him the non-commis, sion stripes, and whose escapades were just as frequently getting him reduced to the ranks. One day this soldier turned up at Shafter's quarters with long face and applied for leave to attend the funeral of his mother who had died the previous night, he said. ir the town. The request was granted. but later on, in looking over the post records, the colonel discovered that the same man had been granted leave the month before on the identical pre. text. Shafter said nothing, but eou. pie of days afterward encountered the bereaved warrior on parade ground. Look here, my man, said Pecos BilI. solemnly, q want to ask you a ques. tfon Were you good to that mother of yours while she was alive2" We'll sir-yes, sir; that is, l hope so, stam. mered the cuIprit, not knowing what was coming. T hope so, too, 3 replied the colonel i've heard of mothers dying for their sons, but never of one dying twice in 30 days for one You may go in mourning for a month-at the guard house."
 The other story is told at the ex. pense of a certain paymaster who was very fastidious in his habits, and con. tinually complaining of the hardships of army fare. On one occasion he ar. rived at a western post presided over by Shafter and stayed a week, making himself a general nuisance One of the pets of the officers quarters was an enormous cat that answered to the name of Pete, and the paymaster took quite q fancy to the animal The day before he left Pete had fit and turned up his toes. Col. Shafter took private aside and told him 10 cut eff the cats head and tail and conceal the remains Next afternoon he had the paymaster to dinner, and among other things served was what appeared 10 be fine rabbit stew. The visitor partook heartily Of this dish, and at the con.
 elusion of the meal the colonel as # by afterthought, beekoned a servant and told him to bring in those trim. mings" The man grinned, and promptly returned with the g9astly relies of Pete. That's all right, said
 shafter, T always like to know what I'm eating" he added 10 his guest, 50 l generally make lem save the head and tail" Good God! man! what do you meaa?" gasped the paymasteri turning green. q was referring to the stew we just had" replied the colonel "What stew?" said the other faintly, that rabbit stew?" Rabbit" ex- claimed Shafter, laughing heartily, "that was no rabbit. That was Pete. | Didn't YOU know Pete was dead" The | paymaster rushed from the room, and nothing could afterward induce him to stay longer than an hour or so at Shutters post. As for the truth about the stew, the colonels orderly shotthe rabbit that composed it early that morning.-St. Louis Globe-Democrat.