Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-08-26


ner of the barracks, over his bunk.
punching bag, which he worked at with
good deal of assiduity The bucko cor
poral got his eye on this young chap and
proceeded to step on his toes at the first
opportunity. This occurred at the guard
house when both men were on guard. The
young recruit, when the two had taken off
their belts after being relieved from guard,
stepped up to the corporal and1said:
II can't very well thrash you here and
now while you've got your chcyrOns on
your blouse. All the same, Id be glad if
you'd give NE an opportunity to get hunk
with you on even terms, so chat you
wOuldn' have your cheap stripes on your
trousers legs to fall back upon
This was what the bullying corporal
was looking for, and the fight was ar
ranged to take place that same night. A
select few of the buck privatcs and non
commissioned officers turned up at the
abandoned quarteTmaster' storeroom to
witness the battle. Seconds and time
keepers and bottle holders and all of the
rest of the regular officials were appoint
ed, and the battle began. The recruit was
rather a scientific man, but he appeared to
be somewhat outclassed by the corporal.
The latter, however, rcsorted to foul fight
ing tactics, and the recruit friends made
howl over this When the argument
was at its height she enormous figure of
Shaftcr was seen right in the center of the
thCong of excited contcnders. Shaftcr was
always moro or less of Il night wandering
Haroun al-Raschid, and he had happened
down the quartcrmastcr's line of store
houses on this night just TO see what he
could sec whe1 the arriving gang of sol
dierS informed him that something was on.
Two seen this thing almost from the
first round said Shaftcr to the startled
gang of soldicrs-they were too paralyzca
with astonishmcnt to bolt for it-"and so
long as you two men have started in TO
violate military regulations you might as
well finish he job. But there are to be no
moro foul tactics. And. Doherty." al
dressing the recruit, eff you Cont liz :. II =
corporal within an inch of his Inc IN
find some means to let you deccotly out of
the service. Go in and thrash him right
Then .Shaftcr withdrew. Commanding
officers have means of finding out things,
and when he heard the next morning that
the recruit had taken heart after nc, the
commanding officer. left the scepe and
maulcd the buci.o corporal to q proper fin
ish Shafter saw TO it personally that the
recruit was transferred TO another CON-
pany &C the regiment aid promoted
When Lawton was in command of one
of the western posts, he had u peculiarly
pompous bandmastcr, who was, however,
very obsequious when he played at the
dances given by the officers.
One day the enlisted men of the post de-
cidcd to give hop themselves. COM
mittcc of the soldiers approached the band
master to ascertain If he would be willing
to furnish the music The bandmastcr at
first declined to listen 10 any sort of
proposition, but finally consented to give
the services of the band for n night dane
ing for the sum of $40.
That's a whole lot o money, my wind
1n~r ri 81, -lga
was at the head of the music committee
Il am free to say that think you could
take heap of reef in that figure. What's
your idea, anyhow, in soaking it TO us fel-
lows so hard when you play all night for
the officers couple o. times week for
nothing"
But you ain'd officers alreaty, replied
the bandnaster- You are noting but
buck pTivates, ain'd it: Well, j shGrseS
you What / bieas,-fortly tollars'
All right, bunkic, replied the soldier,
If you think you can make hit in this
layout by putting it on 70 US shis way it's
UP TO You TO make i. stick Well pay yop
tSe forty because we've got TO. seeing that
there's no juniper fcivilianl band around
this mp. But l think you re making
bad break all the same -
The soldier " no had done the interview
ing with the llandmaSter was an old time
noncoinmissionesl officer who had soldierpd
alongside Iawton on a number OF critical
occasions He went up to Lawton's qusr-
ters To have xord with -4the beak, 9th