The Advocate and news., 1898-10-26


eminent Now just look at Lawrence.
Ordnance and qUartermaster's stores
hopelessly bOggled"-
"HushV interrupted Brooks, starting
back from the window Here he is
now"
Assembly OF the guard details had
sounded q few moments before, and all
over the sunshiny parade on its west
ward side, in front Of the various bar
racks, little squads Of soldiers armed
and in full uniform were standing
awaiting the next signal, while the
porches Of the low wooden buildings
beyond were dotted with groups of COM
rades, lazily looking on, Out on the
greensward, broad and level, orisscross-
ed with gravel walks, the band had
taken it's station, marshaled by the tall
drum major in his huge bearskin shake.
From the lofty flagstaff in the center Of
the parade the national colors were flut.
tering in the mountain breeze that stole
down from the snowy peaks hemming
the view to the northwest and stirred
the leaves Of the Cottonwoods and the
dropping branches Of the willows in the
bed Of the rushing stream sweeping by
Che southern limits Of the garrison.
Within the Enclosure, sacred to military
use, it was all the same old familiar
picture, the stereotyped fashion of the
frontier fort Of the earliest seventies
dull hued barracks ON one side or on
Cwo, dull hued, broad porched cottages
the officers quarters--on another,
dull hued Offices, storehouses corral
walls, scattered about the outskirts, a
dull hued, somber earth on every side;
sOmber sweeping prairie beyond, span
ned by pallid sky or snow tipped noun
tains'; twisting, winding road or two,
entering the post ON one front, issuing
ut the other, and tapering off in sinunus
curves until lost in the distance; few
scattered ranches in the stream valley;
SColleotion of sheds, shanties and novels
surrounding bustling establishment
known as the store, down by the ford
the center Of civilization, apparently,
for thither trended every roadway,
path, track or trail visible to the naked
eye.
Here in front of the Office solitary
cavalry horse was tethered. Yonder at
the suffers carly as it was in the day,
q dozen quadrupeds, mules, mustangs,
or Indian ponies, were blinking in the
sunshine. Dogs innumerable sprawled
in the sand. Bipeds lolled lazily about
or sQuatted on the steps on the edge of
the wooden porch, some in broad SOM
breroS, some in scalp lock and blanket
none in the garb Of civil life as seen
in the nearest cities, and the nearest
was 400 or 500 miles away. Out on the
parade were bits of lively color, the
dresses Of froliosome children to the
east, the stripes and faoings of the cav
airy and artillery at the west, for, by
some odd freak of the fortunes Of war,
here, away out at Fort Worth, had
come crack light battery of the old
army, which, with Brooks battalion of
the cavalry and headquarters, staff,
band and six companies Of the --th in
fantry, made up the garrison--the big,
gest then maintained in the department
immortalized by Sheridan as only SEQ
ond choice to sheol Il was the winter
Of 1901, as black and dreary time as
ever the army knew, for congress had
telescoped 45 regiments into half the
number and blasted all hopes of promo
tion--about the only thing the soldier
has to live for.
And that wasn't the blackest thing
about the business by any means The
war had developed the fact that we had
thousands Of battalion commanders for
whom the nation had no place in peace
Simea. and DSares Of thern. in the hope