The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-09-11
5Sa, az LR.uPPIhcoT COMPANY

at the other. and tapering Of in sinuouS
curves until lost in the distance; few
scattered ranches in the stream valley
collection of sheds, shanties and novels
! surrounding a 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 a solitary
: cavalry horse was tethered. Yonder at
/ the suffers, early as it was in the day,
a 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 frolicsome children to the
east, the stripes and facings 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 a 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 sec
ol, 70 = fHe ,fov.
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 blacklist 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
times, and scores of them, in the hope
and promise of life employment in an
honorable profession, accepted the ten
der of lieutenancies in the regular army
III 1865, the war having broken up all
their vOcatiOns at home, and now, hav-
ing given four years more to the mill
tary service-taken all those years out
of their lives that might have been
given to establishing themselves in bust
ness-they were bidden to choose be-
tween voluntarily quitting the army
with bonus Of years pay and re-
naming with no hope of advancement.
Most of them, despairing of finding en-
plOyment in civil life, concluded to
stay; SO other methods of getting rid of
them were devised, and, to the amaze
of the army and the dismay of the VIC
Tins, big list was published of officers
rendered supernUmerary" and sum-
marily discharged.
And this was how it happened that
gallant, brilliant and glad hearted fell
low, the favorite staff officer Of glori-
GUS corps commander who fell at the
hod of his men after three years Of
equally glorious service, found himself
i'll faraway Texas this blacklist of black
Fridays, suddenly turned loose on the
world and without hope or home.
Cruel was no word for it. Entering
the army before the war, one of the
few gifted civilians commissioned be-
cause they loved TIE service and then
had friends to back them, Edgar Law
renee had Joined the cavalry in Texas,
where the first thing he did was to fall
heels over head in love with his cap
tain's daughter, and runaway match
resulted. Poor Kitty Tyrrell! Poor Ned
Lawrence! Two more impractical peo-
pie never lived. She was an army girl
with aspirations, much sweetness and
little sense. He was a whole souled.
generous, lavish fellow. Both were ex.
travagant, she particularly SO. They
were sorely in debt when the war broke
out, and he instead of going in for the
volunteers was induced to become aid
de-camp to his old colonel, who passed
him on to another when he retired, and
when the war was half over Lawrence
was only captain of staff, and captain
he came out at the close. Brevets of |
course he had, but what are brevets but
empty title? What profiteth it man
to be called colonel if be have only the
pay of sub? Hundreds Of men who ca
gerly sought his aid or influence during
the war "held over him" at the end of |
1t. Another general took him on his !
staff as aid-de-camp, where Lawrence
was invaluable. Kitty dearly loved city |
life, parties, balls, operas and theaters.
but Lawrence grew lined and gray with !
care and worry. The general went the |
way of all flesh, and Lawrence to Tex
as, unable to get another staff billet. |
They set him at court martial duty at |
San Antonio for several months, for |
Texas furnished culprits by the score in |
the days that followed the war, and
many an unpromising army career was
crt short by the tribunal of which Can
tain and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel !
Lawrence was judge advocate, but all |
the time he had skeleton in his own
closet that by and by ratified its way cut. |
Time was in the war days when
many Of the men of the headquarters