The Florence tribune., 1898-10-29
SKATERS WAR NAME
The sObriquet of "Pscos Bili''
 Earned in Fighting Indians.
A Genuine Soldier Who Has spent Most of His Life in the NiIi- tary service-His Coat
 Is Always on.


 Is Always on.
 Nine-tenths of the men in the reg ular army, from major generals, brig adiers, officers of the line to ordinary troopers, always refer to the com mandcr of the American forces at San tiago as "Pecos BilP' Shafter. He is known by tha, title from Vancouver barracks to Tampa The sobriquet ia 3 rcniniscenee Of the old days in the southwest whan A aen a'ter a colonel of infantry, chased Indians rode hard, trapped harder and made the hardest sort of military life pleas ant for everybody around him.
 The hero of Santiago was slender young man in those days, could ride his GO miles day, day in and day out, or tramp along at the head of the troop CTS under him for week on army ra- tions without complaining half as much as some of the volunteers who have not progressed any further to- ward actual war than Camp Alger in Virginia.
 They tell hundred stories in the army to prove thatAPecos Bill" Ehafter is a real soldier; not one of the sort that likes military hop as well ss he likes a scrimmage with the enemy. They say of him that he is hard" They don't mean. of course, that he is hard" in a moral or humane sense, because he is as gentle as woman, ard as rigid in his views of life as a Puritan father. But he is hard soldier, hard rider, hard fighter and strict disci- plinarian-
 "sBiH' Shafter always has his coat off when there is anything doing, is saying in the army Tie last tire he was seen by the writer ''Peces Dill" not only had off his coat, but also his sus- penders, and was giving the hsrders of mule pack train a lesson or tive about their business and the accom- panying art of persuading mules to do things at Port Tampa.
 In order to fully appreciate his en- ergy it should be remembered that Gen. Shafter is a sure-enough heavy weight He admits that he weighs ''something over 300 pounGs.n The re- | ports from Santiago say that the big ! general assumed direct command of his men; that Be rode into tha field with his coat of and yelled orders just as he used to do in the old days when l haiting renegade Indians was the ey- tent cf the nations military under taking.
 "Billn Shafter is known as plain l man, too. There are no friils about 1 him. He went off to Cuba not a whit better equipped as far as clothing was | concerned, than the troopers who went with him and sweItered under heavy blue-cloth uniforms. A friend who was with him at Tampa suggested that he have one ot the fashionable khaki uniforms constructed for him. self. Most of the generals and staff of fcers with him presented very natty | figures, and the bluff old Indian cam paigner admired them in way.
 'SThey are just the things for a mil itary ball." said he. "But," he added I don't want any of them in mine I guess I will go just as I am. I will fiji in among the boys better"
 So Bill" Shafter went off to the wal in a regulation uniform of dark blue cloth, of the same quality as the clothes worn by the private troopers The only differencew that upon eacI of his shoulders there were two golt stars-the insignia of q major genera of the United States army. He en feared himself to the troops in hi corps by advising the regimenta commanders to take off and leave of their coats. And he left his off during he trip from Tampa to the landing place in Cuba.
 The troopers in the First regimen of infantry who served with Ger shafter in the west. are sincerely fen of him. They give rigorous evidence 0 the fact upon every. occasion, and n man came in for a heartier receptio than be the day when he went aboar the transport at Seguranca at Por Tampa to sail out of the port and poin .he way to Cuba and tAe stronghold c the enemy.-Boston Post.