The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-06-07

3 Ihe mess are very SeDSlllVe ana, tney
Sfink that you are laughing at them.
RiN tell You 50.
As the hite hussars cay, it was all
.fhe coloners fault: He was new man,
sand he ought never to have taken the
command He said that the regiment
was NOT smart enough-this to the
White husars, who kuew they could
walk round any horse and through any
. guns and over any foot on the face OF
Sf,a earth That insult was the first
scsuse Of ofense
Then the colonel cast the drum horse
tie drum horse of the White hussars!
Perhaps you do not see what an un-
sspeakable crime he had committed l
VIII VIII ttry to make it clear The soul OF
fhe regiment lives in the drum horse
who carries the silver kettledrums He
IS nearly always a big piebald waller
That IS point Of honor, and regl-
ment VIII spend anything you please
on piebald Heis beyond the ordinary
laWs Of casting His work is very light,
and he only maneuyers at a foot pace.
Wherefore SO long as. he can step out
and look handsome his well being is as
sured He knows more about the regi-
s1aent than the adjutant, and could not
make mistake If he tried.
The drum horse Of the White hussars
was only IS years old and perfectly
equal to his duties. He had at least six
sYears homework in him and carried
ssiimseH with all the pomp and dignity
af asdrum major Of the guards The
regiment had paid 1900 rupees for him
But the colonel said that he must
70, and he was cast in due form and
replaced by a washy bay beast as ugly
as mule, with eve neck. rat tail and
COW hooks. The drummer detested that
animal and the best Of the band horses
mt back their ears and showed the
whites Of their eyes at the very sight
snf him. They knew him for an upstart
and no gentleman fancy that the
coloneFs ideas Of smartness extended to
fhe band, and that he wanted to make
IS take part in.the regular parade move
ments A cavalry band is sacred
thing. It only turns out fer command
ing officers parades, and the bandmas-
Ter is one degree more important than
The colonel He is high priest and the
Keel Row is >Ais holy song The
4eKeel Row is the cavalry trot. and
the man who has never heard that tune
rising. high and shrill, above the rattle
0f,the regiment going past the saluting
base has something Jet to hear and un-
Sdrstand
When fhe colonel cast the drum horse
af sheWhite hussars. there was nearly
mutiny.
The officers were angry. the regiment
was furious and the bandsmeq swore
like troopers The drum horse was
going to be put up to auction public
auction-to be bought. perhaps, by a
Parsee and put into a cart! It was
worse than exposing the inner life Of
the regiment to the whole world or
selling the mess plate to Jew-a black
Jew.
The colonel was mean man and
bully. He knew what the regiment
thought about his action, and. when
the troopers offered to buy the drum
berse. he said that their offer was mu-
tinous and forbidden by the regulations
But one Of the subalterns-Hogan
Yale. an Irishman-bought the drum
horse for 160 rupees at the sale, and the
colonel was wroth. Yale professed re-
pentance-he was unnaturally submls-
siy-and said that. as he had only
made, purchase to save the horse
from possible i'll treatment and starva-
tion. he would now shoot him and end
the business THIS appeared to soothe
the colonel. for ne wanted the drum
horse disposed of he felt that he had
made mistake and could not of course
acknowledge it Meantime, the presence
cf the drum horse was an annoyance to
A1m.
Yale took to himself glass Of the old
brandy. three cheroots, and his friend.
Martyr. and they all left the mess to-
rether. Yale and Martyr conferred for
two hours in Yale's quarters. but only
fhe bull terrier who keeps watch over
Yale's boot trees knows what they said
A horse, hooded and sheeted to his ears
left Yale's stables and was taken, very
unwillingly. into the civil lines yc!c':
groom went with him Two men broke
into the regimental theater and took
several paint pots and some large seen
cry brushes. Then night fell over the
cantonnnents, and there was noise as
Of horse kicking his loose box to pieces
In Yale's stables Yale had big. old.
white waller trap horse
The next day was Thursday, and
the men. hearing that Yale was going
TO shoot the drum horse in the evening.
determined to give the beast regular
regimental fraeral-a finer one than
thev would have given the colonel had
lie o.sa jrst tea c-- re. 6 h-liock