Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1899-08-02
66 SaS7 ES, Mary" said the old farm


wagon beside his wife to
drive homeward, i've got letter, and
It's from William. You take the lines
and III read it,
As they drove out of the village and
over the bridge and up the long hill
the husband and father slowly read
aloud the words written by the soldier
son-now at the front. 1t was a gloomy
letter 1t told of hardshlps and suffer
ings and prlvations, and not one brave
word was to be found from beginning
to end.
"Poor boyv' sighed the mother, as
the reading was finished and she re-
linquished the lines.
wall, l don't like itr' replied the
father. 'He was bound to go in spite
of everything, and now he ought to put
up with things and not be baby.
Them Spicer boys don't send home no
such letters as this"
IL wish he hadn't gone"
But he did go, and now he's got to
grin and bear it, same as the rest.
Don't you let on to nobody that he's
homesick and ready TO cry. If the nay
burs got hold of it they'd poke all man
ner of fun at him and be sneering at
u.s."
but we can sympathize with him, y
said the wife.
"a little, mebbe, but we amt goin' to
say very much. I'm going to write him
that he wants to take things as they
come and be man. There's them
Spicer boys and Tom johnson and
Henry Doolittle and Ben Smith. and
nobody ever hears whine from them. y
ITS cause William is homesick to
see u.s.
.Wall. he must get over it then.
didn't want him TO go, but bein' he's
down there he mustn't play baby ant
make us ashamed I'd feel like hang
In myself If our William funked ou
of fight or deserted his colors. You've
bin doin' the writin', and guess you've
writ too softly"
Down on the Rapdan, in the old Six
teenth, Private William Hopkins
wasn't making a good record for nm
self, For the first four weeks of army
life he was cheerful and enthusiastic
but after that a change had come
Homesickness is worse than a fever
or a wound for Il soldier. Every man
with a home had had touch of it, but
most of them had thrown 1t Off. Fer
hans he tried to, but If so he dldn
succeed. The boys got onto him, ano
though they felt to pity him, they die
not spare him their gipes and tannts
He was the BOBBY of Company Il, and
even his tent-mate had feeling OF con
tempt for him. One day the orderly
sergeant dropped in on him to say:
"I,ook here. Bill Hopkins, this thing
has gone far enough! You are making
n tirstclass fool of yourself, and If you
don't brace up the boys will give YOU
away at home. Get out and chase
yourself and fling this homesickness
off. A boy 10 years old would be
ashamed to NOPE around as you do!
Private Hopkins was hurt by these
remarks, instead of being braeed up
and turning his face away from the
sergeant he then and there resolved on
n despcrate deed lie would desert al
the first opportunity. He wouldn't ad
init that homesickness had anything to
do with II. lie had been ill-used.
They had given him extra guard
duty-extra work around camp-had
bullIed and jeered him in place of civ
ing him a fair show. He could figure
out that the captain and both lieuten
ants were down on him, and OF the
ninety men of the company he was the
martyr. He had given no cause fol
this, and he wouldn't submit TO sucl
indignities. He was certain of sym
pathy from father and mother. ano
once more back at home he would sta,
there. even If he had to hide in the gar
ret. Every soldier who let's the. feel
ing of somesickness get the better ol
him follows the same train of though
and arrives at the same conclusions
An opportunity to carry out his plaI
came to Private Hopkins much sooner
than he had hoped for. Company I
was ordered out on a night reconnois
apce and, pale-faced and weakened
tile homesick boy took his place in thu
! fines. No one expected any fighting
but 1t so happened that small fore
| of the enemy was in the neighborhoo'
and there was skirmish and the com
nanv was driven back, At roll call |
was found that five men We're missing
Two of those had been left dead in til
road and two others were believed I
nave been wounded and crawled Int
the bushes. The fifth man was Priyat
Hopkins, and 1t was altogether hkei
that he had been taken prisoner. A
any rate, be was thus recorded on u