Arizona republican., 1899-09-25

Jul no, my pIluc ilA'1
make an effort to liverup to a replrta-
item manufactured for me. The first
evening when stables sounded the tai
the sergeant assigned me a horse
which for general cussedness had nc
equal in the army. l thought I could
detect knowing grin exchanged be-
! tween the troopers when l graspad my
| Cufry-cOml0 and brush and sailed in
! to do my Ju>y to my country. A
| kindly disposed trooper warned me tS
handle the horse cautiously but l out
wardly showed only contempt for the
animals killing prctcligities while
! ir8ardly quakad with fear Affecting
nonchalance [ was far from feeling I
/ approached Flam'beau which was the
euphonious and highly suggestive title
/ . which my mount responded Flam-
beau's mien was that of poignant
thoughtfulness when I gently applied
the brush. l gradually worked to-
wards the business end of the horse
without any misha,g but when 1 in
cautiously stepped back a couple of feet
in the rear of his r::...e-drivers, 1 was
conscious Of a sudden flash. 'Jhen 4
blcw in TIE ocmrnissa:y department
which lifted me skyward, and, de-
scri5ing a graceful parabola. l struck
mother earth with a dull thud [
F:cked myself up, painfully aware that
my dignity and pride had received a
serious setback. I was also conscious
that the troopers were making no eff
fOIt to conceal thetlr amusement and
that tlhe troop commander was looking
at me in an inquiring manner. | af-
fected not to notice anything unusual,
but again took Flamt.aau in hand. but
ever afterwards I had wholesome
respect for his rear drivers.
l will not huniiiate myself unneces-
sarily by mentioning in detail the
many anxious mcment5 I experienced
nor the many fights I had with my
Fflipino steed, but will mention one
incident wherein l almost met with
disgrace in battle on his account One
day while accommodating in the vicin-
l1y of Santa Anita my troop unexpact-
eddy came in contact with large body
Of the enemy entt9ncL3d in a bamboo
jungle, who opened fire on u.s. While
we were lining up in battle array Flam-
Eaau gct excited and tplungng out o.
the ranks started in fhe, direction of
the Fiipinos. l tugged at the bit in
vain. and finding taat he was evidently
trying to surrender me to the enemy.
concluded the only thing to dc. was
H..
chose the latter course, and drawing
my carbine from its boot dropped to
the ground, thereby frustrating Flam-
ibeau's evident intention tci run me
into the insuslG3nt ranks l madie all
haste 10 return to the command While
sneaking through the brush and dodg-
ing bulf5ts I deserted the major dane
ing a hornpipe en- the road and MAX
ing frantic g'2sticulations in my direc- |
ton. l kE5w l was in for a lecture, I
but pretended not t. see him. Here, /
you man, come here" he bawled at
me, and of course 1 had to go. What +
do you mean by running away with I
that hors.9?'' l saluted and calmly told |
aim that the horse was running away
with me and as l did not care to join /
TIE Filipino ranks l retIeated. That I
was an unfortunate rlamank t. make,
for Ghe major got purple in the face as
le fairly roared at me. @Wha-a-at's
that you say? Who ever heard of an
American soldier retreating?" HIS
wrath got the better of him so that he
could not articuIate plainly, and fear
ng that an apopleptfc stroke was i'm
ninent I made my escape. Fortunate
y fer me Flant-oau after going short
distance and finding that the ether
-
to the troop. otherwise l
Il ght have been court martialed.
The spirit of camaTaderie between
L trooper and his horse is keen, but
me and Flambeau there never
vas any love, and many times l tried
0 founder him by hard riding, but
avail, until one day recently
n army mule came tC my relief with
he result that Flambeau and l now
lave a perfect understanding with
ZACH Other. thanks to the mu1a, cur
differences have t.2cr satisfactorily
ettled. to ne at least. One night he
,r'7ke loose from mis- picket line and
.fter raising Cain with several ether
Lors.es he turned his attention to one
f the troop wagon mules. Everybody
lef7 heard Of the fatal effects of being
licked by a government mule. Flam-
IAN came out Of the scrap with a
,roken leg and the raXt day he was
ut. l would relent Sc far as to
ay '<requiescat en- pace" Gid not
now it would be mockery, fer L saw
cur FilipinOs industriousiy carving
Iambeau's remains into quarters {
CIV hours af:9r his death [ might Y
Incidentally adG-that "carne caballo' is l
t-i2thsome morsel for the natives Y
In NV next letter l will gtlye cen
CT a troopers daily life IN 7
M field and also a side light on the +
tanners and customs of the natives. f
WALTER T. GREGORY. 7
-C--
HzO DENSnM