The Opelousas courier., 1899-09-09
ASLEEP ON PICKET.
An Incident of the War in Cuba.
by T.. f. FLOYD.
by T.. F. FLOYD.

T
duty on the heights. Not much to make
a story out Of, for after the exciting
events of that day, ever to be memor
able in our history, anything else tina
can be told must seem simple and com
monpIace. But to Private Morton
there at his post by the deserted
trenches it was destined to be even
more eventful than the scenes he had
just been through.
Ever since the landing of his regi.
ment, two days before, the moments
had been filled with excitement and
rough work that left little time fol
thought. But Private Morton, as q
general rule, was not much given tc
thought. A private in the regular
army must be made into a part of one
splendid fighting machine. So Pri.
vate Morton al content to do his
duty and let the officers do the think
ing.
Though apparently not over 80
years of age, he was now serving his
second term Of enlistment and had
seen enough Of active service in the
Indian campaigns in Arizona and the
Bad Lands to make wal for him no
novelty. He was counted a good SOL
die', and he knew by heart all the
"rules of war" by which the sharp
discipline of the regular army is en-
forced.
But tonight it seemed to the soldier
that the burdens of the service we're
more thaa ordinarily oppressive. For
nearly 48 hours he had been on con-
slant duty, without rest or respite,
marching through the tropical rain,
wadisg streams, plodding in the mud,
fighting, famishing; for in all that mad
rush Of the preceding days there had
been no time for rest and hardly a
thought for food and drink, for even
the regulars had caught the infection
and were nearly as reckless and i'm
proyident as the less disciplined and
th%oughtless volunteers. The n
thing to do was to possess that Span
ish line before it could be reinforced
and before the dreaded fever should
thin their own ranks. 1t was death
in front, but just as certain death
was stalking in the rear. And so
during those last two days there had
been no rest from duty, no moment in
which to catch a little sleep or relieve
the muscles OR mind from the terrible
strain. The line had been won and
now must be guarded from surprise
and recapture.
In detailing the guard for that i'm
portant service there were no fresh
men from whom to select; the fatigue
of two days constant marching and
fighting could be no excuse, else there
could be no guard, for ali were equally
worn and exhausted. When Private
Morton heard the orderly sergeant
call his name as one of the detail for
guard duty he had just flung himself
down on the rain and blood soaked
ground beside dead Spanish soldier.
There had been no time to select a
resting place; the tired limbs had re-
fused duty the moment discipline was
relaxed, and he had fallen almost as
q dead man there among the really
dead, with all his accoutrements still
strapped about him and firmly grasp
ing his heavy army rife. But with
the calling of his name the habit of
returned, and he was
promptly on his feet to form one of
the little squad that marched away
into the growing darkness toward the
front for sentinel duty.
He was stationed in the shadow of
> few closely growing trees, just be-
.ond the now deserted trenches lately
80 stubbornly defended by Spain's
bravest soldiers, with orders not to
expose himself in the open, but to note
the least movement or sound from the
direction in which the enemy had re-
for it was deemed very likely
that a night attack might be attempted
Tor the recovery Of the hill.
For q short time after his compan-
'ons left him Private Morton did not
give much attention to himself. He
followed, first with his eyes, then by
;he ear, the movements Of the little
'and, as guard after guard was placed,
tried to keep in mind the location
If the different men. It was no new
work for him to be on guard, and there
vas no special novelty to him in the
War was war, whether in
Cuba or Arizona. He knew that
lcross that dark canyon, concealed by
he darkness and the thick growth Of
imber, was the Spanish line and that
my moment a fight of Mauser bullets
come in his direction from out
hose dim shadows, or ever a line of
Spaniards spring from the
JINGLE down there a little way below
lim and come charging up to bear him
nd his comrades back from the hard
armed field. But he had been in
bad places before and did not
now what it was to fear anything in
he shape of foe. HE knew the i'm
'ortance Of his task, the perils it in
olved and the consequences of fail
re.
But now the new-found strength
hat came to him when called to this
vew task began gradually to fade away.
nd he could realize how tired and
Amt he was. He could easily count
p his rations for the last two days
ast five bareback, soaked in muddy
1ater, in all that time, and as for
leep, when he came to think of it he
id not believe that he had had any.
Mess, perhaps, he had slept awhile
etween the fighting and the detail for
uard duty.
How tired he was now and how he
'ould like to sleep! No, that was
% risky. It meant death to be caught
He could stab a hole through
is shoe with his bayonet and wound