The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-02-18
.WIPING OUT OF SULKYA SAM.

--- - n - r, \
Tale oftitc Evil Eye III the PIT of the
1 Wounded at III Cnncy.-Hc Enjoyed
the Pain ofOthers, aud Trouble Al
ways Followed When he was Oircn-
dcd.
New York Sun: In long depression
OF the ground at Ell Caney, a kind OF
lane bank-protectcd. there lay num-
Der OF soldiers wearing tags and ends
OF uniforms. Some were regulars;
some were volunteers. Very few, in
deed, boosted blouse. Some had on
blue shirts, but large number We're
In undershlrts and trousers. so lrresist-
IDLY had been the impulse TO throw
away every possible weight on the
march. But their clothes did not mat
ter. The men had been haliied, In from
the jungle. where they had fallen by
dozens before the Mauser rifles, while
as yet they We're unable to advance and
return the fire. Some We're badly hurt,
some mortally and some were dead.
There they lay together. waiting for
the doctors with magnificent cquanlm-
ity. for the affair had been sudden. and
| 80 N'Ns''' "SAN NV ~ ~ " 'AS
front.
This" said regular. with n bullet
In his knee. ',would have made !'Sulky
Sam laugh loud, II ever he could laugh
I foud.'
who was .Sulky SAINT" said his
nelghbor, nursing broken arm.
| 'Sulky Sam" said the other, maxi
Ing himself as comfortable as he could
in the bank. 'sulky Sam was the nat
urally meanest-you haven't got no ia
bac?"
| No" said the other told you
twice hadn't"
mot In the wrong pocket? Feters
sometimes leaves u chew forgot in the
wrong pocket"
| There amt none; I've felt and felt"
said the soldier. somewhat lrritably.
a sharp cry OF pain came from the
| fallen ranks near them.
Hes bad" said the first man. II
guess he won't last for the doc. That
was hot time"
| Why would Sulky Sam have enjoy
ed this sort OF fun?"
Because he was natural devil! He
liked to make fellers feel bad, durn him.
Well. he's In hell. anyhow. When our
outfit was In Wyoming. he Joined with
a batch of rockies. They'd been three
|
the time they got up to US every rookie
| hated Sam, and was afraid of him"
| "a bruiser?"
"Brulser be bowed. Sulky Sam
never would put up his fists nor hardly
open his mouth. either. He was Just
mean, all through. When he laughed
| you'd get mad II you heard him fifty
yards away. When he spoke at all he
had no good word for the country
he was furrIn-nor the army, nor his
own people. nor nobody. Yet. he
warn't sassy; he just--T dunno-sort OF
| sneercd. He was black-haired. and yell
lcr-faced. and had the damndest eyes.
He didn't often look at you. but when
he did you felt like giving him one for
| pursooming to be human. Them eyes
made the rockies afraid. Say, did you
| ever hear tell Of the evil eye? It's rot.
! OF course. All same, Sulky Sam had
the evil eye. The way they found out
was at Fort Laramie, on the road up.
Tommy Carroll-Apples Carroll,
| cause OF his cheeks-got boozed at the
post traders, and came back TO the
camp gay. Apples was happy. an
| singin' as IL baby with an old shoe when
| he was drunk, but that time. soon's he
saw Sulky Sam he went for him just
| as quick az Sulky Sans sneerinE eyes
saw him. and he belted Sam good. too.
| Wot happened? Wy. Apples was down
with typhoid fever the next day, and
| had to be left In tn hospital at Fort
Laramie. That wouldn't have mattered.
| but this ere beast seemed to like to
see fellerS suffer. or In trouble-enjoy
ii. too. took an interest in it. damn him,
| liked to look on. SO one OF them rockies
got his ankle broke noslns after jack
| rabbits. and there was an Offsir went
I Al. tt,N, ,,,I
blanket to bring him in The rookie
was In meaSly agony. and Sam grinned.
Tothcr Teller says he, was grinning all
tn time. Offsir makes a litter Of the
blanket and two poles. and orders the
men to walk gently. cause 1t was rough
travelling. Did Sulliy Sam walk gently.
Not him. He walked half drunk, and
went out Of the road a yard to find a
rock to trip over. The rookie screamed
out.
BE careful, my man. says the on
sir u
Soon the rookie screams out again,
and curses sam. ~.
YOU'RE an awkward lout,' says the
offsir. BE careful 81 KS
Rookie screams again.
You did that on purpose yelled tn
offslr. and makes them lay the rookie
down. kicks Sam hard and takes Sans
place himself. What ;haDpened?t OFF,
sir shot deer on the march next day;
tried to load II on n mule. and was
kicked all to pieces. Sulky Sam hung
around while they We're dressing him on
the ground, pretending TO help. butt his
Sner and his eyes and the way he en-
joyed himself was disgusting. So the
rockies were afraid OF him., Every-
thing that displeased that yellow devil
hn rnCpnrpl
Why a rookie growled at him. for not
bringing In his fair share OF the wood
to camp one night. sam grinned, and
looked ut him and the next day Il
wagon wheel rolled over the rockies
foot, There was a heap OF accidents
in that batch that came into Wyoming
In the early eighties.
Say, there's that poor devil scream
Ing again. The docs a long time COM
Ing. ] guess he won't last. He was
hit In the stomach. Say, I wonder IL
body else near, and 1t seems rough to
bother him."
Wait" said the man with the broken
arm, grooming. "Talking's better than
lying still. What became OF Sulky
SAM"
.We-ell. he was sulkicr and sncering-
cr than ever when he Joined the troop.
and TIERS 10 discipline for the Ike OF
him. They takes their punishment.
and they're sulker and sneeringer and
mcasller than ever before. Sam wasn't
three months In the barracks before
every man In garrison avoided him.
and what's more. Hike the rockies. were
afraid Of him. Sam never got drunk.
didn't chew and never gamblcd. The
only thing human about him was that
he was lazy. which was &: blessing for
us, for he shirked himself into trouble
at last. The cvil-eyc worked success
fully In garrison as on the march, One