The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1899-11-03
The Fever'S Fifth Man
By W. L. Comfort

TOGARTY was the heaviest and most
depraved man in the troop. More
over, he had the reddest face / ever
saw with one exception-a man con-
nected with political adjustments back
in my native burg. Maybe l wrong
Fogarty. It depends upon the point OF
view from which one scans depravity.
Briefly, his faults were these:
He terrorized recruits. Following
each pay day, he firted with serpentine
combinations until broke. He was ut
terly devoid of reverence or moral con-
ception. He cursed necessarily, exc
cutting weird fourishes and introduce
ing innovations of the most nerve
shriveling nature. Scientists would
have called him study of degeneracy.
Cavalrymen deemed him only super
ficially depraved because he threw
away money and loved his horse. Mint
Julep was the horses name.
Now was a recruit and in Fogarty's
squad. No man or boy is rational be-
ing during his first xDpnth in the caval-
success in life is due to it-or their
failure. A recruit has much to learn,
but first of all he must overcome the
d-only-see-me-now ex-
preston his face is prone to assume.
He learns that it is Improbable to ex-
patiate upon the rich appointments of
his residence far away, and upon the
princely salary he threw up. He learns
to grin while his trousers are sticking
to his legs, because they are chafed and
bloody from bareback riding in the
bull-ring. He learns that the United
States commissariat does not supply
pie, silken hose or scented pillows. He
learns the peculiar devilishness of
southern army camps in sultry wealth
er. He learns to eat flies and other
strange things-and to eat them in
vicious sunshine. He learns what a ter
ror the rainy season is for one who
can't get in out of it for several reasons.
He learns to chew holes in his tongue
when a superior officer calls him dis
grace to his country and other express
sive things. He learns how insignificant
it is possible for a human atom to be.
He learns to laugh at the whole bust
ness and write home how strong and
happy he is.
Some recruits never get rational.
They take things seriously. They
mutter: God help me-" and bad things
about wars and armies.
l enlisted about the time poems on
the Maine became unpopular. Fogarty
applied system of ghoulish torture to
make me miserable. / concluded that
he was cunningly-constructed object
for my hatred, and that his heart was
packed in ice. What concluded about
army life in general l kept to myself
thereby scoring hit.
One evening / won foot race and
found myself friend of Fogarty's
Old soldiers are fond of physical DEM
onstrations. He was in my set of fours
on troop drill the next morning. Nat
urally, my horse had it in for me, be-
cause it was only tilty, trembly re-
cruit, and the bride did not fit. Sew
eral officers had already directed stere-
otyped call-downs at me. The troop
halted for moment while horsemen
formed on our right. We stood at at
tention-very properly-all except Fo-
garty. To my bewilderment he slipped
down from his mount, deftly and quick
~ frightened my bride on both sides
OF the curb and stepped over his horse
again. whispering:
Give me chew tobacco. Kid"
He had risked reprimand to do me
good turn, and the ice packing which I
pictured about his heart oozed out of
my mind forever.
We were on the slirmish line to-
gether, crawling up the drenched hill
IN front OF Santiag, Fogarty and /.
we heard the droning death whistle
which is thrown from Mauser barrels.
and saw the punctures which the whis-
thing things made in roots and sand and
IN soldiers. We turned our faces up
when it rained, and gaped like lizards
do. We tried to cough out the sand
which caked in our Threats, We
propped up our heads with empty can
teens when neck muscles collapsed. We
burned our hands on the barrels of our
own carbines. Cartridge belts burned
our waists. We did not mind any of
these things.
we knew nothing felt nothing but
the heat. It was the sunshine that we
cursed at huskily the terrible sun of
Cuba. It put throbbing weight in our
neads. 1t made us laugh It bound our
hmbs. It mixed the sitting smoke of
powder with the steaming. choking
stencil of the ground. That stencil
winch the sun made, is fever. It filed
our stomachs, our lungs and our brains.
When the command ssRest,s xvo = ho.,,,a