Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1899-12-09
400 he's goip' to turn us into
~ powder monkeys" growled
y Lem, as he nnbuckled his
..,,,,,,n;k;oD + aIk and thraw

elbows deep INTO Cno SOU Sauu huo
smoking away in complacent laziness.
SIS that so? Well, I'll have you
understand, you big, lazy Dutchman,
that I didn't enlist to carry either
ammunition or gun, and if I've got to
take the one, I'd just as soon have the
other. As for this idea Of turnin' the
band into powder monkeys, it's some
thin entirely new. In case of battle
it's generally the rule for us to go with
the doctor as hospital corps"
"No, dot ISIS no rule. We is sup.
posed to go NIT companies und carry
guns, dot is vot We ISIS supposed to do.
I am we'll satisfied nit dis arrange
ments. Idt gives me longer to live. u
81 wish he'd put me in company,
then. This is such rotten job"
"You better shut up or te ABUNDANT
will see dot you carry all tie guns you
like"
And after that very little was said.
1t was the 30th of June, the day be.
fore the big battle of Santiago. The
til Regiment was encamped at La
Guasimas, and muster was just over.
The members of the band had been
wondering what disposition was to be
made OF them. hoping all this while
they would be attached to the hospital
corps. But the Adjutant had set
their minds at rest this day by giving
them each one hundred and fifty
rounds of ammunition and telling
them that their duty in case of battle
would be to stay near their regiment
and replenish any companies which
might run short of shells. While
they outwardly scorned the idea of
carrying belt of cartridges without a
gun, they were inwardly thankful that
they had not been given their rifles
and ordered to companies.
1t was o'clock the next afternoon
that an orderly on horseback came
tearing down the road from the front
with orders for the --th band to join
it's regiment at once. Some COM
panies were already without ammuni-
ton and others were very short.
San Juan Hill had been taken. FL
Caney also was no longer in posses
sion of the Spanish. From early
morn the din of shrieklng shot and
shell had been something beyond de-
scription. The TIL baud had no
desire to approach the firing line
after having seen the thousands of
dead and wounded, some of them
horribly mangled, brought back from
the front. When the order came to
take their ammunition to the regi-
ment they were thrown into a tenn
porary panic.
"Well, what are we to do?" said
Lem, ducking his head as shell
shrieked past,
For moment no one answered. All
stood with blanched faces listening to
the roar of the battle mile away and
wishing they were mile further in
the rear. Utter had been lying on
the ground smoking in his usual lazy
fashion, when the orderly came up.
With an apparent effort, he rose to his
feet, and buckling on his belt of am
mutton said:
"Do? We obey orders, dots vot We
do. We go up at vonce und give 'em
our ammunitions. Und VIC got no times
10 monkey round. You see dot cav.
airy officers go by nit his troops shust
now? Veil, he comes back in five
minutes and takes lis all up in front;
und how you likes dot? Come on,
now, and make double times, too"
And Utter started off up the road at
a good trot He was INN ediately fol.
lowed by the other men. who did not
know what to make of this speech
from the lazy, cowardly Dutchman.
Maybe We git chance to come
back vonce," said Utter, as the others
overlook him. "Some men git voun-
dedt und We bring him to tie hospitals.
Dat takes time und no We may hafve
vone more day to live"
Suddenly shower OF bullets
whistled about the mems ears, and
they dropped to the ground and
crawled into the chapparal beside
the road with one accord.
Zip, zip, zip, came the bullets into
the bush necessarily.
II say, fellows" shouted Lem,
"this is gettin' little too hot, don't
you think so?"
"You bet," came the hearty reply
from a dozen men.
1.-The sharpsl ooters are pluggin' at
u.s." continued Lem, land l think
we'd be justified in skippin' out, if we
can git out without bein' killed"
"Vot's dot? Sharpshooters? Rot!'
and Utter jumped to his feet quicker
than any one had ever seen him move
before. "Dot ISIS only spent bullets.
Come on quick, now, or dot cavalry
troops"
1T don't make any difference about
that cavalry troop, or whether those
bullets are from sharpshooters or not,
interrupted the Sergeant of the band,
con ~ out of his dazed con
dition. "Y III lie down and shut your
trap or I'll put few holes into your
trap myself, just for practice" and he
toyed careless',y with his revolver.
''No one i-s afraidt of dot pistols"
"Shnt up"
Gle down.
600 hang YOURSELF"
These and like expressions were
shouted by indignant Aembers of the
band who were anxious to follow Lem
and the Sergeant to the 3ear.
"See here, Utter" said Lem in al
e1asperated voice, whats the use of
us risking our lives to carry this little
up there. What good
will it do five hundred men? Why,
they amt six rounds apiece"
"Vot's tie use, you say? Vot's tie
use?" Utter was snorting with rage
now.
eff Custer hadt dthose few am.
tie Little Big Horn wouldt
hafve made different histories, dots
vot's tie use!'
Up on the firing line, the Colonel
of the It'll was racing along from one
trench TO another, sweeping the en-.
emy's lines with his glasses and swear.
inc yioorOusly IN himsalf