Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-09-28
OF THE ARTILLERY.


island. harbor Of San Francisco a number
Of years ago, was clever Englishman, sur.
named St. Ronald on the muster rolls, but
known unto - Of the command only as
Me Lud,' said a war department clerk
who put in a fve-year stretch in the ar
tillery branch. Eve didn't call him Me
Lud' because he was in anywise pompous
or stuck up-that sort of thing doesn't go
among the enlisted men Of the American
army-but because, although genial, anna
bic, and corking good fellow, ST. Ronald
really had mighty fine manner about him,
and, when it came to a pinch, be didn't
have to take any dust from any of the off
GERS in courtliness and grace of personality.
St. Ronald was about p years old
when he first Joined the battery, and he
was the very pink and picture Of fine,
natural-born soldier He had been a fine
soldier before be ever broke into our outfit
He had No. discharge, with extremely
complimentary remarks attached thereto,
from the cape mounted police of South
Africa, in which he had served three years
as sergeant, campaigning all the time.
Then he had No. l discharge from the
Canadian mounted police, in which he had |
served for two years. So when he drifted |
into our heavy artillery outfit he didn't |
need to be told the difference between a |
cartridge belt and fatigue cap. He was
such a crackaiack from the day that he got
among US that he was rated a corporal and
| then sergeant within three months, and
we were all glad Of it, for he was way
ahead of the buck private class. figured
St. Ronald out from the first as the bad lot
Qf Nrhfa IN, Co. H. /
although he rarely spoke about his past
except to two or three of us who were very
chummy with him He had his ups and
downs in our battery-got busted from ser.
geant to buck private, and put in a 30-day
trick in the guardhouse for trying to tear
San Francisco loose from its foundations |
then had to go up to his former noncom-
mlsHoned rank again By slow stages, and in
general had the usual career Of an American (
soldier who doesn't belong to the goody-
goody platoon. Whatever happened though,
Me Lud' was game for it, and be never
had kick coming, and several times when 5
some fellow in the battery got into a gen
eral court-martial scrape, and was dishon-
orably discharged and turned adrift without
a cent, with nothing but the uniform to his
back, Me Lud' was the boy to turn in his
whole months pay to help the unfortunate q
out, and to get the rest of us to do something Il
on the same general order. Ii
At another time when the old post ord W
nance sergeant lost his wife and had not the In
necessary funds to give the good woman the to
burial to which the bereaved husband felt q
she was entitled, Me Lud' goes into his 70
pocket for what was needed, not as loan te
but as gift, for the old sergeant was about
at the end OF his days of active service, and
retired pay would never permit him to re- m
urn the amount unless at great sacrifice. bl
10 the sergeant he said: Never mind about I'm
irving it back, as | would have to spend it, a.
md spending it my way would mean being Re-
busted" by the c. o. again, and ! would m
'ather be discharged as a sergeant than as bC
private ~
After doing his three years with the
battery, St. Ronald took his discharge and
vent over to San Francisco. He didn't tell o.,
my OF us what he was going to do, and he On
MY had about S25 or $50 when he was ~ ~
aid off. week after he left Acatraz a ~
lumber OF us went over to San Francisco -,
ne night on leave. We were walking 10 'i''
Nearney street, when we pushed into a
rowd surrounding fakir The fakir was
often up in stage ranchero style-velvet 70
pants, with gold tinsel running dis
own the sides; velvet jacket, loose, ruffled, ga
potlessly white shirt, and enormous white
ombrero, with two or three heavy silver !
ords running around it, The fakir was toi
cling EN- of some perpetually fragrant dis
cans that he had discovered on a tour of an
outh America. The beans were devised TN
take the place Of saehet powders or of ma
qud extracts, and the perfume-sGid the
ikir-never left them. He certainly had
reat spiel about those beans, and he sold ter
I'm like hot cakes, at the rate of 80 cents sw
Or a paper bag holding about a pint Of va
lem. Me Lud, the fakir, winked at ia tar
olemnly, when he saw US on the outer cir sui
Ie of the crowd, and we didn't have a sis
hance to talk with him for some time after
ard. Then be told us that the beans he c
'as selling were the ordinary frijoles of sul
soaked over night in cheap toilet on,
'ater, and that he thought he had pretty tea
bod thing, inasmuch as he was hauling snf
own profit of about $50 night. "a
Il didn't see any more of Me Lud' on the
'ast after that. ] came on to Washington G
I'd entered the war department soon fou
terward. went out to the opening OF the a.,
orld's fair, and on my third tour around ,ar
he buildings | met up with Me Lud' He tat
as the second man in charge of the exhibit -
ON Ceylon, and he looked out Of sight in -
'''N'-NN ~ y q NY ARu ttd painter lie was
rosperous and thoroughly in the game. He
I'D quit San Francisco and gone to Ceylon
etore the mast latter going broke on Re,
rlseos 'Barbary coast) soon after left
lie coast. and had put in the intervening
,ars as a timekeeper on a Cingalese tea
antation. He was apparently pretty glad ?
see me, think; anyhow, know had a slic
rrible headache when | woke up on the por
ornlng after thus strangely running across the
lie Lud. | saw him a number Of times lar
hie | was taking in the fair, and when | but
II ne told me he expected to 90 back to thr
lylon and hnlsh the game Of growing up me;
ith the island. der
Il was leaning on the rail out al the Ben put
ng race track on Thanksgiving afternoon owe
atching the horses parade on to the track spo
the Washington cup race when heard sta
voice behind me excaim, in a well.known
cent, 1 say, there, you soldier looked