The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-03

/ and perplexity which at one time came
/ to men who had been shot. A surgeon
| suggested that possibly the reason for
this was the comparative absence of
shock produced by the wound from
| modern firearm. Another thing that
the victims agreed upon was that the
first effects of a shot were less pain
ful and less generally distressing than
| tney mad been taught to believe. For
| this reason, explained wiry little reg
ular. Spaniards were dead easy COM
pared with Indians, because the Indians
ne had faced always shot something
| that hurt every minute. A volunteer
SAID that he had wondered quite a lot
ABOUT what particular kind of a fool
he was going to make of himself should
he get shot. and the fact that he was
neither hurt enough TO be frightened
nor frightened enough TO be hurt was
a1terward matter of great felicitation
There was one member of the Seven
! ty-nrst regiment who was shot in the
leg, and he said that the mental effect
was intense chagrin. His people, he
said, We're of the let the others GO
variety of patriots. They did not forbid
I MN 10 enlist, but the consensus of
nome opinion was against it, They
TOOK the ground that other lives of less
value either to their owners OF. to So
clety, would answer the purpose as we'll.
he argued that he did not expect &c
rose either life and limb or health; were
! the loss of any of these certain he would
not have enlisted and he concluded
tnat MS chances were nearly as GOOD
as II ne We're to remain at home Well
When ne was shot down there in Cuba.
the episode became part of that discus
sion IN way that was sudden, COM
plete and not at all unnatural or GRO
tesque. Swifter than the shot itself
came the thought: What viii the folks
say 10 ME now? And how am I e-oinr
to explain this?"
Another volunteer said that when he
was shot he felt like standing mn ard
| teilnS the Spanish army that they had
performed the feat of final detrfment.
not only TO his country. but to the
whole universe The idea of his Pft
ing shot struck him as having been
comprised only by means of an incon-
sruous relaxation of attention on the
| part OF providence. He could not zee
ohciie IL with preconceived IDEAS He
sdlu that he stood up and spluttered
IN the direction from which the shot
mao come like mad baby until some
oody came along and pulled him hack
| MdIu ana told him to shut up. During
ms subsequent illness and .Ielirit1m
.se volunteer became possessed
OF perfect imaginative picture ot
.he man who shot him to the most
minute change of expression and effe.f
VI uress- That Spanish soldier has as
dlstlnct a personality as he has hir,,-
sen, and even vet he seems more rsaI
ana easier of Identification than most
people with whom the American has
waxing acquaintance. The volunteer
sald that, so far as he knew the Spar;-
ldru race was not one which he he
ever seen or imagined. 1t was onI[-
aiter his convalescence that he was
abe TO separate what actually har-
pened from what occurred in his lima ri
| ha
Spaniard was a dream.
MY regiment had taken to the shrub
| jungle on nearing the front from Slim
nIey,. said another volunteer. crawl
ing through the jungle, 1 found myself
Following man who was much bio-oaT.
IMAM 1, so much bigger than I, in fac7.
that II We were to stand in a row he
Woulu overlap me at all points 1t WIS
| through no continuance of mine that
was following this particular. man. II
| just happened for the same reason thar
ne was Following somebody else, in 4
way men have in common with sheen
All this time the Spanish bullets were
urlllnS nasty little holes in the air and
/ scattering through the leaves above
] our heads l remember being particn-
/ larry grateful for not being as big az
the man ahead of me. 1t was but a step
from this to taking advantage of the
cover his size afforded 1 remembeI-
! arguing with myself that I was nor
/ DONG anything mean or contemptibla.
! that the big man stood no greater
chances and that I stood fewer oy the
arfangement- didn't feel as though L
was cheating him out of anything. in
snort, although l was dead sure thar il
ne turned and caught me lodging when
ne lodged and stopping when he
stopped, there would be strife within
our lines. All at once there was a Htrla
tWinge in my arm. It had the numbine-
GfTART hn L.
on the funny bone. Somehow L knew
at once what it was, and nv first
thought was for my friend the big
man He was walking serenely away.
Notwithstanding the fact that he must
| nave had bullet hole through the mid
die OF the stomach. 1 forgot all about
myself and waited almost breathlessly
for him to stagger and fall. He kent
right on until he drew out of sight ana
when l realized that my bullet must
have gone right through him without
any effect at all my profound astonish-
ne mad cheated me. 1 tried in vain to
formulate some kind of remOnssrance
and huri II at his retreating figure"
nave been wounded only very
slightly, said an officer, although L
never went into an engagement that I
DID not suffer premOnitiOn that 1 was
going TO be shot in the stomach Off
GERS do not discuss the chances of death
any more than l suppose railroad enei-
neers 90, but since the war have come
across many men who felt as tenderly
for their stomachs as I did for mins.
1t felt like a piece of ice in my abdo-
men,
Ever since the war" said another
officer, my memory has been develop
ing details that were crowded Cor The
time to the rear by my interest in the
greater drama Many of them. although
small in themselves, illustrate the per-
sonal courage and devotion of the
troops. There is one episode that in
particular typifies the American SOL
der. l like to think so, at any rate
He was private of regulars. When I
first saw him he was already Il dead
man, If ever saw one. He was on his
feet, shambling along with that GAL
vanic kind of energy that comes 10
men of great vitality when they are
wounded beyond repair. His forehead
was all puckered up, his mouth was set
and his eyes were glazed and staring
He halted suddenly and shook all over.
Just as he fell-even, as it seemed, in
the very act Of falling-he looked up
and saw me. A very faint sign of ~ecoS-
milton came into his eyes, and then he
Strengthened with a perk, and saIuted
me as stolidly as though he was on
parade. His arm was all torn and
ragged. the wound from a shell prob
oh