The Washburn leader., 1900-08-18
Pack Train l3

GE&: GGf GGGGGGGGa
Slowly starving infantry, parts of
two volunteer battalions, were sprawl
ed about In the dusty moonlit plaza OF
Alphonso that night. A small group
of tagged and famished war scribes
were among them, and these men COM
mented seriously upon the ugly and
thankless proposition which life is.
Now and then commissioned officer
swore loudly at his men, alternately
calling them blood-thirsty devils and
erve-shattered young ladies'. The en-
listed men cursed back in half audible
growls. In the air was that queer muir
muring undertone, which can always
be heard in the midst of American
troops, just after a brush with the
"niggers." And straight above the
foul and ancient town hot white mid
night moon stared down tauntingly.
Never-to-be-forgotten is that last jan
uary night at Alphonso, way down In
one of the lower provinces of Luzon.
dark for 10 rainless days; feed 1t at
rare and irregular intervals upon
bacon and hardtack; charge it upon
live, smoking rebel trenches once or
twice every 48 hours, and on the tenth
day keep up the program, except for
the bacon and hardtack-then look at
the battalion if you are interested at
all in devilish moods or the causes OF
crime. You will understand then the
necessity of perdition hereafter, and
the likelihood of it's being crowded.
The service in Luzon teaches that 1t
IS place of fathomless mud during
the rains, and of terrorizing heat when
| the rains are not. 1t also teaches a
man to. truly sweat and to look at
tragedy without squirting. But more
and most of all in Luzon man learns,
too, what gaunt, helpless animal he
is-learns it from the hitting lesson
which a craving stomach teaches. And
this is lesson which kills pride, pure
thoughts and dreams of home.
The men in the plaza of dirty Alphon-
| so learned this lesson that day, and
that night it was impressed upon them.
Suddenly the sentry on duty at the
north end of the town shouted. The
men in the plaza jumped to their feet
and listened. Then faint and far off
could be heard the tinkle of pack
trains bell-mare. The rations were
coming! Never in profane history of
the world did such yell ascend as
from the plaza of Alphonso. The near
est thing to me was vicious sun-cur-
! ed pony which had jolted me shabbily
for ten hours that day. l hugged the
pony and the ugly beast, bereft of all
fine sentiments, kicked in the front of
a bamboo shack, to which had teth-
cred him. The soldiers slapped each
other facetiously and were men with
human hearts once more. Feed dog
If you would have him follow you, for
there is something of the man in him.
| Not long after that there pounded in
| to the plaza train Of the hardest toll
ers, man and beast, in Uncle Sam g
pay. They were marvellous to look at
-gaunt, shaggy, unkillable mules,
each standing up under 200 odd pounds
of government straights-a dozen tan
ned, haggard and just as unkillable
packers, handling the big train with
an intense but whispered profanity,
for the day and the trail and the miles
had killed the voices in their throats.
The mules pushed the soldiers out of
the plaza, swung into line and smelled
the necks of their neighbors, at the
same time wiping clear the foam from
their mouths. They seemed to be pass
ing through the herd now, a general
inquiry as to how each other had Jared
through the prolonged hellishness of
the hyke. Meanwhile the packers as
sisted by spirit-willing, but neverthe-
less gutteral profanity, unloaded and
uncinched; and the pile of provisions
grew high in the plaza. The soldiers
crowded near, and one otherwise one
spoiled the whole system by getting
into the boss packers way.
"Get back, you d. infants. You've
grubbed twice since we have" The
voice of the pack trains chief would
have been a roar naturally, but its
strength had gone from him that
night. With towering irony he finish
ed. "Mammall have dinney for
babies in little WHILE"
Honestly the love bonds which exist
between packers and infantrymen
would be easily severed. And this is
strange, too, for few are the packers
who have not "soldiered" at one time
in Uncle Sans service. AS matter
of fact what have these strong, strange
rough men not done at one time in
their lives? Old Dad will tell you of
the days in Uncle Sans cavalry when
it was the Drawn of arm and the
granite Of ones fists which beat 1t way
into the superiority Of a non-com's
stripes-the days when troopers rode
in the homewest, hunted Geronimo
and the Apache Kid-rode long, lived
hard and shot true. Scar Face, the
greaser, will tell you how he smuggled
gallons of Mexican mescal across the
Rio Grande, when nobody was watch
ing but the man in the moon, and
about. the wads of money he made out
of the white soldiers on pay days.
Dirty Ike, the cook Of the train, went
with Reno, when the squadrons Of the
unlucky Seventh horse separated to
corral Sitting Bull in the 7O's. Dirty
Ike will tell you how he helped to bury
the dead Of Custer's command in the
circling shadows Of vulture wings, and
how the dead men looked way out in
Montana that hot June day. Broken
Foot Bill. my best of friends in pack
train 13. will tell you how he hit an
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