Cañon City record., 1900-08-23
Pack Trainl3

cd about IN the dusty moonlit plaza OF
Alphonso that night A small group
OF tagged and famished war scribes
wero among them. and those men com
mented seriously upon the ugly and
thankless proposition which life H.
Now and then commissioned oflcer
swore loudly At his men, alternately
calling them biood-thirsty devils and
neFve-shattersd young ladies. The en-
listed men cursed back In half audible
growls. In the air was that queer muir
muring undsrtone. which can always
be heard in the midst Of American
troops. just after . brush With the
-'ntggers." And straight above the
foul and ancient town . hot white mid
night moon stared down tauntingly.
Never-to-be-fo IL that last jan
uary night at Aiphonso. way down IN
one Of the lower provinces Of Luxon-
dark for 10 rainless days; feed It at
rare and irregular intervals upon
bacon and hardtack: charge II upon
live, smoking rebel trenches once or
twice every 4s hours. and ON the tenth
day keep up the program. except for
the bacon and hardtack--then look at
the battalion II you are interested At
all in devilish moods or the causes Of
crime. You will understand then the
necessity of a pcrdition hereafter. and
the likelihood Of Its being crowded.
The service In Luxon teaches that II
IL place OF fathomless mud during
the rsins. and Of terrorixing heat when
the rains are not II also teaches
man to truly sweat and to look at
tragedy without squirting. But more
and most OF all In Luxon a man learns.
TOO. what q gaunt. helpless animal he
is-iearns 1t from the hitting lesson
which a craving stomsrh teaches. And
this 10 lesson which Kills pride. pure
thoughts and dreams OF home.
The men In the plaza OF dirty Alphon-
80 learned this lesson that day. and
that night II 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 on
could be heard the tinkle of pack
trains beii-marc- The rations were
coming, Never In profane history Of
the world did such . yell ascend as
from the plaza OF Alphonso. The near
Ssk knink W 4ht IN n fAattar Eha a-Aa "
ed pony which had joited me shabbiiy
for ten hours that day. I hngxed the
pony and the ugly beast. bereft OF all
fine sentiments, kicked In the front OF
a bamboo shack. TO which I had teth-
cred him Tho soldiers slapped each
other facetisusiy and were men With
human hearts once more. Feed a dog
II you would have him follow you, TOR
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 Sans
pay They were marvellous TO look At
--eaunt. shaggy. unkiiiable mules.
each standing up under 900 odd pounds
Of government strAiGhts--a dozen tan
ned, haggard and just - unkillAble
packsrs. handling the big train with
nm intense but whispered profanity.
for the day and the trail and the miles
had killed the voices In their fhroats-
The mules pushed the soldiers out Of
the plaza, swung into line and smeilcd
the necks OF their neighbors. II the
aame time vipinE clear the foam from
their mouths. They seemed to be pass-
ing through the herd now, . general
inquiry ~ TO how each other bad Jared
through the prolonged hellishnsxs OF
the hyks. Meanwhile the packers a.
sistcd by spirit-willing. but neverths-
less Euttsral proximity. unioaded and
uncinched; and the pile Of provisions
grew high In the plaza. The soldiers
crowded near. and ose otherwise one
spoiled the whole system ky getting
Into the boss packers war.
"Oet back. you d. Infants. You've
grubbed tuice since Nc have" The
voice OF the pack train's chief would
have been . roar naturally. but its
strength had gone from him that
night with towering irony be nnish-
ed. ''MsmmA1i have dinncy for
babies In q 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 packcrs
who have not ''soidiercd" 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
shs days In Uncle Sans cavalry when
Ii was the Drawn OF arm and the
&fhuste vi UHs us0 WHfcu U82N ~ way
into the superiority OF non-com'a
stripes-the days when troopers rode
IN the homcwest. hunted Geronimo
and the Apache Kid--rodc long. lived
hard Gs.. shot true. Scar Face. the
srekser. VII, tel you kcs big staugxicd
gallons Of Mcn o.-n a, Ssnal across the
Rio 0rAndn. whsn nobody was watch
Ing but ths man In the moon. and
about the wads OF money he made out
Of the whets soldiers Oh nay dAya
Dirty Ike. the cosss Of th i ssasn. went
with Reno. when the sQuEssspas OF the
unlucky Seventh horse separatel to
corral Sitting Bull In the 7os. Issty
Ike will tell you how he helped 70 asss
the dead Of Custer's command In the
circling shadows OF vuiturs wings, and
how the dead men looked way out IL
Montana that hot June tsy. BrokeA
Foot Bill, my best Of friends In pack
train II. will tell roc how he hit an
iceberg. while rounding Cape Horn IN
. whAisr and lost his personal profits
Of shree years toil--et0. 900 worth OF
sperm OIL. He tells Of dealing faro II
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