The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-19


atricals in the English army can be opened
without display of the royal arms. Once
upon a time the colonel found that the
same were missing-had not been provided.
He Immediately secured a large board,
some paint and a brush and placed the
arms according to his way OF thinking on
the board and then displayed it. In this
clfnes to regard the private soldier as ma
chine. He's got kidneys. just the same as
l have" said he. once. and they probably
good time. He'll have enough Of the other
sort of thing" For this spirit the troopers
idolize him. They give him heart devo-
ton that makes his commands superbly
disciplined. No one ever has had 10 worry
as to the condition OF Baden-Powelis sol
diers.
AN ACTOR, TOO.
Baden-Powell is so versatile that he
seems to charm all with whom he comes in
contact. He was famous as an actor long
before he was as a soldier. When in India
whispers that he was going to act In the
Area Belle or one of the Gilbert and
Sullivan operas travelled with amazing
rapidity from station TO station. and every
performance I'm which he took part was at
tended by all the Europeans for miles
around.
A few months after the seige of Kanda-
har he arranged for a performance or
Patience" in that barbarous city, making
himself responsible for the entire manage
ment. The dresses were excellent. the stage
and scenery very good, and the opera was
received with intense enthusiasm; ana
there was not single European woman
there; all the dresses and costumes were
the work of Baden-Powell. who himself APP
peared in the character of Ruth.
las a lecturer on military subjects,
correspondent writes in the Pail Mall Ga
zette, "Baden-Powell is very nearly as pop
ular he is as an actor. The following
story attests his hold over the men as an
instructor. He was delivering a course or
lectures somewhere In Ireland ana the
room had always been crowded with sol
diers noticeable among whom was very
smart, intelligent young sergeant reward
the close OF the series Baden-Powell was
astonished one day TO find this sergeant
brought before him charged with drunk
enness. Whatever made you get orunkT
he asked We'll, sir, i got TO your lecture
late last night, said the sergeant, and the
room was full and / couldn't get in. so. Of
course, had to get drunk. There was no
artfulness in the excuse; the man mad
never been known to get drunk in his life
Mention of scouting touches the most
picturesque side of Baden-Powells charac-
ter. There is nothing he loves more than
ranging over the world discovering the
weak spots in the armor or our enemies. III
the story of Baden-Powell as a scout ever
comes to be written in detail IL Will aston
ish the world. Here, for obvious reasons.
it is impossible to do more than suggest,
and no mention can be made OF nations
and places The following story will ex-
plain what we mean. At the maneuvers OF
one of the great armies, while the accred-
tied representatives OF the British army
were watching everything by the side OF
the officer commanding, Baden-Powen, per-
fectly disguised, was moving about at the
back of the army, seeing things that were
not intended for foreign eyes. TX was en-
tirely on his own initiative that he went,
but the report he sent to the Horse Guards
of those maneuvers-and there were useful
details about other things, such as forts
49, N o.
of the most perfect things in Its way that
ever reached the War Office. He Is for
ever wandering over the globe, oftentimes
quite alone, storing up in his MIND knowi-
edge of the most advanced European ma
lions and the most backward OF African
tribes. In 1885 he made reconnaissance.
unaccompanied, Of six hundred miles or
Natal frontier in twenty days. He was the
intelligence officer in the Zulu operations or
1887 and was mentioned In dispatches
year later he was acting as secretary 10
the British commission in Swaziland he
nrobably knows more about Ashanti than
any other European. and there Is very Ut
tie about continental armies that Baden-
Powell does not know. Wherever ne goes
his mind is at work, and IL Is almost as dif-
ficult for him TO look at a man ana not
know all about him as II was for Sherlock
Holmes, whom. by the way. he greatly adj
AN IDEAL OFFICER.
.sRut while IL is as a scout that Baden
Powell is most picturesque and romantic,
IL is as a regimental officer that his char
acter can be best judged. 1 do not think
II probable that any soldier would con-
tradict the statement that Baden-Powen
Is the ideal regimental officer. Some SER
geants in the Thirteenth Hussars were
once asked If the men liked Baden-Poweli-
After a pause one of them said, hesitate
ingiy: Like him2 Well, / shouldn't say
they like him., then. in burst, why they
l. AnA hfc ID a
men love him. Their love is prompted not
by any leniency of coddling on the part OK
Paden-P Powell, but by his tireless devotion
to their service and by his faith In their
intelligence and good sense. Tommy At
kins is not the childish boy that the Brit
ish public are apt 10 think. says Baden-
Powell, in Aids TO Scouting, and then ne
goes on to say: He is, on the contrary.
a man who reads and thinks for himself.
and he is keen on any instruction In really
practical soldering.
1t seems strange TO be told that Baden
Powell had no early desire for soldier
life. The writer quoted above says: He
never expressed a liking or preference for
any particular profession, and seemed to
go about acquiring knowledge OF every
thing on the earth. When IL was proposed
that he should join brother in the Indian
civil service he accepted the idea quite
cheerfully, but without any particular en-
thusiasm, and IL was only when another
brother suggested that IL he wanted TO see
India he might just as well go into the ar
my that Baden-Powell thought seriously
about the service"
The following anecdotes show another OF
Powells many sides: He celebrated
his arrival in India by marsnaling all the
European children he could find and march
| ing them up and down the streets 70 the
tune of The Girl Left Behind Me- played
with considerable feeling by himself on an
ocarina. This performance is a fair ex-
ample of his OVERLOOKING good spirits, but
there is another story which better Illus
trates his love for pure foolery. He was
walking with a friend on the esplanade OF
some English seaside place and the day
was piping hot. Suddenly, without expla-
nation OF any kind. Baden-Powell sat him
self down on the curb. placed his bIllycoclk
hat solemnly on his knees and buried his
face I'm a flaming red handkerchief. This
unprecedented sight stirred the depths OF
the one and only policeman's heart and
he strobe valiantly across the road. pre-
pared 10 do his duty at all costs Touching
Baden-Powell upon the shoulder with his
white cotton glove I'm the regulation man.
ner. the constable demanded. I'm a deep
voice: 'Arnd. whats the matter wi you
ch?' Slowly removing the handkerchief
from his eyes and with n perfectly solemn
face, Baden-Powell explained thar nc had
Just at that moment tumbled out OF his
nurses arms and that the silly woman HAD
gone on without noticing it,