Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1901-08-10
Copyrighted. 1900. by the J. B. Lippincott Col
CHAPTER IV.-CoN1INUED

CHAPTER IV.-CoNIINUED.
In the wave of patriotic wrath and
fervor that swept the land when the
Maine was done to death in Havana
harbor, many and many a youth who
had sneered at the state guardsmen
learned to wish that he too had
given time and honest effort to the
school of the soldier, for now, unless
he had sufficient "pull'' to win for
him staff position, his only hope
was in the ranks.
And so, even in the recruit detach-
ments of the regulars, were found
scores of young men whose social
status at home was on plane much
higher than that of many of their Of
ficers. But the time had come when
the long and patient effort of the
once despised nilitiamen had won
deserved recognition. The commits
sions in the newly raised regiments
were held almost exclusively by Off
GERS who had won them through long
service with the National guard.
And in the midst of all the whirl
of work in which he found himself,
Lieut.. Stuyvesant had been sum-
moned to the tent of Gen. Drayton,
commanding the great encampment
on the sand-lots south of the Preside
reservation, and hidden to tell what
he knew of one Walter F. Foster, re-
cruit til cavalry, member of the de-
tachment sent on via the Denver and
nd 70
ferred to the Southern Pacific train
No. 2 en- route to San Francisco,
which detachment was burned out of
its car and the car out of it's train
early on the morning of the = of
June, 1898, somewhere in the neigh
borhood of station with the I'M
couth name of Beowawe in the heart
of the Humboldt desert, and which
Recruit Foster had totally disap-
peared the following evening, having
been last seen by his comrades as the
train was ferried across Carquinez
Straits, 80 miles from Oakland Pier,
and later by railway hands at Port
Costa on the back trip of the big boat
to the Benicia side.
There was little Stuyvesant could
tell. He hardly remembered the man
except as a fne-featured young fell
low who seemed shy, nervous and
unstrung, something Stuyvesant had
hitherto attributed to the startling
and painful experience of the fire,
and who, furthermore, seemed desir-
Gus of lodging the lieutenant, which
circumstance Stuyvesant could not
fathom at all, and if anything rather
resented.
He explained to the general that
he was in no wise responsible for the
care of the detachment. He had only
casually met them at Ogden, and cir
cumstances later had thrown him
into closer relation.
But the veteran general was de-
sirous of further information. He
sat at the pine table in his plainly
furnished tent, looking thoughtfully
into the frank and handsome face of
the young officer, his fingers beating
a tattoo on the tabletop. The gen.
erals eyes were somber, even sad at
times. Beneath them lay lines of
care and sorrow. His voice was low,
his manner grave, courteous, even
cold He was studying his man and
discussing in his mind how far he
might confide in him.
Obedient to the generals invita-
ton, Stuyvesant had taken a chair
close to the commanders table and
sat in silence awaiting further ques-
ton. At last it came.
''You say he left nothing-no trace
-behind?'
There was nothing to leave, gen
eral. He had only suit of under
wear, in which he escaped from the
car. The men say he had had money
and a valise filed with things which
he strove to keep from sight of any
of his fellows. They say that he be-
friended a tough character by the
name of Murray, who had enlisted
with him, and they think Murray
knows something about him"
Where is Murray now?" asked the
chief
I'm the guard-house at the Presidio
He gave the corporal in charge
good deal of trouble and was placed
under guard the morning they
reached the city. They had to spend
the night with the Iowa regiment at
Oakland pier
Again the gray-haired general gave
himself to thought. 'Could you tell
how he was dressed when he disap-
peared?' he finally asked.
"A young man in the second Sleep
er gave him pair of worn blue serge
trousers and his morocco slippers.
Somebody else contributed a neglige
shirt and blacll-silk traveIing-cap.
lie was wearing these when last l
spoke to him at Sacramento, where
he would not eat anything. IL had
wired ahead for dinner for them"
yes" said the general with sud
den indignation in his tone, land I'm
told the company refused to reim-
burse yor. What excuse did they
give??''
Its of little consequence, sir,
laughed Stuyvesant. ''The loss hasn't
swamped me-"
'That's as may be- answered the
general. ITS the principle involved.
That company is coming money by
the thousands transporting troops at
full rates, and some of the cars it
furnished were simply abominable.
What was the excuse given?'
hey said, or rather some official
wrote, that they wouldn't reimburse
us because they had already had to
sustain the loss of that car due 70 |
the careiessness Of our men, and |
their own train-hands, general, know |
there was no smoking and the men
were all asleep. Foster had a very
marrow escape, and Corporal Conpel- |
~ was badly burned lugginp Mnrray
out
Ihe general took from a stack of