, 1901-10-09
PEARL
is KNOWN IN LARAMIE, WHERE
HER HUSBAND WAS AR
RESTED.
Jail at Salt Lake for Stealing a
Skirt and a Watch-Tells Story of
Her Trip to Manila as a Soldier
Husband In the Guard House.

The Salt Lake Tribune of Tuesday
has the following Of ~lievely interest
concerning a woman whose husband
was arrested by Marshal Davies in this
city last July and who is now serving
time for d~estertion. Padgett, the wo-
mans husband, was taken from here
to Fort Russell the day after his ar
rest:
There is a June bride in the city
Jail.
She says she was married to Ser
geant Padgett. company c. Twenty
third infantry. at Fort Russell. Wyo.,
on June oath last. Three weeks later
her husband not only deserted her. but
left the army as well, but he was cap
turcd and is now doing time at Fort
Logan for his offcnse. The bride says
her name is Mrs. Pearl Padgett. nee
Ward. and claims to be one of the
Ward sisters who figured so promi-
neutly in military circles a couple of
years ago.
She tells the story OF her life as fol
lows.
Il am only Il years of age now, and
was but Il when | left home for a life
in the army. something that has had
attractions fog me ever since | can re
member anything at all. | remember,
even, when | was a little bit of a thing
how the sight of a uniform used to
thrill me. and | never ceased regretting
from that time until the present that
| was not born a boy.
But what could a poor girl do""
And the merry peal of laughter that
followed seemed strangely out of place
with the grimy Jail bars for a back
ground.
But my time came. Light battery
c. Seventh artillery, was preparing to
leave our native town, Fort Adams.
and my sister Mary and determined
to 90 with the boys. Off went our hair.
and on went the trousers and the
blouse, and as we were a little dubious
that we might be caught, we took the
precaution of doing a little drilling in
our back yard and in our room when
we knew there was no II looking.
The morning for the departure of the
battery came, and we were mighty
glad of it, because we were growing
slightly nervous.
THE roll was called, each mar an
swered to his name, II there were
two soldiers who marched down to the
train and boarded it for the Preside
at San Francisco who were not Oh he
pay roll. but who were going to the
front all the same.
The trip to the coast from Fort
Adams was a long inc a wearisome
one in some respects, but we did not
care much. We had considered. so
far as we could. what We might expect
as We sat in our room night after night
bad as We had expected, but there was
the haunting fear that every moment
we should be detected and thrown off
at some way station.
That was the worst feature of it.
But we soon learned that the officers
pay little attention to their men after
they have them safely on board the
train. The Pullman is an easy thing,
and the passenger coaches full of SOL
diers are stuffy. to say the least.
we arrived at the preside all right.
Were any of the boys on to our
scheme? Well, I do not care to say.
I'VE loafed around the preside one
day, and then we heard that the trans
port Sheridan was to said the rext
morning for Manila. We joined ranks
and marched on board.
The voyage as far as Honolulu IA
very pleasant, but suspicion seemed
directed toward us, because we did not
mix up with the other boys very
much. To tell you the exact truth,
they were pretty rough in their hand
ling of one another as they sought to
pass the time away-good-natured, of
course, as a rule, but o rough for us
to join in their romps without ourselves
being given away. That W. could not
afford to happen-not so early in the
game, anyway. After a stop off at
Honolulu for six days, We lit out for
Manila. and after the islands had been
totally left behind | became suddenly
Ill. They really thought | should die"
Here the merry laugh rang out again.
We'll what was the matter with
you? Nal de mer?"
Nal de nothing. The last station
had been left behind. They could not
throw us into the sea. and so | con-
cluded to get sick and-tell the cap
tain-Captain Clark. all about it. So
| did. He looked severe for a minute
or so; said he had been watching us
for some time, and was inclined to
investigate at Honolulu, but forgot all
about it. | am glad he did forget, or
we might have been with the Kanakas
yet.
ITO cut a long story short, l arrived
at Manila, enlisted in the Red Cross
service. and served eighteen months, or
whereabouts. | was correspondent for
two or three papers while in Manila,
among them the Topeka Star. That
gave me a little pin money.