Waterbury Democrat., 1901-07-01
TEN YEARS TRIALs@ 3
 < Tbe Story of a
 Soldiers Struggle By Brigadier General CHARLES KING
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CHAPTER xX


 The summer had come and gone. The state regiments were summoned home for muster out, and thrice their num- Der in regulars and national volunteers were gone or going to Manila. Only in small bodies and rather as banditti or guerrillas were the enemy encountered. The lightning dashes of the cavalry north and south in Luzon and the tire less scouts and marches of the infantry had scattered tJ-e insurgents in every direction. The war had dwindled to campaign of detachments, Hike old Arizona days" as the troopers put it, and, full of honors and the conscious ness of duty faithfully done, with thin ned ranks and in many instances thin, gaunt faces, the soldiery of the wide west was sailing back across the seas and being welcomed with tumultuouS acclaim at San Francisco. The Colum- bias mourned the loss of many gal lant lad left buried in the Philippines, but parted without perceptible emotion with their original lieutenant colonel. Nathan resigned the silver leaves long months before they fought their last fight, preferring brief garrison duty 
 and majors seemed to get picked off by the rebel rifles that it became positive ly unsafe to take the field, said a satur- nine staff officer of the commanding general, and that might have influenc- ed Nathan's action. But promotions in the artillery arm speedily gave him un- der the law the grade of major, and it was better to be live major of regu- lars at a comfortable station in the United States than lieutenant colonel of volunteers in the mud and rain and discomfort of LuZon. The volunteers were coming back with every trans port and being camped on the reserva- tion pending their muster out The Columbias arrived and Nathan arrang- ed a big dinner for the officers and rode about among the men, who somehow couldn't seem to see him, and many wouldn't even salute.
 Only a meager dozen of the junior officers attended that feast. It f1atten- ed dolefully despite the lavish flow of wine. Every field officer regretted" and certain of the captains possibly un- schooled in the ways of society never e~en acknowledged the courtesy. Ma
  tenant colonel on Nathan's resignation, would not even notice him. The colo nePs greeting was grave and distant. Some of the men laughed aloud when Nathan rode over to camp. and the sit uation was tue talk of the great assem- blaze of returning volunteers when in came the transport with the warworn' Washoes, Erie Langdon at their head,l unanimously greeted by the throng the day they disembarked. And Nathan asked for leave of absence. In civilian dress and accompanied by his wife and a single servant, he drove to the ferry. unnoticed of the cheering crowds that rent the air with shouts for Langdon and his devoted men,
 It took full fortnight sto complete the examinations and all the prelimina-. ry papers before:the final muster out of the brave band of brothers they hadi become. There were returning regi-, ments in whose membership there liv-. ed the. rankings of diScord and jeal., ousy, but the Washoes had but one creed and no recrminations. They believed in God, they, loved their coun- try, and theys sworesby. Eric ;rLangdon. The governor land his staff came ,.by special train from the northeast to! meet them on their return, and Cress- well, too, was there. and both their sen-. ators and many men withtthe bees of possible offices buzzing in their bon-, nets, and all of theseahad- much to say, in public and in all their many speech: es to the~listening warriors in praisesof their heroic colonel, the one thingssure'' to evoke tumultuous 4applauge, ,zs and much to say in private to that silent soldier himself. .. The burden of.their, lunited song was a source of keen and whimsical delight to Langdons and to Melville, who, with his household, was waiting orders of the war department at the Colonial. It would be so verN muchbett for Langdon, said all these, statGsmen, to accept the high commis-, sion they proposed obtaining for him in the regular service than+to think of en-. tering political life, which they couid truthfully assure him was so sadly un- certain andifull of disappointnents. N Langdon listened with the same quiz zical smile, I but said very little. lie knew perfectly iwen that all Washoe couldn't change the laws and that noth-
 
 could place him sin the army with any, rank he cared to accept. He had been rendered the colonelcy of one of the new regiments, but the surgeons shook their heads. Cresswell clamored. for his return to the office. F The Washoe Zephyr, that was ataodds with the gov ernor, swung out it's banner to the breeze with For Governor, General Eric Langdon, the Hero of Manila ir- respective of the fact that there had been a hundred or more equally heroic and as little versed in politics. It was sdone for deyilment," as the governors s henchmen took pains to assure Lang don, but most people throughout the state and the regiment to man took it seriously, and machine statesmen far and near were sOrely worried. There is nothing so sure to stir things the wrong way for all parties and princi- pally for himself as the injection of the martial hero into politics Langdon was for announcing in so many words that he would never permit the use Of his name, but Cresswell, the veteran of a dozen campaigns, bound him to si- fence. "Think what you please, do what you please when the time comes,