Cañon City record., 1902-08-21
THE EUTT OF
THE &C MPANY
tOrigiEal.l

We all know what el.enIinacy : - ,..a
| tinguished from what Is re.4iliuc we
cannot describe it. II is of,en Ia pLcs
/ ton whether we are i.ht ia .tir.JI
Ing it in any given c:s.
/ In 1870 was seIt Ing with the lib.
[ United States cavalry. one June Cay
1t was announced Uaat a new. ..
second lieutenant from West Point had
| been assigned to our co=ipauy .sml
would soon report for duty wi I .
| squad Of recruits. He came along in
| time. but instead of bringing recruits
/ brought one gentle looking so .g TIL
| low. who appeared to be far better 1T
ted for Il poet than soldier Myri
wether was his name, and he hHdn'E
| been ut the fort a day before Iup ~,
| began TO call him Mary. Then fol
! lowed series of practical jokes Of
which he vas the butt, In some Uu
/ eXplainable way lie got salt in his COT
fee instead OF sugar Then there WIS
cactus In his bunk. Coming of guard
and turning in for good snouze. he
was sure to be waEened by mistake
for the miLlight relief. He was the
most unsuspcCtiug little chap | ever
saw. and as the boys always expressed
wonder how such mistakes could hap
pen. besides great sympathy for him.
it never entered his head thai they
were at the 10 tom of his discumforis.
Indeed one day he came to me rs first
sergeant Of the company and asked me
If he couldn't take extra tours OF guard
! duty for some of the ringleaders they
having expressed an extraordinary
n Of anrt.,,y- that Inn. I,uI
| blei over pile OF condemned muskcts
on a dark night. Since they had pur
posely put them in his way this was a
tritie too much for even my thick skin
told him not to bother me with ridic
ulous questions and warned the ring
leaders that | would see the first man
punished who should again impose
| upon him. The first man was Tom
Conover who had been the !nstiga, or
OF the most contemplate pranks
against the recruit, and he was given n
walking tour with a billet OF wood on
his shoulder for a whole Afternoon FOR
his pains. THIS stopped the lmposi
ton and Meriwether fell into the con
tempt of not being noticed, This last
ed till we were lighting the Modocs in
the lava beds in 1871.
Little Meriwether didn't like fight
ing at all. that was plain, for the
color would rush from his cheeks
whenever u bullet whistled too close
to his delicate ear. But I noticed that
he would grit his teeth and seemed
to be reso'utely fighting himself to
keep his slender body up to It's work.
One afternoon we were having an
especially hot fight. keeping up a
steady fire on the Nlodocs and receiv.
ing as good as we sent from behind
natural breastwork OF lava. when
Meriwether came crawling toward me
on all fours with an expression OF
hopeless despair In his face.
What is it," ! asked anxfously.
fearing something had gone wrong.
"Conover-he's hit"
"WellT' could see nothing re-
markable in Conover being hit when
one-third the men were In the same tx.
He wants water"
Get him some from a canteen."
There's not n drop TO be found any
where"
"Well. then. he must 20 dry. for the
only water near is down there in that
crevIce, and no one can go there with
out getting shot"
Hes suffering dreadfully."
GO back to your place. you little
fool" said sharply, remembering
what he had suffered at fonover's
hands.
He crawIcd back, and dismissed
the matter from my mind.
Presently saw a sight that filled me
with astonishment. Meriwcther was
running, canteen in hand. for the crev-
ice containing water. Bullets sang
about him like buzzlng flies Whether
or not he was hit. he kept on and in
few seconds sank out OF sight in the
creyice.
! had no right to do SO, for there
were two commissioned officers with
the company; but, singing out to those
beside me TO follow. ! jumped up and
made a dash for rise In the lava Just
beyond the crcvice. 1t was no use
The fire was too hot. and the men
would not leave their position. l was
shot In the leg and sank into hollow
place, where ! was comparatively safe
| was thinking OF little MerIwether
and wondering how lie would get back
with the water for the man who had
injured him when heerd shout and,
looking toward our fellows saw him
plunge headforemost in among them.
Night was well on before ! dared
leave my position and go back to the
command. The first thing ! saw was
Meriwether lying on his back. white as
sheet and motionless. One Of his
former tormentors was bending over
him. and several others were leaning
on the muzZles of their muskets. look
Ing down on him anxlously. Meri-
wethcr turned his eyes to me. and !
| presumed he wns about to nsli me TINT