The St. Louis Republic., 1902-12-21

WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
A new war drama, enacted in real life.
was presented last week at the threshold of
the metropolis.
The scene was laid at Governors Island.
the army headquarters Of the Department
of the East.
The. chief characters introduced were
Major General idna l.. Ch9ffee and jack
son Wallace Crawford. the man VINO ros"
from the ranks. who Is the hero ot more
varied war experiences than any hr,ag
American soldier. and the celebrated Poet
Scout, respectively.
Ard these characters moreover. We're
portrayed by themselves
General Chaffee. hearty. hIio. sincere.
modest. the beau ideal uf soldier had
just moveG his lareS and peuates into ,he
historic old structure that has sheltered 50
many other iliustrious Generals.
Captain Jack Crawford. the last remain
ing and most picturesque t.SuT" OF tie IN
dian wars of ;he Southwest. CHEEKY as ever
facing a regiment of auditors - cody no"
in these piping days Of peace as he had
looked into the scowlng faces Of bands Of
Apaches thirty years age. wandered from
Bowling Green to The parade ground "n
Governors Island.
BLESS my soul. IL that isn't Jack Craw-
ford | must De dreaming CALCULATED the
grizzled hero OF the Ticu- ISM pckin rescue.
MY dear Ganeral-paSGaor, ! !!"aG-i II
thunderin glad to meet You again! came
back in resOute tones the greeting Of the
redskin fighter.
TWO CENTRAL, FIGURES HELD
ATTENTION OF AUDITORS.
The curtain was W. on a new and i'm
promptu war dance.
Thenceforward these two central figures
held the attention of the few audi;Gls and
spectators privileged 70 he present.
They needed no one To time their ap-
plause.
1t was hearty and spontaneous. "a every
person in the dialogue, army men and
civilians, old-time friends and men ana
women familiar at social events in TINS
city had FASTENED to pay their respects TO
the bravest American war hero as soon as
his arrival at Governors Island mac be
come known.
Not that General Chaffee sought any
plaudits, for he stole into camp IT : O'Clock
in the morning. expressly caut;oniaS 'he
soldiers and officers on duty hot - make
any fuss over his arrival. and thereby tax
ing the edge of his official coinins. duiy
noted many hours later.
But here was Il man who had just come
from the Far East, with new stars OF 'iory
upon him-a man who had risen from the
ranks, who had fought in his own county.
in Cuba in the Philippines and even IN
Chiua-a rare record for an American reg
Ular-
Rarer still, here was Z man or horse
back who eschewed all Give fonols, to
whom politics was a sealed book enn tV-
erything save strict military uGe u'9N-1S-
full in the extreme.
The other figure, while no carpet knlsh''
was successful platform figure.
Equally unschooled in book lore, he was a
storehouse of knowledge anent everything
that pertained to Indian warfare ana gueriI-
la scouting and odd mixture of spontaneous
poetry and piquant narrative Us well.
,brnng Of y;siiors and bv common consent
these two picturesque figures took the center
of the stage.
GRAY-HAIRE:D VETERANS RECOG-
NIZED CAPTAIN JACK.
II was a busy time for the new command
ant of the Department of the East.
He had scarcely found himself as yet.
Mrs Chaffee was indisposed.
Routine military matters must be attended
to. and with no natural responsiveness to
social amenities. it seemed like an intrusion
to plan a peaceful invasion.
But several gray-haired veterans recog-
nized the Poet Scout and the news of his
presence quickly spread around the tight
little isle
''say. Bill. yonder goes tn chap that
traile,i that old Apache devil Victoria cPar
into Old Mexico" cried one.
Yep. that's Captain Jack Crawford. Bet
he's gon' t see tn old man"
well. / want to be on hand when the
General meets him. They're two of kind.
Nothin' walkin' on two legs er four en-
scare nuther of EN-"
None could have a keener appreciation OF
both men than these few remaining COM
rades who had participated in the never-to-
be-forgotten Indian campaigns on the plains
or the scorching alkali deserts and the
rugged canons further north. or their new
er messmates who had been with Chaffee
at Caney, Manila and Pekin.
Several had ugly scars permanent me-
mentoes, or still carried bullets as concrete
"reminiscences of frontier warfare in which
rCaptain jack had figured conspicuously.