Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-07-16

w ohN isiiiiis lIiull.
And the suet?" said another.
And the favorins?" suggested Q
third.
Docs the quartermaster issue pud
ding bngs?" another wanted to know.
Nevertheless the pudding was an alb
solute success. The flour came from
the commissary stock; finely chopped
fat pork. well soaked, answered 70,
suet; dried apples. partly boiled ant
then candied in boiling sirup made
from sugar, took the place of raisins
The sauce looked as if it were only
strip of sugar, some Of which had beer
carameled to give it special flavor and
color. There rose from the sauce, how,
ever, an odor which caused Mick Nc
Twyny to utter an ecstatic "Whoor
ROOF and Cloyne to ask:
rs brandy an army ration, PHILIP
Yes" said Hnmilton-''that is, tits
a hospital ration, and got half Il pin,
from the hospital steward by promis
Ing a small pudding in exchange--for
the sick, you know"
There's just one thing l want to
ask" mumbled an ex-truck driver
through a mouthful of hot pudding
Does the government issue pudding
bags:"
1.-THE quartermaster issues cotton
drawers" Phil replied. land you'll
learn. If you choose to ask, that he
charged two new pairs to my personal
clothing account this morning. The
buildings We're boiled in the legs of
them"
BE hivin." said Mick McTwyny,
with an approving shoulder slap that
nearly knocked our enterprising com.
missary sergeant into the cooks fire,
"the likes of yez niver was born, and
the fust money the paymaster gives
me yez shall git that dhrunk wild me
that yez won't know yer mout from a
hole in the groundw
Thanks. sergeant" said Hamilton,
rubbing his shoulder. 81 assure YOU
that you're the first man who ever was
thoughtful enough to make me SO hand
some an Offer"
But grander feast was enjoyed one
cool evening after Phil had announced
late In the afternoon that there would
be pancakes for supper and asked that
each man would take knife and fork as
well rs plate when he went for rations.
Hamilton had found some soda and
cream of tartar in the village. He
made the batter In half barrel, and
his griddles were an odd collection Of
frying pans, plowshares, flattened sides
of camp kettles the bottoms of which
had rusted or burned through, n stove
lid and some tin plates. AS we hur-
ried to the cookhouse when the bugle
blew supper call we saw all these irons
on glowing mass of Goals and the
cook lifting large cakes from them
with a wooden turner made from a
barrel stave, while Phil himself, with
huge bit of fat pork on stick In ,e
hand and n great cup in the other, was
Igreasing the pan and pouring more bat
ter. AS the cook placed huge cake
and spoonful of sugar on each plate
Hamilton said that il we would be
patient and stand around as we ate
each could get fresh cake every two
or three minutes.
"Ah! "Umw "Myp "Oh!" "Golly!
"Gosh!" were some of the expressions
that went up around that fire while the
men began their supper, some using
spoons instead of knives and forks.
Oftenest heard, however, was, This
reminds me of home" or Doesn't 1t re-
mind Won of horoS, IJ,l o,,o, -
fore been asked to name our national
dish l would have hesitated between
pie and pork and beans, but since
that great evening have believed that
in a competitive contest the pancake
would receive more votes than beans
and pie combined, besides being pre-
eminent among eatables as ''the tie
that binds" "a touch of nature" and
more of that sort of thing. AS we ate
those cakes everybody began to talk
of home. Even big Pat Callahan be-
came SO absorbed In home reminis-
cences that he forgot to curse the gov
eminent for not giving us butter to eat
on our cakes.
But nobody, no matter how full of
home memories, stopped eating that he
might talk. The first issue disappeared
from the plates in minute, and two
or three men who apparently hadn't
any homes to think of returned so fire.
quently for more that we agreed to
form circle. each man to receive a
cake and some sugar us he passed the
cooks table. 1t was an odd spectacle,
apparently, to men of other compa.
nies-that company of about so men
marching slowly in circle and eating
as they walked. But we We're not at
all concerned about our appearance
just them. We were having a private
cake walk in which each and every
man took the cake" Our officers
heard of 1t from their servants, and
the captain came down to look on.
won't you try one, captain?" asked
Hamilton. offering clean plate and
fork. The captain accepted. tasted
exclaimed Gracious" and said nc
more until he had finished the cake
Then he remarked as he stepped into
gap in the line:
Gust let me see how it feels to tramp
around in n circle little WHILE"
He didn't lay aside his plate and
fork either, but twice took his turn
and cake-like the commonest of his
men, believing, evidently, that the pan
cake, like love, levels all ranks. Wher
he departed, 1t was to bring the colonel
over to see the fun and also to see O
company which was well fed. My
place In the circling line brought me
near enough to the two officers to heal
the captain tell the colonel how ad
mirably Phil managed the company
commissariat. A minute or two latel
the couple passed through the line, ant
the captain astonished us by saying:
Sergeant Hamilton, can you spare {
sample cake for the colonel?"
Any other man in the company would
have felt awkward ut coming face t.
face with his colonel while holding {
pan greaser in one hand and cak'
turner in the other, but Hamilton sue
| ceeded in throwing his implements in