Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-06-28

native for enough milk and eggs to
make that once detested rice so popu.
lar that there always was some man
Offering his supper portion of bread
for half of some other mans rice.
Finally Hamilton, who felt that as
commissary sergeant 1t was his duty
to study up on cookery, electrified US
one day by announcing that on the fol-
lowing Sunday there would be des-
sert of plum pudding. Up to that time
about half of the men had called Ham.
ilton 'stuck up" Worse still, many had
called attention to the fact that never
once in our many skirmishes and fights
had Hamilton been under fire. Brain
ard had combated this story for the
honor Of Summerton, but one day he,
too. learned that Hamilton had a pic
ture of my cousin May. That silenced
him. But the mention Of plum pudding
caused the grumblers to recant, Mick
McTwyny going so far as to borrow q
pipe Of tobacco from Phil. Our gusta-
tory anticipations were marred only by
Hamiltons statement that the pudding
would be made entirely from army ra-
tions.
where will be get the ralsins?" ask
ed one family man.
"And the suetT said another.
"And the favoring?" suggested q
third.
| Docs the quartermaster issue pud-
ding bags?" another wanted to know.
Nevertheless the pudding was an abb
solute success. The -four came from
the commissary stock; finely chopped
fat pork, we'll soaked, answered for
suet: dried apples, partly boiled and
then candied In boiling sirup made
from sugar, took the place of raisins.
The sauce looked as If 1t were only
sirup of sugar. some of which had been
carameled to give 1t special favor and
color. There rose from the sauce, how.
ever. an odor whic , caused Mick Nc.
Twyny to utter an ecstatic "Whoor.
rooT' and Cloyne to. ask:
lis brandy an army ration, Phil"
YES" said Hamilton-"that is, it's
a hospital ration. and got half a pint
from the hospital steward by promis-
ing a small pudding in exchange-for
the sick. you know"
There's just one thing want to
ask" mumbled an e1-truck driver
through q mouthful of hot pudding.
docs the government issue pudding
bags"
THE quartermaster issues cotton
drawers" Phil replied. land you'll
learn. If you choose to ask. that be
charged two new pairs to my personal
clothing account this morning. The
buildings were boiled In the legs Of
| them"
"Be hivin," said Mick McTwyny.
with an approving shoulder slap that
nearly knocked our enterprising com.
mssary 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
hole in the ground!'
"Thanks. sergeant" said Hamilton.
rubbing his shoulder. IL assure you
that you're the first man who ever was
houghtful enough to make me 80 hand
some an Offer"
But q 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 as plare when he went for rations.
Hamilton had found some soda and
cream of tartar In the village. He
made the batter In q 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. a stove
lid and some tin plates. AS we bur-
ried to the cookhouse when the bugle
blew supper call we saw all these irons
on q glowing mass Of Goals and the
cook lifting large cakes from them
with wooden turner made from a
barrel stave, while Phil himself, with
hand and a great cup in the other, was
greasing the pan and pouring more bat
ter AS the cook placed huge cake
and a spoonful of sugar on each plate
Hamilton said that if We would be
patient and stand around as we ate
each could get a fresh cake every two
or three minutes.
"Ahr "Umw "My| "Oh" "Golly"
"Goshw 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 YOU Of homer Had l ever be-
fore been asked to name our national
dish | would have hesitated between
pie and pork and beans, but since
that great evening have believed that
in 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
ernment 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 n minute. and two
or three men who apparently hadn't
| ,f rnt, NJ FRO