Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-11

How the Corporal first came to the mill
titary hospital of San Ramon has never
been automatically recorded. Stories of his
coming vary Some say he appeared in a
streak of blue flame and Whit of sui
phur smoke; others believe that he simply
dropped in to give the place bad reputa-
ton. There are some of us who think it
most probable that he came to renew a
previous acquaintance with Pedro Querol.
Pedro was wounded and taken prisoner in
a skirmish some miles out of San Ramon.
Those of the boys who found him. Grip
pied. with a shot through both legs and
hidden in a bamboo hut, declare that they
saw small black object disappear out Of
a back window as they entered the door.
Later they heard that dry, hard cough out
side which they afterward came to know
as the Corporals vocal expression of dis
approval when things did not please him.
Pedro was carried to the hospital and put
into our ward. He was boy OF less than
sixteen. and his mother up in Cagayan
should have spanked him instead of letting
him join the insurgent army
1t was the morning after his arrival: he
was sleeping quietly on the cot to which
The steward had assigned him. The day
was fine and the shell blinds were thrown
open to let in the fresh breeze that swept
down from the mountains. just strong
enough to rustic the bamboo tops and
banana leaves of the jungle that crept up
almost to the balconies. Most OF us were
awake, listening to the piping of birds out
side and the drowsy hum of insects.
Suddenly we We're all startled by sound
that did not chime in with the low murmur
of nature outside. 1t was brusQue, rasp-
ing cough, almost bark. but human
enough to convince those who heard 1t that
1t voiced the discomfort of some one with
things as they were. We all raised our
dc ND cd mt
balcony outside the windows. That was
how we first saw him, and can vouch that
he was unaccompanied by blue flame or
sulphur smoke.
There he sat a small. black-faced
monkey, his feet clutching the railing. his
small paws holding huge banana. so mel
low that he had squashed most of it over
his face. Evidently 1t was the sickness of
the banana which vexed his soul for with
another of his hoarSe grunts. he flung the
half rotten fruit in on our polished mahog-
any floor. where il struck with a soggy
squash and made nasty brown spot. Next,
he wiped his mouth with his hairy arms,
then wiped them and his hands on a pa
tents white shirt spread out to dry on the
balcony railing
Having done this to his apparent salts
faction ne sat up again and took in his
surroundings with a quick, tnveS tigat1ng
eye. Then he gave leap and landed in
side on top of the bedpost of the first SER
geant of company G. The sergeant raised
an emaciated hand as a friendly greeting,
but the little imp on the bedpost rudely dis
regarded the advances and leaped on to the
next bed. where lay the wounded Filipino
boy who had been brought in the evening
before.
The jar of his landing awakened Pedro.
The monkey sat on the bedding before him,
and the boys yellow features spread out in
a sckly smile. Those who saw the look of
recognition that passed between the two
firmly believe they had met before. Pedro
always denied any previous acquaintance
with that little bundle of pure cussedness,
and never would own up to the responsible
ity of bringing him there, but the evidence
clearly points the other way.
Anyway. the monkey never could be got
rid of He stayed and became as much a
part of the establishment as the head stew
ard himself Like all bad characters he
was known by various names. The natives
in the casualty ward named him first, FL
Cabo. which means the corporal. because
he was such a peppery little chap, and
was a natural born leader of his kind Most
of the Yankee boys. whom wounds or other
troubles had made inmates of the hospital,
referred TO him as the corporal at once
being the literal translation of his native
title in a military sense. Now in Spanish
Eel cabO' also means 1.-The end" and some
of the boys took that sense of 1t and called
him the limit
Well. the Corporal, alias the limit. made
himself a fixture In the Second Division
Hospital of San Ramon. There was no
part of the premises too sacred for him in
which to introduce his pugnacious little per-
Sonality with a familiarity highly obnox-
ious to men of military training. The chief
surgeon and the head steward issued de-
crees beyond number for his expulsion, but
the Corporal evaded them with an indffer-
ence bordering on contempt. He paraded
up and down the aisIes between the cots of
all the wards. usually erect. his shoulders
punched up, his eyes rowing about to all
corners on the lookout for all possible
trouble. and heralding his approach with
- no
could not keep him out OF the dispensary,
where he found him one day apparently
playing marbles with some quinine pills
We thought at first we could tame the
Corporal and make a general pet of him.
but that was a mistake our part The
only one to whose call he ever responded
was Pedro, and then he only came if his
mood was agreeable. Not that he was
afraid. One of the boys threw some water
at the Corporal one day in joking sort of
way. but the Corporal landed on that man
and didn't leave him until he had snatched
several handfuls of hair from pate none
too thickly covered with hair anyway. Any
Of could induce the Corporal to accept
some tempting bit of fruit from his hands.
He was never too bashful to come up and
take il In fact If he saw a man eating
some article of food that particularly APP
pealed to his chronic appetite he did not
hesitate to make a dash for It and carry
II OF. and then if the morsel proved de-
ceiving in appearance. he took il as per
sonal grievance against him whom he had
robbed. and would hurl IL back at the Of
fender as a missile. The moral makeup
of the Corporal was the weakest thing
about him.
One day big Missourlan WAS brought to
the hospital He had been wounded in one
of the frequent skirmshes with the prowl-
ing guerrilla bands up in the mountains
II Glanced that he had had pet monkey
over in the barracks. and the head steward
weakly allowed him To bring the beast
along. Perhaps the steward had Il sneak
ing hope that the new monkey. a big.
husky fellow would kill the Corporal in
combat. or at least chase him OFF the prem
fses.
But that where the head steward
miscalculated The big monkey tried hard
enough TO oblise the steward but when
the Corporal got through with him the
building was filed with cries of beaten
bully and loud broad swear words as they
are sworn in Missouri. There might even
have been a personal encounter between
the big Missourian and the Corporal had
the rest OF us not interfered.
The result OF that fight was not at all
gratifying. Missourfs monkey recognized
one who could lick hiu and he truckled to
the Corporal ever afterward The two be
came as thick as all bad characters usually
are. and combined in warfare against pub
lie decency. or course. the Corporal was
always the leading spirit. but in his new
companion he found an ever willing accom-
plice in all his nefarious schemes against
our general peace.