Amador ledger., 1904-07-01
Private O'Day's
Humiliation
By JAMES FENNIMORE
Copyright, 1903, by T. C. Mcclure

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Private O'Day, of the Tenth, had
shown pluck in several fights with the
Indians, and, therefore, stood well
with his officers. He was a man who
always had song in his heart or a
joke on his lips, and he was, there
fore, favorite with his fellow pri-
Yates. Now and then he got tight, but
unless the officer of the day was
obliged to take official notice nothing
was heard from it. Now and then he
was guilty of other breaches of disci-
pline, but he argued his case so well
before the colonel that he was let off
with reprimand where another would
have been sent to the guardhouse. In
every soldier company there is always
one such mana good fighter when
fighting is to be done, but irresponsi-
BILE, good natured and totally careless
when in barracks.
A funny thing happened one day. 1t
was funny even to Private O'Day, as
he tried his best to look at it in a
serious light He fell in love with
Kitty Cline, the majors daughter. He
fell in love with her at a distance
clear across the parade ground at Fort
Sherman. She had been at the fort
for three or four weeks, but that was
his first sight of her. She was eight
cen and O'Day was thirty; she was a
majors daughter, used to a life Of
luxury, while he was high private
on $13 per month. The social gulf
between them was as wide as the At
lantic ocean, and O'Day knew it, and
whispered in his own ear:
Patrick O'Day, ye are a bigger don
key than ever We left behind We in old
Ireland, and ye ought to be taken out
and kicked across the parade ground
The idea of losing yer heart to such
gurl as that! Are yez glttin' soft in
the top of yer head, or is 1t the foolish
ness just comm out that yer dear
mother always contended was more
than yer common sense? Out upon We
for a ninny, Patrick O'Day, and do We
drive the majors darlin' out of yer
head and heart and make up to the
1aundress of barracks No. g."
But 1t was one thing to talk and an
other to do. Private O'Day was hard
hit-so hard that he could not keep his
dozen of his comrades he was guyed
and jeered and berated by turns. Two
or three days of it ought to have work
ed cure and sent Patrick along to bar
racks No. 8, where the widow laun-
dress of Company B, who was known
to have $3.50 in the bank, would have
welcomed him with smiles. 1t failed,
however, and in his desperation the
soldier lover did foolish thing. Being
on sentry duty at the gate one day,
he removed his cap and bowed to the
majors daughter as she rode forth
on her pony. He did more. He had
twenty-five cent box of candy in the
bosom of his jacket, purchased for the
occasion, and he hauled it forth and
begged her to accept it as a slight to-
ken Of his feelings toward her. OF
course she looked down upon him with
feelings of amazement and refused
his gift, and, Of course, some one wit
messed the performance and told of it,
and Private O'Day was sent to the
guardhouse for making a monkey of
himself
The next morning the soldier, whose
loving heart had been deeply grieved
by the rejection of his confectionery,
was detailed to police duty along
with other derelicts, and that was
further humiliation. The finishing
blow was at hand. After some gen
eral work about the parade grounds
he was set to cleaning up the majors
back yard, just where the majors
daughter could have a full view of
him as he rolled the ash barrels about,
and though he had no cause to believe
that she was peeping from a rear win
dow and chuckling over his discom-
future, the iron entered his soul in
stead Of the shovel entering the ash
heap. He was sharply reprimanded
two or three times by the corporal, and
in his despair and desperation he out
ragged military discipline by "sassing
back" He was ordered to report him
self at the guardhouse as under new
arrest, and it was while making his
way to that popular and well known
resort that he suddenly decided to
make bolt for it. A citizen had rid
den into the fort on a fine piece of
horsehesh and thrown the reins over
a post near the gate, and Private
O'Day reached and mounted the ami
NAL and was galloping away before
the sentinel at the gate had opened
and shut his mouth.
There was delay in following the
fugitive, and when pursuit was made
he had long start, and his trail was
lost as he rode through the scrub to-
ward Devils canyon. 1t was 10
o'clock in the forenoon when he gal
loped out Of the fort, and it was an
hour later, and he had covered eight
miles of ground, when he rode into
the western mouth of the canyon. He
wanted to dodge pursuit for time,
and he wanted quiet place in which
to do some thinking. There was
second reason, and that was that a
thunderstorm was coming up from
the southwest, and Private O'Day
never got his Jacket wet when there
Yas a chance to keep it dry. He could
find a dozen places in the grim,
dark canyon where he would be shell
tered from the threatened downpour.