The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1905-07-14
ACavalry Lover
written for this paper.l
BY
MAJOR, want I should tell you a
NI Story?"


MAJOR, want I should tell you a
lvl story?"
And the little sergeant took his pipe
from between his teeth long enough
to speak, the while estopping the burn
ing tobacco in the bowl with we'll
trained little fiuger.
"Story? That's kid talk. Why don't
you talk man and say lie? You Lev
enth cavalerr fellers can't talk any
straighter than you can shoot"
And Smithy, Little Smithy," hard
riding Trumpeter Smithy, of the
Dandy Fifth" gave my off shoe sole
a touch with his nigh one as we sat
together about the recruiting office
stove, our feet half as high as our
heads, for it was cold, clustering day
in the Christmas season and | was
spending an hour with these old cav
alrymen whom wounds, received in
that wild frontier life of which they
so Loved to talk, had sent 80 the
prosaic work Of recruiting or retire
ment-and they chose the former.
III tell you a love story" the ser
geant went on, not needing Smithy'S
interruption, for the sergeant and
Smithy were such good friends they
were always slandering each other, al
ways ready to scrap with each other,
apparently-for each other in reality
"a cavalry love story?"
"A love story" and Smithy's sneer
was an excellent imitation Of the real
thing. Heap you know about love-
"Ah, go on, you sawed off, patched
pants, broncho buster, you" rejoined
the sergeant Course I know about
love. Didn't I love that housekeeping
chestnut sorrel mare | rode in old
III troop along with Fourth Cavalry
Lawton when we licked Geronimo?"
"Oh," sad Smithy with an apparent
sigh of relief. y thought you was
agoing to say that housekeeping Mo-
have squaw down at San Carlos" and
Sraithy's face wore, or rather bore, a
look of beatihc satisfaction.
.'Know about love-, the sergeant
went on, not needing the interruption.
Didn't some writer feller say that
only a soldier and poet could love,
and amt l been in the cavalry 80
years; and amt the cavalry the only
soldiers? l don't know nothing about
poets, hut heard some feller say the
major was one Of that kind and he
loves the cavalry himself!"
l smiled.
"But as l was agoing to say"
Then why in Fort Yuma don't you
say it," broke in the loose-tongued
Smithy.
But as I was agoing to say" re-
peated the sergeant, Jimmy Helder
was a corporal in old troop H
along in them old Arizona days. That
was about the time Smithy was lick
ing SHINING Jim and we was down
along the Sonora line" Here Smithy
smiled broadly and audibly at the
mention of the chief he had helped to
subdue And Johnny Bacon was a
corporal also and likewise. Helder
was in my troop and he was likely
sort of a feller with a hot temper and
hard fist Bacon was in G troop and
he Joined us after we had been on the
s1ila about year.
I'VE had a saddler with H troop
named Jonson, big, good-natured
Swede and he had a girl-well, you
Just had to look at her once and then
you'd look again. Only she wouldn't
stand no fooling. Most of the boys
was stuck on her, but Helder got it
bad He talked about her in his sleep.
and he was for licking any feller who
winked at her with his off eye. After
awhile he wanted her to marry him.
but she didn't savvy and STAYED him
off
"Well. by and by G troop comes rid
ing from New Mexico and takes quar-
ters in the other set of barracks and
stables and with it comes Johnny
Bacon, as spruce and neat little cav
alryman as ever brushed Arizona des-
ert dust off a scouting hat. And