The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-06-23
TO SETTLE. A GRuDGE,

TO T A GRuOGE.
Washington Star: These sham bat-
Tie affairs became u lot unpopular: in
the Central and. South American
countries a number Of years ago, all
though there was a time when the
Latin american armies went in strong
for sham battles" said an American
consul stationed at a South American
metropolis. who Is in the states for his
vacation. 1t was at the Manassas
manueuvers the other day, when the
rattle of the blank cartridges was at
its height.
9TH Central I'M South American
soldiers an officers learned to hate the
sham battle-and to fear IL. too. o
see. 1T was so easy for Jose, who had
a grudge against Ramon. to make a
mistake and slip a ball cartridge in
stead of a. blank into his gun! They
still have the sham battle in a few.
a very Few. of the southern republics,
but the soldiers will do a whole lot of
things to get on the hospital report
just before a shan battle, especially
that IL they go into the sham battle
they haven't got much chance to get
out alive. The mere announcement OF
a sham battle starts an epidemic OF
scientific m~alingering in some of those
garrisons. In some OF the outfits, where
they can't make the sick report, the
poor devils simply desert by squads.
%platoons. %battaliOns.
"Oh yes, after the blanks are served
out before a sham battle. the cartridge
boxes of the soldiers are carefully in
spected. The officers used to do this
in a pretty pe%rfunctory manner. but
they don't any more. When the dis
liked officers began to be the victims
of the mistakes OF the men with the
guns. they became exceedingly careful
munition. They not only peeked into
the cartridge boxes and belts of the
men, but they felt round in the
clothing of each man to spring any
thoughtlessly hidden ball cartridges.
When the officers first began to do
this they made a lot of hauls. and the
fellows with the secreted bullets We're
i~ncontinently stood up before the walls
with the bandages over their eyes and
made into human sleeves. Then the for
getful men in the ranks learned wis
DOM.
They no longer tried to hide the ball
cartridges in their clothing. but sailed
them away and covered them up with
the dirt of the field on which the sham
encounter vas booked to take place.
They made veritable lead mines of
fields. and each man remembered just
where he had planted his little lead
cache.
Then, in.the middle Of the action.
all they had to do was to give the
ground a little kick where they had
made their plants. stoop and pick up
the ball cartridges, and then calmly
push their bosom friends or the hated
officers over the rim of the next world.
The officers learned about this. too.
and they met the plan by changing the
location of the sham battle at the last
moment. 1 have seen them do this fire.
quently in South America.
1T is really pathetic to observe the
expressions Of acute chagrin on the
countenances Of the little barefooted
soldier men wnen. after they have
cached their bullets all so handily in
the field as the scene of the
sham battle, the word runs around
that another spot for the mock en-
counter has been chosen. Under such
circumstances they look as if a mean
and underlland trick had been played
upon them.
but, in spite of all precautions.
there are nearly always a few hope
lessly punctured ones left on the field
warm Americas.
1T is very unwise. for example, for
a soldier in n of those armies to
win his comrades money too frequent-
ly. 1t makes his comrades so angry,
so very mgr
When 1 was stationed, a few years
ago. at the capital of one of the Cen
trail American republics, where they
had revolutions every little While,
whether they needed them or not, one
Of these incidents happened. A recruit
serving in one of the government regi.
ments skinned his whole outfit at
non one day. There was no appar
ent suspicion that he hadn't been on
the square with his game, but he was
regarded as a whole lot too monte wise
for a rookie.
And. being a recruit. he didn't know
enough to understand that after hav-
ing gotten away with the big clean
up of his comrades silver it was time
for him to duck. So. being foolish, he
stayed along with his outfit.
There was "a lull in the hostilities
while the insurgents were getting to-
gether in another province, and so, to
amuse the ladies OF the capital, the
government troops had a sham battle
on the plateau upon which they were
Stationed.
The recruit with his monte wisdom
went down with the first rattle OF the
uns. and when they went to pick the
body up 1t took six men to lift him
from the ground, the poor cuss was SO
heavy with the lead that had been in.
serted into his system"
Had : arrn E.r,;I