Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-03
MILITARY FUNERAL S
Strange Incidents Occurring at
Soldiers BuriaIs.
HOODED RlDERLESS HORSE
Strong Affection Between Calvaryman
:. and His Mount. =.
A DEVOTED CANINE FRIEND
Committed Suicide and Was Buried in
His Masters Grave-A Sergeant's
Notable Funeral.
HOODED RIDERLESS HORSE
DEVOTED CANINE FRIEND

| saw the rideriess horse with the hooded
mourning blanket being led along in the pa
rade, 1 fell to thinking of the long string
Of military funerals. most of them of men
of far more humble rank than Wheeler, In
which l took part while 1 was in the scrv-
ice.'" said a man who served in the regular
| army for many years, and who Is now
departmental messenger.
THE horse that acted as the riderless
equine mourner In the Wheeler funeral
pageant was not actually Wheeler's horse
Therefore the horse took the proceedings
with sedate eQuanimity. But Eve seen the
actual horses of cavarymen take 1t sadly
| to heart when their riders died. The friend
ship that exists between the average cav
alryman and his horse is akin to that close
palship existing between small boy and
his first dog, and that is saying good
| deal. The cavalryman will fight for his
horse, and. when need rises the horse will
fight for his man. They're cfums, part
ners, friends of the closest daily intimacy,
who understand each other perfectly and
who never presume upon the strong bond
of mutual regard that binds them together.
81 once saw a cavalry horse commit sui
eide when his officer rider died. 1t was as
deliberate a suicide as was ever planned
| by a human being. 1t happened at an
Arizona two-troop post. The horse was a
| beautifully bred Kentucky thoroughbred,
bought as a three-year-old out OF the OFF,
GERS own pocket. He was as speedy as
the wind, as hard nails and as gentle as
a kitten. He had shared the hardships Vi
hundreds of miles of difficult Indian cam
paigning in the southwest with his master.
a first lieutenant, and he absolutely ioolizeu
the officer He was by far the sweetest
hammered horse among the two troops, ana
of hn
him with only a halter to guide him.
1.-The officer died after a short illness from
typhoid fever. All during the TitdtehdTIs
| illness the horse refused to eat, and Kept
IN a steady whinnying and paving the
| ground When the dead lieutenant was put
| away the horse seemed to Know II pelle.t!
| w. He became savage and tired 10 NUT
| late everybody who got near him. lie az,
| soluteIv refused to eat. Nothing could
| tempt him. He became as thin as ran
inside of ten days. Not man IN the outht
| could lay hand on the morse lor ie"t u
| his life
Horse Committed Suicide.
cone day a fearless chap in my troop eS-
| saved to bride the horse for the purpose vi
giving him a bit of exercise IN the corral
| AS soon as the man slipped the natter On
| the horses head the animal bolted out oi
| the stable He raced around the corral loi
while showing his teeth when any at
femDt maze 10 hSiu iiiAAi ''A'
coming to a dead stop, he looked about the
corral for a minute with hopeless plooN
shot ewes Then he gathered himsef 10,
gatber for a rush leaped forward at a dedu
| salon and made straight at a s.aple W.. ~.
ct the lower end of the corral. Iie io"eL
nert of that wall was of stone. Inc noISe
20" s1ackened his speed, but ran full UT
"a read-on into the wall, dashlnS iio
| brains out. It would be mighty h1eu
convince any man who saw lnat PEI 49, "a,
| ance that that horse didh uei ~; ,S,ar.s
| himself in his despair over HIS hi"9'ei
| death. ,7, 70 claim, that
| animals don't commit suicide Sd" d US
| cnnn1it suicide right in the open grave OF
oidinr Who died at Fort LeavenWorth. ne
| soldier was light artilleryman' Inc JUS
nas the Misunderstanding fluff of a waller
| mutt YOU ever clapped an eye on 1uL' oe loi
ali that he was brainy, loyal anu aleG
| tomato ki-yoodle, and he proved hIlii9Sii
| faithful right down to the finish
..The soldier had picked up the dog IN a
nra ctice march on the roads around L olt
I eavenworth. The mutt was lying III the
n,iddie of the road, an outcast, and dying
Of starvation, when the light artillefyinah,
astride his horse, came along. me eolule I
noticed the dog lying in the ROAD, LOO wear
In move and so he swung from ms saauIe
end Wicked the mutt up in his arms. lie
carried the dog to quarters, fed hln' WASH
ed him, and got him gong right. i. W.
| months that yaller dog was one OF me
m
in vonr life He'd mount guard with ms
| master and respond to all the calls, ana YET
he had a genius for never setuhs IN I've
way or making nuisance or nlnlseh- ne
was easily taught, and could 90 any ulcn
that 7 ever saw dogs do on the stage Ana
the wav he worshiped the young soldier
who had picked him from the ROAD was
something pathetic to see. -
.rTha soldier fell i'll of acute malaria, ana
the dog forced his way into the post nos
nital and was allowed to lie at his masters
bedside till the end came. When the soldier
died the dog, lying with ms heao peIWeeh
his paws, set up a low, pitiful moaning that
n hurt a fellow to listen to. Like all ami
mails in trouble, the dog, too, refused to
eat
In His Masters Grave.
sOn the day of the funeral the dog, sun
keeping up his plaintive whimperins' tagged
along to the open grave. He lay with his
head between his paws while-the chaplain
said his few words, and he never moved
while the volley was being hred' 1heh'
uben the simple ceremonies were over and
the men of the burial fatigue party were
about to toss in the clods, the dog delib-
era tely tottered to his feet, backed ABOUT
ten yards from the grave, then took up
dead run for the grave, and lit on the coffin
right smack on top of his head. His neck
was broken. and he only Kicked his legs
for half minute OF 50 pelole nc was
dead. -,
"The officer in charge of the burial con-
suited with the chaplain
Il think the dog ought to be buried with
the man. said the officer.
so do l. replied the chaplain, out of
hand.
1.-THE officer in charge didn't care to do
thing like that without the permission of
the commanding officer, however, and so
he strobe over to the commanding officers
quarters to consult the old man about it.
The commanding officer unhesltatingly gave
the opinion that the dog ought to be buried
with the man. considering the deep friend
shin that had existed between them in life
and all the other circumstances of the case.
a box of size capable of holding the dog
was hastily made by one of the artificers,
and the dog was placed in Ii and buried
at his masters feet. The commanding Of
ficer wrote a letter to the dead soldiers
folks back east, telling them what had been
done In the case of the dog, and why 1t had
been done, explaining the circumstances in
detail. The soldiers people wrote. back APP
proving of the matter.
zone of the most unusual military
funerals that ever took place in this coun-
t~xy that Of vn,InD SolGfer to died af