Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-03

within year 'ater ne enlisted bat he made
no preliminary moves toward going up FOR
commission. He was an extremely auieE
chap, and always seemed 10 have some
thing heavy on his mind although he never
mentioned his business or his obvious wor-
ries to man. A short time after he got
tue sergeants chevrons he went down with
brain fever. The company clerk got 90
looking up his nearest of KIM as is usually
set down in the enlistment pape-s then
and found that the man had entered as
having no kin whatever.
The man died. Before becoming deiirI-
Gus he had given the surgeon a sealed let
ter, asking him to hand the envelope 70 ,ha
commanding officer only In case he dted
When he cashed in the surgeon took the
envelope TO the bcak, and the old man
must have done !he teiegraphing that night.
Mystery Never Explained.
Anyhow, The special train got down 60
the town near the post before noon the next
day. The special train was made up of i've
cars. One of the cars contained the rela-
ttves of the dead soldier from San Fran
cisco. They were all in mourning and 1
never saw finer looking assemblage or
thoroughbred men and women One of tho
other cars was for the removal of the body
up 10 san francisco, the dead soldiers
nome fhe other three cars contained a
hundred members of San Francisco's noted
ciup. the Bohemian. which Is made up OF
me sweetest people ON the coast mag
innocent silver-ornam ented casket was
brought down for the retention or the
Young soldiers body. His wife. an amaz-
lngiy oeautifui woman was I'm such "a STAT
OF collapse In her grief that the surgeon had
to give her his undivided attention Ths
body was taken to the train with a big cs-
cort. and that's the last we ever heard or
the cortege.
The train went back 10 San Francisco
but the San Francisco papers contained
ha
was perfectly plain, of course that the
oead soldier was man of class but nobody
ever round out any OF the Details WHY he
mad enlisted In the army and kept his iien-
MY secret, even from his WIFE was n
thing that puzzled us for years afterward.
Ana why the San Francisco papers didn't
get hold OF the incident and make a
spread story of 1t puzzled us even more
The most pltiful military funeral I ever
took part in was that of a young officer
who died of intemperanca at little post
away up in the northwest, on the Pacific
ocean.
at was pitiful, because the young fellow
had thrown SO much away. While he was
throwing his life away, we common dubs
used to sit on the edge of our hunks and
hope that he'd get next to himself in time,
Tor he was likable and dead-square man.
ana we all hated 10 see him hand himself
the worst of it the way he did
lie was first lieutenant at the time he
died, and In fair way to become one of the
most noted men in or out of the army He
had passed at West Point away up near tho
top of his class, and had chosen the artiI-
iery arm-it was a two-battery heavy artil-
iery- post a { which he died
A Gifted Writer.
\ few years after joining his first conf
mand he started TO write army stories TOR
the magazines. The stuff that he wrote
was the American army to r. and the
publishers all over the country were trying
to get him on their stan. HIS stories na
klplingesque twang to them that vet pre-
served their own aroma and atmosphere.
and many a keen critic attached 70 nuh-
ishhig houses and watching the magazines
IoI evidences of talent. picked this YONG
Gfficer as the man destined TO oyerton All
OF The American writers OF fiction lie
was crack soldier. too, and his papers
on artillery tactics were read Throughout
me army and commented upon by grizzled
officers for their keenuess and promise.
None of MS ever found out lust where
he got the drinking habit but II Is prob-
able that he picked it up in San FRANCHISE
where he was stationed for a long time.
Army officers mix with the whirl a lot IN
san francisco. and the young fellows WIKI
tho shoulder straps are more than liable
10 get in wrong in the drinking matter IL
they don't watch themselves.
Anyhow, when this young first Lieutenant
Oh artillery reached the little two-battury
post up in the northwest, on the Pacific
pttesil' We tpuli All see Win lalf
that he was in bad with himself II is likely
That he'd asked to be sent so the small
post 10 see IL he couldn't control himself
But he was too far gone. The habit had
hlm nailed. Many's the time I've been on
guard at night, up In front of officers row
az that dreary little post, when I had 80
take the young officer by the arm as Ha
came staggering along after long. WIG
walks IN the rain, and lead him TO MIS-
quarters. His little wife would come to tha
door 10 let him in on these occasions AMI
shed break down and weep. and-weH u
used TO get US fellows lumpy around The
neck 10 see the way the thing was going
The commanding officer. kindly man vas
aware of the young officers weakness OF
course, and did the best he could TO save
him, but it was no use.
The Young officers Burial
Weakened and his great frame ema-
ciated, he was whitfield off by an attack
of pneumonia brought on by exposure dur
ing one of his half-insane walks along the
edge of the sea when he was going bad.
THE burial plot OF the dismal post was
a little acre only about a hundred yards
from the sea, alongside two-acre plot
where. every year. many fishermen, drown
cd at their work in sudden squalls while
they We're towering over the bar were
buried. The boom of the sea, techolng IA
the basalt caves. sounded Ike a never
ending cannonadng. In the hole dug IN
this little lot by the battery artificer we
put away, in the midst OF a drizZIing rain,
the brightest young officer | ever met IN
within the American army, his shattered
little wife, whom he had married in New
York city with splendid nuptial pageantry,
resting her head on the old mans shoulder
as the clOds were thrown in and her heart
breaking.
The canteen did mighty little business
for the remaining six months that we stay
ed at that dreary post Somehow or an
other, from the day that we put that rum
wrecked young officer in the ground we
diCn't seem to care much about getting
lit up on pay days" G. L. &.