Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-05-11
"a AN ALLEN was a romanticist.
w Incidentally be was a private Ill
g. - roon ne tbo Fo,ty-SacOD Cav

1 AHz IL 'N
D troop Of the Forty-second Cav
airy. 1t might be better TO say ina
Van Allen had been a romantlclst, for
the word romance could hardly be ap-
piled to soldering In the rice paddles
Of Luzon. To begin with, "Van Allen
was not Van Aliens name. why he
. saw fit to enlist f%raudulently was be-
yond the ken of his most Intimate
friends. He had no millionaire paw
paw to disgrace; he was not a cr1ml-
| nal, nor a celebrity. 1t might have Deen
| this same love of romance hat caused
| him to assume the responsibilities OF
such an aristocratic name as Van AL
len.
Sad to relate, Van Allen did not feel
the thrills Of patriotic enthusiasm IN
til long after the war was over and
soldering in the Philippines had degen-
Grated into a one sided combat against
gnats, mosquitoes, dengue fever. mala-
ria and periodical epidemics Of small
pox and cholera. An occasional hike
through muddy rice paddles to subdue
! recalcitrant, though decimated,
| Of ladrones was the nearest approach
to real fighting that h Forty-second
| Cavalry had experienced since their ar
rival | n the islands the latter part of
1903.
Van Allen had not intended to enlist
when he asked for Information regard
ing the service from the important lit
tie recruiting sergeant who spun invit-
! ing yarns for the benefit Of gullible as
pirants to military honors. But after
he had listened fully an hour to en-
trancing stories of excessive clothing
allowances, large pay on foreign ser
| vice, quick and easy promotion, and
the indolent life Of a soldier, he decided
that he had at last found his niche ! n
life, and, besides, look at the romance
In the soldiers career! The next day
he raised his right hand and swore
! faithful allegiance to Uncle Sam for
three years.
He enlisted for the mounted service,
and here again his romanticism came
to the fore. He must be Q dashing
cavalier, not an unromantic dough
boy" hiking from dawn to dark with a
"long TOM slung across his shoulders.
He was given half a days rations,
and with a dozen other innocents was
shipped to a post neal the northern bor-
der Of one of our New England States
to acquire q taste for equestrlanism.
To detail the agonies of rocky drill
In the cavalry would only arouse pity
and no amusement. Van Allen knew
nothing Of horses when he enlisted, but
before he had been a month In the SER
vice he could tell you more about the
pleasure (?) Of bareback riding four
hours a day than Is contained in any
riding school epitome.
After eight months Of state soldier
! ing orders at last came which sent the
F-orty-Second to the islands, and there
was great rejoicing in ID troop, but
! after two months, packed like biscuits
In the hold Of an army transport, sub
sisting on steamed food, the outlook
did not seem SO cheerful and many
were the prayers that the "chow," al
least, would improve when the outfit
reached station.
Manila was a welcome sight to all be.
low decks, and the twenty mile hike
into the province Of Rial was cheer
fully borne, despite the fact that q
eavalryman hates nothing SO much a:
q long march afoot.
Bong-Bong was the station for 6 and
% troops, and as unpromising a barrie
as could be found In all Luzon. Th,
cholera had just been conquered, aftel
ravaging the entire province and til,
little cemetery behind the post hosplta
gave mute testimony that the comman,
previously stationed In Bong-Bong ha,
rot escaped scathless from that terrible
plague. During the rainy seasons pro
visions sometimes got to Bong-Bon,
from Manila every ten days, and often
er failed to. You couldn't take a ca
into civilization every evening ard mus
needs make your fellow soldiers you
amusement and trust in the Lord an,
the inefficient mail system for newspa
pers and letters from home.
Van Allen viewed the situation wit
disgust, and wished he was back Il
Boston clerking in the grocery bushes
he had deserted to become q soldier q
fortune ~. He vaguely wished he ha
not been 30 romantic, for somehow h
couldn't find my romance lying aroun
loose In the nipa huts inhabited by th
Tagalogs.
Il He longed for real battles and scene
of bravery, and would lie awake night
planning his own actions should an on,
break ever occur. Heroic dreams the
were, for Van Allen was a builder .
castles In the air. and many were til
oor<NHrof TO- ~ marie opd ssy,cro~ohI