Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-17
STORIES OF SHAFTER
Incidents in the Career of the
PonderouS General.
WHEN He WAS A COLONEL
His Sternness With the Men Made
Him Unpopular.
AN EPISODE THAT CURED HIM
What Soldiers Sometimes Do to Off,
GERS They Dislike-Fate Of the
Young Lieutenant.
WHEN He WAS A COLONEL
AN EPISODE THAT CURED HIM

MAJ Gen. William Rufus Shafter, just
dead. had one very bad year. 1t may have
been liver. or govt. or dyspepsia. or all
three. But he was regarded as q very
stern man that year.
1t was when he was colonel Of the LIST
Infantry. stationed at Angel Island, in
the harbor of San Francisco. Always a
rigid disciplinarlan. there came a period
when he made the LIST Infantry one Of
the least desirable regiments for enlisted
men in the whole American army. This
sudden martinetism on the part Of an erst-
while amiable colonel was properly ascrib-
ed. by those who knew to his physical con-
dition. He wasn't a well man that year
But the enlisted men didn't know this. and
not knowing it.. their resentment was
great.
During that bad year Of Col. Skaters
something like one-half the enlisted force
Of his regiment was in the "clink' all the
time-in the guard house, that is to say
as whttewash1ng chicken coops and out
houses, digging gravel. making roads,
hoisting coal and such like. While that
bad year Of the coloneIs slowly dragged
along. almost any little old minor infrac-
ton OF discipline was enough to get the
Angel Island soldier "a month and a
month''-thirty days confinement in the
''cl1nk." with fatigue duty. and the loss
for all hands, sure enough.
The non-commissioned officers were being
broke to the ranks for the most incon-
sequentiaI derelictions. The buck soldier
some busted" comrade would pin his chew
rons and stripes on, 1t used to be said, not
caring to go to the bother of sewing his
non-com. g regalia on when he felt more
than middling confident that he'd be back
In the bucks ranks again within a very
short time. ..... $3.50 ---.--
The rigid discipline of Angel Island be-
gan to tell ON the regiment. The men be-
gan to go away from there without putting
in their names for leave. Of absence. They
couldn't stand the pace. The gaff became too
hard even for large number Of old timers,
who jumped without even the pretense OF
with how that peculiar condition Of q regi-
ment was corrected.
War a Relief
That Pine Ridge affair of the Ogalalla
Sioux broke out, and when the rumor
reached Angel Island that the LIST In
fantry was to- be sent to the scene of the
trouble all hands Of the enlisted men were
delighted The expedition would be a tre-
mendous relief from the state Of things at
the Angel Island garrison with the old
man In such a relentless frame Of mind.
Being delighted. the regiment proceeded to
celebrate at the canteen.
-Four OF the men, two commissioned
ofncers and two prfvates, celebrated I'M
wisely They reached the point of un-
matter among themselves, but they made
their arrangement in too audible a tone.
Briefly. their acknowledgement was
this: They would get" Shafter. their
into an engagement with the Indians at
Pine Ridge.
Getting a superior officer in an en-
gagement is a matter of involving the sim
DlaSt meaning The is fn
In the back when he Is facing the enemy
1t would be absurd to deny that that thing
has been done thousands upon thousands
of times since armies were first organized
The four enlisted men who talked it in
the canteen with regard to Col. Shafter,
however. made bad medicine for them
selves Their little agreement was over
heard. These matters have a way Of trick
ling to the ears of commanding officers.
In every outfit there are plenty of men
who cannot and will not abide this talk
about getting a superior officer in bat
tie. And SO Col Smarter heard about that
little arrangement.
The four plotters were forthwith general
court-martialed There was no question
about the gravity of their offense. The
thing was to prove that they had made
the sinister threats. 1t was proved. They
were all given very long terms at the mill
tary prison on Alcatrax Island, that bleak
the saddest and drearfest OF all places Of
military confinement in the United States.
Colonel Became Amiable.
Thenceforward, and right on to the fin
ish Of his active service. Col, later Gen.,
Shafter was the most engaging, amable
and lenient commanding officer in the army
Of the United States. ,,-
His lenience and amiability began from
the day he heard Of the plot against him
when the Pine Ridge rumor was in the air
The change tn the stern colonel was all but
On the afternoon of the day when the
four enlisted plotters were hailed before
him to tell their story and excuse them
selves as best they might with the plea Of
drunken responsibility there was a game
OF foot ball between the soldiers on the
Angel Island parade ground.
When. by mischance that seemed ter
rtble. the foot ball was kicked through an
open WINDOW OF the coloners quarters
plumb into his parlor, the game was sud-
denly stopped. The >cowed soldiers stood
transfixed with fear of the consequences
OF that sorry accident They pictured the
them, and they had visions of themselves
going to the "clink'' on the double in sets
OF fours. Anyhow, they had no foot ball
to continue play with, and SO they started
to gloomily dispense. feeling full certain
that their haling before the "beak" was
only a matter of minutes.
They had barely turned their backs to
leave the parade ground. however, when
their colonel appeared on the front steps of
his quarters. He was not believing On
the contrary. his immense countenance
was wreathed in smiles. He held the foot
ball in his two hands He waved 1t pleas
antly at the amazed soldiers. Then he
dropped 1t on the toe of his shoe and
kicked 1t neatly out to the parade grounds
Making funnel Of his hands, he called
out to the stunned soldiers, in a most
pleasant tone:
go ahead with your game, boys"
And from then on, have said to
the wind-up of his active days, Shafter
was one Of the most agreeable commanding
officers, one OF the stanchest friends to the
enlisted men, in this mans army"
From which conclusion or so might be
derived, and then. again. the narrative may
be quite lessonless. But 1t is set down
exactly as it occurred.
Little Story About Getting"
En- passant. before getting back to Gen.
Shafter again. there is a little story about
that getting" business which. If you are
in right. you will hear whispered around
the world where there are American SOL
diers. generally at bunk fatigue and the
whispers considerably soft-pedaled. at
that. The little story may be told briefly.
One Of the young men to be given a COM
mission in the regular army shortly after