Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

but by his wound, which he gave out, or
attendants did for him, had been caused
by fragment of shell. Blood poison had
set in and in few days he raved in
madness so that it took several of us to
control him. His brain was affected and
he would fight over again and again the
vnrioue engagements he had been in, till
all the guests left and the proprietor was
in a quandary what to do.
1T felt somewhat guilty, as watched
him through the long nights, and was re-
lieved when death ended his agonies
The glimpse I got of his face that night
near the trenches as he tried to hit me
with the flat of his sword, and the yell
he gave when the soldier struck him, left
no doubt on my mind, and it was with
real sadness I helped to convey his body
t. the train for burial at his home in
Avigrop, in the south Of France
With many recitals of escapades did
"OP Skeesicks'' enliven our picket
watches, and every man in the command
sought to be detailed with him, not only
because of his enlivening company, but
for the many and deft ways in which he
could get supplies If such were in
reach No matter who watched them,
nor what danger attended the task, he
always whacked up with the boys.
After the return from the Peninsula
ard when the Potomac army was camped
around Alexandria and hundreds of men
got passes to visit Washington over the
long bridge, drunkenness and disorder be-
came so frequent in the city that passes
were stopped.
Privates' Leave Stopped
1t was impossible to to get over the
bridge unless one was an officer, and
even then one could not go about in
washington after 8 p. m. unless he had
gone to the provost marshafs office and
had his regimental pass vised.
We were dawdling in camp in Novem-
ber, cold and wet. and things were made
worse by the possession of plenty of
money. AS the army had lately been
paid for several months service, those
who did not gamble were well fixed
Having money and no chance to spend 1t
works on a soldier just as such condi-
tions would on any man, and many and
shreWd were the tricks evolved to get to
Washington.
One cold and rainy afternoon, just as
we came in from police fatigue duty, OF
Skeesicks informed me he was going to
Washington that night and sought my
assistance and company.
Skeesicks Has Plan
He had been in the brigade hospital
that afternoon and stole two of Major
Sherburne's blouses with shoulder straps
on them, and with forged passes we were
to cross the bridge. 1 was to forge the
passes, but 1 could never pass for
major, being only 20 years of age and
hoyish looking. He soon fixed that by
offering to clean our second lieutenants
clothes, and when night came we headed
for the bridge as Major Douglas and
Lieut.. Sanders, both of whom were Off
GERS in our regiment. Men from an Illi-
nois regiment with some of Scott's Nine
hundred, had the bridge, and we got over
without hitch.
Once in the city we had no trouble in
getting served anywhere, for officers
could get anything to drink, while en-
listed men had to resort to bootleg or
speakeasy outfits to get anything. We
had a high old time and had sense
enough. left to leave town before 8
o'clock. as it was impossible to stand
successfully the ordeal of the provost
streets and entered all public places,
forcing all, officers ana men alike, to
show their passes. If they were not
vlsed by Gen. Frye, the man, no matter
what his rank, had to go to the central
guardhouse and account for himself.
Martial law plays no favorites.
BY the time we got across the bridge
we both could see two lights in the
great lantern on the dome of the capitol,
where we knew there was only one, and
we were very sleepy. About mile out
from the Virginia side of the bridge
toward camp the surgeons had caused to
be built an elevated platform on which