The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1908-09-07


pouter pigeon friend, the cadet. but
still managed to cover the distance.
Arriving at the museum, found that
a sally port is really harmless If you
know how to get along with 1t and
approach it in an uneoncerneG man
ner, as though you had been used to
sally ports all your life. I could do
this all the better inasmuch as II looked
like tunnel under the subway with
which | had been on terms of enforced
intimacy.
To describe the museum itself and to
do justice to its wonderful historical
collection one needs an entirely fresh
supply of adjectives out of dictionary
that has never been soiled by the hand
of man. In 1t are trophies from all our
wars; also large collection of guns
whose brothers may become trophies in
wars that are not yet pulled off. There
is the flag reared by Ellsworth at Alex.
andrla; there is n part of the flag
staff at Sumter; there are old wooden
cannons taken from the Filipinos
there are two handed Chinese sword:
captured at Pekin; there are relics from
Santiago and Manila; there are civi'
war relics, Mexican war relics, Indian
war relics and relics from the two
wars with our ''hands across the sea
cousins" the English, which they are
trying TO forget as much as we are try
ing to remember. The museum
West Point is well worth any mans
time to see. If he takes it all In. 1t vii
give him a headache and a higher ap
probation of his country's glory.
On this particular morning. however
| had stern duty to perform. Cap
tain Charles was still undiscovered
Parading back to the guard tent in my
best form, | was told that he had moi
yet shown up but an orderly who just
then happened along said that the cap
tain was probably down at the bat
teries. where lot of cadets were shoot
ing cannons at the side of a nearby
mountain and were occasionally hit
ting it. This was down near the dock
tance had increased from three and
one-quarter miles to three and seven
eighths. doubtless due to the expansive
power of heat In the middle of the day
Upon reaching the barracks we found
that Captain Charles was not there,
had not been there, and nobody acted
as though he knew or cared whether
he was going to be there or not.
The target practice is really very In
teresting, especially to the people at
the other end of the line. The West
Shore railroad had to construct a tun-
mel so that the trains could dive into
hole when the cadets became too
enthusiastic In shooting at the loco
motive and the passengers. One of the
biggest guns was trained on the top
of a mountain aud made the dirt and
stones jump up in a mos exciting
manner. The only reason the top of
that mountain had not been all shot
1t often enough. | asked them what
happened to the people on the other
side of the mountain when the balls
missed the entire landscape and went
tearing up the atmosphere beyond
The orderly told me he did not know.
but as there had been no complaints he
supposed either that nobody had been
hit by the stray shots or, If they had
that they had been killed instantly, so
that they did not know what had
struck them.
| still had to discover Captain
Charles, and. having mached down the
hill, | marched up again in reverse or
der from the famous king of France.
The distance to the guard tent had
now grown to four and five-sixteenths
Niies. One must be accurate In his
igures at West Point. where mathe-
natics Is the chief study. The Increase
his time found to be due TO the fact
that 1t Is a longer distance up a hill
han In a straight line. At the guard
.ent nothing had been heard OF Cap
tain Charles. and a cadet was again
sent to his tent, making the maneuver
N the same splendid fashion as before.
II was all In vain. Captain Charles
was not there. began to have doubts
n that officers corDOreai existence. re-