The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-09-23

ChDEIS Az DARING
pouter pigeon friend, the cadet, but
still managed to cover the distance.
Arriving ut the museum, l found that
a sally port Is really harmless If you
know how to get along with it and
approach 1t in an uncOncerned man.
ner, as though you had been used to
sally ports all your life. l could do
this all the better inasmuch as 1t looked
like a 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 fres,
supply of adjectivcs out of a dictionary
that has never been soilcd by the hand
of man. In it are trophies from all our
wars; also Il large collection of guns
whose brothers may become trophies in
wars that are not vet pulled off. There
IS the flag reared by Ellsworth at Alex
andria; there is a part of the flag
stair ut Sumter; there are old wooden
cannons taken from the F%ilipinos:
there are two handed Chinese swords
captured at Tckin; there are relics from
Santiago and Manila; there are civil
war relies, Mexican war relics, Indian
war relics and relics from the two
wars with our Glands across the sea
cousins" the English, which they are
trying to forget as much as we are try
Ing to remember. The museum ut
West Point is well worth any mans
time to see. If he takes it all in, It will
give him a headache and a higher an.
probation of his country's glory.
On this particular morning, however,
mad a stern duty to perform. Cap
tain Charles was still undiscovered.
Parading back to the guard tent in NV
hest form. ! was told that he had not
yet shown up, but an orderly who lust
then happened along said that the car.
tain was probably down ut the bat
teries. where Il 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.
and on walking back l found the dis.
tance had Increased from three and
onr-Quartcr miles to three and seven.
Eighth doubtless lu" 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 nohodv acted
rs though he knew or cared whether
he waS going to ht there or not.
The target practice is really very in
trresling. especially to the people at
the other end of the line. The West
shore railroad had to construct a tun-
mel 50 that The trains could dive into
Il hoe when the cadets became too
enthusiastic i'll shooting at the loco.
motive y The passengers. One of the
biggest guns was trained on the top
of Il mountain and made the dirt and
stones jump w in Il most exciting
manner. The only reason the ton of
that mountain had not been all shot
away was that the gunncrs had o hit
1t often enough. l asked them what
happened to h 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,
nut as there had been no complaints he
supposed either that nobody had boon
nit Try the stray shots or. If they had
that they had been killed instantly. s.,
that they did not know what had
struck them.
l stu had to discover Captain
Charles, and, having mached down the
hlll' ! 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 Hvc-siXtecu,hs
mics. One must be accurate In his