Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-04


practice for a game CT ball. Capt Brian
had started in a course of training for
his team by refusing to allow the players to
/ eat much lunch: and in addition to that
excellent start on the highway of athletics
| some one had base ball glove. so they
! were we'll equipped for the fray.
But A certain first sergeant of the board
of strategy thought differently.
Look at EN-. now, he said. Lieut..
Reynolds is fine officer He's as fine an
officer as I'd want to see in a dozen en-
| listments. Ye don't see him aisin
a disturbance with one of them bats. I've
been in the guards and the regulars. man
and boy, from rookie to first sergeant
but l niver saw bunch of officers on a
hot day like this usin the company streets
as if they knew how to play ball. We
niver saw a non-com. do the like o that.
There's Duffy, now. he may be dog rob-
bin i'm the lieutenant's tent but he amt
50 crazy as to play ball when he can do
bit of bunk fatigue.
But, despite the dsa pproval of this man
Of many wars.rthe officers persisted, and
in battle formation marched TO the end of
the wharf. There was no other boat to
be obtained so they hailed the ConconO-
cheague, belonging to Lieut.. Putnam of
the Signal Corps.
And the Boat Baked.
Now the COnconocheague bears a bad
reputation. 1t is SO narrow a fash from
Llcut > IlellOSIdUIl W III CAUSE II
to careen heavily, and is propelled by
vicious navy yard engine. On the bow it
bears its wonderful name. which has to be
sneezed rather than pronounced. and on
its stern it bears the legend Washing
ton. D. c. so that people not familiar
with the facts will not know it comes from
Anacostia. Into this boat. as graceful in
its lines as any painted Nautilus. the base
ball players climbed. There were Capt.
Sayer Capt Duff1e. the terror of evil
doors; Lieut.. Hodgson, Lieut.. Webster
Capt. Brian, Lieut.. Chandler OF the army.
who had been inveigled into going be-
cause they were all nice fellows, any
how: Lieut.. Burton. Lieut.. Earnes. and
Lieut.. Werlich. That made up the team.
Then there were an unfortunate enlisted
and Lieut. Rutherford. who were going
across. anyhow, regardless of base ball
games. and q war correspondent. who was
taken along to make the party thirteen in
number
The Conconecheague puffed out into mid
stream and stopped The enlisted man,
acting as engineer, tried to crank it up.
He turned ard turned and turned and
turned His hands became hot and sore
and blisters from previous efforts began
to crack and bleed. They bound W his
hands and told him to keep on. Meantime
the suns rays were beating down with
redoubled energy and the base ball team
was holding its breath. so to speak be-
cause the boat persisted in careening with
wonderful persistency and without appar-
emily obeying any known law of physics.
Maj. Davis to the Rescue.
The unfortunate enlisted man cranked
and cranked. The bandages which the
passengers had SO kindly put on were
rubbed off and he was down 10 his blisters
again.
After long broil in sun that almost
killed, boat put out from the Fort
Hunt wharf and rescued those fool
ish men. 1t also bore q message from
Washington, that the team there consid-
cred 1t too hot to play. The war CORE
spondent made himself unpopular by sug-
costing that Maj. Davis had saved Fcrt
Hunts team from defeat. The Fort Hunt
team now claims that the game is theirs
8 to o, on account of the game being for
feited.
And the first sergeant on his Helen
Gould cot. said:
Il tell We what it is. Across the river
they're scared to play ball with thin Of
ficers of ours. We've got the finest Of
fcers III the whole a-r-rmy''
Bullets Cause Alacrity.
While the supports under Mai Nc
Cathran were operating with pick and
shovel yesterday on the slope facing Fort
Washington Gen. Harries drove I'D to
one of the intrenchmests. While he was
talking with Maj Davis and Maj Nc
Cathran some one asked him why the
bitches were called ''hasty intrench-
ments."
Because they don't take three weeks
to put up was the reply. They take
less than an hour with these men. a
real hasty intrenchment Is made with
bayOnet and a tin cup, and Is dug in
hurry when the enemy is sending bullets
at you every few seconds. There is moth
ing like few bullets to put speed into an
army which is intrenching.'
Maj. James E. Bell, inspector general of
rife practice. visited the field hospital at
Fort Hunt. and expressed himself as well
pleased with the conditions found there.
Miss Anna b. Mcdonald. a member of
the ambulance party. which was nearly
dumped into ditch last Saturday while
leaving the fort, was a visitor in camp
yesterday. E. g.