The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-05-13


city, returned at about 3 80 O.
clock Sunday afternoon from
Michigan City, where they hao
been on duty since last Saturda,
noon, guarding the breach in tht
western wall of the state prison
which was blown down by the
gale Thursday evening, Apri
10Th. Seventeen men, under
command of Sergeant George Pi
fer, reinforced Company F., o.
South Bend, which had thirty.
three men present. The com.
bined force was under the com
mand of the South Bend officers
who were Captain Calvert, First
Lieutenant Kimble, and Second
Lieutenant Rogers.
The local boys got their first
taste OF actual duty, and returned
to this city we'll pleased with
their experiences, and say that in
spite OF the freezing cold of the
nrst three days and the subse-
quent heat, and then back again,
they enjoyed themselves to their
utmost and are narrating their
exciting experiences while on
duty TO their jealous friends to-
day.
The plymouth detachment ar
rived in Michigan City a little
after noon on Saturday, May 1st,
They Were Immediately detailed
to the prison grounds, by street
car, where they were at ,once
placed on guard duty, to relieve
the hard worked members Oh
Company F. About nine hundred
feet of the prison wall had been
blown down and the services OF
the militia were required to
guard the breach, while convicts
were employed in building a
Stockade, outside of the wall.
This stockade was completed
Sunday morning and the gigantic
task OF rebuilding tie brick and
stone wall, will also be done by
convict labor.
The militia were encamped just
outside of the wall and slept in
Sibley tents, of which six had
been erected. These tents were
shipped from the adjutant gen.
eral at Indianapolis, and each
held eight men on cots. The boys
spent their time on guard duty.
In the day time fifteen men were
kept on the line, twenty-four
PAGES apart. These men were re-
lieved every hour, their guard
duty in the day being alternate,
or every hour. During the night,
four men were kept on the guard
line, being on duty two hours
each, or three reliefs. When on
the list for hight guard duty, the
militiamen were required to sleep
in the guard house. There were
two OF these, one of which was
nicknamed Hotel de Freeze Out,
and the other Fort Smudge. The
Derivation of the names goes with
the history of the adventures of
the boys. Hotel de Freeze Out
was SO named because of the fact
that one minute the guards were
freezing to death by inches, and
the next were roasting, But it
was all kinds of fun so they
said. Fl. Smudge was christened
from Lieutenant Kimble who one
night when on duty as officer of
the Guard. was able to burn up
three hundred pounds of coal in
the tent stove and filled the guard
house with smudge which also
begrimed the members of the
guard. Besides the night SEN
tries there was the Officer of the
Guard, Sergeant of the Guard,
and two Corporals of the Guard.
1t was the duty of the corporals
Of the guard to rouse out each
relief guard, when their hour ar
rived.
The Plymouth boys unani-
agreed that of their sew
Mr.. Ossie Starr, was the
man who made the hit with the
ladies'. One evening Corporal
Guy Crawford, Sergeant George
Pifer, Corporal Frank Powell,
and Private Ossie Starr, having
secured their liberty, started for
the city. Upon reaching their
destination they soon espied four
peaches" who were watching
them. They approached, and one
Df the girls, wondered who that
little fellow was" This was too
much for Ossie, who at once
turned and fed. In the act of
lying Private Starr lost his hat.
revealing the spot where once
grew as bounteous a crops of
ocks as one would wish to see.
O.ssie made a hit, all right, and
was pursued by the girls, who