The Tupelo journal., 1910-07-08

g. &. ! ! :. ! : : : ! =: J : : : : :; !; !; : J !: : :: !: 8 ! J: !: !: !: :: ! !
6E8G@YM mo-" said f1uuI
R4E Sergeant Hoeg leaned for
SM ward and slapped the gam
IN M bler's face. There was a
\~E&kIH flash. the sharp crack of a
SaSlW&EE- "sixgun," and the sergeant
GAU@ lay a crumpled heap on the
M~ barroom floor.
@M%Sa& Sergeant Hoeg was taken
to the hospital at Fort Villa
p,et.a q mile away. Gambler Hunt was placed
In the new county Jail under the courthouse on
the plaza, in charge of the county sheriff. And
the town of Willamette went its way, but with a
difference. No gamblers summed themselves and
trimmed their finger nails In front or the Main
street saloons. No soldiers Travelled TO ana
from the fort across the dusty fiat. The Twen-
tieth United States cavalry deserted the town
and attended strictly to its own affairs on the
military reservation.
Stiffness hung over the town, the tense still
ness that spells danger and waits for an event.
No crowds gathered. Citizens talked of the shoot
ing with an unspoken question in their eyes as
they looked out toward the fort. The sheriff was
uneasy. IF that man Hoeg dies he said, and
shook his head.
Out at the fort military routine ground along
without a ripple-stables, guardmount, drill, pa
rade-apd If the men were dangerously angry
they gave not a hint of it. The post commander.
who was also colonel of the Twentieth, eyed
them proudly. They are taking it we'll" he
said to his officers. 81 know them. They are
veterans. and obey orders. The law will take
care of that man Hunt" The officers agreed.
Not a threatening or angry murmur reached off,
GERS row from the barracks. AS a matter Of pre-
caution all passes were stopped and orders issued
that no enlisted man should leave the reservation
except on duty.
1t was all that could be done. The men meant
no mischief, but suppose they did? The strongest
guard would be a rope of sand around the cluster
of frame buildings called fort" The one only
way to prevent any possible trouble would be
to take the troops out on a "hike"-practlse
march, it was called then-somewhere away from
the place for a time. But the colonel would have
had to AJAX orders from the war department to
do this. And when the war department heard
the reason for the request it would have thrown
an official fit, and probably have convened a
board of doctors to inquire into the sanity OF
the post commander at Fort Willamette. 1t is
not probable, however, that such a thought en-.
tered the veteran coloneps head. He knew his
men. They were veterans, proud of the flag they
served and the cloth they wore.
Next day word came to the town that Ser
ceant Hoeg was dead. The sheriff went to see
the prosecuting attorney. That Hoeg mans
dead. | don't like this business a heap" he told
the prosecutor. 6
whats the matter? The towns quiet"
SOS the fort. Too plenty much quiet. If the
soldiers was buckin' round in town, or even out
at the fort there, l wouldn't mind. But they're
quiet-fghtin' quiet. They're keepin' away
from town, and when they do come" The sher-
if wagged his head dismally.
Very WELL" said the prosecuting attorney.
well go out to see the post commander and ask
him to put an extra guard on and keep his men
away from the town until things quiet down"
The prosecuting attorney was young, but he
should have known better. He had been a sol
der himself, had studied law while wearing a
blue uniform at this same Fort Willamette. For
civil authority to give or suggest orders to an
officer in the regular army is to invite fiat snub-
bling. He should have known, but he hustled con-
fdently out to the fort. The sheriff followed, pro-
testing. Were goin' to the snubbin' post" he
said.
The old fort smiled peacefully in the after
noon sun. Blue-shirted troopers lounged in the
shade of barrack porches and corrals. The
guard dozed on the benches in the guardhouse
s~allyport. A casual officer s%auntered along the
board walk down officers row. The canteen was
deserted. TOO plenty much quiet" commented
the sheriff.
At headquarters the colonel received them
courteously.
"What can / do for you, gentlemen? ?" he
asked.
eve are afraid your men will lynch Hunt"
my men have been forbidden to leave the
reservation until further orders. They obey Or
ders."
I'VE have heard rumors. You must put a
strong guard around"
Il command this post, gentlemen. Good after
noon"
Civil authority went back to town in a hurry,
the prosecutor angry, the sheriff apprehensive.
For the sheriff felt that he knew the situation
better than did the colonel. The Twentieth cav
airy had not been stationed long at Fort Villa
mette. They had come fresh from scouting and
Indian chasing in the southwest in Joyous antici-
patton of the comforts of a quiet post and OF a
civilized sure enough" real town, not a group
of 'dobe shacks in a desert. The enlisted men
found a state of things they weren't used to and
didn't like. Willamette had long since forgotten
the days when the fort was a protection, ana
looked on it mainly as a source of revenue. while
the enlisted men were merely more or less OF q
nuisance. Like all other western towns In the
'8O's and ZOOS Willamette was wide open"
Gamblers and gambling were a strong element In
its life. From the suave and solid mar Of fam
lily who owned his home and business property,
and dealt parental discipline by day and faro at
night, to the casual tin horn" the sporting fra
ternity was always In evidence. The Eighteenth
cavalry, which had preceded the Twentieth at