Crittenden record-press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1909-191?, 1910-01-27
STICK TO YOUR TRADE
BY 3. cRiTTENOEN LYTLE.

" e to buy him few cigars and the
wrappers will likely be paper colored,
10 look like tobacco leaf Let wife
ask her husband to hire maid and,
though she may be comely. she will
have TO be got rid OF inStanter
One would suppose hat all soldier
lug is alike Nothing of the kind. An
infantryman knows nothing about can
non: an artillerymau Knows nothing
about the signal service
These remarks are Il preface to the
recital OF an attempt To make tighter
out of Il muSiCian-an army musician.
Jacob GOh"lpr WAS n buger in one of
the regular regiments When the rcgi.
ment was preparing to 80 to CuOa at
lhe time of the Spanish American war
he became ambitious To- be Il real sol
der iustcad of tootcr His sergeant
told him that he had better stick to his
bugle, but Jacob said that when a
bugIcr wa killed in battle there was
no glory in his death. He preferred to
die with Vrapous ~ his hands inajenl
of bugle.
so jacob became soldier and was
ia the first battle fought after the
troops landed near Santiago. Lnfortu-
nately il was his first fish,, and he was
ratified. Men were being shot down
beside him by an enemy they could
not see. Some of the corp, we're get
ting back; others were standing. ia
cob got 1t into his head that he should
sound n retreat. Putting his hand back
to grasp his buglc. h. found revolver
instead. Putting the muzzlc into bis
mouth. be tried to blow. III his ex-
citement he must have pulled the trig-
ger. for he was brought to his senses
by feeling something warm on his jaw.
and, putting his hand there, he found
blood pouring from hole In his cheek.
The wonder was that the bullet had
not gone Through tie vcrt"brac ut the
back of his neck and killed him. He
must have blown through corner of
his mouth.
Jacob was in a hospital till pretty
near the end of the war. II would
have been better for him to return to
the duties of q bugler. but the hole
in his cheek didn't close up. and an
attempt to blow a bugle would send
all the wind out at the side of his
face instead of through his bugle.
When Jacob returned to duty he
found it impossible to explain to his
comrades how he came by the hole
in his cheek. The story got out, and
he was laughed at. This fired him
with a desire to redeem himself. He
opportunity came. There was no lack
of fighting around Santiago. True. the
Spanish and American forces were
standing off from one another, but
there were sorties and charges. One
day Jacob was in some very thick
fighting. The colonel was racing about
with his bugler at his heels blowing
his orders when suddenly the bugle
dropped from his hand and he fell
from his horse. The colonel, seeing his
buger knocked out, looked about for
another, but there was none at hand.
The captain Of Jacobs company, real
izing his predicament, cried out:
We've got a buger here. colonel.
Gobeler, get up there on that horse!
Gobeler, obedient and forgetting that
he had been disqualified to blow or
ders by his wound, picked up the
bugle mounted the horse and placed
himself directly in the colonel's rear.
The SpaniarAs were preparing to crush
the American troops on that part of
the field The colonel saw Il brigade
of the enemy swinging round on his
right to get in his rear and gave Jacob
an order to signal change of front.
Jacob put his bugle to his lips and
blew. but there was no sound. All the
wind was going out through the hole
in his cheek.
The colonel looked at him in surprise
and anger Jacob clapped his hand to
his cheek. but did not succeed in fore
ing the wind through the bugle. Shut
ting his mouth, he put the bugle to the
hole in his cheek. Since no wind could
get out through his mouth it went
through his cheek. At any rate
enough of it got through the bugle to
family sound the colonel's order. But
Jacobs delay gave the enemy an adj
vantage that pretty nearly caused the
capture of the regiment. 1t was saved
only by support coming in the nick
of time. When the fighting was over
the colonel called out to Jacobs cap
tain:
Keep that man in the ranks, cap
tain. He's no good for bugler."
HE was a good bugler, colonel, but
he insisted on going into the ranks
The first thing he did was to try to
blow a signal on his pistol and shot
hole in his cheek. Now he's no good
for either a soldier or n bugler."
After this episode Jacob was so ridi-
culed by the men that he tried to get
himself killed in order TO escape their
jokes. To make matters worse it SEEM
ed that all the buglers in the army
were getting shot. and the command
ing officers were always sending for
men who could sound the calls. 1t was
constantly: Say. Gobeler, you can
blow a bugle, can't you? oh. forgot.
ind ~, 70 hlnvu