Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-05-26


IN Each Shining Moment-0ld r
I'm Rebels Against
lIaepeaaoeuaoEz aosn4aokzmA
A thousand acres of mud and water
out of which the endless rows of khaki
colored tents project like 80 many
mushrooms-such has been the great
maneuver camp at San Antonio dur
ing the months of March and April
Regiment after regiment, brigade after
brigade, the rows of tents stretch
away toward the horizon with the reg
ularity and precision of California
prune orchard. Day after day their
canvas tops flap in the Texas nor
theirs" until the wonder is that they
don't flag themselves to pieces. Night
after night they rattle with Texas
rains. Rain. rain, rain! Mud, mud,
mud! Clinging, persistent, Texas
mud-called "gumbo" or "dobie mud.
At the first step you take In 1t you
lose your rubbers. The next, your feet
become twice their natural size. The
next they resemble suit cases. Then
they take root, and every step there
after is like pulling up a sapling.
The regulars have seen mud before:
They have wallowed in the blood'red
soils of Cuba-some of 1t still clings
to their tents like sealing wax; they
have splashed through the Shiny ooze
of the Philippines: they have even
marched through "gumbo" in the Bad
Lands of Dakota; but never before
such mud as this: 1t is in class by
itself.
Down the line you pass In front OF
one of the tents and gaze in through
the open flap. The wet mass OF can
vas hunks, barrack bags and haver'
sacks inside constitute the household
furniture Of Corporal Blank and his
squad of seven men. A splendid a.
tercation Is under way. Private smith
is administering whitening rebuke 10
Private ines for not having enough
animal intelligence to turn out last
night and slacken the guy ropes wnen
he heard the rain. instead OF layin
there like blasted idiot until the
tightening ropes pulled the pins out OF
the ground, with the result that the
tent went over at midnight, with the
further result that the whole squad
cot soused In the adjoining tent JOY
GUS voices are whooping up big cho'
rus of
Take me down to the war game,
Let me sleep in the rain;
Give me a canteen and a haversack--
don't care If I never come back:
Another is singing Of how he took
a sheet of water and pulled it over his
head" And so 1t goes.
Sensitive Casey.
Looking down the company street
YOU see Private Casey working his
way laboriously through the mud,
swinging his ponderous feet along and
jealously guarding his left arm as
though somebody was about to cut
it of and run away with it. The truth
Of the matter is that Casey Is not In
the least afraid of losing his arm. In
fact. he is wishing with rather pro1ane
wishes that 1t belonged to ANYBODY
else on earth but himself. He has
Just been own to the hospital to have
administered unto him what the sur.
geons call "anti-typhoid vaccination"
No such hifalutin' language as that Tor
Casey. He refers to it as the 'mallein
test after the manner of testing the
horses in the Philippines for CHAMBERS
and surra. Busting up behind him
comes a Hebraic caste Of countenance.
Grabbing Casey by the LETT arm ne
says:
"say. old man let me sell you some
views of San Antoine"
Casey bounds four feet into the ar
with piercing war whoop, and. Whiri-
ing on the astonished cit" yels out!
"-!-!-!- you and your blasted
views! The only view l want OF this
cussed hole is from the south END OF
a train going north"
Exit "city with meek and lowly ar:
Casey hasn't any monopoly on the left
arm malady On all sides the victims
move warily about, approaching each
other with sidewise motion like so
many land crabs, each regarding the
Others as 60 many murderers thirst
inx for his blood. Along the officers
line majors, captains and lieutenants
for the surgeon. is no respector OF
persons-sit in their wet tents nurs-
Ing left members and wondering II
typhoid could possibly be as bad, az
the prevention ~ !
The Mules and the Acceptance. I,
At last there comes day when the
weather changes-not for the worse,
either. The northers stop northing,
the rain stops raining: the sun begins
to sun, and throughout the. entire
camp wet tent walls are rolled up and
musty blankets are hung out to dry.
Over in the regimental corral the team
sters hook up their shaggy-tailed
mules, burning q few holes in the
air with their cuss words at old Kit
and Jim for getting hind leg over the
single tree. and soon twenty four.mule
teams are standing ready to pull out
for the commissary depot for rations.
At the same time. by a remarkable
coincidence. the aviators bring their
aeroplane out Of the big wooden shed
known as the hangar" and prepare to
plow a few acres of blue sky. After
some preliminary buzzing and whirring