Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1911-11-16

from the top of the Waianae mountains down
to the public highway, across this into pine
apple and sugar-cane territory. Leilehua ranch
was leased crown land; the 30-year lease al
most run out when Uncle Sam took posses
sion OF the 10000 acres-a goodly exercise
ground for cavalry men and cavalry horses.
When | visited the place, for me the inter.
est began at the very entrance gate. The
gate differed little from the ordinary barn
yard affair, but on the high framework there
was printed in three languages an order to
those entering there. a sign expressed in Eng
Iish. Hawaiian and Japanese. English and
americans that ran might read Keep This
Gate Shut" The Hawaiian direction was,
POM Ka Puka." The Japanese chicken
scratching | forbear to give. 3
Schofeld barracks being close to the pine
apple country and the workers in the fields
Japanese, there was necessity for using the
Japanese language. The little pineapple viii
lage t$ WShiawa lies only a short distance
beyond the Leilehua gates, but is such a new
and small center that the soldier finds here
nothing of consequence in the way of amuse-
ment, longs for the moving pictures, band con-
certs, sea bathing. peopled streets, and cor
ner' social offerings of Honolulu. And various
causes are pointing towards the permanent
settlement of the soldiers, the Capitalization
of troops In Honolulu.
As # is now Honolulu seems fairly well
soldiered. Off at the west end Fort Shafter,
set upon a hill, keeps guard over the town be-
low, and not only promises present and fu-
fure protection, but also gives a valuable OBJ
iect lesson In soIdierly trimness and finish-a
needed object lesson to the sloveAliness that
marks various portions Of what should be one
of the fairest cities in the world. At quite
the opposite end from Fort Shafter, off there
about the famous headland, old Diamond Head.
Fort Kruger is situated, companies of coast ar
tillery here-at Shafter, infantry. Between
Forts Ruger and Shafter lies Fort de Rus
sey, eventually to DE an artillery post.
It is generally understood in the army that
the men do not like service in Hawaii. They
complain of lack of variety, that life here has
too much sameness, and they complain be-
cause service in Hawaii does not mean In
creased pay or time allowance, but OF these
granted elsewhere in the tropics. Yet many
of the men give other testimony, approve of
the equable climate, the cool trade-winds, dis
cover no little variety in the multitudinous
races with their multitudinous customs and
costumes; the inland boy finding in this port
in the Pacific a babel of voices, a marvellous
motley professionalism, Japanese, Chinese.
Portuguese, Korean, Porto Rican, Filipino.
East Indian, Scandinavian, German, French,
Anglo-Saxon and others. He hobnobs with
all Of them, picks up a jargon that he Is never
to Iose-but which it would take a Kipling to
put into cold print.
The officer who obiigingly answered my
questions and also volunteered information re-
garding the invasion Of The Islands" by I'm
Gle Sans men. told me that while the sol
diers were supposed to be Indifferent to serv-
ice in Hawaii, still there were very few de-
anpti0na And then We both iaughed-fOT
where would the disgruntled desert to? They
could scarcely swim the 1000 miles to San
Francisco. and departing vessels are watched
by sharp and experienced eyes. IL they fled
TO the mountains or the cane-fields, some day
they would have to leave this secIusion, and
to secure safe ~seclusion in a small, sea-girt
Isle is very difficult, One thing and another
keep the soldier to his task, and 1t is probable
that the days do not drag SO very heavily, that