The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-10-31
The COlOnel'S
Pride
How the Army Regulations
Were Adhered to and
a Genius Secured
For the Band
By ARTHUR TOWNSEND

do you play on any musical instru
ment"
"No"
'Have no musical taste"
II don't know. l was born and have
lived all my life in the heart of for.
est, where no musical sound except the
singing of the birds has ever reached
my ears. But that I have always
dearly loved. Why do you ask these
Questions"
Because If you could play upon tn.
cornet or the fageolet or the from
bone you might be permitted to live,
As 1t is, your sentence will be carried
out. What pity that you have not
some foundation for musical training
l could in a few days coach you so
that you might save yourself from
being shot"
When the Spanish war broke out the
news of it reached the wilderness III
which lived. Here was chance t.
get out Of the woods and into the
world. would enlist for soldier. !
would need no money. The govern
ment would clothe, feed and transport
me. and all that would be'required OF
me would be to be shot. And if those
who shot ut me missed me and con
tinued to miss me till the war was
over / would be taken care Of till the
next war, and If / lived through all
the wars till became an old man
would be laid on the shelf, but would
be still taken care Of.
This was the explanation given me
by the recruiting officer, whom I found
after walk Of sixty miles. Not car
ing to walk back again and remain
out Of the world accepted the condi
lions to remain in the world till some
enemy fired shot that would give
the government the best of the bar
gain. l was put into an infantry regi-
ment and an effort was made to knock
some of the 'green" out Of me and
turn me into a soldier. But the effort
failed. I could not be disciplined and
within week after having been land.
ed in Cuba I struck my. captain. was
tried for mutiny and sentenced to be
shot.
There are two extremes In war.
When an army is not in action there Is
enough red tape used to girdle the
world, but when the real work begins
there isn't any red tape at all. In tn"
mixup that occurred after our landing.
while many good soldier lay dying OIL
the battlefield, l. mutineer. iii WITT
malarial fever. was turned into the
house of q Cuban farmer and was at
tended by his daughter. one of those
dark haired. olive complexioned. long
eyelashed daughters Of equatorial re
falling in love with him.
1t has required three times the talk
to tell all these commonplace facts rs
the beginning Of my story. 1t was Inez
Gonzales. the farmers daughter and
my nurse, who regretted my want of
musical training with which l might
have saved my life by blowing a horn.
"a regiment encamped. yesterday"
she went on, "in q field across the road.
and two Of the men supped here this
evening. One of them said that his
cornet and his fiageolet had been killed
and his trombone was grooming under
a bad wound. The colonel was very
proud Of the regimental band, and just
as soon as the routine Of army life re-
commenced he would notice that the
music was not up to the mark and
there would be the mischief to pay.
The other suggested that musicians be
obtained from the prisoners who had
been captured from the enemy. The
first man answered that he hadn't
thought of 1t: he would try. If you
were a musician he might put you into
the band"
Here was q chance for life-a ghost
Of a chance. but still chance. The
only indication that had enough mu-
sic In me to avail myself Of the oppor-
tunity was that had loved the songs
of birds. asked Inez to go to the
camp. find the bandmaster and tell
him there was man in her home who
could play OH any instrument; that he
was Ill. but convalescent. and with
couple Of weeks practice would be able
to take his place in n band.
Inez told the story. and the band
master came over to see me. When i
told him l was under sentence to be
shot he was bit discouraged, but said
that If was first class cornet player
he thought the colonel would have
enough influence to get Communication
or something that would save my
breath for the band. He went away
and came back to say that he had seen
the colonel and secured an order delay
ing my execution till 1t could be dis
covered whether was a valuable mu-
sician. If so some way Of defeating
Justice would be found by which ]
could be utilized. The colonel's pride
In the band was such that he would
shoot dummy in my stead IL neces-
sary, only the army regulations must
be faithfully adhered to. But my abil-
tiles must be tested before any change
In the army situation should take
place.
So there was. not knowing a note
Of music, sick in bed and required to
make a musician of myself immediate
", for army situations are not lasting,