The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-19

"A the army, or tnat part or II now
n in Mexico. and one Of them re-
called his military experience in
Mexico and Arizona during the Geron-
mo campaign Of 1885 and 1856. Then
some one brought up the subject of
dcsertion and referred to an article
printed in THE SIN recently in which
IN enlisted man told of a number of
Gescrtions from the army and gave the
reasons which brought them about.
What do YOU think of ?" the for
mer army man was asked.
This he answered. THAT article
was written by a non-com, dog rob
Der, an extra duty man or dweller
In hay bag row. For choice, I should
say dog robhcr. 1t was not written
by buck soldier and you can stake
your life on that.
Draw up here and sit tight while
tell you something" he continued.
II deserted from the regular army and
this is the first admission / have ever
made of that fact outside of my own
immediate family. Not that / am in
any way ashamed of the fact, but the
statement needs explanation and | have
neither the time nor the inclination to
set myself straight in the eyes of the
N'TIu on the SUBJECT.
MY reasons for deserving, although
| did not anaiyze them at the time. will
cover the reasons of 75 per cent. of
the eserters from the service to day,
ana when you hear them, ] think YOU
VIII not agree with the writer of the
article you have shown me, who would
have you believe that the men who d,
scrt the service are all blacklegs or un-
deslrabies.
First OF all, I want you to under
stand, was "A good soldier. | enlisted
on Hudson street. right here in New
York in June. 1855. and after a short
time was sent to jefferson Barracks,
Mo- where j spent five months in what
was supposed to be training school.
Then | was sent to Fort Lowell Ariz..
to join my troop and found on arriv-
ing that with the exception of n f,w
coffee coolers. all the soldiers, both in
iahtry and cavalry, were In the field
ai'er Geronimo. There were seven or
elgnt OF us rockies together and the
i"ou peins much better the comrade-
snip of old soldiers being more steady-
ing ana the utter novelty Of our sur
roundinss being interesting. We were
Giad that we had stuck, and had not
deserted at the barracks. for not a nav
day passed at Jefferson Barracks with
out from twenty to a hundred men
skipping.
we rested up at Fort Lowell for n
week or ten days, and then in companv
WIN an Ola soldier We started for our
uoop III the neld. We went to Tucson
ny wagon, then to Benson by train, a
change to the Sonora Railway and then
To Huachuca Siding. whence we went
ny wagon to the fort bearing the name
OF the siding. Fort IIuachuca was then
ana is now the most important military
post in Arizona. All was bustle,and to our
eyes confusion, when We arrived. and as
we left there the next morning in a six
mule team wagon | at least had no
thought that | was To come back and
terminate my military career from that
very place.
Ihere were eight rockies in the
wagon, two dogs and about twenty
sacks Of barley. A Government six mule
wagon has no springs. the roads of Ari-
iona nave never received even homp-
opathic treatment, and the three DAYS
ride was not an unm!Xcd pleasure. The
th!rd day GU, three of us landed AT orr
journeys end, Guadalupe CANYON. the
others having been left at different
camps en- route. Ny troop was living
IN dugouts and the troop across the
canyon in Siblcy tents. Every dav a
man from each troop. accompanied hy
two Indians, rode twelve miles west
ward ana met a like number Of men who
had ridden from ,hc nearest camp eat.
They ate lunch together. rcm1untcd and
rode back 10 their respective camps.
Thcy We're doing precisely what the sol
di"rs are doing now on the border
watching for trails. and the moment
on" was found the men would hot foot
II back TO camp. and out We would GO
for Geronimo.
There was guard every day to take
the horses and pack mules out To herd
ana that same guard stood sentry at
night over the picket lines. The routine
was confined to revcille, mess cal. an
occasional boots ana saddles, retreat
and taps. There was enough spice To
the life in the chasing after the Indians
Cor the old timers and Of course To me il
was all new and a great deal of IL
plcasurable. The food was the best
had received in the army. and mind you,
the troop was living on field rations,
although | never saw piece Of hard
tack while | was with my outfit.
Some genius had in times past
evolved "A happy scheme of cutting mess
tils So that when one was inverted
over the other the two made a perfect