Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1914-04-18
PAID DEARLY FOR JOKE
PROSECUTED "RoOkfE" HAD
LAUGH ON ToRMENToR
Humlliating Task at Which Colonel
Set Good Soldier Gave Latter the
Nickname of Corporal Suds,"
Which Stuck.

Gen. q. V. Sumner, who was long
colonel in command of the Fighting
Seventh" cavalry, was known to the
rank and file of his regiment as "Old
Bull" His gruff manners may have
had something to do with the nick
name, but it came to him fairly by in.
heritance. His father, the General
Sumner of Civil war renown, bore it
before him
While the Seventh was stationed at
Fort Grant Ariz., very raw recruit
was sent on from Kansas City. AS
usual, the men prosecuted him from
the start He returned meekly from
the ordnance stores with the informa.
ton that 'left-handed ramrods" were
all gone without batting an eyelash,
he reported that the sergeant in
charge of the post swore at him when
he applied for his butter checks"
They took his last two bits away from
him in the canteen in some hocus-
pocus game. After supper he was
'blanket-tossed' until the arms of the
tossers grew weary; and three times
that night his bunk collapsed amidst
roars Of merriment. The recruit then
gave up the struggle and lay shivering
upon the floor until morning.
He neither murmured nor com.
planned. In fact, he seemed to be SO
unsophisticated that when he asked
his room corporal where he could have
some washing done, the corporal, with
jerk of his thumb, indicated the COM
manding officers house on the corner
of the parade. go over to that big
house." the corporal directed. Take
your bundle with you, and ask for
Old Bull. He takes in all the washin'
at this post"
Grasping his little bundle, the green
lad from Kansas City shambled across
the parade, mounted the coloneps
front stoop, and innocently pulled the
doorbell. The joke was an old one, as
Old Bull had never been known to ar
swer the bell in person, and more than
one recruit had learned the way to
"Soapsuds Row" after tongue-lash-
ing from the commandments dusky
maid of all work. And as she had
threatened to scald the next man who
bothered her about his washing, the
tip was passed along from troop to
troop, and the men swarmed out on
the verandas to see the fun.
But just as the recruit pulled the
BELL who should step out but Old Bull
himself booted and spurred for his
morning ride.
What do you want here?" he thun-
dered, surprised to see an enlisted
man at his front door.
Il wanted to see about gettin'
these sh-shirts and socks done up,
minister" stammered the frightened
recruit They told me to come over
here and ask for Old Bull" he added
We'll, I'm Old Bull!'" roared the
colonel You come along with me
and point out the man that sent you
over here" he went on, as he grasped
the astonished youth and hurried him
toward the troop quarters.
The crowds upon the verandas melt
ed away as Colonef Sumner ap-
preached, but the guilty corporal was
found lurking In the troop barber
shop. Some heated language ensued,
and then, at the end Of the painful
interview, Old Bull delivered himself
thus:
Corporal. ought to have you court
martialed! l could have your stripes
taken away, and see that you got
about 80 days into the bargain. Or
could have you fined. But you've been
one Of my best noncoms. You're al
ways sober, and a good shot, and SO
I'm not going to take your chevrons,
your liberty, or your money away
from you. But since you're such an
expert on laundry matters, l order
you to do this mans washing on the
front porch of these quarters every
Monday morning at guard mount.
"And YOU" he beloved. turning to
the recruit and shaking his gauntlets
at him, you see that you have at
least two suits of underclothes and
seven pairs of socks for him every
week! And II he doesn't wash 'em
clean-you report to Old Bull, that's
MEL"
And thereafter for several months,
until band of Tonic Basin Apaches
went on a rampage and gave them
more serious things to think about,
the men of the Seventh looked for
ward happily to Monday morning
guard mount The noncommissioned
laundyman became known as Cor
poral Suds." and was leased about
the affair until the day piece Of
Spanish shrapnel cut short his exis-
tence.-Youth's Companion.