Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-06-18

Hudson as the best all-round soldier
] of the entire command that marched
out under Colonel Carleton, brave to
wild recklessness, but always sparing
his men instead of himself. That day
the water ration allowed us was a pint
to the man every ten miles.
While a wise allowance to see us
through-just fancy it--when within
twenty minutes after you had received
your ration the burning sand and
| scorching sun had ones lips and
mouth parched and %shriveling.
But alike to prayers and curses
: Lieutenant Hudson remained deaf.
! until finally ranks were broken and
, the wagon tank rushed.
At first, the quartermaster tried to
persuade us to patience and self-con-
troll: urged that if permitted our will
and the reserve supply became ex-
hausted we would be certain to perish
before the next water could be
reached: assured the men that neither
he himself nor the wagon escort
should touch a drop until the jour-
ney's end-which, in truth. they did
not.
AS we'll. however. try to check a
rush of starving wolves. and it was
not until after a sharp bit Of fighting
and the one too gentle use of fixed
bayonets that he repealed our assault
Of the water supply and restored or
der.
Night come, every man-jack of us
realized good old Dick had saved our
lives. And when our colonel wanted
to ccurt-martial the entire detachment
for INSTRUMENTATION, and Dick so elo-
o~uently pleaded the frightful suffering
that had inspired it and won our i'm
munity, he then became our idol, and
so remained to the end Of u service.
Little use had Dick for courts mar
tial, fer he was a rare good give-and-
take fighter himself. and believed in
handing out personally any and all
punishments needed.
One day on march. l remember, one
of the hard cases" in the company
was grossly insolent to him. Another
officer would have put the man under
arrest and preferred charges.
But not so Dick. Instead. he
jerked off his blouse, threw it on the
ground, and smilingly remarked:
There on the ground is the officer
and here's the man: square off. you
blackguard. and I'll beat you to a
pulp" He then promptly proceeded
to make his proposition good.
am glad to say that throughout my
four years. eight months and twenty
one days service, l had only two en-
counters with any Of my California
comrades. md of these I want to ex.
onerate myself.
Before we left Frisco. Sam Stuart,
the toughest rough-and-tumble fighter
in the command, half craZed with
drink, attacked me without cause.
Still p youngster. I was unable TO
stand him off and got a severe beating.
The officers wanted me to prefer
charges and to appear against him.
This. however. I respectfully declined
to do: and when asked for my reason
for not wanting him punished. told
them that. being enlisted for three
years, | had confidence, would be
able to show Mr.. Stuart before my ser
vice was finished that he had made a
serious mistake.
And when from time to time would
say to him, in a bantering way. Don't
forget I'm going to grow and fill out
Just for your sake. Sammy it got to
be the Jest of the company, and the
men were always guying me and want
ing to know how long I figured it
would take me to "fll out"
It was some time in the summer OF
1864 that my chance came. We were
canned down on the ella, sitting
about our mess fire. eating bacon and
hard tack. when c. D. Rush accidental
~ knocked Stuart's overcoat off a log
and into the fire.
instantly Stuart knocked Rush
down. but before he could rise T.
jumped between them and sung out,
Look out, Sammy, for I have filled
OUT"
Then at 1t we went, hammer and
tongs, and at it we stayed until Sam
nv had reached a condition to take. If
not to enjoy, a short journey to the
hospital tent on a s%tretcher. ,
In the first action of the column my
regiment did not participate. but since
it turned out to be bloodless We did
not mind much. The First Cavalry
and First Infantry overlook. surround
cd and captured Dan Showalter, who
was l6dulIlS seventeen
s~ympathizers east, to meet the Con-
federate advance. We carried the lot
into Yuma. where they were held pris-
oners until finally exchanged.
AS we neared the Pima villages.
news reached us that Captain Hunter
was leading a band of Tejanos on an
attempted invasion of California, and
shortly thereafter We encountered evil
dence Of their handiwork-the still
smoking ruins of government forage
stations. Evidently, they had learned
of our advance and were retiring east
ward.
That they were occupying Picacho
Pass our Indian scouts reported, but
in what numbers we were unable to
learn. Our colonel sent out our cav
airy to circle and strike them. They
completely surprised Hunters force,
and routed it.
And there the column lost it's three
first men, Lieutenant James Barrett
and two troopers, whose bodies still
lie within a few feet of the Southern
Pacific railway in Picacho Pass, I'M
less they have lately been removed.