The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1914-03-12
BARRACKS YARNS
BY BLACKSTONE
Life at Fort Riley, With Many Interesting
Incidents, Form the Foundation for This
Army Story by One who Was Through
the Mill"
UNEXPECTED MEETING

UNEXPECTED MEETING
The Pullman Diner of the Pioneer
limited was quite crowded. An ar
my officer entered, followed by his
orderly. The Conductor seated the
Captain and l beckoned the orderly
to take vacant chair at my table.
Something about him seemed famili-
ar to me as | glanced at his service
stripes and array of medals on his
breast. l noted be was private,
and then all at once it came to me
and l inquired: rs this Sergeant
Smith. K battery?" well, call out
the guard. said he, his face wreathed
in smiles; If it isn't Sergeant B., this
Is indeed great pleasure.
Yes indeed this was Smith of
the First heavies-"the famous
windjammers." Smith the top'' of
K, and now a private! and l said,
where are you chevrons Smith? are
you not ashamed of yourself? you,
nearly twenty years in the service
and still a private?'' YES" he said
Il know it does not look right but
you know how it was with me at
Monroe,I L was made and busted every
few months and now | am in the
Quartermaster's department travel
ling with tie old man, indicating his
Captain, and say Al he is a Prince
and won't let me touch a drop of
booze soon l will be @. M. Sergt.
again"
That night he told me of his SER
vice in the Cavalry and Infaptry at
home, in Cuba, and in the Philli-
pines. In the Cuban campaign he
was in the charge up San Juan Hill
first duty sergeant, and as he charged
by rushes, he was hit by a bullet in
the shoulder; his captain told him to
go to the rear, but he kept his place;
again he was hit in the breast and
knocked down. He was up and
running along side of the captain
and as the crest of the hill was
reached, the captain turned to him
and said: Smith l told you to go to
the ,ear" "Captain' he said, Il
will stay with you" No Smith
| order you to the rear" and as he
told me, of course l had to go when
| was ordered"
Smiths Experience
What happened to Smith in the
cavalry will try to relate in bis
own words. After leaving Fort
Monroe, | decided to take on again,
and chose the cavalry for change
and was sent from Louisville to JEFF
ferson Barracks, nine miles below
St. Louis. Mo. Dressed in fatigue
suits, the bunch of recruits were sent
out to make hay; great disappoint-
ment to most of them, for their Idea
of army life was derived from the
pictures seen on the posters that
hang alluringly Oh the walls of post
office buildings. After a week of
hay making and moving the parade
ground, was on my way to Fort
Riley. Ever at Riley? If you was,
you know what mud is; if not,
thank heavens you never hiked with
the "blues'' at manuevers. Ft. Riley
at that time was used as cavalry
school where recruits were drilled
from three to six months before be-
ing assigned to duty. Its riding hall
had anything but an elegant reputa-
tion in the army, in fact from an en-
listed mans point of view, it was
notorious for the hard drilling. All
recruits were drilled by three drill
lnstructors.-a Kentuckian taught
the mounted drill, an Irishman the
foot drill, and a German the use Of
the sabre and carbine. All three
were sergeants whose tempers had
been ruined by years of contact with
stupid recruits, and all three could
qualify as picturesque swearers in
seven languages. The Irishman 8
greatest trouble was to get the boys
to keep their hands down in ranks.
The noseum's small gnat or sand
fly. so small as to be almost invisible,
was fierce and persistent bitter, and
it was almost impossible to obey the
Sergeant's orders.
AT last the time came for our as
signment to duty, at that time the gar
rison at Ft. Riley consisted of four
troops of the Second and four of the
First Cavalry and three batteries of
field artillery. After joining troop
b of the First, L drilled from five to
seven hours a day in company and
battalion formation, and at carbine,
sabre and pistol practice. During
the fall manoeveres we had sham