Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-01-28

tiOn!' with prolonged and rising
infection on the last syllable,)
Company, shoulder harms with
a long draw upon the shoulder and
an explosive utterance of "harms")
The guns came up unevenly and
slowly. Try again." said Captain
Bowbent, commanding them to COR
der arms" At the command
shoulder" be ready to raise the
piece, and at the command arms"
which is given with energy, you
should as quickly as possible and
simultaneously raise the piece to the
left shoulder, seize the butt. lock
outward with the left hand, steady
the piece with the right hand, so,
and at the third motion drop the
right hand smartly to the right
side" This he illustrated by taking
the piece of one of the sergeants.
Ready now, shoulder harms! -
This time the command was exc
cuted with better, though far from
satisfactory results. Order arms!"
Down came the butts to the ground,
some smartly, others slowly, and
some of the duller men did not
move their pieces, utterly failing to
comprehend the order. Je-e-rusa-
lem " roared one .luckless private
upon whose toes the butt of COM
rade's musket had descended with
crash. "Cbnsarn yer dummed cal
essness, don't We know better'n to
smash feller's toes with your old
gum" Silence in the ranks and
tend to your dooty," peremptof--
commanded the captain, Pains and
aches and hurts are nothing in
war" But this amt waf " said
the hurt fellow, holding 1is great
boot covered foot in his Zands; but
by gosh, it viii bel 81, does that
again. Don't be a baby, and
don't talk back" said the captain.
A little time was devoted to the
manuel of arms after Scott's Tao
tics, then in vogue for the old flint
lock mCsket and paper cartridge.
Translated from the French, the
system was quite Partisan in its elab-
orateness of detail, and when in
fantry troops were well drilled t
exercise it in proper time and md
ton it was beautiful to see. But
actual engagement it was likely
he, as Major Plumstone remarke
all gol-dummed fiumediddle. Th(
marching and the evolutions Of
companies were in order. No sooner
were the men set in motion than the
boys Of all teens fell in behind and
initiated the soldiers. Their sticks
of lathe were carried at shoulder
arms" and right shoulder shift"
1t must be admitted that the boys
learned as quickly, and as a whole,
made better appearance than the
uniformed men. This trailing band
of boys was called in old parance
the t1oodwood militia" In the
marching of the men the lack of
training was painfully, or rather
farcically visible. The officers tried
in vain to bring the men to march in
time or keep step" The sharp
tap Of the drum was used to signal
the time. Some caught it and
brought their left feet to the ground
with a stamp like an angry buck,
but to many the power to keep time
was an unattainable accomplish
ment. "Wa-al," said an old pen
sioner of the Revolution, whom age
had made ga1rulous and the indul-
gence in leettle rum" had quick
ened his garrulty, "Wa-al, them
boys march as if they was follerin'
the pillow, a peck O. mud clingin' to
each foot. They handle them guns
as if every one had different man.
GOAL" Many were the jeering
comments of the bystanders, but
the old veterans of the war of 1912
and one or two of the revolutionary
times, with that contempt for new
tangled things so common to aged
! ,,,op vuara tho p,oct eorooe+;o -,