The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-04-06
SQUAD ROOM STORIES.


ronimo gave us in 1884 to 1886, with
full leave from Diaz for us to chase
him all over Mexico, we need not be
surprised that capturing Villa is not
such ar easy job. He is in the same
region traversed by Geronimo and has
many advantages denied to the In
dian. Villa is not handicapped by
carrying women and children and is
equipped with much better horses.
Yet Geronimo lodged eluded and
cvaded the troops for some eighteen
months. With his droves of small
ponies he carried the women and
children from mountain to noun
tain, from cave to cave, from valley
to valley, and our troops could not
pick him up. General Crook, who
pursued him, was trained Indian
fighter and had the picked cavalry OF
the army. Once Gen. Crook caught
the old fox. While he parleyed for
terms of surrender the old leader
went back to his people to confer
and gave Gen. Crook the slip and got
entirely away again. This incident
rather discredited Gen. Crook and he
was superseded by Gen. Miles and the
chase started all over again. Miles
outrode, outgeneraled and outwitted
the Indians and finally in March, 1886,
they were rounded up and captured.
But it had been a long chase though
finally a successful one. Geronimo
and his chiefs were sent each and
imprisoned at St. Augustine and Pen
sacola for several years. He was not
q chief but held high rank as an in
fiuential medicine man."
Said an old timer after return
from furlough to the boys of Co. d:
1--WE been visiting over in North Car
olina-NIitchell county-and l saw
very little change after an absence of
forty-seven years. In one little town
| put up at a boarding house and
they only charged me 50 per week
good feed, too. The walls of sawed
boards and logs were chincked with
clay and at the end of the room
stood the big fire place with pot
hooks and hangers in the chimney,
and with spit and crane by the side
ready for use. Ovens. spiders and
other fireplace ware stood in their
proper places. There were the three
board tables with slab benches for
seats along the side and blocks sawed
the right length for seats at each
head of the table. The wooden water
pail with the gourd dipper stood on
the corner shelf and the tables were
set just as in 1869. There were tin
plates and knives of half dozen
varieties, case knives, butcher knives
and a few barlows; and the outfit
was shy of forks so that the diners
would have to say now and then,
Cap, lend me your fork, please. The
drinking cups were mugs, tumblers,
tin cups and here and there gourd.
At night the young people would
dance to the old fiddler's "turky-in-
the straw" and the older ones would
sing songs, recount incidents, drink
hard cider and con whisky. I'm go
ing over THERE after June pension,
and four old comrades are going with
me-"
Said Tom Harrington, who saw
many years service in the Regular
IHc DcSIO Will DC
found especially useful in the Next
can incursion. They acclimate to
tropic conditions much more readily
than the white man and are more
able to resist the hot runs and the
hardships of the desert. 1t is more
than probable that the colored
troops will be found SO useful in
Mexico as to give an impetus to the
idea of making stronger efforts to
recruit from that element. The black
man makes a good soldier; an unusu-
ally good soldier. He is not only
amenable to discipline and ready in
action, but he is given to promptness
in obeying commands. At once he
recognizes that it is mot his reason
why" and he goes where he is told
and does what he is told to do and
does it with fidelity
Listen while l unfold an idea,
said the Oracle. Some of us are at
tempting the impossible in agitating
a change in the order of our commu-
nifty life. What we should do when
member achieves some position of
eminence is to heave rocks at him
until he climbs down. We should
make positions of eminence untena-
BILE. We should reduce standards
AS we are mostly morons we should
adopt the moron standard and dis
courage improvements. If person
shows symptoms of becoming a smart
Aleck and presuming to know more
than his fellows, let him be isolated
as a menace to the peace and digni-
ty of the camp. If you will study
history you will see that it is the
thinkers, schemers and reformers
that have made all the trouble. Let
lis stop the actions of those and we
shall be as happy as a flock of
goats"
A misanthrope just back from a
years absence in Florida, said: 81
wouldn't have come back to the
Home, but since l left here the, in
tervening time brought me wife
and a mule, and after month my
half-pension virago bought me
tombstone. Each a useful article of
its kind, but the assortment is
something fierce"
q \
The Major and his young hopeful.
aged 3, were passing the boilerhouse,
when the father said: Billy, do you
know what they do in there?" "Oh.
yes" said the child, "they melt coal
to make ashes with" Out of the
mouths of babes, etc.
Ca;J tha ola ITo,o. Unt.t.s..u