The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-10-11
NORTH DAKOTA'S BAND IN PARIS
I AS MINNEAPOLIS WOMAN HEARD 1T
Annue LELAND Taylor nterpret the Message of Music From
Come as Americans Received 1t, Thrilled and
HOmesick and Happy.
(From October Atlantic MONTH,

,
Dakota kept on beating time with his
left hand. Then our band was alone
in the garden.
!. At once everything changed. Per-
haps they had played their most
pieces. and could now fall back on
rollicking familiar airs. t Perhaps the
departure of the French band had
relieved them Of a touch OF stage
fright. Anyway, now they threw
themselves into/ their performance
with enjoyment and abandon. The
leader, instead OF standing stiff and
grave before his men, went after them
like cheer leader before football
crowd. He smiled, he coaxed the mu-
sic out of them; now and then he
cronched as if about to spring at
them. They whiEled into Sousa
march that made the blood leap. s.
This wasn't performing-it was
playing, gamboling, frisking. l
thought OF young, fuzzy-haired colts
galloping around a pasture. How they
bent to it, blew their hearts into it,
let themselves go, i1l~their youth and
eagerness. ~" :
The regimental band. I knew what
that meant. There's not much music
at the front, and the men in the band
in the common course OF warfare, are
the tretcher-bearers.' Their part is
the most dangerous, their casualties
the heaviest. l could not forget that,
playing in the French garden-With
their ruffled blond heads, husky
shoulders, big chests. There was
something so gentle and young about
Them so rude and fresh. Soon they'd be
carrying stretchers to the dying, over
shell-cursed fields. That's what
thought Of 1t wasn't to be all Sousa
marches for them-not much more of
this.~ Is. ' '-'t ~, ~
One came out before them to play
the fife..s / don't know why, but he
stood for my young brother-for
everyone's young brother. He had
fine, golden tan, his fair hair crinkled
back from his forehead his eyebrows
were quantity turned, giving him a
wild. elfn look. He was young faun
playing his reed in glade. No, he
was my young brother, and he would
have to put his reed away.
The audience had been changing.
The constraint, the embarrassment
the snobbishness were gone There
was nothing but lively friendliness
and enjoyment in the air. The leader
felt it. He turned to us after the APP
plause. u-y y
Il wonder if you'd care to hear a
good old, rag?" he drawled. How
about it?'
Everyone shouted. Eyes, give us a
rag" 49,.
Then, in spite of themselves, all
those decorous, sophisticated, fine
hammered folk were in the grip OF an
intoxication they could scarcely con-
ceal. A pied piper was making them
dance-and if they never actually
moved from the studied elegance of
their positions (sitting in garden
chairs, or dawdling in a circle about
the grass, there was excitement and
delight in their faces. They swayed
ever so little, smiled happily--they
were dancing inside to that savage,
careless, devil-take 'em rhythm. Oh,
the piper played and they danced.
: They played Maryland, My Mary
land and "Old Black Joe" (singing
bits Of it in their husky, deep vOices),
and "Tenting Tonight and my Old
Kentucky, Home" (that brought some
homesick tears); and "Swanee River"
and then the irresistible Dixie" That,
was clapped all the. way through.
A dignified old banker cried out,
do you know Cheer, cheer, the
gangs all here'?" The leader flashed
around: Sure! we specialize in
that" and gave it to us. -
T. BY then most of the French people.
and the Russians and the Italians and
the English and the Serbs, had melted
away home. Indeed, it was getting on
toward dinner time o'clock and af-,
ter. But the Americans had been, en-
chanted by their band. Wild Gothas
couldn't have dragged them away.
They crowded around in close semi
circle. Ladies sWished over the low
err. Gentlemen ran around the side
paths-wouldn't they play this? and
that? and do Dixie" just once more?
After each piece, and sometimes all
the way through, the crowd shouted
out, Bravo" and Fine and Good
work, boys" and finally joined in and
sang-and even whistled in places.
The French buffers stood on the
steps of the mansion, looking down
into the garden. They were in deep
trouble They had much to do 1t
was dinner time. They had to bring
the chairs in Besides, it would rain
presently. The party-tlie real party
had been over, an hour ago. But
these people wouldn't. go home ''-
The buffers stood in a row at the
top of the steps, looking down disap-
provingly, indulgently, as on flock of
children.' Then 4 caught the murmur
so familiar in my ears of late, aston
ished and resigned
"Ah, ces Americanis."
. -BuY ". 5. S.