Graham guardian., 1918-04-05
VAMPIRE REGIMENT
The l5Sth u. S. Infantry,
Arizona, Has Made a
Splendid Record

the army. This regiment, which
was the First Arizona Infantry,
has been known at times as the
Hardy Mountaineers. 1t is COM
posed of men from the border
and from the Rocky Mountains
of the Great Southwest.
Miss Theda Bara, the vampire
of the movies, has recently adopt
ed the regiment as her. own,
having been unanimously elected
as godmother by it's members;
thus the sobriquet, "The YAM
pires." " That Miss Bara has the
honor of looking after the desti-
MES of notable military aggre-
cation cannot be denied. The
record of the Vampires is a long
and honorable one. Commanded
by Brig. Gen. A. M. Tuthill.
formerly its colonel, the regi-
hent was the first of the nation
al guard units called into the
federal service following the raid
at Columbus, N. NJ, in the early
spring of 1916. During the dis
turbances along the Mexican bor-
der the last two years this regi-
ment has been on the job look
ing after the interests of Uncle
Sam in manner that has won
great credit to the command.
When the war with Germany
came it found the regiment still.
doing duty on the frontier, it
having never been mustered out
of the service. During it's tour
Of duty the regiment was sta
toned at times at Naco. Ajo,
Douglas, Nogales and Fort Hua-
chucha. protection of these points
being entrusted to its care. Dur
ing this long and trying period
Of service the late General Fun
ston and General Pershing had
occasion to inspect the regiment
and as a result of their praise
worthy reports it won the repu-
tation as national guard organ
lzation second to none in the
United Sta .es. On one occasion
the regiment marched 80 miles
in one day, which won for it this
title, the horseless cavalry" "
Need ess to say, the other regi-
ments of the Sunshine division
are envious of this accomplish
nent. Strenuous as the border
service became at times, it held
few thrills for these men, most
of whom. have passed their en-
ire lives on the great stretches
Of the painted deserts and plains,
or in the Businesses of the lower
Rockies, whose towering ranges
lend so much to the scenic charms
of Arizona.
Men Fough Riders
The ranks of these border boys
are made up of cowboys, rangers,
line riders, Indians, miners and
even Mexicans, some of whom
have seen service in the various
armies Of the Montezuma re-
Fpublic. These men hail from the
very heart of the country where
Bucky O'Neil raised a goodly
portion of Roosevelt's Rough
ltiders of Spanish war fame.
Put the Vampires in the saddle
as a cavalry outfit and it would
be safe to say that the world has
never seen such a congress of
daredevil rough riders. For
few indeed there are among it's
members who are not perfectly
at home on the hurricane deck of
a wild broncho, ''ridin' 'em
straight up and scratching 'em
fore and aft" The experience
of the miners has already mani
tested itself in the trench dig
ging ability of the regiment at
Camp Kearny and army engi-.
neers have highly commended
its work.
Killing rattlesnakes and bat
tling wild steers is part of the
ever, day ife of these big game
hui ters from the COW camps who
are now pr med for Hun" hunt
ing on the Hindenburg line-and
when they hit that line some
thing is surely going to happen.
Col. Harry d. Smith, who COM
manded a cavalry organization
when things were hot down in
the Brownsville country, leads
the regiment. Both he and Lieu
tenant Colonel Donkersley, old
time plainsman that he is, only
smie confidently, in self-sus-
ia;ned manner. when mention is
made of what the Vampires in
tend to do to Flitz.
The 15Sth is noted for it's num-
erous novel and distinctive feat.
ures. Whee e er it goes it's ap-
proach heralded by it's crack
band playing The Foundered
Mule" the official march of the
regiment. Its special bugle call
is the long drawn out wall of the
coyote, which concludes all calls
sounded within the regiment,
and which all it's buplers are re-