The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-06-15

my own old battalion the Ninth. Can
teens were wet those days like every
thing else. As | say, II was the twenty
sixth OF January, a dark night or eve
ming, and raining,
There was a steamy awulness in the
air of the tents. The Seventeenth
lunged on their blankets and watched
the rain squeeze through the Sits in
the canvas. Somewhere there was
Y. NJ {, A, hut, but only three days
before a man had dropped in a mud
hole, so report said, and drowned on his
was 10 look for it. Virtue has its own
reward, so the Seventeenth looked for
something else
"USquebaugh," said one of the brawn-
lest in the tent third from the end OF
the second line, "Usquebaugh" nut
tered another and yet another The
barbarous tongue Of killed ancestors
seemed TO translate itself. Highlanders
who had never seen a highland took
up the lilt
Buchanan" said one "J. w." says
another = MacConnell," whispered a
third, but it was Mountain Dew" and
white Heather that cinched the mat
| ter.
"Usquebaugh-the Ninth canteen."
muttered Donald Mckay and il was
Mackenzie who stopped counting the
water drops
They crept out gently, treating light
ly on the surface mud Each tent
passed rle word to the next A mighty
raid. Not a bomb fired, yet not tar
get missed There was rye and jimmy
John, there was Bass and Barclay.
Parade in Early Morning.
But il was at the cleanup the tragedy
was discovered Sergeant Jones voiced
it in the early dawn Of the 9th, when
the last trickle Of the last drop had
Joined its fellow, and the last officer
had prudently joined his brother in the
doubtful shelter OF the empty mess tent.
Casey wasn't there" said Jones
The irony of IT, Casey was on leave !
The wild dreadfulness of us. and yet
| d
those of us who haven't journeyed
west in the meanwhile-and vote dry"
alongside the women folk at the Do
minion elections War is curious
matter, with peculiar phases and more
peculiar results. There was that day,
too, twenty miles behind the line, when
the Nineteenth Dragons of Alberta
cleaned up an estaminet. That was in
France, Of course.
II was sheer monotony forced II,
even the officers recognized that. and
there might not have been anything
more said OF the matter but the few {,
BIS distributed amongst the hotter
headed boys. Still, all things work out
for the best 1t was three days after,
and we were still chuckling over what
the boys had done 1t was on parade
in the early morning.
We must have been ten miles back
of the line, but we knew that we were
to move up any hour Hours, even
minutes counted in getting men up in
those days They do still, as a matter
of fact, but there are more men and
more transports now.
We were on parade, as ! say. Ian
guidly enough we stood to attention,
for the early spring weather was muggy
and treacherous.
Sentence Duly Carried Out
Then, as though he had sprung from
the earth, a major of the Imperial
forces rode up in front of us, His
hard-bitten brown horse paved the
soggy turf impatenty as he halted,
saluted our colonel, without a word
fore or glance to anyone, drew from
his saddle pack long, blue sheet Of
paper, unfoded it to full length-it
seemed several yards--shifted a bit in
his saddle and commenced to read.
Read-"Good night" What was the
man at1 His loud, rather hoarse voice
penetrated TO the consciousness OF the
last man in the last row of the last
rank.
Private - OF the - on the morn
ing of December ID was convicted by
field courtmartial Of being intoxicated
when on duty, sentenced to be shot
Sentence duly carried out"
private - OF the - infantry on
the morning of December 29 convicted
by field court martial Of insubordina-
tion and insolence to an officer, SEN
fenced to be shot. Sentence duly car
ried out"
private - of the - convicted
by field court-martial of being asleep
On duty, sentenced to two years first
field punishment"
= On and on he read I don't know
how many cases he cited. don't know
how many minutes or hours passed
Then the major saluted our officers.
wheeled his horse and rode off into the
lifting pillows of the morning mist
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