Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-12-20
PERSHING UNDERSTANDS
Old Timer Tells Of Escapade In
Mexico
ALCOHOL FOR HORSES used FOR men

How Some Thirsty Soldiers Got Liquor
for Jag and Made Brutes Of Them.
selves-But the Wise Old General
Left Them to Their Own Punish
men.
BY James D. Grist.
Camp Sewer, December Ill
would not slander General Pershing by
trying to make you think that he es-
teens drunkard as highly as he does
a sober man, or that he would place as
much reliance in a man when he Is
drunk as he would in his right condi-
ton; but am here to tell you that the
general has never been disposed to put
in his time worrying about the drunk
ones, and he has never been disposed
to hold an offense Of this kind against
a man after the man got sober"
The speaker was the same old timer
I have been quoting in previous arti-
cles-my friend who was formerly a
sergeant Of General Pershing's guard,
ough- going and efficient commissioned
officers ut Camp Sewer. OF course I
have q good opportunity to spend a
good deal of time with him now that
we have so much time to kill. and as
his stories about Pershing are general
ly so interesting. and 1t Is so easy to
get him started along that line. like
to draw him out. 1t was from hint
or suggestion from me that he told the
story I am giving you now.
"As I was telling you the other
night" said my old friend. III your
gun is clean and you know how to
shoot and you are not always on sick
report, General Pershing Is for you
and he doesn't care darn what you
do when you are not on duty. I recall
little incident that happened when
we was down on that punitive expedi-
ton into Mexico-that time when we
had Villa, and politics in Washington
or something else unknown to me, kept
us from getting him.
"Of course sentiment among civilians
Is different and I guess the day Of the
stun is about gone; but soldiers will
drink liquor. Yes. I've drunk my
share and while 1 amt proud Of it, /
amt got no apologies coming about II.
The wife who is now out in California.
says I am the best man in the world
and at the same time the worst man in
the world and II the wife Is satisfied
with me, why I should worry about
the rest Of the folks
Il started to tell you about General
Pershing and booze. We was down in
Mexico and more than a huLdred miles
from Namquippa, which was the near
est port where .tokelia,' that is to say
Medcan fiddor ttaahd BOY: 1beifeve me fc'
will make you believe the world is
yours) was to be had. Several Of we
fellows began to get powerful dry and
finally 1t come to the point where we
couldn't stand 1t any longer.
General Pershing had couple of
hor es and he had an orderly whose
job 1t was to keep 'em in shape. / am
not saying just how 1t happened; but
one day when those horses were trot-
ted out, their legs all wrapped up in
red bandages and swelled to beat the
dickens Then that orderly got re-
QUESTION on the veterinary surgeon FOR
q couple of quarts of alcohol to rub
the horses legs. They were rubbed all
right; but in some mysterious way
them two quarts Of alcohol was turned
into two quarts Of water which were
rubbed into the steeds.
We'll, first thing you knew an empty
oil can was made fairly clean and
them two quarts Of aka which was
supposed to have been rubbed into the
horses, was poured into that can Soon
thereafter gallon Of these pie peach
es that you often eat at your mess
were missing from the kitchen and
they found their way into that Oil can
with the two quarts Of horse medicine.
Then the can was filed with pure
spring water and the mixture sat
steady that night
THE men with Pershing had bath
ing place in the river near where
they were camped. The bathing place
was always crowded. The day after the
mixture mixed, General Pershings
stable orderly, his motorcycle orderly.
his clerk, O'Brien, who Is now lieu
tenant-colonel in France. myself and
one or two more-there were seven OF
us in all, got permissions from the gen.
erals adjutant to go down the river
three miles to another bathing point.
well, we seven lit out in one OF the
Dodge cars that we had on that expe-
dition. The five gallon oil can OF aka
and peaches and spring water went
with us and We hadn't gotten out OF
the car good before we started into
that stuff, drinking out Of one Of these
big aluminium cups that you use Tor
your coffee. 1t was some mixture lad'
and stout, whew-man, it would make
a bull dog break his chain.
Then we got into the river, jumping
and diving and swimming and l-aVing
a good time generally. remember
there was a big tree in the stream at
that point. Some Of its branches were
under the water and a dangerous tree
it was, because 1t nearly cost me my
life. made dive or two out OF 1t as
uil the others and finally I fell out and
into the water where my head was In
some manner caught in the branches
that were partly submerged. II
hadn't been lit to the gills sure would
have drowned. / believe 1t was thirty
minutes before the rest Of my pals. be-
cause of their drunken condition. real
lied my perilous position and came to
my rescue. I was almost all In; but 1t
was some cussin' out gave them. IL