Omaha daily bee., 1919-09-29

| LetCher Hardemarf he told OF var
ious bunting trips of Pershing in thu
Indian country.
Il remember the time Jack sho
his first deer" he said Il wa
with him. Jack and l, two officers
and four or five enlisted men wen
over across the Montana line into
North Dakota, to the old Fort Blu
ford reservation. 1t was in Deem
Der. There was much snow and i
was bitter cold. We slept in tents
But then, that wasn't much of {
hardship. Often on forced marche:
trailing Indians we slept in tents.
Jack had never shot a deer anc
when he brought down his first he
was elated. He wanted another
As an officer over enlisted men he
had precedence, but Jack never
shot out of turn, often indeed, gave
the men the best shots when it was
his turn.
Rule of Knuckles.
A sample of Jack Pershing's JUS
tice, his justice when he was but
graduated from West Point, a sec
ond lieutenant serving at Fort Win
gate, New Mexico, during the
Apache campaign, makes an inter
esting anecdote. The story was
told to me by one of Jack Pershing's
classmates at West Point, Major
Henry Clay Keene, retired of Bos-
ton. ..... ..
"Jacl:," the major said to me, chad
occasion one day to discipline, quite
stiffly and severely, two privates. He
was out few nights later walking
near the fort-on his way back to
quarters-when he passed the two
men. They made some insulting re-
marks about that damned shave-tail
lieutenant
Nov Jack, as their superior Of
fcer, could, of course, have disci-
plined them again-guard house for
characterization and all that. Did
he? Not Jack. There and then on the
road Jack stepped up to them,
pulled off his coat and sailed into
them. He licked them both.
There was no more talk by them
by any enlisted men after that
of that shave-tail lieutenant
Name of Black Jack. 5
Jack Pershing reached West Point
on June Is, 1887.
That day he ceased to be Jack
Pershing.
Ever afterwards he was Black
Jack!
Why? How did he get that name
One may ask scores of army Of
fcers-Black Jacks most intimate
friends. They cannot answer. They
know it is so. But the why" the
how of it-they are as ignorant
as the world in general, which be-
lieves the name was given General
Pershing because of his supposed
complexion. And the fact is, as
have written before, he has light
complexion, light hair, somewhat
gray, light mustache, mostly gray,
and light blue eyes-was called
"Tow'1ead" when he was boy.
But | was Sin luck" as the army
has it.
How He Was Nicknamed.
In Washington | found man who
knew the why and the how" Of
lt-none other.than Col. Letcher
Hardeman. He told me all about it.
The cadets at West Point the day
Jack Pershing reported there for
duty as "tac" gave him the name.
you know" the colonel said to
me, the cadets always find nick
name for the taos When Jack
Pershing was in West Point the man
who is now Brig. Gen. Edward J.
McClernand was a tao Pershing
and the other cadets called him
'Flaxy.'"
We'll" the colonel continued,
when Jack Pershing reached West
Point he had just come from the
Tenth cavalry-was still one of the
Tenth's personnel Now the Tenth
is a negro outfit. So the name
Black Jack. The cadets-some ca
det-gave it to him that day he re-
ported as a tao The name stuck
to him.
Would Fight or Resign.
At the outbreak of the Spanish
war, while an instructor at West
Point, and the War department, by
letter, refused to grant him permits
sion to rejoin his command, he pro-
ceeded directly to Washington and
demanded an audience with George
DeRue Meiklejohn, assistant secre-
tary of war.
"The government trained me to
be a soldier, not a teacher" Black
lack told Meiklejohn. 1--WE been
waiting II years now for a chance to
get some real action. If | can't go
to Cuba as regular army officer !
shall resign. I'm going to get into
this fight if have to go out and
Join the volunteers"
Who would not waive regulations
for such man?
An order was issued by the War
department directing that First
Lieut.. John Joseph Pershing on
May 2, 1898, should be relieved OF
his duties as tactical instructor in
the United States Military academy
at West Point and report for duty
with his regiment at Tampa, Fla,
where the regular and volunteer
army organizations of America
were being concentrated under COM
mand of Maj, Gen. William R.
Shafter.
Final details were at last COM
pleted, however, and on June IA the
transports sailed out of Tampa and
on to Key West, where some dozen
ships of war as convoy joined them.
Sunday, June 10, found the troop
feet of Cspe Maisi and at daybreak
the next morning the transports and
their convoy came in sight of the