The mirror., 1923-02-01
KANGAROO COURT
Continued from page y

Texans, and to them it was grievous in
suit to be herded around with their ma
tural and traditional enemies 1t was only
a matter of time until the melting pot
boiled over.
Arrayed solidly against both factions
were the old members of the company
In the mess hall at meal times there was
an undercurrent of unrest, and seething
seed of revolt Then one evening the mat
ter came to a point, and it was necessary
to decide the issue for once and for all
time.
Some wag had conceived the idea of
having kangaroo trial with the new
comers as defendants. There was to be
blanket charge of unwillingness to fight,
charged by the prosecuting attorney, who
was quartermaster sergeant by rank when
rot functioning in his legal capacity.
So as to create the proper atmosphere OF
rather to learn the true state of mind of
our ate-arriving co-battlers, word was
sent around that any man who did not
wish to see active service in France might
hand his name into the Company clerk in
order that his case might be investigated.
The rumor might as well have carried the
order for every drafted man in the COM
pany to step around to the "top kicker's"
tent, for every one of them reported. Then
the fun began.
His Honor took seat on top of the
table with the attorneys for the prosecution
and defense on either side and the defen-
dants were led forth. Not more than five
or six of them realized that the trial was
not the regular way of investigating in
dividual cases so the questions so gravely
put to them were answered in all sincerity.
After the usual, "Where were you
born?" "Why?' "What size socks do
you wear?" etc. each man was requested
to tell the Judge why he was unfit for
active service overseas The majority
were afflicted with chronic diseases and
ailments; many had fiat feet; some had
relatives dependent upon them for support;
a few were averse to warfare on account
of religious or conscientious objections.
A big, raw-boned Texan who proclaimed
proudly that he was an ex-ranger was
not physically able to endure the hard
ships of army life at the front. That's
what he said
After due delberation by the jury SEN
tence was imposed on all except those who
seemed sincere in regard to the relatives
left behind. The sentence was that each
culprit don khaki service pants and then
be taken to the corral and ducked in the
horse trough. When he had been in the
trough long enough so that the trousers
would cling to his person he would be
compelled to run the gauntlet. Web belts
were to be featured.
By this time word had been passed to
E and l companies also of the Horse Bat
talon, and when the stage was set for
execution of sentence there were almost
500 men in the line extending clear around
the corral
Some of the brown-skipned sons of our
reighbor to the south had to be forcibly
deprived of their "Shivs" when they
learned what was about to happen. The
first few accepted the ducking and the
betting in good part but the rest rebelled,
perhaps when it was discovered that some
of the mounted men were using wide lea
ther belts with heavy buckles. A free-for-
all was the result.
The corral was dark but the drafted
men were conspicuous as their shirts had
been removed. There was no attempt at
fair play as the old timers bitterly re-
sented having contingent of weak sisters
forced upon them, and as the latter were
greatly outnumbered it was only matter