OCR Text |
Show Twentieth Infantry Makes a Record on Border d & Men Praised in Article by Well Known Author HAPLAIN JOHN T. AXTON, the fighting parson of the Twentieth infantry, now on the Mexican border, and at the right, General Mercado, commander of the federal prisoners in the detention camp; Colonel R. H. R. Loughborough, who succeeded Colonel J. A. Irons In command of the Twentieth, and Lieutenant' Colonel Frederick Perkins of the Twentieth. Men Have Proved Themselves Them-selves to Be the Masters of Every Situation. THE great work of tho Twentieth infantry on the Mexican border is the subject of a recent article in Collier's Weekly, written by that great descriptive authoT, Peter B. Kyne, who is a former member of the rogrilar army. Salt Lako feels a proprietary pro-prietary interest in the Twentieth sinco it was tho latest and one of the most popular regiments ever stationed at Fort Douglas. The enlisted men of the Twentieth are thorough soldiers, seasoned veterans with high ideals of duty. They were among the finest trained and most orderly soldiers ever seen in Salt Lake. The officers of the Twentieth are very popular in Salt Lake and their hundreds of friends in this city will be pleased, but not surprised sur-prised to learn that at the border they are masters of every situation. In his article in Collier's Mr. Kyne referB especially to the excellent record search for contraband, the&e dnsky dare-devile had essayed a little Suick knife work on the sentries. e, himself, had been attacked on guard a few nights previous while ! examining- a Mexican with a bundle bun-dle of laundry in his possession, and in sheer self-defense ho had been forced to fracture the Matter's Mat-ter's cervical vertebrae. I thought I knew how he would do this and asked if he had given tho foolish man "butts to the front. ' ' ' No, ' ' he said calmly. ('T lammed him across the neck with the barrel. One or two of the boys has broke the stocks of their pieces on those hombres heads, jrivine them butts to the front and I didn't want to take no chance on busting mine. ' If that isn't efficiency carried to the ninth power, I trust some citizen will write in and frive the proper definition. However, it is ont at Fort Bliss, on the deBert mesa north of El Paso, that real hum an -interest boI-dJeriiig boI-dJeriiig is coinp on so quietly and search for contraband, the&e dusky Men Have Proved Them- dare;de,vil had essayed a httie AV"" quick knife work on the sentries. yN. I i. n i km i He, himself, had been attacked on Selves tO le the Masters of guard a few nights previous while $,X&v$J-3k examining a Mexican with a bun Fvprv 9itn dle Sundry in his possession, feiW E-VCry Situation. and in gheer self-defense ho had a M 1 been forced to fracture the lat- 'S 1 ter's cervical vertebrae. vS. gifr&t ttfmm. I THE trrpat wnrTr nf t;, 1 thought I knew how he would (W . U , W01 tof J'ho rwentlcth do this and asked if he had frnen CD Wa' V ' infantry on the Mexican border the foolish man ''butts to the I iSS i eaJ is tho subject of a recent article front' "No," he said calmly. If frwA?s.:-MiK& in Collier's Weekly, written bv "I lammed him acr08s tho neck l J that great descriptive author, Peter B. bo toAelt ft J . I J Ayne, who ts a former member of the their pieces on those homhres- l V0mci&w4 rogrilar army. Salt Lako feels a pro- heads, giving them butts to the I '- j,-Msk,i.,m pnetary interest in the Twentieth front and I didn't want to take N km&rtfrr-e"k sinco it was tho latest and one of the no chance on bunting mine.' jj aafevfea. most popular regiments ever stationed H that isn't efficiency carried A '..ws !'s at Fort Douglas. The enlisted men of to the ninth power, I trust some - A "V the Twentieth are thorough soldiers, citizen will wi-ite in and give the ?VCJ ' ' seasoned veterans with high ideals of proper definition. ltMf , , ' duty. They were among the finest However, it is ont at Fort Bhs . m"mx ' jf" e if k t trained and: most orderly soldiers ever on tlie deBert me6a north of Fl jT t "Si 'A seen in Salt Lake. The officers of Pa80' that reaI human-intore t bo! f ' y T L the Twentieth are very popular in Salt diering is going on so quietly and IL ' Lake and their hundreds of friends in T " A ' this city will be pleased, but. not sur- , .-y. . J t . ' , x prised to learn that at the border they TZ " ' -t - . X are masters of every situation. Lf- 3s ' 5 ' " In his article in Collier's Mr. Kyne r"f f i k- . referB especiaJly to the excellent record fcvff, t, ? r iak 1 9 W. e S i " , " i r f 4 1 I ' v x V I $ f Ci I v y v. I 1 Xi! y - A v J4L I V ! : f a I OTrWBft A V"SO'','TTr of Chaplain John T. Alton of the unobtrusively one would never S " tf v . J jl I Twentieth, who is a Salt Lake resident. know it until he had inve tigatel Br i V ( t S fcj' " ' ' ' 1 B Mr. Axton'p work among the Mexican rather thoroughly. Once, in Luzon ?s ) V'" . .vJfflj prisoners who forded the Eio Grande I helped herd a grub line of sev & t W W to the American sid'e after the battle eral thousand starving Filipino A. E .. 8 of O.jinaga is especially commended. our regiment was feeding and X i ' II I . remembered what a problem thev NT S , ' B Tells Of Dangers. were; hence when I gazed upon the V li v. W Speaking of the variety of duties, 85, Mexican teconcentrado camp 1 ,9 dangers and pleasures encountered by at Fort Bliss I realibed that here A & J the Twentieth at the border Mr. Kyne waB c0Py without stint. (J gisamisaBSZZkt!tiasiBssa! ! of Chaplain John T. Axton of the Twentieth, who is a Salt Lake resident. Mr. Axton's work among the Mexican prisoners who forded the Kio Grande to the American sid'e after the battle of O.jinaga is especially commended. Tells of Dangers. Speaking of the variety of duties, dangers and pleasures encountered by the Twentieth at the border Mr. Kyne says: Down by the gas works in El i Paso a company or' the Twentieth infautry is doing its best to make time fly. Unlike the cavalrymen who are burdened with the care or a horse and extra equipment and do long night patrols, the doughboys have more time on their hands. It has been stated frequently that the infantrv is the backbone of the service. Having more spare time than the other branches of the service, it follows then that these soldiers are also the rascals of the service, and I heard some gossip to the effect that cock fighting and prize fighting are not an unknown un-known form of social relaxation with thiB outfit at the gas works. In that company they have an athletic ath-letic private reputed to be very light on his feet, and handy with his hands, and T am informed that very recently race prejudice was dispensed with long enough for emissaries from Juarez and El Paso to get together and promote a contest. con-test. Money Changers Busy. The afternoon preceding the battle bat-tle tho niouey changers in El Paso did a rushiug business with infun-trvmen infun-trvmen anxious to pledge everything every-thing iu their possession that waso:t government property, and got the proceeds down on their couutrvman. am happy to state that the source of revenue for the Twentieth disposed of his Mexican antagonist in decisive fashion, and, in defiance of a strict military order or-der which ordains that no Boldier of the Unitod States shall set foot on Mexican soil, the quarrel took place in Juarez. The source of revenue by some miraculous hocus-pocus hocus-pocus was "permitted to leave Juarez alive, and with $S00 gold as the fruits of victory, llow ho ever got bv the brigands on the bridge is a deep. dark and unfathomable mystery. J. made, inquiry of a Kentucky private of the Twentieth as to what difficulties, if any, his com-panv com-panv had had with recalcitrant Mexicans. He told me they had had some trifling experiences with tjiirlv Mexican gentlemen, from El Paso who resented their presence in the land, and who. when loaded with aguardiente and sundrv soul-destroving soul-destroving stimulants, had been indiscreet in-discreet enough to dispute the right of way with a sentry. Mexicans "Planted." He said thnt -trbile ench regret-I regret-I able affairs were not piven un-duo un-duo publicity, still tboro wore five or six sonH Mexicans planted hp-ostrnfntintiply hp-ostrnfntintiply in the sand along the river not f n r from our vicinity. i appnars that when challpn.cci bv the sea fries pA ni?bt n tid requested re-quested to submit themselves to a I unobtrusive!?' one would never know it until he had investigated rather thoroughly. Once, in. Luzon. I helped herd a grub line of several sev-eral thousand starving Filipinos our regiment was feeding, and I remembered what a problem thev were; hence when I gazed upon the huge Mexican teconcentrado camp at Port Bliss I realibed that here was copy without stint. See Loughborough. I observed that the Twentieth I infantry had charge of this Mexi-1 Mexi-1 can problem, so I called on Colonel I E. H. R. Loughborough, commanding, command-ing, and asked him for a pass. He said he wouldn't give President Wilson a pass inside that camp, but he 'd take me down to the gate, square me with the sergeant of the guard, and turn me over to tho hospital corps. He didn't want to set a precedent on pass distribution. distribu-tion. When we were inside, the colonel introduced me to Private of the First Class Scott of the hospital hos-pital corps and requested him to take care of me. Private Scott explained the situation situa-tion briefly. When General Mercado Mer-cado evacuated Chihuahua and commenced his terrible march across the desert to Ojinaga, there marched with him the wives, consorts, con-sorts, children, dogs, chickens, burros, cattle, sheen, goats, ana household goods of his soldiery. The record of that dreadful retreat : will probabry never be written, for death and suffering are common to the peon and do not stir bis sluggish imagination to a recital of detail. The record of the last leg of the iournev from Marfa, Texas, to Fort Bliss is more complete, however, how-ever, for the reason that it was a personally conducted excursion under un-der the auspices of the Twentieth infantry, commanded at the time by Lieutenant-Colonel Perkins. When Ojinaga Fell. Ojinaga fell and the remnants of Mercado 's force together with the appurtenances and hereditaments heredita-ments thereunto belonging to save themselves from wholesale slaughter at the hands of the amiable ami-able General Paucho Villa, waded the Kio ( Jrande. and casL themselves them-selves upon the bounty of our troops at Presidio, Texas. The customs cus-toms officers seized the livestock which hadn "t paid any duty, and a-s nobody had any mon-ey to pay duty the stock was sold. The refugees were ill, wounded, naked, and starving, and constituted themselves them-selves a public charge, for whose maintenance the sovereign stnte of Texas had made no appropriation. It was iu fact a national cajamity, bo under inst ructions f roiu t he-war he-war department. Lieutenant-Colonel Perkins chartered somp special trains and went down to collect the visitors. He met them at Marfa with his doughboys. I have tho word of Private Scott that it was far from being a picnic excursion. Fi ve thousand Mexicans went aboard thosn special spe-cial trains and with them we n 1 starvation, smallpox. hopV'SFiic??:. and dumb animal-like dnf-puir; also their dogs. There isn 't any duty on Mexican dogs (to quote the Twentieth, "mores the pity'') and the soldiers couldn't keep them off the trains, although they tried hard enough. Pogs are unsanitary un-sanitary Mexican dogs particularlyand particular-lyand in addition despise a gringo. A soldier can no more make friends with a Mexican dog than he can with his master. Private Pri-vate Scott says they don't like our smell! A Wild Scramble. At. any rate, there was a wild ' scramble of soldiers and dogs, and the dogs won. Why! Because well it takes a very mean man to kill a dog particularly the dog of your guest. 80 the Twentieth complained most bitterly to Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Colonel Perkins, a most uu-warlike uu-warlike person and reasonably fond of dogs. ''Load the dogs, too,'1 he ordered, or-dered, and cries of 'Bueuo! Viva comandante! " rent the air, testifying testi-fying to the guests' approval of this dog-sparing Perkins, and away they went across the desert with the gallant Twentieth hanging hang-ing out the windows and spread across the platforms; for. as Huck Finn would have expressed it, t he-interiors he-interiors of those cars were pretty various. Five thousand Mexicans, more or less, forded the Rio Grande at Ojinaga, but. I should judge, from a casual glance at' Sergeant Kamme 's statistics to date and my own observations as to crop conditions, con-ditions, that about 7500 are going back! There is certainlv a mighty busy season ahead of the hospital corps. When Chaplain Ax ton holds Sunday night services and the boys gather around the field organ to si ng " Onward, Christian Chris-tian Aoldiors ' well. that's all right; but if- they start ''Let t's Gather by the River' or "What Will the Harvest Be?"' there's going go-ing to be a noticeable falling off in attendance of the pill brigade. TheTC is such a thing as going too far! Inspected Hospital. Private Scott took nm on a tour of the camp hospital. There was a pockmarked ma.i dyi ng of dropsy in one t cut. Vie set up a weird groaning when we entered and ceased when we departed. Scott, spoke sympathetically to him and elicited a wan smile in which there - was all the unutterable rathos of a dog that has been beaten and desires to make friends with somebody. Manuel Orizn, a siib-lieinena nt in tie Fourth cavalry. 3 Federal reenlar regiment, regi-ment, was dyine f t uberculosis. They had made nut his death cer tificata the day before, but still he hung on, and they had to , change the date. We passed through the tents where the convalescent con-valescent . wounded were housed,, and everywhere I noticed that Private Pri-vate Scott 's entrv caused a broad smile to replace the ha'nitual scowl on every hombre 's face. Five thousand Mexicans love him like a brother! He is in the army medical corps for the experience, experi-ence, for some day he is going to be a doctor. He is one of those rare souls endowed by nature to administer to suffering humanity by reason of his gentleness aod sympathy not the sympathy of empty words and gush, but of actual, smiling, tireless, , patient service. 'When children love a man, he's all right, and I noticed as we walked through every street in that vast, camp the 'children followed fol-lowed and called cheevliy to him; maidens came to their tent doors and smiled at him ; hideous old women looked up from their washing wash-ing or grinding of meal for I he ubiquitous tortilla and awaited his salutation ; men with stage-robber ; faces, who looked as if thev would : gladly have frisked a rattlesnake for 30 cents iu -Mexican monev, bowed low with many a respectful " Bucno tarde, medico."' Compliments Scott. T looked back at a. group of these follows and a frightful eve- 1 ature in a monstrous peaked hat I (he had been hit in tho face bv a i piece of shrapnel and his nose was ! a total loss and no insurance') winked, nodded knowinglv and j jerked a dirty thumb at Private ! Scott. Since he spoke a universal j language, T knew he said; 'Take it from a Mexican, there ' goes one white , gringo! ' ' And now shrill erics of juvenile I rage resounded through the camp, and r beheld Lieutenant Palmer of the Twentieth with a firm grip on the nape cf a youth of fourteen or fifteen, propelling his captive toward to-ward a lare tent. T marveWl much that an officer and a gentle man should thus maltreat the flower nf the Mexican youth, until T learned rhe reason. Lieutenant 1 Palmer boHs office in that romn- erntrado camp. lie is the super- : intendent of education and the ter- I ror of boys who play hcokv. He I was haling one such wrei ch "before 1 the maes.tro's tribunal now. j Yes. 1 hey have established an ! eseiula ('school- in that, camrj and j every nino (child) of schnol age ' n;ust rrosent himself for inst rue- j tion. They have a Mexican school- ' master in charge, hut. the real j ir,v.-or behind the throne is Palmer. I Tr would appear to the casual oh- I server that, between Lieutenants I Palmer and Ahrends and Chaplain Axtonv Mercado and his outcasts are going back to Mexico some day better mentally, physically, and morally than when they left bullet-swept bullet-swept Ojinaga. Lieutenant A, E. Ahreuds of the Twentieth is in chaTgo of the sanitation sani-tation and discipline of the camp. The results bea.r mute testimony to his abilitv. The death rate is nil. There has not been a single death frm a disease contracted in ; that camp: there has not been a single murder or cutting affray, and that fact is very significant, when one takes into consideration that, here are 5000 Mexicans, their wives and daughters; and the further fur-ther fact that these people are the most sensitive, jealous, and easily irritated race on earth. With these people very slight issues are provocative provoc-ative of tragedies, but in camp at Fort Bliss thev are as docile as an equal number" of Americans. Perhaps Per-haps thern mav be a reason for this in the fact that Lieutenant Ahrends is sole proprietor of the bull pen ! Once in the, bull pen, a miscreant is forced to work all day, and to a peon hell hath no terrors like a dav's work under the dynamic Ahrends. The Coming of the 5000. Colonel Loughborough is proud of his regiment and his detachment detach-ment of hospital corps for the manner man-ner in which they are handling this job. And well he might be. for here'is a perfect organization from col on el to pri vate , with no in ter-nal ter-nal strife, petty jealousies, or striving striv-ing for individual preferment or credit for clever innovations installed. in-stalled. . Imagine if vou can, the arrival of these 5000 refugees at Fort Bliss. At two in the aiternocn they detrained de-trained 'on the desert mesa beyond the reservation primeval desert covered with sage and cactus, and. guarded bv the Twentieth, marched to the ea'mning site. Parentheti-callv Parentheti-callv T am informed that the arrival ar-rival at the camping site would have been funny had it not been so pathetic When the barefooted ninos struck the cruel sand burrs the parade stopped; but not for long. . Away it went again, and every doughtiov had a fifthy little beggar beg-gar on his back and another under his left arm! I wonder how many civilians, who look with ill-concealed disgust upon the man who wears his country's uniform, would stoop to carry a squawling brat that had been exposed to smallpox. Certainly not for $15 gold per month 1 Mexicans Vaccinated. Five thousand Mexicans were vaccinated and received an, injection in-jection of antityphoid serum. Sixtv acres of desert was cleared or sage and cactus, irregular troops were segregated from the regular, the camp rearranged aud streets laid out. A soldier of the Twentieth Twen-tieth wrote rules and regulations in Spanish and they burgeoned forth on signs throughout the camp. Latrines were dug, an adobe brick factory was in lull swing, forty huge messes, army fashion, had - been established, and arrangements for a supplv of fresh milk for the children and weak mothers had been made. , The next daVj however, materials had arrived which enabled the soldiers sol-diers of the Twentieth to do some real work. Thev ran a ten-foot hog-tight hog-tight wire fence around that huge camp, with sentry towers in each corner. Thev piped a water supply into the camp. They built a huge , communal bathhouse, with hot and cold water showers; they distributed distrib-uted soap and towels and established estab-lished a school. The Congregational Congregation-al chaplain of the regiment, Mr. Axton, built an altar and arranged for religious services .by a Catholic Cath-olic priest in the school tent on Sundavs. The hospital corps battled with the smallpox patients and never lost a single case. Chaplain Axton in Business. Chaplain Axton has worked the credit of a chaplain and the Twentieth Twen-tieth infantry for all it is worth, ami gone into business. He is the proprietor of the post exchange within the camp Mexican trade a -specialty. His business is run on a profit-sharing basis and goods are sold at a profit barely sufficient suffi-cient to keep the institution out ot bankruptcy. He has built a little pine store and has American and Mexican soldiers running it. In the rear he has a carpenter shop, where Mexican carpenters make things for other Mexicans who can afford them. While in this store my curiosity was aroused by the large amount of castor oil in four-ounce bottles. On the face of things it looked as if tho chaplain was ' ' horning in ' ; ou the legitimate trade of Sergeant Kanuno up at the dispensary; so I questioned the chaplain and made a discoverv that may be of interest to a large number of people. Next to a good jolt of fiery mescal a Mexican prefers five fingers of castor oil. Babies crv for it. Old and young save their pennies to buv castor oil and drink it standing stand-ing at the counter. General Vas-q Vas-q u c 7. meets Colonel Gonzales at the counter of the post exchange, and Chaplain Axton, a sort of ecclesiastical ecclesi-astical bartender, inquires their pleasure as the general tosses a 'done dollar on the bar. "Castor oil," replies the general and turns to the oclonel: ''Friend of my heart, thv pleasure!" "Oh, let her go double" says the colonel carelessly, care-lessly, and the chaplain uncorks two four-ounce bottles of castor, oil and sets them out just as solemn as an owl 1 Clerk in Error. One day a bombre just out of hospital, having heard of this delightful de-lightful smooth drink of the so-funny so-funny Americano, came to the post exchange and allowed he 'd iu est in some, castor oil. The busy American Amer-ican soldier clerk who waited on him jusl reached around in back to the castor oil department without, with-out, look in g, set out a hot t le. with oue hand, made change with the other, and sprang to wait on a se-nora se-nora who desired a bottle of Florida Flor-ida water. When he looked around again there stood Chaplain Axton gazing at. the empty bottle the Tmmbre had set down, and remarking remark-ing to himself: "Well, a good soldier sol-dier should never pr-rmi1 himself to be surprised, but prea chor thai I am. 1 will come within an eighth of an inch ot being da jr. tied if that. icn 't the first hombre J. evr saw - tie into a bottle of laundry blu-iug! blu-iug! " And if anybody thinks this is fiction for filler he can write to the post, exchange at Fort Bliss and find out for himself. Why, a counle of barrels of heavy automobile transmi:-ion oil or a carload nf axle grease would last among some, of these perms about as long as a ' elluloid dog chasing an asbestos I cat through a garbage incinerator. |