And State Papers 77 



could get hold of. On the other hand, if he had 

 merely served in time of peace a couple of years 

 in an Eastern garrison, where he did practically 

 nothing outside of parade grounds and barracks, 

 or if he had been in an ordinary National Guard 

 regiment, then one of two things was true; if he 

 understood that he had only learned five per cent 

 of war, he was five per cent better than any one 

 who had learned none of it, and that was a big ad 

 vance; but if he thought he had also learned the 

 other ninety-five per cent he was worse than any one 

 else. I recollect perfectly one man who had been a 

 corporal in the Regular Army; this young fellow 

 joined us sure that he knew everything, confident 

 that war consisted in nice parade-ground manoeu 

 vres. It was almost impossible to turn his attention 

 from trying the very difficult s task of making my 

 cowpunchers keep in a straight line, to the easier 

 task of training them so that they could do the 

 most efficient fighting when the occasion arose. He 

 confused the essentials and the non-essentials. The 

 non-essentials are so pretty and so easy that it is 

 a great temptation to think that your duty lies in 

 perfecting yourself and the men under you in them. 

 You have got to do that, too; but if you only do 

 that you will not be worth your salt when the day 

 of trial comes. 



Gentlemen, I do not intend to try here to preach 

 to you upon the performance of your duties. It has 

 been your special business to learn to do that. I 

 do ask you to remember the difference there is in 



