S34 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
lOCT. 31, 1903. 
The Passing of Octotjei*. 
The oak's red and the maple's gold 
All day seem shh^ering in the cold; 
Fleece-lined the clouds go hurrying by 
The young moon mounting in the sky ; 
At morn a million dew-gemmed leaves 
Are rippled by a vagrant breeze; 
Far ofif and lonely floats the swell, 
The music of the old school bell. 
All day the squirrelys bark in the trees, 
Bold sunflowers nod at every breeze; 
The nuts thud down at early morn, 
And eddied leaves wood ways adorn. 
The smoke lies brooding on the hills. 
While dream-like tinkle all the rills; 
October yields to Queen November's sway. 
And ushers in the winter's roundelay. 
Wm. Felter. 
Blue Mound, Kansas. 
A Dry Camp» 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Some time since, while trying to give an explana- 
tion as to how a sergeant came to be shot when an 
officer had ordered a blank cartridge to be fired at him, 
I said that this officer was probably a j^oung one who 
would learn more as he grew older. 
I had in mind just then another young officer who 
was in the process of leai^ning when I came in contact 
Avith him; and both he and I learned something. He 
found out that he did not know it quite all, and I found 
him to be a different man from what those that knew 
him better than I did thought he was. I succeeded in 
teaching him something, as he afterward told me. 
Some of these 5foung officers, when they leave West 
Point, imagine that their education is complete, others 
have sense enough to know that there are many things 
that they cannot and don't try to teach at the Acad- 
emy; these have to be learned in the field. 
The cavalry gets some of the best of these young 
men; they are assigned to the different branches of 
the service, according to their standing in the class, 
the engineers getting the first two or three, then the 
next dozen or more go to the cavalry; those at the 
lower end of the class go to the infantry. 
It has been a pleasure to me to teach what I knew 
to some of these young officers, in a different manner 
from what I took to teach this one, but these other 
officers wanted to learn what they did not know al- 
ready. I remember one who, after he had joined the 
troop, would put in an hour at a time asking me ques- 
tions on almost every subject, from the distance a line 
of telegraph poles were placed apart (twenty-six of 
them to the mile in that case, I told him), to the forma- 
tion of the different rocks in the wall of a canyon, or 
the depth at which water would be likely to be found 
where we then were; the difference between the regu- 
lar arid volunteer soldier's gloves; a full history of 
General John A. Logan (Black Jack), after he had 
see.n me talking to him; all I knew about shotguns, 
rifles and dogs; and what I thought was the best all 
around hunting dog. Every time I met him he had 
a new list of questions. He afterward transferred to 
the infantry and fell while leading his company at 
Santiago, Cuba. He was my favorite among all of 
these young officers I had ever come in contact with. 
His name was Walter M. Dickinson. 
A man who had never been nearer West Point than 
I had, could, if he had paid any attention to the coun- 
try that he had been in, tell one of these young officers 
about it. They are not expected to know anything 
about it until they are told. 
I never visited any part of a country without mak- 
ing a mental note of its features, and marking down 
on my map the places where I found water, besides 
making a note of it in my diary._ It might come of 
use to me or to others some time in the future. I was 
once sent from Camp Charlotte, Texas, _ with one of 
these young officers, who was making his first scout, 
without having an older officer with him; and at the 
start he thought he did not need to be told about the 
country. Afterward he revised his opinion, and after 
that did not disdain to learn even from me. I often 
told him about things afterward without getting myself 
snubbed. 
The first camp we made after starting, and when 
not twenty miles away from the post, was signalized 
by his putting on a guard of four posts day and night. 
He had a detail of about thirty men out of several 
different troops, and this guard would take nearly half 
of them. One of our old officers would have had 
probably one post on, or at most only two; they would 
act as picket in the day time and as herd guard at 
night. 
I knew but little about this "cadet," as we called these 
young second lieutenants; he did not belong to my 
troop, but he had a sergeant of his troop with him; 
and I said to the sergeant that in my_ opinion we 
would not get many nights in bed on this trip. 
"You will be lucky to get any," he replied. "Wait 
until you see more of this fellow. We have had to 
teach officers before now things that they forgot to 
tell them at West Point; but don't try to teach this 
one anything, you can't." 
We kept on going west for several days after this, 
and were now getting into a country where water was 
rather scarce; and if we kept west another day we 
would strike a country where there would be no water 
at all. I thought that the officer knew that; it seems 
he did not. 
Tbe QOUnUy wesf: of U5 was almost a desert. I had 
crossed it and knew what it was; and when we again 
headed to the west on leaving camp, I said to the 
sergeant, who had warned me not to try to tell the 
officer anything, "You should tell him now just what 
kind of a country he is heading for. He does not 
know this country, of course, and is going it blind." 
"Well, if I ought to I won't. You can tell hnn if 
you choose, and get yourself snubbed. Did I not tell 
you that he knows it all? You can't tell a man like 
him anything." 
"I'll tell him, then, and let him snub me, I can 
stand it. Neither I nor my horse want any dry camps 
if we can avoid them." 
We had been riding across dry grass so far; but now 
came to where the grass had been burned off, and only 
lately, too. The new grass had not begun to spring up 
yet, and as far as we could see to the west the prairie 
had been burned over; it might extend clear to the 
Pecos River, away over in New Mexico. 
He will turn back now, I thought, he can see that, 
the country is all burned over. But he kept on. 
If there can be found a more uncomfortable country 
to ride over than a burned prairie, I have never found 
it. The dust on a dry plain is bad enough; but these 
dry ashes, when they are stirred by the horses' feet, 
almost choke both horse and rider; and the hot sun 
that beats down on your head, hot enough to give a 
man who is not used to it the sun stroke, does not 
help the matter any. 
At the end of five miles we hidted to dismount and 
rest the horses. Rest would be all they would get 
here; there was no grass for them to cat while resting. 
Going up to the lieutenant I said, "You are going 
into a country now, sir, in which you cannot find a 
drop of water in the next foii;y miles. I thought it was 
my duty to tell you so, as you may not know that coun- 
try." I knew very well he did not know it. 
He looked at me a moment, then asked, "Hoav do 
you know I cannot find water?" 
"Because there is none there, sir, to find. There 
never is. It is a desert. I have been across the coun- 
try coming from the Pecos on about the same trail 
we now are on, and in over forty miles out here the 
only place I saw that would possibly have water at 
any time was one shallow pond, about twenty miles 
from here. It had none then and will hardly have any 
now." 
"Why did you cross it then?" 
"We had to cross it somewhere, sir. One place 
would be as good as another. There is no water any- 
wliere this far south on it. We had to make a dry 
cainp there when we did it. But there w-as good grass 
then; there is none now, you can't camp on this 
burned prairie; and it may extend nearly to the river, 
100 miles west, I think it does." 
"Oh! I'll find you water, don't worry. Who sent 
you to me?" 
"No one, sir. I came of my own accord." 
"Well, let this be the last time you come. When I 
need any information about this country, I will let you 
know." 
"Yes, sir," I said, and again saluting him I left, and 
said to myself, "When you do let me know any infor- 
mation you get from me won't be of much use to you, 
when you come to be examined for your next promo- 
tion." 
"Well, how did you and he make out?" the ser- 
geant asked. I told him. 
"You are lucky. I expected to see you walk and 
lead your horse from now until we make that dry 
camp he is heading for. You would have had to do 
it, only he does not even know enough to punish you." 
"Well, if he did, I know enough to report him after- 
ward, don't I? And he may know that I would do it. 
That may account for my not having to walk and lead 
any horses." 
We kept on across the burned grass until noon; then 
the trumpeter dropped back to tell me that the lieu- 
tenant wanted me. He had sent for me sooner than I 
expected. I rode forward and gave him another salute. 
I was afraid now that the idea of making me walk had 
just occurred to him, and I would now get the benefit 
of it. 
"Where was it you saw that place where you said 
there might be water at times?" 
"About fifteen miles to the southwest of this, sir, I 
think. It may be more. On account of this grass be- 
ing burned off here, I hardly could be sure. I could 
go to within a mile or two of the place, then circle for 
it, but it would be of no use; there would hardly be 
one chance in a hundred of us finding any water there. 
In the wet season there would be water for some time 
in it. I noticed that it had a clay bottom. That would 
hold the water for quite a while." 
"Well, we have had quite heavy rains out here lately." 
"Yes. sir, we had them east of this; but I do not 
think that it rained this far west. I have thought that 
this prairie here was burned about the time that rain 
fell, it has only been burned over about three Aveeks, I 
think." 
"Who burned it?" 
"The Indians did, sir, or the coAvboys. It may have 
been burned by accident. It Avas set fire to east of this 
and the fire traveled west." 
I saw now that he was not half as confident of find- 
ing Avater as he had been a fcAV hours before. An old 
officer Avould have turned back noAv had he come this 
far: but he would not have come even this far. 
We kept on and in an hour got off the burned grass. 
The fire had suddenly gone out here, I thought, from 
a change of the wind then, afterward I concluded that 
the rain had put it out. I had found the Avater then; 
it had rained this far west. 
Now I could form a better idea of what part of the 
country I was in, and after some study I came to the 
conclusion that we were still away east of that pond. 
We kept on until sunset, but found no water; and 
now made the dry camp that I and my horse did not 
Avant. I got my saddle off and had led my horse out 
on the grass; then looking to the west from where I 
stood beside him, I saAV now that I knew where I 
was; and coming in I said to the sergeant in charge of 
us; h(? was out of my own troop, "I am gomg to find 
Avater, I think. Will you have a fire started to guide 
me to camp again?" 
"Yes, go ahead, find us water if there is any in the 
country. I'll give you fire enough." And he ordered 
it started right away. Taking his canteen and mine, 
and my carbine, I went straight southwest, and had 
only gone a mile until I almost stepped in that pond 
of mine. It was where I had thought it was and was 
full of water. I drank all I Avanted, then filled both 
canteens and came back. 
"Now, don't say anything to the lieutenant about 
this," the sergeant said to me. "We don't want a half 
night's work watering horses and mules. He was so 
anxious to make a dry camp that he came all the Avay 
here to make it, blank him, let him get the full benefit 
of it." 
"But I Avant to take his dog robber Avith us to get 
Avater." 
"Well, you Avon't. Let them go Avithout Avater. We 
Avant to teach that fellow a lesson." 
The sergeant had all the camp kettles sent for water. 
I was taking a small one. 
"1 don't want you to carry any," he told me. "I'll 
send men enough. You go in charge of them." 
"I Avant to bring this in full for your horse and 
mine, I'll carry it," I said. 
We brought in plenty of Avater, and I gaA'e mine to 
the tAvo horses I had carried it for. Then going to the 
sergeant I said, "Now, I want to call the dog robber 
and give him enough Avater for their supper. We can 
tell him that we only found water enough for coffee, 
1 don't want to put in half the night in watering horses 
any more than you do." 
This "dog robber" was a man whom the lieutenaut 
had for a servant; most officers haA^e one; he is always 
a man Avho is hardly fit for anything else, and would 
rather carry wood and water for a cook, black boots, 
groom the officer's horse and nurse the baby if there 
is one lying around loose (and there generally is), than 
do his duty in the company. The only part of his work 
that I Avould ever do would be to nurse the baby if it 
happened to be a boy baby; I have done that for Mrs. 
Captain, but drcAV the line at girl babies; I did not 
want them and they seemed to knoAv it. 
Calling the dog robber, I gave him the Avater and 
told him Avhat to tell the lieutenant Avhen he asked 
about us having it— "tell him we found enough for 
coffee, and let it go at that." 
After supper Ave made another trip to the pond for 
water for breakfast, and I got more for our tAvo 
horses; they and we made no dry camp of it, anyhow. 
Next morning, after breakfast, the lieutenant sent for 
me again and wanted --to know about that water. 
I told him all about it. 
"Why did you not report it to me Avhen you found 
it?" 
"You had not sent for me, sir. You remember what 
you told me j^esterday. I never have to be told the 
same thing tAvice." 
"Tell the sergeant to have the stock watered, and 
then put out on fresh grass; I will remain here in camp 
to-day." 
We watered them. Then taking my carbine I said, 
"Now I am going hunting; that is, if his nibs will let 
me." 
Going up to him I asked to be let go hunting. 
"Why, certainly. Did you want your horse? You 
can take him if you do." 
"No, sir, I Avant to give him a rest." 
He hesitated a moment, and then said, "I Avas too 
hasty yesterday Avhen I spoke to you as I did. I am 
sorry now that I did not listen to you, and think it 
only right I should tell you so." 
"The fault was mine, sir, I had no business to give 
vou any advice until you asked for it." 
"Oh, yes, you had. You knew this country and I 
did not. I should have thought of that. You did right 
in trying to tell me, and after this any time you are 
with me and think of anything which T ought to know 
don't hesitate to let me know it. None of us ever 
get to be too old to learn, and only a fool refuses to 
learn what he does not knoAV. I don't want to be con- 
sidered a fool." 
"HC' is a gentleman after all, I thought. A good 
deal like myself maybe in not wanting to be told any- 
thing he or I are paid for knoAving, but he can resent 
being told, I can't." 
We filled up our horses Avith Avater next morning, 
drank plenty ourselves, and took all Ave had canteens 
for with us, then started back to the camp we had left 
to come here, and made it in good time; and from 
there scouted the country for a fcAV weeks more, but 
took care not to make any more dry camps. I was 
with this officer many times after this, and more than 
once told him what I knew about the country we hap- 
pened to be in at the time, but never got another snub 
from him, and never asked him for a favor that I did 
not get. He got his two promotions in his turn and 
died a captain a fcAV years ago out in California. 
Cab I A Blanco. 
Connecticut Trespass Law. 
A DRASTIC game law, passed by the last Legisla- 
ture. Avill probably be put to the ultimate legal test 
by the sportsmen of New HaA^en, says the Register, 
and it m.ay prove a casus belli betAveen the city sports- 
men and the farmers of the State Avith serious conse- 
quences. 
Thi.-- laAV converts CA^ery farmer into an officer of the 
laAV A\ith power to arrest a hunter found on his land. 
It doesn't say that the huntsman shall be caught in the 
act of hunting; if he is found carrying a gun or with 
a dog, the laAv says he shall be deemed a trespasser of 
the law and liable to arrest. 
This laAV was opposed by the sportsmen of _ the 
State, but it^vent through because the farmers insisted 
upon having it. Good lawyers say it is unconstitu- 
tional, because it is class legislation and transgresses 
human rights. It also creates a mushroom constabu- 
lary without warrant. 
