Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan
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Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan Vanished Arizona Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woan Martha Summerhayes 1 Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan TO MY SON HARRY SUMMERHAYES WHO SHARED THE VICISSITUDES OF MY LIFE IN ARIZONA, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 2 Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan Preface I have written ths story of my army life at the urgent and ceaseless request of my children. For whenever I allude to those early days, and te to them the tal they have so often heard, they always say: "Now, mther, wi you write these stories for us? Please, mother, do; we must never forget them." Then, after an interval, "Mothr, have you written th stories of Arizona yet?" unti finally, with the aid of s old letters written from those very places (the letters having been preserved, with other papers of mne, by an uncle i Ne England long since dead), I have been abl to give a fairly connected story. I have not attempted to crate my husband's brave career i the Cvil War, as I was not married until some years after the close of that war, nor to describe the many Indian campaigns in which he took part, nr to write about the achievements of the old Eighth Infantry. I leave all that to the htorian. I have given siply the impressi made upon the mnd of a young Ne England woan who left her cofortable ho in the early sventi, to foll a second lieuteant into the wildest encampments of the American army. Hopig the story may possess s interest for the younger won of the army, and posbly for so of our old friends, both in the army and i civil life, I venture to send it forth. POSTCRIPT (second edition). The appendix to th, the secod editi of my book, wi tell thing of the kind manr in whic the first edition was received by my friends and the public at large. But as several people had expressed a w that I shuld tell more of my army experiences I have gone carefully over the entire book, adding some detail and a few incidents which had co to my mnd later. I have also been able, with som difficulty and much patient effort, to scure several photographs of exceptional interest, whic have been added to the illustratios. January, 1911. 3 Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan 4 Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan CHAPTER I GERMANY AND THE ARMY The stalwart men of the Prussian army, the Lancers, the Dragoons, the Husars, the clank of thir sabres o the pavements, thr brillant uniforms, all made an impression upo my romantic mind, and I listeed eagerly, in the quit evenings, to tal of Hanover under King George, to stories of battls lost, and the entry of the Prussians into the old Resdenz- stadt; the flight of the Kig, and the sorrow and chagrin which prevailed. For I was living in the famiy of General Wete, the former stadt- comandant of Hanver, who had served fifty years in the army and had accompanied King George on his exit from the city. He was a gallant veteran, with the rank of General-Liutenant, auser Dist. A charmng and dignified man, accepting philosophically the fact that Hanover had be Prussian, but loyal in his heart to hi King and to old Hanover; pretending great wrath when, on the King's birthday, he found yew and white sand strewn before h dor, but unable to conceal the joyful gleam in his eye when he spoke of it. The General's wife was the daughter of a burgoaster and had been brought up in a neighboring town She was a dear, kind soul The house-keeping was simple, but stately and precise, as befitted the rank of thi officer. The General was addressed by the servants as Excellenz and his wife as Frau Excz. A carming unmarried daughter lived at home, making, with myself, a family of four. Life was spet quietly, and every evening, after our cffee (served in the living-room in winter, and in the garden in summer), Frau Generali uld amuse me with description of life in her od home, and of ho girls were brought up in hr day; how industry was esteemed by her mther the greatest virtue, and idl was punished as the mot beguiling sin. She was never allowed, she said, to read, even o Sunday, wthut her knittig-work in her hands; and she wuld often sigh, and say to me, in German (for dear Frau Generali spoke no other tongue), "Ach, Martha, you Aerican girls are so differently brought up"; and I would 5 Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan say, "But, Frau Generalin, which way do you think is the better?" Sh uld then look puzzled, srug her soulders, and often say, "Ach! times are different I suppose, but my ideas can never change." Now the dear Frau Generalin did not speak a word of English, and as I had had ony a few lessons in German before I left Aerica, I had th utmost diffiulty at first in comprehending wat she said. She spoke rapidly and I wuld lite with the closest attention, only to give up in despair, and to say, "Gute Nacht," evening after eveing, with my head buzzing and my mnd a blank. After a few weeks, howver, I began to understand everything se said, altho' I could nt yet write or read the language, and I listed with th greatest interest to the story of her marriage with young Lieutenant Wete, of the bringing up of her four children, and of the od days in Hanover, before the Prussians took possessi She described to me the briant Hanoverian Court, the endless festivities and balls, the statey elegance of the old city, and the cruel mfortun of the King. Ad how, a few days after the King's flight, th end of all things came to her; for she was politely informed one evening, by a big Prussian major, that she must sek other lodgings--he neded hr quarters. At this point she always wept, and I sympathized. Thus I came to know military life in Germany, and I fell in love with the army, with its briancy and its glitter, with its struggl and its romance, with its sharp contrasts, its deprivation, and its chivalry. I came to know, as their guest, the best of old military society. They wre very old-fashioned and precie, and Frau Geralin often told me that American girls were too ausgelassen in their manners She ofte reproved m for seating myself upon the sofa (which was only for old people) and also for looking about to much when walking on the strets. Young girls must keep their eyes mre cast down, looking up only occasioally. (I thought th dreadfully prim, as I was eager to se everything). I was expected to stop and drop a lttl courtey o meetig an older woman, and then to inquire after the halth of each meber of the famiy. It seemed to take a lot of ti, but all the other girls did it, and there seemed to be no hurry about anything, ever, in that elegant old 6 Vanished Arizona, Recoections of the Army Life by a Ne England Woan Residez-stadt. Surely a contrast to our bustling American towns. sentiment seemed to underlie everything they did. The Emperor meant s much to them, and they adored the Empress. A personal feeling, an affection, suc as I had never heard of in a republ, caused me to stop and wonder if an empire were not the best, after all. Ad one day, when the Emperor, passing through Hanover en route, drove down the Georgen- strase i an ope barouche and raid his hat as he glanced at the sidewalk where I happend to be standing, my heart seemed to stop beatig, and I was overcome by a mst wderful feeling--a feeling that in a man would have meant chivalry and loyalty unto death. In th beautiful old city, life could nt be taken any other than leisurely. Theatres with early hours, the maid cong for m with a lantern at nine o'clock, the frequent Kaffee-klatsch, the delightful afternoon coffee at the Georgen-garten, the visits to the Zoological gardens, where we always tok our fresh rolls along with our knitting-work in a basket, and then sat at a little table in the ope, and were srved with coffee, seet cream, and butter, by a strapping Hessan peasant wan--all so sple, yet so elegant, so peaceful. We heard the best music at the theatre, which was managed with th same precision, and maintaind by the Government wth the same generoity, as in the days of King George. No one was alld to enter after the overture had begun, and an absolute hush prevailed. The orchtra conted of sxty or more pieces, and the audience was critical The parquet was filled with officers in th gayest uniforms; there wre few ladi amongst them; the latter sat mostly in the boxes, of which there were several tiers, and as soon as the curtain fell, between the acts, the officers would rise, turn around, and level their glass at the boxes Sometimes they came and visited in the boxe I had been brought up in a town half Quaker, half Puritan, the custom of going to the theatre Sunday evenings was rather a questionabl e in my md.