Wewereonthetransport。Therewasnohardlabortodo；andtheprisonconsistedofanothercow-puncherwhokeptguardoverhimwithhiscarbine，evidentlydividedinhisfeelingsastowhetherhewouldlikemosttoshoothimortolethimgo。Whenwelanded，somebodytoldtheprisonerthatIintendedtopunishhimbykeepinghimwiththebaggage。Heatoncecametomeingreatagitation，saying：“Colonel，theysayyou’regoingtoleavemewiththebaggagewhenthefightison。Colonel，ifyoudothat，IwillnevershowmyfaceinArizonaagain。Colonel，ifyouwillletmegotothefront，IpromiseIwillobeyanyoneyousay；anyoneyousay，Colonel。”withtheevidentfeelingthat，afterthisconcession，Icouldnot，asagentleman，refusehisrequest。AccordinglyIanswered：“Shields，thereisnooneinthisregimentmoreentitledtobeshotthanyouare，andyoushallgotothefront。”Hisgratitudewasgreat，andhekeptrepeating，“I’llneverforgetthis，Colonel，never。”Nordidhe。Whenwegotveryhardup，hewouldnowandthenmanagetogetholdofsomeflourandsugar，andwouldcookadoughnutandbringitroundtome，andwatchmewithadelightedsmileasIateit。Hebehavedextremelywellinbothfights，andafterthesecondoneIhadhimformallybeforemeandremittedhissentence——somethingwhichofcourseIhadnottheslightestpowertodo，althoughatthetimeitseemednaturalandpropertome。
Whenwecametobemusteredout，theregularofficerwhowasdoingthemustering，afterallthemenhadbeendischarged，finallyaskedmewheretheprisonerwas。Isaid，“Whatprisoner？”Hesaid，“Theprisoner，themanwhowassentencedtoayear’simprisonmentwithhardlaboranddishonorabledischarge。”Isaid，“Oh！Ipardonedhim“；towhichheresponded，“Ibegyourpardon；youdidwhat？”ThismademegraspthefactthatIhadexceededauthority，andIcouldonlyanswer，“Well，Ididpardonhim，anyhow，andhehasgonewiththerest“；
whereuponthemustering-outofficersankbackinhischairandremarked，“Hewassentencedbyacourtmartial，andthesentencewasapprovedbythemajor-generalcommandingthedivision。Youwerealieutenant-colonel，andyoupardonedhim。Well，itwasnervy，that’sallI’llsay。”
Thesimplefactwasthatunderthecircumstancesitwasnecessaryformetoenforcedisciplineandcontroltheregiment，andthereforetorewardandpunishindividualsinwhateverwaytheexigenciesdemanded。
Ioftenexplainedtothemenwhatthereasonsforanorderwere，thefirsttimeitwasissued，iftherewasanytroubleontheirpartinunderstandingwhattheywererequiredtodo。Theywereveryintelligentandveryeagertodotheirduty，andIhardlyeverhadanydifficultythesecondtimewiththem。If，however，therewastheslightestwillfulshirkingofdutyorinsubordination，Ipunishedinstantlyandmercilessly，andthewholeregimentcordiallybackedmeup。Tohavepunishedmenforfaultsandshortcomingswhichtheyhadnoopportunitytoknowweresuchwouldhavebeenasunwiseastohavepermittedanyoftheoccasionalbadcharacterstoexercisetheslightestlicense。Itwasaregimentwhichwassensitiveaboutitsdignityandwasverykeenlyalivetojusticeandtocourtesy，butwhichcordiallyapprovedabsenceofmollycoddling，insistenceupontheperformanceofduty，andsummarypunishmentofwrong-doing。