Reprint of this story from the April 15, 1904 issue of The Grand Encampment Herald brought to you courtesy of Grandma’s Cabin, Encampment, Wyoming. Preserving History - Serving the Community.
WOUNDED IN BATTLE
Amateur Actor Has a Taste of War --- Shot in the Fracas
Earle R. Clemens was badly powder burned Monday night while rehearsing for the military play, Santiago, to be given the following evening. Mr. Clemens was to represent Phillip Bassett, one of the important characters in the play, who, while under suspicion for stealing, enlists in the U.S. army to fight against the Spanish in Cuba.
In the third act a shell is supposed to blow up a Spanish barricade and a shotgun loaded with powder and wads only was used to produce the sound. The shotgun was first introduced in Monday afternoon’s rehearsal, when Mr. Clemens was not present. Monday night the several men on the north side of the stage were warned to keep away from the door leading into the firemen’s room during the bombardment.
Mr. Clemens was busily engaged on the south side of the stage firing small arms, but exhausted his ammunition and started through the firemen’s room to get a box of blanks. As he re-entered the stage on the north side, the shotgun was fired.
Neither the operator nor Mr. Clemens can be blamed for carelessness or thoughtlessness. It was simply one of the many accidents sure to happen in the course of events. He must have been within six inches of the muzzle of the gun and felt something brush his trousers. At first no one realized that he was hurt, but when those standing by noticed the jagged hole in his trousers, he was laid on the hospital stretcher and Dr. Mapes sent for. He found that the powder and wads had torn a bad hole in the fleshy part of the leg half way between the knee and thigh. Tuesday morning several pieces of wad were taken out of the wound and it was later found necessary to insert a tube for irrigation.
Mr. Clemens is now getting along nicely but it will still be several days before he is as good as new. Many people laugh at the idea of a “lucky mishap” but when the fact is considered that if the charge had struck him a few inches higher he would have been disabled for life, if not killed, the accident may truly be termed lucky. G.T. Keene stepped into the breach(es) and fought the Spaniards as cordially as one rehearsal would permit.
HAS ACCOMPLISHED MUCH
Five hundred dollars in public benefits is the amount derived from the efforts of the Encampment Dramatic Club. Two hundred dollars of this amount was given to the support of the public school last year, on account of insufficient tax money to pay expenses. Two hundred more were pledged to the church building fund and the last of this obligation was paid by “Santiago.” A hundred more has been spent in equipping the city hall stage with scenery.
The plays given by the club have been far ahead of the average traveling theatricals and while Encampment people have thus been furnished with a high class of entertainment, not otherwise attainable, they have reaped another advantage in that the money thus expended has not been taken out of town but has been given back to them in necessary public improvements.
Shearing Has Begun
This week shearing will begin at all of the pens in Carbon County. The total number of sheep in the county is about 500,000 or nearly 200,000 more than a year ago. They will be shorn at the various pens as follows: Miller’s ranch 75,000; Smiley pens 60,000; Cow Creek pens on Snake River 40,000; Cosgriff pens at Fort Steele 60,000; Buckley & Ryan, Walcott, 40,000; Fred Kindt’s ranch 30,000; Daley’s ranch 90,000. The largest individual clip is that of Cosgriff Bros., 60,000.
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