The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-14 00:00:00

HINTS FOR SOLDIRRS.

•
The following very, excellent suggestions, ad-
dressed especially to Riflemen, but in a less degree
applicable to all soldiers, have been issued from the
depot of the 2d Battalion of the 60th Rifles :
" The country being at war, it behoves every soldier
to be prepared to take his part in that war.
" Consider what will be required of you, and remem•
ber that among the moat important matters are—
"l. Discipline.—lt may appear a matter of no impor-
tance to a young soldier whether he immediately and
willingly obeys an order given to him by his superior ;
whether he addresses that superior in a respectful man.
ner ; or whether, if he be a non-commissioned officer, he
issues his orders in a firm but temperate manner, calm.
lated to insure their speedy execution ; yet these trivial
twitters are the foundation of discipline, upon which the
comfort as well as the efficiency of large bodies of troops
depend, and without which an army would be merely
an armed mob.

"2. Cleanliness.—Soldiers in the field are often, from
various causes, apt to become neglectful of their per.
ions, and, because they have not the means of keeping
up so smart an external appearance as at home, to allow
their skin to become incrusted with dirt. Now clean.
liness is much more nearly allied with discipline than
many are apt to suppose. But cleanliness is also
highly conducive to health. A soldier who, from lazi.
ness or any other cause, resigns himself to a state of
personal dirt, will be sure, sooner or later, to become
covered with vermin, and to be an object of loathing to
himself, to his officers, and to his comrades. The cure
of all wounds and sores will be very much retarded by
dirt. His general health will suffer, and, having be.
come dirty himself, he will cease to attend to the clean.
liness of his arms.

" Z. Arms.—Among the most important of the duties
of a soldier at all times, but especially of a soldier in the
field, is the state of his arms and accoutrements. No-
thing can more decidedly stamp a man as a useless sol-
dier than inattention to the state of his arms. These
should at all times be in perfect order. His own life
may at any moment be sacrificed by finding himself un-
able to return the fire of an enemy, in consequence of
his own weapon missing fire or being out of repair.
Never, therefore, put your rifle away without first as.
suring yourself that it is clean, dry, and perfectly fit for
use at any moment.

" 4.—Ammunition requires equal care. It must at
all times be kept perfectly dry ; it must be constantly
examined, and changed if necessary. When firing, every
round should be nislie to tell ; and this brings us to
"5. Firing--Every soldier, but more especially every
rifleman, should pride himself upon being a good shot.
Target practice should be looked upon, not as a task,
but as a recreation. How many civilians spend both
time and money in the endeavour to become good rifle
shots, fur amusement ! Every rifleman should endeavour
also, by practice, to become a good shot ; to obtain a
knowledge of the peculiarities of his rifle ; to be able to
make all due allowance for the ground over which he is
firing, whether it be over a plain, or up or down hill ;
what effect the wind has upon the ball, and what allow-
ance he must make when taking aim to correct that
effect. These are only a few of the many points which
a rifleman should consider. But no amount of instruc-
tion or practice will make a man a good shot unless he
takes a pride in becoming so, and devotes his whole at-
tention to the practice.
"6. Outpost Duties.—Riflemen are generally selected
for these duties. They require a large share of indi-
vidual intelligence. Every man must think and be able
to act for himself. The safety of an army often depends
upon the alertness and intelligence of an individual Rifle-
man. It is not sufficient that a Rifleman should be
plucky, and able to load, to fire, or to charge by
word of command. He will generally be extended,
often (indeed, always when possible) concealed by cover
and therefore frequently out of sight of his officer. He
cannot be a good Rifleman unless he is possessed of
great intelligence, perfect self-reliance, good eyesight,
quick hearing, which should enable him, even in the
dark, to discover the movement of any body of the ene-
my, and to say whether infantry, cavalry, or artillery
are moving, and in which direction ; he must be a good
shot, prepared to oppose cunning to cunning ; able to
take the best advantage of any cover that may be at
hand, and to endure and bear up cheerfully against
hardship and exposure ; and likewise determined, how-
ever fatigued he may be, never to let his enemy outwit
or outmanoeuvre him. He must, in short, at all times
and at all places, be`wile-awake.'
" 7. Cover.—A Rifleman must have a correct know-
ledge of the effect of the various inequalities of the
ground, and of the amount of cover afforded by such in-
equalities, and by the various other objects to be met
with in all countries. He must never allow himself to
he seen in relief against the sky, or against any mass of a
light colour. If near a fire, he must never pass between
the fire and the enemy. When looking for cover, he
should remember that he will be better concealed among
bushes or materials of various colours, than by any quan-
tity of one colour. He may often be placed for the purpose
of watching an enemy, in which case he must not expose
himself to be discovered by the enemy, nor even fire ex-
cept in actual self-defence. Whenever engaged, he must
remember that it is the duty of a skirmisher to do as
much mischief as possible to the enemy, with as little
exposure of himself as is necessary. Nothing so dies
courages the enemy as finding himself suffering from the
fire of well-concealed skirmishers. When possible, al-
ways select your cover at a spot which is difficult of
access to the enemy, and which is of easy communica-
tion with your supports. Never lose sight of the files
on your right and left.

"a. Clothing.—No soldier can be perfectly efficient
who is not well shod, and, as far as may be, well clothed.
All Riflemen should, therefore, immediately endeavour
to learn to repair their own clothing and socks, but
cepc,iolly their boots. It will be too late to learn these
things when in front of an enemy, and many a man has
fallen to the rear, and been starved or killed, through
not having been able to protect his feet by repairing his
boots. It is not, however, to repairs as they are done
at home that I wish to direct your attention ; but I am
anxious that every mau should get such an insight into
the repairing of boots as will enable him, when he takes
the field, to make use of the materials which he may find
on the spot, however rough they may be.
"9. Cooking.—Do not think this subject unworthy of
present consideration. I would advise every one of you to
obtain, without loss of time, some little experience of
cooking. Be ready to make the most of your rations.
Learn, while you have time, how to make bread or cakes
out of flour or oatmeal, with water only. Consider how
you would set about baking such bread or cakes with-
out an oven, and with the smallest amount of fuel ; and
how you would roast and grind coffee without a roasting
apparatus or a coffee-grinder. If you land in an enemy's
country without having considered and practised these
things, you will be helplesss. These and many other
similar matters you may now learn from your comrades
who have recently served at the Cape.
" 10. Tents.—Much inconvenience and suffering is
often endured by the tents being blown down. Always
slacken your tent-ropes in wet or damp weather, other-
wise the ropes will break or dj-aw the pegs, and your
tents will come down. When brushwood is to be had,
and time permits, such accidents may be prevented by
bushing' your tents. This is done by cutting sticks
wibi bushy tops. Sink the bushy tops into the ground
instead of the four principal pegs, and beat the ground
firmly down over it, fastening the tent rope to the other
end of toe stick instead of to a peg. This plan will
generally withstand a strain which would inevitably
draw an ordinary tent-peg.
11. Singing.--.I strongly advise your learning and
practising songs and chorusses in which all can join.
You may not always have a band with you ; but a good
song, sung in good time, and with a good chores is
which all can join, will help to keep you all in good
humour, and to cheer many a weary hour; and will be
found of great assistance in lifting you along when on
the line of march. A man who has a good stock of
amusing stories will also be a welcome comrade round a
camp fire.

" 12. Tradesmen,—l would strongly urge every one of
you who have learnt a trade to endeavour, by every
means in your power, to keep up your knowledge of that
trade. No man knows the moment during a campaign
in which his knowledge of a trade may be of infinite
service to himself and to others. Carpenters, smiths,
shoemakers, tailors, saddlers, harnesemakers, bakers,
butchers, bricklayers, masons, and various others are
almost certain, at one time or another, to be employed
with advantage to themselves. Men known in the army
as handy men' have often accumulated much money
by
their diligence and ability to make themselves generally
useful.
" When walking into the country,
ckoeveepr
iytouarffoerydeis.
open, and study the ground and the
Imagine an enemy's picket to be
by yooursel becl an
could
best postedod bevses, tat any P
able arti
lar spot, and consider how you w
surprise it ; or how, if occupied
surprise.
best defend it and guard against
time
You
endea.aorn
" In this country you have frequent . opportunities of
seeing land drained. Observe how. t
gdt
eh wheni
is
o. s
obtained. dtohne e
your to make yourselves
an
.acileualinblee with the general
principles of draining, d
• comfort and to the preservation
e the know‘led
• able to drain your camp. This,
rives to put in practice the
however, will
oelviderdrh, much
mustaul tchh btybo done upon ROlllO general plan, awl
care must be taken that when draining one tent you do
not inundate your neighbour. •
~Conclusion.—These few hints hastily put together
sire intended only to draw your attention, before it be
too late, to these matters.
"If you only read these lines, and then drive the sub.
jest from your thoughts, little good will have been done:
But there are among yourselves many men of ability.
Your ranks include many professions, and numerous
tradesmen ; you have men who are fair mathematicians,
you have men of much general and useful information,
Among such men much future benefit will arise if you
Will ponder on these subjects and communicate your
ideas to each other. The habit of frequently conversing
with one another on these subjects will familiarise you/
minds with them. Many useful ideas will owe their
origin to such conversations ; and much future misery
may be avoided and comparative comfort secured, by
having thus prepared yourselves to combat against the
discomforts which unavoidably attend a first landing iu
an enemy's country."

ENORMOUS SALMON.—On Friday morning last Mr.
Stephens, fishmonger, of this city, exhibited a remark•
ably large and healthy salmon, which he had captured
the preceding night, and which weighed no less than
tslbs. It measured two feet II inches in length, and 24
inches round the thickest part of its body. The fish was
taken in the " College-hole," a little below Wye-bridge,
opposite the Bishop's Palace, being one of the largest
fish taken in the Wye for many years. The salmon was
after wards " disposed of by way of chance," and fell to
the lot of an officer of the Herefordshire Militia ; but
whether it subsequently graced the men-table of the,
gallant corps we have not heard..7Herefor4 Jour/Het