St. Mary's beacon., 1859-07-28


And in that charter reads with sparkling eyes
Her utie 10 q treasure in the skies.
The Zouaves
The Zcuaves. or Z rlzous, as the call them
selves. are confesSedly the first ineantry of the
world Their deeds in the Crimea and in
Italy leave no doubt un this point. F".med
originally of the most desperate and reckless
oa1,iu. of Paris. trained in Algeria to COM |
pete on foot with the impetuous ARAB on
horseback, Injured t1 every hardship anu
practised daily in gymnastic exercises snch
as running, lcaping. running Oh the hands
and feet. fencing with the bayonet-eXerclseS
resembling more the fcats Of the athleta OF
TIE Olv,npian games than the rIgld drill oi
tho r,rdrrn suklIer-it is not 10 lie w"ndcrru
that the Zouaves have perf'rrmed miracles
ON every field of battle where they have
apncare,l ard made their name the synonym
,f all that is terrible and daring. Win
their shavcu forcheadS. their long boards.
their strange oAths borrowed from the Ara
Inc their cnrnpexi"r.s burnt 10y tropical
SIMS their wild, i,val. Cevi!-nhy-care de-
,,..,,,or their Inftv esuri! de corps which lie
rrucs tie existence of fear or fatigue, they
present the strange spectacle Of serli-Savagcs
born and reared in the very heart Of cIviZa-
ton. They are indeed the children of Bel
Iona. the g,rdeSs of war--fttei "a the PEI
rrnaucc Of bloody deeds, utterly u.if for
the s.,bcr duties 81 li'.
For this matchl.ss boy of sIlicrr. III"
right arm of i,cr service, France - indebted
L, the wars which attended :ac conquest ot
Al.rr;a Il was there that system "i tao
tirs ualike anythirg in civilized Warfare was
f..e Wit i,
whom the French had t. contend and the
topography Of the country IN which the
contests took place, made thi, rev system
i tactics a matter not OF chni,c but "f recess
,i:y. Horsemcn mounted upon st"cl- sw;':cr
t!.an ;ne wind AMI ubctlirnt IL the !ightcsi
l. d Of the rein III the simple wori "i thcig
'''''E' g coursLg siu.ly uF IN small gfnupS
over sandy pi; ''.-, It'd mt is encountered
n p.r"hcd hattie. Hence the French soldier
was taugh: - creep ON his hc..v. 10 rEu
IKE an antelope from hillock to hllnck c
Sani, q throw hm>"lf fat on his face be-
hind the slight barriers afforded ly the I'M
even surface of the desert, and i'm the mo-
, ment "i falling tn fire on the crc.ny th,,
swept by like SIMEON. And because IN.
clumsy matchbox, in the hands ui the
B"douln. was the dc,dic>t of Instruments
Frenchmen were instructed, igr the first time
!" me nse OF the rifle, a weapon iemording
i:~ior' Of aim. steadiness aud ,,b.
I mU~kcts '4 "'e u"ys o'
When the conquest *
plet,d, there was returned ~ Ssl' was com
"f men which fn cfficiency, IfPl'ti'r, -cff:
iurance. and reckless courage. had no equal
in all the armies II Europe. These we're The
Zouaves, with as yet only preliminary
ling. Conscious of their superiority, they
lose the The Il.so2, so maintain it. Let they ] M,Sh
"i muscle acquired IN Hr.;-a thev mad,
barrack-life hri>k an1 healthiul bv subs,itut
ing IN the place of the formal drill the gym
na>'ic exercises already mcutinned The,
not only held their own, but added to the
efficiency. To the arts Of skirmi>ling-
running, leaping crawlng-thcv added III,
art Of havou"t fencing. BY which they accom-
pl<hcd such wonders Of late, when cncnun
tcrng, hand to hand men massc,. in columns
, Their bAyonets are made sharp as razorS
and III their hands possess the power of IN.
single stick" combined with the supylenes,
"f the rapier. The art Of boxing wi,l, IN,
feet is peculiar To France, has long beer
prHcticed there, ami in this ais" the Zouay,
has been instructed, 81 that in personal reu.
c"ntre his first act is to parry the weapon oI
tlS opponent, his second Ia prus,rate him by
a Kick in the breast, his third to stab him
to death with the keen bayonet All this Is
the work Of minute.
Hence the statement made by a cnrrcsnorI.
ent cf the journal des DeJdis affords li,,lc
matter !or surprise. He says that 1.-The diyi
Slons Slilia and Jellachich, counting not less
than 10000 men tor rather ynutLs-E,r
another statement asserts that most IF them
were only l6. l., 1S years old covered nv
deep canal, protected by height, and de.
fenced by battery which had been a1mir.-
bly, placed, were completely overwhelmed bv
three battaiinns Of ZpuaveS." The s,a,s-
ment OF mapr who was taken prisoner ex
plans this seeming miracle. I'VE cannot
Understand 1t, said he; 1--WE were sure H.,
"nr position was impregnahle. Bu, when we
saw theSe men run up towards cur guns ,hsr
sweeping them with grape, leap into the "a.
nal, climb the bark. ami then charge u,.o1 rs
without hr1n2 q shot, our baitalions tremLlod
IKE flock Of sheep attacked by a wnIs
N"thng controlled them, neither orders NOR
threats; they ran. And still these soldiers are
"rave and disciplined. They would stand all
gay under hre without finching: but this snr,
:" a'.acE-tf'rs beginning with the bayone,-
Vet''"r, :, thetn; ~ A. said. do not understand
: =, al AZ Inc extent OF the panic orcasiou- !
:" ~ y 'he "' 'ua'e charge may be gathered from, +
the aSScrthn that at this same It'll. =, ~.
"l>'' soldiers were seen To "a, IN their k,sss
win she muzzles "f their muske,s ~, ,La
and to remain there as if paralyzeA,"
IL Is 10 be fearel that the glory OF the Rri,-
sh Hayonet. 90 long The boss. Of the English
'eople, Is eclipsed. What is the mere mo-
Of body Of heavy men. compared 70