Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1859-08-13
Rrun The BostOa cOuTisS.
The Austrian Soldier.

The Austrian Soldiers.
There are forty regiments Of cavalry In the
Austrian army, sixteen Of heavy cavalry, (cui.
rassiers and drsgOOns), and twenty. -four Ol
light cavalry (hussaTs and lAncers) The men
and horses Of the former ere chiefly from the
German provinces, and Of the latter from Hun
gary, Transylvania and Poland. The men Ol
these regiments are admirably trained %
riders and In the use Of their arms, and sad.
ding, packing and bridling their horses. by
severe discipline they are taught to control
the horse perfectly, and 70 cause him to exc.
cute ell possible movements. In the course
Of training the recruit IL never passed from
one lesson 70 another until he fully compre-
hcnds and can execute well oil that precesdes.
They are also taught 10 swim their horses
The foundation Ot-the efficiency and we'll DE-
served reputation Of the Austrian cavalry
seems to bo the great perfection Of the indi.
vidual instruction Of the men.
The hussars use the sabre, pistol and car
bIne; the lancers, the lance, sabre, and two
pistols; the cuirasSiers, q sabre and two pis-
tOls; and the dragons . sabre, pistol and
carbine. The clothing IL well.mado and Of
excellent material. The overcoat il Of thick
white cloth, with long cape. The uniform
coat Is short, double breasted ffock-whitc,
lOr the heavy cavalry, dark green for the
lancers and light blue for the husSars. The
pants arc OF light blue, with red cord for the
heavy cavalry, aud Samo color as the coat for
the rest; tight fitting and worn under the
boots, which reach to the knee. The heavy
cavalry wear metallic helmet with Q high
crest; the lanccrs, the well-known Polish hat,
and the hussars = cylindrical shake, with q
peaked vizor.
The food Of an Austrian soldier consists
chiefly Of bread and Soup-lrom one and q
half to two pounds Of bread being the daily
ration. An allowance of 10 cents day Is
made, to enable the soldiers to purchase meat
and vegetables for soup. The soldiers make
their breakfast and supper, generally, on .
piece Of bread and little glass Of brandy,
purchased at the suffers. The horses are
branded on the left hip With the initials Of the
Emperor, and Ofthe province where purchased.
On the len side Of the neck, under tho manc,
iS branded the number Of the horse. The
ration ofa cavalry horse Is six pounds Of oats,
ten Of hay, and two OF straw for litter. Five
days FatiOns, attached to the saddle, and car.
FiCd on the march.
Arcgiment being suddenly alarmed In camp,
may be mounted and found IN marching or.
der in forty minutes, baggage packed. pla-
All
alarm is not unfrequently given by the Em.
Peror, for the purpose Of testing the discipline
and promptitude Of the men. Marches arc
conducted at the rate Of three to four miles an
hour, and over rough, steep ground the horses
are generally led. The men are punished se
vercly for not girthing tight. They ride on
the curb, on .. march, she snaffie reins hang.
ing free. Before going into action the men
manage to throw away the hay and "blced''
the forage bag.
There are schpols at Vienna for instruction
In equitatiOn, fencing, stabling, and veterinary
art, which are said to be excellent in every
respect The veterinary school IN said to be
one Of the very best in Europe, ita purpose
being to instruct veterinary surgeons f.,r the
| army. II is supplied with specimens Of natu.
raj history and comparative anatomy, embra.
cling a,lmirnblc preparations of the muscles Of
the different parts Of the horse the veins, ar.
terics, ETC., diseased. and sound, and is in every
respect complete and perfect.
The Austrian, infantry consists Of about 80
regiments Of the line and Of the frontier in.
tantry and 30 battali0ns Of rifles. All small
aFma are ritlod, and have q uniform calibre
and lock. The calibre IN about the same a.
our new model rifle musket. The uniform
consists Of excellent thick white cloth frock
coats, lined with thick linen. White cloth is
preferred to any other color and is said to be
more easily kept clean in the field, by wash.
ing and pipe clay. The pants arc light blue,
With white cord, and gaFters Of black cloth.
The overcoat is gray and made loose. The
shake is felt, with leather top and vixor; large
brass eagle In front and wooden pOmpOn
trimmed with brass. The uniform Of the
rifles Is blush gray coat and pants, felt hat
turned up on both sides, with large black
plume Of cocks feathers. Since the aEhiFs
OF 1889, which found the Austrian army
Indeed II did oil the armies of Europe,
a. a consequence Of ptOtractcd peace-somc.
what deficient In discipline, the organization
and instruction Of the infantry, as well % that
Of the other arms Of tho service. have been
much improved. In the present war we shall
no doubt witness the effects Of this improve.
ment. The rifles are said to be flne BODY OF
men, who will hold their own against snv
similar troops with whom they may Do brought
in contact
The duty Of the Austrian engineer corps Is
confined to that Of sappers and miners. and
the construction Of permanent works. In n
siege. the batteries are built by the artillery.
The construction Of all kinds Of bridges ana
Held fortihcations the repair Of roads. &c.
are entrusted to the pioneers, . special corps
attached to the general staff There arc 10
Oattallons OF engineers Of companies each,
and 9 battAlions Of pioneers Of 1 compsnieS
each. The Birago equipage Ia used by the
bridge materials ere made BY the men Of the
corps the principal arsenal Of construction
being at KlOsterncubCrg, near Vienna