The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-06-07
Russia's Cavalry.
The HorSemen Of the -MnFVelOuS
hiding.

Riding.
Writing, under date Of May 2, % q re-
view held at St Petersburg in honor of the
VISIT Of the Emperor Of Germany, the cor
respondent Of The London DAILY Nslcs
SAYS
The great attraction Of the day was the
cavalry, and that surpassed anything which
have ever seen. The two elements Of
excellence were, If course, the horses
themselves and the horsemanship Of the
riders Can anybody explain the peculiar
charm about Russian horses Without
presumlng to answer my own question,
think l may point out that one secret with
trainers here seems To be To educate the
horse; u make him trustworthy, faithful,
ambitious, and 10 dispense with all those
contrlvAnces which, in more civilized
countries, crush the spirit out of the poor
beasts In what other country can one
see horses like those which dash along the
Nveska AS free, and fresh, and graceful
In what other country do they have such a
glossy skin, such swan-like necks, such
delicate hmbsi And III what other coun-
try DO they offer such material for cavalry
One must reflect too, that Russians Of a
certain class are born, like Arabs, IN the
saddle The horse Is a member Of the
family, a brother. a companion in every
venture The Russian Government had,
therefore, good material; but it has em-
ployed it well, and the proof is the superb
horsemsn who to-day galloped along by
Kaiser William and his German officers
The Russian cavalry has the ordinary d.
visions found III all Continental armies,
namely, hussars, dragons, culrasslers, uh-
lans, etc, As well some species peculiar
70 itself ! lass over the former, aud only
call attention to the horses These sleek
and muscular beasts had evidently been
selected As carefully as the men themselves.
For each battalion they were all Of one
color, nov glossy black, nov a rich
brown, now a light gray, and the uniform
iUy seemed "a extend even to their size
shape and motion The effect was singu-
larly striking The Tcheck and Cossack
cavalry have been 50 often described that
theirs Is nothing new to be said about their
appearance. The detachment which took
part ia the ceremonies Of to-day wore
bright red buckets and a sort Of fur hats
Il the same color, and rode chestnut po-
MES. On their backs carbines were strap
ped, and IN their hands they carried long
red lances. They led the cavalry division.
The hrst circuit II the cavalry was merely
for inspection, the second was for evolu-
lions. How impatIeI-tly the Cossacks
went through the first. and how eagerly
they entered On the second, The ponies,
even, trembled with enthusiasm. As the
cavalcade approached the Emperors, the
riders settled firmly IN their saddles loos-
ened the rrIus a little and the word is
gwen Like flash II lightning and al
simultaneously the horses shoot OF, and be-
fore the spectators have caught their
breath, are halt way around the square
What an astonishing pace. II the horse
should stumble the rider would never
mount again The Cossacks crouch low in
the saddle, and shout like iends; while
their ghtterlng lances. stretching out h1ri-
zontally far beyond the horses, are terrify-
ing even u the friends and non-combat-
ants. The Germans do not spare their
plaudits They love the uhlans who
trampled down the Turcos, and the Bis
marck CuirassIers who rode into the Jaws
of death at Mars le Tour. but nothing like
these unearthly horsemen from the plains
Of Russia. Let me not do negative inJus-
tlce, however, 10 the rest Of the cavalry
After the second turn around the field the
whole body formed At the rear, opposite
the Emperors and the amphitheater The
front stretched the whole length Of the
held; somewhat longer, 10 use a compari-
son Inch many English readers will ap-
preclate than from the Seine to the bar
racks At the foot Of the Champs de Mars,
and several regiments deep There we're
probably 10, 900 In all-the cuirassiers with
their white coats and heavy black horses,
the hussars with their pixies, the mounted
grenadiers and dragons, ana at the wings
the reckless Cossacks again. The Grand
Duke Nicholas waved his sword, and the
entire force moved toward the Emperors
and the spectators. At first it was light
trot, then an easy gallop, then faster and
faster, tlll one could only see thousands Of
g'ittering uniforms and superb horses
dashing madly toward the crowd. Nearer
and nearer they come, and ever at the
same terrific pace 1t will be death for
the Imperial party who are on the ground
below Suddenly the Grand Dukes sword
flies up IN the air; the officers pass the
word along; still the 10, 900 horsemen
shake the earth The Grand Dukes
sword falls, and the mighty mass comes to
stop az If transhXtd by an electric shock
Perfect silence reigns The long line of
cavalry Is AZ calm and steady as the mar
bic palace itself, and far back through the
centres all Is tranquil. That was a glori-
GUS sight, and worth journey to st. Pc
tersburg to see. shall never Look on
such spectacle again.