The Portland daily press., 1879-04-12

the army into twelve corps, and from these
twelve, he made four great armies; Judah,
| Rueben, Ephraim and Dan. Then there were
divisions of 1000, 100, 80 and 10 men, cores
ponding to our regiment, company, battalion
and squad. The Levites, $3.50 strong,
were the elite of the army.
Iuere was no cavalry, nor war-chariots.
Inc arms were helmets aud shields made of
leather, short swords, bows and arrows, and
spears. AT Sinai the Israelites were exer-
etsed in military tactics, and the soldiers of
Benjamin could soon hit a hair with their
slings. Hoffmeister assures US that each reg
iment of 1000 men had front of 20, and
depth Of so men, and that the usual front Of
battle measured miles or even more. Then
there were exercises by trumpet calls; one,
signifying that the IL generals should assem-
BILE; two, that the people should all assemble
before the tent of the ark: and repeated
blasts of the trumpet signified that it was
time 10 break up the camp.
Moses led the Israelites northward, to Ka-
des-Bamea, 1S0 miles, In daily marches of
about 16 miles, sending out his spies In ad-
vance of the main column.
But the Amalekites and Canaanites few
to arms and drove the invaders to Horma, so
that Moses had to turn about and lead his
army east of the Dead Sea, in order to reach
Canaan by a roundabout way. The battle
feat, for Moses saw himself forced TO wait
thirty-seven years in the land of Seir. The
lsraelites must have suffered immensely in
men: the tribe of Simeon, e. G. numbered
$1,000 warriors at Sinai, and forty years later
it numbered only % 200. Moses started
northward again alter thirty seven years,
overcame the Moabites and Amorites on the
east side of the Dead Sea-but in the midst
of his work he died. Joshua afterwards con-
quered Canaan, by winning the bloody bat
ties at Jericho, All and Gibeon.
Major Hoffmeister delights in showing US
how the Israelites, or rather their Generals,
Moses and Joshua, preferred surprises, rath-
er than parallel lines of battle. Thus at Al,
Joshua took very unfavorable position so
as to induce the enemy to attack. There he
retreated and drew the enemy into that un-
favorable position prev ousIy occupied by
himself, and finally he over rwhelmed them by
double flank movement. So at Gibeon,
Joshua marched his army all night long, and
fell upon the enemy who we're not expecting
him.
But now briefly think of the most difficult
problem of all, of feeding such an army.
They had mamma, which we may explain
miraculously. They had quails; but why
have eaten them rdao when we know they
had plenty of clean beasts!
Finally, our military friend gives Moses
one of the highest positions in the military
art that any man ever reached. Without
good roads, without staff officers, without any
good food supply, and finally without any
military education, Moses led two and half
millions of souls across a desert Of sand and
rocks. So if from this time forward, Moses
assumes a place in military history with
Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon, the Israe-
ites owe it all to the keen sight and accuracy
of an Austrian staff officer.
Ifnow, oh Yorick, you will give me fay-
orable reception, shall go on with my Ger
man researches and find, perhaps, something
as entertaining las look at it) as Major
Hofmeister's book. Indeed, now have on
hand very characteristic note of Frederick
the Great, which may appear sin our next.