Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-10-20
Scldi in AMMAN.

The So James Gdyette gives an inter-
estlng description OF the army at the
disposal of the King Of AMMAN 1t is
reckoned officially at 100000 men. OF
these, 10000 garrison the Capital and
half that number is assigned to Hanoi
and the surrounding fortresses, Nam
Dinh, Mini Binh, Bach Mini and other
places in Tonquin. The rest are ordi
narily dis .suised in civilian attire. and
are not to be distinguished from harm
less agriculturists. When man is
dressed in the customary vestments of
Madras Coast coolie-a handkerchief
and bit of string it is difficult at the
first blush to determine his profession.
In AMMAN, however, the matter is rem
dered comparatively simple. The law
is, from every three men on recruit.
Except, however, in cases of extraordi-
nary public necessity this rule is not
acted up to; one man from every seven
or eightis much nearer the AVERAGE. The
selection of the recruits is left en-
tirely to the local authorities, and
the village mandarins make
good thing out of the annual levies.
In default of squad-drill the AMMAN
csc recruits are put through variety
Of unpleasant experiences designed to
test their courage. Physical courage
and endurance are supposed to be the
primary REQUESTS Of q soldier, and after
that the knowledge of how to- load and
let Oft gun. 1t is pleasantly assumed
by the military officers that the men
chosen for the army are the worst of
the population. The mandarins are
supposed to keep their districts quiet by
drafting all their mauvais suiets into
the annual levy. There is, accordingly,
the less conjunction. in putting them
through the prescribed tests. The first
OF these is to assault the raw recruit
violently with sabre. The sabre is
wooden one, certainly, but the drill
sergeant hits hard, and knows from
personal experience where it hurts
most. Operations commence on the
back and end with blows on the head.
The recruit who stands battering about
the head for matter of five minutes
without uttering groan Or finching,
even involuntarily, is hailed as a fin
ished soldier and excused further
''drill." To shrink, or even to moan,
when beaten on the head with the
wooden sabre is considered pardonable,
and the victim is noted down as an
''ordinary" soldier, instead of an
''able-bodied" one.
But the recruit who cries out when
he is hit on the body, or confesses by a
wriggle that the exercise is painful, is
reported for punishment, and then put
through new course of instruction.
The punishment usually consists in a
certain number of blows from bam-
boo on the upper part of the thighs, so
that, except for the dignity of the thing, |
there is a close resemblance between |
punishment and military discipline.
The military mandarins defend the |
system on the ground that it is very an
cient and that it is unique in the military
exercises of the world-the latter asser-
ton being incontrovertble. Energetic
officers of the army frequently invent |
fantastic tests of similar character in |
addition to the regulation exercises.
A story at Hue is related of beau Sc
breur of the Tayson rebellion who had |
a ditch dug and filed the bottom with |
swords and pixies stuck into the ground |
point upward. He then called upon
his men to engage in drill. They were
to fling themselves into the ditch. The
most stoical of the ''able-bodied'' |
shrunk from this novel addition to the
manual of exercises. Only one man
was found to do it. He went in with
rush, and the swords and pixies col
alpsed before him. They had been
kept in position by the most slender Of
threads.