Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1885-07-24
80 61-r~ sr:n.


III 1 c 'l1r"'L
..r- ~ 20
II leave the old in viii a sad
heart. Nua may have your good nature
restored /. the recruits are ueing drilled
in the Acrcien Il atL opposite. The
Lxercleu. Iatz is large space backed
by barracks; while in front, along the
street, are gymnaStic apparatus and
simuiatiuns OF such obstacles as u ay be
expected in an enemys country. The
fundamental principle of German
drilling is obedience. Orders are not
propounded for discussion, french
fashion, hut are given, and obedience
must follow Immediately. When this
principle has been apprehended and &C.
cepted by recruit, it is wonderful
what he will accomplish, and wonderful
are the changes that take place in his
lAysical and mental organization. The
process Of apprehending is the difficult,
aud, to the outsider, the entertaining,
,art OF the system.
For instance, every recruit must Jump
over a good-si ed cask, the cask lying
on its side. When first put in front OF
the cask, he looks as if he had been
asked to imp over house. From his
point of view he knows the thing is
utterly impossible. But that is
exactly where the German drill
differs from the French; his point
of view is not factor. over
that cask he has got to 60, il bayonets
have TO drive him up to it and soldiers
have to fling him over If his neck
should be broken, his military educa.
ton would of course cease if he should
happen only to break a rib, he would
be put to bed till his rib was mended,
when his military education would be
resumed exactly where it left OF. Ii
may require several fractures TO thor.
oughly indoCtrinate the German notion
of obedience to orders; but when the
recruit has one apprehended, he will
pop over the cask, or anything else, like
deer. In the same way he is taught
to shoot With given number Of car.
tridges he must put given number OF
bullets into target. lie must do it, il
he even were TO be kept blazing away
all his life. But there will be found
plenty of ways for insuring success
within reasonable time.
The evolutions Of the recruit are very
entertaining when you have learned TO
cease fearing for his bones. Especially
entertaining is the goose step, so called
step SO valuable in strengthening the
muscles of the legs that it should be
practiced by all Iedestrians. think |
can make it so clear to every reader that
he may start it off in his own room.
The recruit first takes the seyerest mill
tary position. That needs no explana.
ton. He stands very stiff and straight,
head slightly thrown back, chin in,
chest out, and the fingers stretched out
along seams of his trousers. Having
been kept in the military position till h
is ready to faint, he is then ordered L
project the right or left foot-it is i'm
material with which he begins-sC
far in front of him as he can while
keeping the sole of the foot parallel
with the surface of the ground and the
knee sits, The tired recruit will be sure
to lose his balance, and topple over.
But, in accordance with the principle
of obedience, he will DO kept at top
ping till he ceases to topple, and can
stand in this extremely di iicult and IN.
comfortable position Just as long as the
German government may desire, lie is
then instructed to elevate himself on
the toe Of the foot on which he is stand.
ing, and TO incline the body forward till
the sole Of the projected foot reaches the
ground. He is now in another position
where perpendieularity and preservation
of balance are difficult, and where still
further appeal may be necessary TO tn
German principle of obedience, IN,
third motion Is to bring the foot whicl
has remained stationary up alongside o
the pro ected foot. and TO reassame thu
original strict military position TheT
the foot not first pro ected is in its turf
thrust forward, and so on and on. Tho
points of the step are the length of tho
stride-at least three and a half feet
the preserved parallelism of the pro
iected foot with the ground, and thu
preserved stiffness of the knee.
Let any novice try dozen steps OF IL
The muscles of his legs will ache will
all the aches of dentistry. AS the re
cruit becomes more proficient there i
less pause at the military position; tn,
| foot from behind sweeps by the station
airy one into the next step, but there i
always a pause when the advancing foo
reaches the ground, that the full strid
of the step may be felt and marked
When the recruit is further accom-
plished, he takes the step with is arm
thrown out from the sides, and Tin
palms Of his hands in front. In thi
way, in long lines, recruits are exercised
Lour after hour, day after day, mont
after month. till their legs are as toug
as steel, and the fatigues OF the longes
march can be Lorne with comparatiy
ease. The German soldier, of course
does not use the goose step when he
marching into battle, for it is gyu
nastic exercises still, when on parade b
is passing the saluting point, he uses
modification of il, so as to let the II
specting 0 Iicer know that 1t has bee
properly acquired. II is not too muC
10 say that the German empire rests o
the goosc.step.
IN ItemIsed Account