, 1886-07-16
FEDERAL ARMY OF MEXICO.


cipline-Unique Life in Camp.
Officially the Mexican army consists Of
10000 infantry, with 722 officers; nine
regiments Of cavalry, Alto men and 578
officers, and five batteries of artillery
1,017 men and 1870 officers. Then there
are 1902 rural guards with 100 officers,
and finally the coast guards where there
are 90 officers to II men. In addition
there are state military columns, a kline
Of militia called out to fight Indians by
the jefe p%olitico of their districts-an
oScer who combines in his person the
functions of a sheriff and a police judge.
Exclusive of this militia the total mill
tary strength of the Mexican republic is
1902 officers and II, 456 men.
when there is any need for an army
Mexico has at once, say, half a dozen.
They grow of themselves, disband with
out being mustered out, and each fights
for itself and often with itself. Iturbide
is reported to nave said that the indi-
vidual Mexican was a thief; that in a
gang of ten he was a guerrilla, and that
200 guerrillas made a Mexican army.
Though this may not be universally true.
it is true in part. Every man who has
VIZ ,O'ihbc ~ pronounce Aiho SOhl-
mence by being a thief, and under the
present enlightened government of Diaz
men are daily sentenced to service in the
regular army as a punishment for crime.
The man who ~'pronounces' against es-
tablished order gets together a handful
of gucrrillas and descends on the nearest
rich hacienda and demands q 'prestamo'
forced loan-which is followed by a
1leva,' or draft of the best poems on the
estate. He then ~retires to the mountains
to organize and drill his men. With the
stolen money-for a 'prestamo' is never
repaid-he arms his force and in a week
or two has quite as respectable a crowd
as the government can sen against him.
"The cavalry is the principal arm OF
the Mexican service, and though the
horses would excite the smiles of an
American cavalryman, they are well
adapted to a country were grain is not
over plenty, and endurance and not
speed or weight are considerations. The
mounts are mainly mountain ponies, and
usually, except in the large cities, I'M
shod. The uniform for all ranks is much
the same, consisting of a blouse of dark
blue, pants of the same. and red facings.
OF course the cavalry pants are served
with leather. The KEPT is much the same
as our own, but not 30 high, and there is
an absurd attempt to give to the Mexican
private a kind of Germanic air. The
fatigue uniform consist of a dirty canvas
blouse and pants. Boots are not con-
sidered essential in the infantry, and are
only known to crack regiments. The
favored corps, even, which possesses
them never wear them on the march. A
piece of old leather strapped to the foot
by rawhide thongs to protect the feet
from sharp stones and sharper cacti
suflices for any private.
1.-THE Mexican soldiers are armed with
Remington rifles and carbines of the 90
caliber model, the barrels of which, after
the absurd French fashion, are kept
bright instead of being Drowned. On the
butt of each gun a dirty piece of paper
contains the name and number of the
private to whom it belongs. Not one in
a hundred privates can read, but they
get use to the form of their NAME, as a
kind of object-lesson. Arms are very
valuable in Mexico, and to sell them is q
crime for which the soldier is rewarded
with a sound logging. When arms were
missed and the real culprit could not be
found, captains have beeprtpoWn 70 t1og
the entire company. TS;Splan of max
ing every man his brothers keeper is
said to Wrs-Ne ll. OF discipline as we
understand it in the American army
there is really one The soldier never
goes through n course Of 'setting-up,'
and consequently lounges around the
streets with stumbling feet and downcest
head. like the poor Aztec Indian, slave
and criminal that he is. Drill is a hum
bug, and except in a few cavalry regi-
ments seldom or ever takes place, and
punishments are as unjust as they are
severe.
in his camp life, as in everything
else, the Mexican soldier is unique.
Each man has a woman, who follows his
fortunes, cooks for him, washes for him,
and shares without complaint his hard
fortune. On his pay, which is only about
"a cents a day, both live; and. as a Mexi-
can receives no regular ration, the
cuisine is of the most primitive charac-
ter. On the march, these women, rid
ing on burros n la cavalier, head the col
umn, and in a few minutes after n halt
is called, each will be busy with the tor
tillas, or tamales, or, in flush times, with
an ola podrida of meat, chile, and gar
lie cooked in a small earthenware pan
for the delectation of her lord md mas
ter. Those women are, of course, lost to
virtue, but are faithful to a degree to
their 'companeros.' Mexican soldiers
have ne tents, that luxury being confined
to the superior officers, and few have
any blankets except their 'sarapes' to
sleep in. Even in barracks this is the
case. The men lie down and sleep
where and when they AN, often on the
cobblestones of the court yard.-Chicago
News Interview.