The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-09-26

Tic uniform Of the mountain troops Is
an adaptation Of the regular French uni.
form, with caps, jackets. gloves and over.
coats for the Alpine cold and boots with
flaps extending above tho knees These
are for protection in crawling over rocks,
ice and glaciers, and in climbing the
cliffs. Each soldier also carries a long
and stout alpenstOck one end terminal
ing in q stout hook and the other in a
sharp metal tipped point, so that it can
be firmly planted in the snow. The
soldiers are trained TO climb singly, OF to
cross over glaciers in long files, with a
rope attached from man to man like the
guides on Mont Blanc. Thus equipped
the soldiers have lately been put through
a complicated set Of exercises and cvolu-
lions which satisfy the war authorities
that at short notice they could seize and
hold every commanding point.
OF course each officer in. these exercises
has exerted his talents in the way Of OK
temporizing bridges by throwing lines OF
telling trees across chasms, and the more
ambitious soldiers have We'd with each
other until, as one officer reports, more
Alliii Oilf Iiul Atlil Nb4ui4it illllHiAA WIN
an alpenstock on a trunk far above a
mountain torrent, in a manner that fairly
rivals our celebrated Blondin."
The mules. too have been educated in
mo1ltain climbing They have hauled
artillery to the SUBMITS Of the highest
range. where 10 could hurl destruction
into all the passes Of approach At the
same time the telephone is utilized; the
officer in command OF a squad on a peak
10000 feet high convc"ses freely with his
commander in the valley 5000 or 5000
feet below, and that commander, in in
slant communication with the squads on
all the peaks around, can map out the
progress Of the battle far more rapidly
than q commander in the open country,
who must depend on mounted orderlies.
But the most ingenious invention Of all
was by an obscure captain Of an artillery
company Taking light cannon with a
small bore, he loaded 10 with "A wrought
iron rod terminating at the end in stout
fukes like those Of an anchor; TO this rod
was attached a stout rope fitted with
knots o foot or so apart. The gun was
pointed at an inaccessible peak and fired;
the grapuel fell ON the peak and caught,
and there was q rope ladder fixed One
man climbed and secured the upper end
more firmly; then the entire company fol
lowed, drew up the gun, and a light bat
terry was established on a peak which
only the birds had hitherto reached
This was an achievement, indeed; but
when they had lowered the guns and the
men had descended, there was the anchor
and the rope-must they be lost? On the
first experiment they were, but a private
soldier solved the problem. When anchor,
gun and men were safe below, the last
man on he summit attached a small time
torpedo to the upper end Of the rope,
the fuse 70 give him time to
&c. down Soon after his descent the
Torpedo goes of, blows the rope loose
above. and down IL comes. There need
DO 10 surprise that the commanding Off
,er closes his report in these words.
These ascensions and the passage Of
artillery along the edges Of precipices are
It times painful and exceedingly danger
ous; but such is the skill and sang froid
# men and officers that we are without |
grave accidents in any Of these ma
leuYerS'