Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-05-25
MARKSMEN In THE ARMY.
TIE DISCIPLINE THAT MAKES OUR
SOLDIERS EXPERTS.

army OF any civilized power Of nearly
equal territorial extent. Still, with
American ideas and policy, the gallant
little force seems amply sufficient to
guard the country. Peace is 30 much
the policy of our nation that even the
small army finds little to do. The great
Indian tribes have been corralled within
their reservations, and the life Of the
United States soldier is now narrowed
down to the stereotyped military code.
Weary with the some old ceremonies
from year to year, practiced until the
regular tactics are absolutely perfect,
they have developed the principal gar
rison duty, target shooting, into a science
Of remarkable accuracy. The pleasure
Of the practice and the spirit of emula-
ton aroused combine to make them the
most skilled msrksmen In the world.
THEY gEAT THE WORLD.
The rifle used is the ordinary Spring
field service pattern, a breech loader,
carrying seventy grains Of powder and
500 grains Of lead, common service sights
that never get out of order.
Our little army may be deficient in
many ways, but In the matter of rifle
shooting to hit and with the object of
hitting to kill (the business in which the
soldier is presumed to be particularly
efficiently, it certainly stands first in the
world. Another great advantage, al
though not a pleasant one, has Deer con-
inuous and almost everlasting stations
on the remote frontier. Surrounded with
large and small game, what wonder that
men, whose business it Is TO kill, always
seized every opportunity for hunting2
To be perfectly fair, our marksmen are
SO far in advance of the best European
soldiers, that, SO far as execution is con-
cerned. the latter would have no show
whatever when pitted against u own
regulars. European armies, though
armed with a longer range gun, yet lack
practice and accuracy.
They are trained to volley shooting in
stead Of individual aim, and the result is
that fully half Of the men fire at random
into the air. Uncle Sans man has to
depend upon himself. European nations
nurse their dislike Of each other and their
military training partakes of it. They
pay more attention to Matching up new
schemes to hurt each other han hitting
the bulls eye. They are able to pierce,
times without number, a target in the
shape of an effigy of a French soldier,
but would miss at every shot an Ameri-
can target. Neither the French, Ger
mans, Belgians nor Russians have the
skill of the Americans in sighting their
guns or in handling their pieces.
Routine duty on the frontier is about
as follows: The soldier gets $l3 per
month straight pay, r%ations, clothing,
and a certain allowance which is paid
him on the date of his discharges; an in
crease for each years service or re-en-
| listment; additional remuneration if pro-
noted corporal, sergeant or artificer;
extra pay if worked as a carpenter,
plasterer or mechanic, and lots of other
p~erquisites too small TO mention. Guard
duty is the hardest in the service, and
to this the soldier is eligible about one
day In six.
SOLDIER +
Three roll calls a day, r~eveille, retreat
and tattoo( il a cavalryman, stables twice
a day.; drills Mondays or Fridays, dress
parade every evening, and target prac-
tice whenever weather permits. Each
company in the service Is provided with
a pair of breech loading shotguns, a GER
tain annual allowance Of powder, shot,
wad and shell, and these are open to
everybody for hunting purposes when
not employed on other duty. The soldier
can then amuse himself knocking over
jack rabbits, bagging sage hens and prai-
RE chickens, and missing as many ducks
and wild geese as he wants to.
Tours Of detached service are merely
picnics. Large game Of some kind can
almost always be found, and what better
sport could any one ask2 There is one
undeniable fact about a five years term
In the United States army. All sorts of
material are caught for soldiers; the beer
drinking Teuton, the bull dog English
man, the fun loving Irishman, the igno-
rant darby, and, in fact, men Of all n a
tionalities and all chimes. They come to
us as bright as meteors and as verdant
as cucumbers; but no matter how green
and unsophisticated the recruit may be
when he joins, he has developed into a
fine marksman when he leaves the army,
and with decidedly more sense than he
was enlisted with.
The bump of fun is exceedingly large
in the average soldier of the line. Gen
orally, as remarked, they are young men
in the prime of manhood, of fine physique
and perfect in every way (else they
would not have been accepted by the re-
cruiting o~fficer), who look upon the term
Of enlistment as a sort Of lark, and pro-
pose to get as much amusement and fun
out of the five years as possible. Aston
ishing as it may seem, yet it is neverthe-
less true that 1t is no easy matter to en-
list in the United States army. Nineteen
out of twenty applicants are rejected for
cause, and the twentieth man must be
I'D to the mark, or he is liable to travel
the road of his nineteen predecessors.
After enlistment expires a majority of
the discharged soldiers, who originally
came from some of the states back east,
never return to their former homes.
Civilization, with all its drawbacks, has
lost its charms for them. and SO they