Arizona weekly citizen., 1890-01-04
HOW HORSES scr K BATTLE.
some Remarkable Instances of Equine LS
 

"It is remarkable how quickl, horses adapt themselves to the mili- tary service, said Capt. Cox to a re, porter. Every artilleryman knows .hat they learn the bugle calls and the evolutions quicker than the men as a rule. For one thing they soon ac- quire a uniform gait, which is about the same as the route step" or the us ual marching step If the horses did not acquire the same gait as the in fantry there would be varying distan- ces between the different arms of the service-that is, between the infantry nd the cavalry, artillery and the com manders and their escorts.
 ''In the drills in the artillery ser vice the horses will themselves pre- serve their alignment as well as the infantry. shall always remem, Der one illustration of this trait which 1 noticed at an exciting and critical period of battle. In order to save some of our infantry from being sur rounded and captured l quickly mounted the cannoneers on the guns and put the whole battery at a dead gallop across a stretch of meadow about half a mile wide. was quite accustomed to such sights, but when we were half way across the field ] noticed the array, and for moment ] was lost ill admiration of the magniA cent picture Every driver was plying whip and spur, the great guns were rocking and laundering over the ground, and every horse, rocking with foam and full of animation and excitement, was straining every mus cle as he galloped forward. yet i, seemed to me that a straight line drawn along in front would have touched the heads of the lead hOrset in front of the six guns. That was an artillery charge, one of the most thriI. ling sights in the evolutionS of war.
 Tt is surprising how quickly they learn the bugle calls. After we hae been in service some time my first ser geant once asked me what call th8 was, as the bugle blew some com mand. That's a pretty question foI you to ask, said. How in thunder do you know how to march2 Idon't know he said, but my horse knows. Let the first note of the feed or water call be blown and there will be terri ble stamping, kicking and neighing Once, in a terrible storm, our horses and those of several other batteries broke loose, and there was wild rush among the artillerymen to get horsei in the morning. All was excitement and the horses were hard to get, but when I ordered the bugler to mount { stump and blow the feed call the horses all made such a mad rush fol our battery that the men could hardly get out of the way quickly enough.
 "When it comes to battle horse seems to know everything that is go ing on, but he does his duty nobly anc seems to be in his element. He enter into the spirit of the battle like hu man being. He shows no fear of death and it IS singular that if his mate i shot down he will turn to look at hin and seem pleased. A horse in my bat tery was once struck by a piece oi shell, which split his skull so that on, side was loose. The driver turned hin loose, but he walked up by the side the gun and watched the firing, ant when a shot was fired would lool away in the direction of the enemy a if to see the effect of She shot Wher eshell would burst near by he would calmly turn and look at it. When ht saw his own team going back for am munition he ran 70 his own place anc galloped back to tue caisson with the rest. Wheh the lieutenant pushed him aside to put in another horse Inc looked at the other one sorrowfully ' while he was being harnessed up, anc when he seemed to realize that there was no further use for him he lay down and died The lieutenant strong ly asserted that he died of a broken heart.
 "At the time that Adams, Jackson's and Preston's brigades charged me al Murfreesboro some officer was killed and the brigades were driven back. But the fallen officers horse had nof been taught to retreat and he did not He just came at fuli speed through the battery, and 1 tell you he looked simply grand. He was a large, fine animal, his nostrils were extended wide, his eyes fairly blazed, and hs clutched the bit with his teeth as he came on. He came like the wind, and with his saddle flaps flying he looked as if he were flying himself instead oi running. Everybody gave him a wide berth, and called to the infantry that I would give $lO0 to the man whc would catch him, but no one tried 1t and he is running yet for all l know of him. ''-Sar Francisco Chronicle.
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