Democratic messenger., 1894-12-08
MILITIA MATTERS.
THE SOLDIERS KNAPSAcK.

What IL Must Garry and How 1t should
Be Packed.
In the matter of the knapSack, its av-
crage weight and in the obligation to
carry il, the American soldier of today
has decidedly the advantage over his
European brother III arms. The latter
pack. no matter what its weight or the
length of the march. To do so means
punishment, sudden and severe The
former fires il bodily away the moment
he feels that he has carried il far
enough. prefcrring any punishment TO
making pack male ont of himself.
Nevertheless the knap>ack isa very nee
essary article of the solii, equipment.
and great deal of time, experiment
and thought have bee: given to the per-
fcction of a pack that will carry every
thing necessary and yet hc. when pack
cd, of the minimum weight and size.
The knapsack rs III present i'll use i'll
the service is simply 4 waterproof can
vas bag supposed 10 contain when pack
ed one blanket, one complete change of
undertaking, two pairs of stockings.
one pair of shoes, towel, soap, blacking
kit and comb.
To pack these articles properly the
blanket Is folded lcngthwise So as TO be
IL inches wide Roll tightly, leaving
Is inches unrollcd. and place in the
bag until the roll is tight against the
bottom. Then fold the umrolled part un-
Ill the fold is even with the opening Of
the bag. Tne drawers, folded the same
width rs the blanket, is placed next.
:..... :. .iich comes the undershirt. The
shoes are then placed. heels up and soles
out, between the folded blanket and the
side of the bag, one on each side. Be
tween the drawers and the undershirt
two pairs of stockings are then placed
so as 10 show the double fold. The
backing kit is then placed above the
undcrShirt and out of sight, the toilet
articles neatly disposed i'll the pocket,
the flap of the knapsack turned down
and buttoncd, and the pack is complete.
There now remains the ovorcoat, which
when rolled is fastened by straps on the
top of the pack.
To secure uniformity the following
method of rolling the coat has been
adopted by the war department: Turn
the left sleeve inside out; fold the coat
down the middle seam of the back, right
side out, front edges To the left, and lay
il fatty and smoothly on the ground,
tail away from the feet; pull the cape
out from under the coat and spread IL
double; turn both tails of coat up about
eight inches, the upper one over and the
lower one under; fold the skirts in
from both sides until they just meet in
the center. which will make the roll
just the width of the knapsack. Then
fold the cape same width rs the coat,
and beginning with the cape roll up
very tightly and as even rs possible
the tighter the better-being careful 10
keep the folded edges well caught
When rolled clear up. turn the exposed
tail back over the roll. taking care not
to loosen the ends, and the roll will be
securely bound.
The shelter tent half, neatly folded
and number, will then be rolled around
the overcoat roll So rs just to show the
edges, and the four shelter tent pins
placed between its folds so as TO show
one inch of the points projecting.
Now place the roll on the knapsack
with the tail of the coat, rs rolled, to
the rear and the raw edge or hem just
above the edge of the knapsack, this
arrangement giving the best water and
dust she'd Tie buckle of the overcoat
strap to be on top of the roll, the end Of
the strap, if of any length. to be rolled
up. The shelter tent poles, of which
each man carries two halves, are carried
under the flap of the knapsack so rs to
throw the roll away from the back of
the head and thus permit freer use of the
arms.
The weight Of the knapsack thus
packed and arranged should not exceed
2t pounds. a good load i'll itself for a
man to carry throughout daily march
averaging ) miles.