The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-08

as there are posts q. guard goes on duty at o
o'clock aud comes of AZ H. Second relief is on
post from IL to 1. aud the thirn relief from / 10
?. BY this time the first relief has had four
hours, rest. being succeeded at : O'clock by the
the last four hours. In this manner the duty ia
fairly equalized, Givin. each man OF, the guard
eight hours ON post and sixteen hours rest,
The tour of guard duty here comes TO each en-.
listed mar about once In every six days. or from
four to five times a month. Those not on guard
duty have other things to look after.
Drill call liz sounded at 0:30 o'clock. promptly
and precisely. Hceordins 70 order. no matter il IL
the time. The pleasant pastime ofdrlll Is kent up
within doors, for sixty minutes. or course. 10
movements can he performed In the limited
space OF the squad ROOM; simply, the manual OF
arms eayone. drill. and the like receive the
%etrictest attention from all hands. A cUminiz-
stoned officer lie the Instructor at urills. Retreat
call Is at sunset. tattoo about 1870 O'Clock. and
taps to extinguish the lights about fifteen min
Let no one be dcluded with he idea that Uncle
SANS soldiers, dine from cheap. substantial
fare only, in these piping times OF peace. 1t
may be different In active warfare. We all re-
call the old saying OF the days OF the rebellion.
To the effect that the menu In army life was
pork, hard tack, and coffee for break fast"
hard tark. pork and co.iee for dinner and
anyhow. little foundation there is for The Old
mess call:"
"Porky, porky, porky, without n strip Of lean;
son N9mE TSo sG cT without "a q singh bean;
Az every army IOrt on the frontier inc diet is
practically the same. The cooking is done by
enlisted mon. who have shown experiences in the
art Occasionally = cook Is hired to ttach. the
adnys tho regulation ration at tn. garrison for
enlisted men II about ms follows: Twelve ounces
of pork or bacon or canned beef fresh o. cured.
or one pound aud four ounces of fresh beef. or
30 ounces of sal; beef; ~ ounces of soft bread
or -four. or l6 ounces OF hard bread or one pound
and four ounces of corr meal. aud to every
100 rntions - bounds OF beans or peas. or
10 pounds OF rice or hominy,. 10 pounds Of
green coffee, or eight OF roasted coffee. or two
pounds Of tea. 10 pounds of sugar. 1 quarts Of
and TO troops in tho Held. when necessary. /
pounds of yeast powder To every 100 rations.
tiuns to last ten DAYS ARE drawn from the COM
missnry department and turned into the mess.
Fresh meat Is delivered by contract daily when
ever ii IL possible, while the bread is baked by
In add ton to the food supplied in the ration.
many extras are purchased by means of funds
furnished BY the post exchange. This exchange
is the successor Of the old army sutler. who rap.
to the men. A few years ago the sutler System
was broken mp. and the Government now runs
its own stores In the interest OF the enlisted
men. Only n small profit is made. and this
profit is used IN buy u better and more varied
saeRiS gt at atom most sSf fo rue nine The %fo iasFn = ].r,,s SI%s.
bnught at a post exchange in two months. will
n E,'e ,s sn i wex OF What ss ahe 1i sold'gr boys y.r Gsss
pounds Of cheese, ea5 pounds breakfast bacon.
400 pounds fresh sausage. 700 pounds mutton,
and 800 pounds OF liver. There l. consumed at
a dinner in an average army garrison. 30 gal
Ions OF sour, 200 pounds roast beef, . bushels
potatoes, > barrels turnips, "a gallons toma toes.
! barrel GOLD slsw. 30 pounds tnpi"ca for pud-
ding. and 100 pounds Of bread. From one to two
barrels OF syrup are eaten ut an average frontier
garrison In a month. and the average number
OF pounds OF sugar used daily il forty-three.
Tho follo.ing is u sample OF the menus at the
three meals each day III winter Mt u United
States garrison in the Western w:!ds:
Breaktast Cracked wheat with sugar, beef hash,
Dinner Roast pork aud gravy. roast potatoes. sue.
cot .sn OF lima oeAn, and green corn. beets. tapioca
pg aas eTrai' 1 syrup p ana r rinS ~ ,o.. ,o., NM,
ding. tread. syrup and tea.
Every man can have just as much rs he de-
sires. provided he does not waste by leaving
much food on his plate. This waite is not per-
mitted. and men are punished for wasting. On
holidays an extra dinner is served. The dinner
last Christmas Day was as follows: Roast
turkey, cranberry sauce. celery. mashed puta-
tocs, baked sweet potatoes, pickles and cold
slaw. mince and pumpkin pie, pound cake.
jelly cake, apples, raisins. coffee. cheese. bread
and buttcr-which Tor u good meal conparrs
most favornbly with u holiday dinner at some
oil the best hotels in the land.
Fur amCsements the officers have a club room,
and so have the soldiers. too. for that matter.
The post trader supplies the luxuries. and In re-
II. At thu billiard or pool tables of some OF our
eTnat, I pT5!s ,h m" sg. be T 5eeR S, msn n, y h no Are truly
forts is for the benefit of officers and enlisted
men alike. Light wines: beer, and cider are sold
under any pretence to be- within the limits of the
garrison. After many years, service In sons
| "a ~ ble ktAtN AA' 'iA.N i"' WV tsIFt
his profession and what he is about, Tie bands
ton, are fine bodies OF musicians. and capable
OF holding their own against all corners. in
this luxury is most thoroughly appreciated.
Hops, concerts, dances, card parties. dinners,
the order, when they are cut of from the out
side world am! tho rest OF civilization by the
made laS s'i mnch OF off, WITT Hs or a s E,s'' is d IL sde p fased t.
and danced. In summer the guest is
driven or ridden across the country 10
river bark. back and forth, here aaG there and
everywhere. to his or her hearts content, In
winter. on hobs and behind n merry set OF
juggling sleigh. bells. away he goes spinning
over, the prairie. in and out among the sage
brush, getting as much enjoyment ont OF the
square inch az tile air. country. and surround
inIs are capable of Offering. This is a pleasant
picture to contemplate, but all these little di-
versions are dearly bought, by Isolation in n
Wild, partly settled country, without theatres.
ments that people consider II part aud parcel Of
in fair weather great attention is given TO tar
get practice. There WAS n ttGle " hen he average
soldier Of the line could no; hit IL flock of barns.
although he might have been armed wit,hn
double barre!lcd repeating shotgun. II used to
be said, too. that during the late war am0n with
agan would have u shoot away his own weight
Ia lead before he could hit anybody. All that Is
changed now. 1t would surprise people TO know
to what deGrcco of fine craftsmanship the soldier
OF rifle Instruction now in vogue. AT fixed dis
tances. or rather with single shots at an object.
tnt u VI ouT me Cdl IlUIc lHAn hO'ul NtlT
own against the line Of any other army on earth
to-day. European armies neglect m~arksman.
ship us nm important adjunct OF IA soldiers life.
But the tendency OF modern warfare is to
fight no longer IN solid brigade, with intervals
OF from one to Ave yards between individuals.
and backed up by artillery; We're the late war
ments. there would ba no four or five years Of
long drawn out conflict. The unpleasant
ness would, be settled in less than a
twelvemonth. A skirmish line of any or
our regiments to-day would do twenty times
the execution OF a similar line of twenty-five
years ago.. The reason is that the soldier is
taught us his first duty how to handle and get
the most out OF his piece. A visit to any one OF
the annual rife competitions held ut various
points throughout the United States would con-
vince the most skepticRl, beyond all question or
doubt, that Uncle SANS, troops are now an
army of marksmcn and sharpshooters. instead
Of a mob OF raw. undiSciplined recruits.
There Is one drill practice by "A cavalry troop
Mt several frontier posts which Is not only use
full and Instructive, but also decidedly inter-
esting to witness. Out on the prairie have been
erected numerous posts the height OF an or
binary man from his feet up 10 his shoulders.
A number OF large leathern balls. the siZo OF a
mans head, and filled with straw. are placed on