The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-07-16
HORSES in OUR ARMY
\ CAVALRY SOLDIER WRITES WITH
FEELING CONCERNING THEM.

Dandy's Grief.
Perhaps few persons are on moro init.
mate torms with the horse family In gen.
ernl than some old cavalry soldiers. 10
be the friond Of his horse the soldier must
be good ono. n horse was>ncver known
90 favor bad one with his confidence, foz
horses are infaliible judges Of soldiers.
In the old frontier days cavalry soldiers
thought far more Of their horses than they
do now, for their lives often depended on
chem, and II q man neglected his horse he
WAS sure to have to march on foot before
eopg, which is very distasteful to cavalry.
{nAn. Indeed, 10 was necessary To guard
prevent men stealing more than their al
lowance for their horses. Even now, Il
you watch some old gray haired fellows at
the "stables' OF q cavalry troop, you will
SEQ they have not forgotten to be greedy
on behalf Of their mounts.
A recruit horse IL like recruit soldier,
apt to be clumsy, unevsnly gated, sauoy
and conceited. The old horses In the stable
yard treat him exactly as old soldiers treat
Q recruit They attempt to frighten him
by biting at him, kicking him, chasing
him from one corner Of the yard to an
other, pulling bis name and ears-in faot,
they try to make his life miserable In
every way. This lasts for few days only (;
then the new horse gets q chum, and they
make an agreement TO stand by each other
This offensive and defensive alliance pre-
vents the rest of the herd from taking any
moro liberties with the recruit.
The "obum business Is one of the most
remarkable features Of horse life In the
army. The "chums" are inseparable. As
soon as the herd Is turned out into the
yard the ohums seek out each other, az II
for morning "oonfab," and remain TO-
gether all day. Looking into the yard at
any time, one can SEQ them rubbing noses,
blinking at one another or following each
other around the yard. Take new horse
away from his ohum and he will greatly
resent 1t. Tie him near the stables and he
will whinny plaintively to his chum, who
will answer from tho corral.
All horses In our service are taught to
lie down. A new horse, when first thrown
An the riding ball, with straps the use Of
which he little suspects, is greatly sur
prised. This painless throwing Of horses
a very effective In disciplining morally, for
the horse soon realizes that he Is complete.
~ mastered, and after he has been thrown
o number Of times q marked change takes
place In his temperament.
| Soldiers who abuse their horses In any
way are severely punished. There Is, In.
deed, no sight more obnoxious to a good
loavalryman than to SO horse abused.
The old cavalry horse seems to have q
great disdain for new soldier. When
ridden by recruit, he appears as II o lit
tie insulted, and am sure that some Of
these old horses oan tell q recruit from a
Veteran as quickly as can the adjutant at
guard mounting"
1t Is customary to turn all the horses
Iout to graze-or ITO herd, I" as 1t Ia called
under guard whenever the grass IL good
and the weather pleasant. The horses re-
gard "herd time" - proper occasion for
Yum and frolic. They enjoy the herd as
much as lot of sohoolboys do their recess.
| In every troop are some old horses that
Iare full of mischief on herd and are invet.
,eratc stampeders. II they con only got tbs
rest of the herd to follow them and run
ahead of the herders, they are delighted.
Tho herd guards have to watch these old
Irogues vigilantly, for once they obtain
start, stampede Is sure to follow. Then,
III no obstacle prevents, the herd will run
for hours-herds have bean known to run
40 miles before they could be stopped. Most
bold and daring riding on the part Of the
herd guards Is required to head of a cav.
airy stampede and turn the leaders.
Horses soon learn all the trumpet calls.
I"Stable call" in the afternoon is the favor
ite one imagine, as it means dinner.
A trumpeters horse in certain troop at
"A western post was condemned for disabil-
ity and sold to q milkman. Ono day, when
the milkman was driving near the drill
Iground where the troop was drilling, his
horse at the sounding of the "charge" by
the trumpet bolted for the troop. OF course
the funny sight Of milk cart charging
with troop Of cavalry caused great merri.
lment to all except the milkman.
| During the Geronimo campaign some
years ago in Arizona, remarkable Illus
tration Of how great an affection can exist
between q soldier and his horse occurred
In a troop in which was serving An old
Irish sergeant had splendid brown horse
called Dandy, to which he was so singular.
Ily attached that the care and caresses he
bestowed on it would have satisfied the
most exacting sweetheart. The beautiful
and Intelligent animal seemed to be al
most human, so much did he appreciate
the affection Of his master.
Now 1t happened that during a long
march the sergeant became worry tipsy by
drinking some fiery Mexican mescal
Recling in the saddle to ams"fro he jorked
the horses sensitive mouth with tho cruel
curb till 1t bled profusely, and every little
while his sharp spurs would tear Dandy's
tanks. Suffering all this pain, the horse
calmly walked in ranks without showing
any resentment and apparently knowing
that his master was out of his senses.
| Shortly after this happened wo were
fired upon from an ambush. Tho sergeant,
who was In tho lead was shot dead In the
saddle while riding along the brink Of one
Of those steep canyons which abound In
that part Of Arizona. So no pitched head
foremost out Of his saddle down hundreds
of feet into the canyon bed.
During tho next few days Dandy ate al
)most nothing and appeared dull and list
less. All the men being mounted, nc was
Red and pack saddle put on him. About
a week later, ns wo were riding along the
brink Of another canyon, very similar to
that In which Dandy's master had found
in grave, tho command was halted for q
rest, and tho men, dismounting, let their
horses Rrazo on the few bunohos of dry
t,.t tl..x- al.