The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-07-11

appear anything bat so,dieriy. This sharp
shooter carried his ri1e. not = msiSkes. n
his hand. Like . careful hunter. instead oi
o.. his shoulder. As he stopped 20 talk
with the officer. who now stood and point
ed with his pipe toward caunp OF Gs-
sant trees. he took out piece Of charaoss
and slowly rubbed his gun sights IKE .
man about 10 shoot for prize
while the officer and the sharpshcoser
were talking an orderly. u,oantec on
big horse. came tearing up from the town.
Obviously he had q message, was IN haste.
and was uncertain where 10 go. he nsd
stopped below TO ask question, then dug
a snowy Mexican spur into his horse.
which almost leaped up the slope The
rider stopped him with . jerk 10 speak 20
the officer With the pipe. but his question
was never asked. He raised his hand 10
and feH over, to be dragged, with one loot
IN the stirrup. down the slope by the
frightened horse
After single glance at the body Of the
orderly bounding away over the rough
ground. the sharpshooter adjusted his
sights with elaboration. rested his gun on
the earthworks and fired at spol where
a pun OF smoke Indicated the marksman
who had shot the orderly. 1t was a long
shot, and the chances seemed all against
its being effective. a; least at first at
tempt. After the shot a cheer went up
along the line back of him; the men rising
IN disorder. Something had rollad out OF
tree across the open space.
"A mounted officer in brilliant trappings
came up and stopped. but no shot dis
turbed him. There was no doubt that the
something that had rolled out OF the tres
was the Confederate sharpshooter.
Without looking again in the direction
of his great shot and without paying any.
attention to the cheers. the old marksman
took out his pipe with ostentatioGs indif-
ference, lighted il and walked slowly back
10 his regiment.
Better Shooting Now.
such shooting Is for the born marks
man. It was discovered that most soldiers
did not shoot we'll. They were unable to
resist the temptation to fire too high This
was the case with both Federals and Con-
federates. ard 1t partly accounted for the
comparatively few men who were hit in
battle. 1t was only when there was work
at close quarters that the danger was
really great. and even then the proportion
OF killed was surprisingly small. In re-
cent years the regulars have had TO do
target practice, thing positively un-
known TO the volunteer army. There were
thousands upon thousands Of men who
never fred a gun until they were in bat
tie. The example OF the regulars has been
followed by the National Guard in many
states. The Continentals knew how to
shoot, but a majority of the volunteers in
the civil war knew nothing about the ele-
walton Of their pieces for long-distance
firing. Except in close quarters war be-
tween the armies of the sixties was not
nearly as dangerous as the roar of the
battlefield seemed to Indicate. The loss OF
life and limb. too, from shells was insig-
nificant among men IN line of battle.
The invasion OF Cuba might make the
Roosevelt regiment useful, but nearly half
of the 5000 Cubans in arms are mixed
cavalry and mounted infantry. acclimated
and familiar with the country. That re-
markable triumphant march Of Gomez and
Maceo in the autumn and winter Of 1885
made them acquainted with most of the
territory where there Is likely TO be any
inland fighting. Sim. it Is well that this
arm of the service should be maintained.
Mounted men have received too little en-
enlargement In the state military service.
considering the proof they gave during the
civil war of their usefulness. There are
good many rifiemen In this country whosg
aim is true. In every town. nearly, there
are rife clubs with a lons-dstance range
on which the record would not disgrace
the crack shots OF Creedmoor. There are
also many horsemen, although the English
field sports have never been popular
enough to make rough riding an object OF
ambition. A modern army. with ITS b.
cycle corps and balloon apparatus, Is in
complete without mounted rilemen armed
with something heavier than the light cav
airy carbine and capable of hitting things
at which they shoot. In our former war
1t was the rarest thing for a man on the
skirmish lire 10 be hit. although the line
was in advance OF the line OF battle Only
a sharpshooter who could hit an object nc
larger than a single man was a menace to
the skrmisher."