The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-09-01
TO FACE CANNOhS.
American Horses That Are Best Suited
for Purposes of War.

| bA'Ah6 W Ihc pSieouucl VI Jul ai hASS
there is a feature not less important
than the feeding and the physical con-
dition Of the men, ard which We are
apt to overlook. 1t is the condition
and training Of the army horse. Horses
are almost as necessary an adjunct to
a successful war as are men.
With the exception Of carriage horses
for use on the boulevards of large cit
les. and Of race horses-of which class
we probably breed the fastest in the
world-we have run behind other ma
tions In tho production Of good and
serviceable horses. This was because
having such splendid railroad and
electric facilities, We have had less
need for horses than other people. One
OF the results Of our new expansive
policy will be to enlist public interest
In the cavalry horse; for while we may
have soldiers and navy that can beat
the world. without strong and speedy
horses capable Of covering march and
capturing position by q dash, we
cannot be fully equipped as a nation.
The effect Of quick-firing guns will
be to reduce the relative efficiency Of
cavalry. and Of infantry from those of
the olden time, but nevertheless the
horses will still be powerful factor
in war. The style of horse needed in
the army is that known in the older
countries as the hunting horse, an ami
NAL with enormous chest, clean limbs,
heavy loins. deep quarters and free
moving action. Such q horse when
well-groomed and bred will carry a
mount Of $50 pounds across country at
an excellent riding pace for the space
OF five or six hours, and will be COM
paratively fit and fresh for a pro-
longed march at the close.
Hunters thus trained In the field to
rough work, make excellent army
horses. Not being much accustomed
to the delights Of the chase in this
busy country, we have not developed
the European type of hunting horse;
but he is coming.
The best type of the American horse
for use in the army, now comes from
Kentucky, and from the neighboring
mountainous states. 1t is claimed by
some that the small, chunky" horse
is far better fitted for transporting
cannon than horses Of finer proportions
and OF greater weight and frame.
1t was the need of horses of such
endurance and powers which more
than anything else defeated Napoleon's
campaign upon Moscow.
The Russians were convinced of this,
and when some of them saw French
gun at the base Of an ice-covered mole
with the horses that drew 1t, lying
with broken limbs beside it, because
Napoleon had omitted to bring horse
nails, they exclaimed with Joy: God
made Napoleon forget that there is q
winter in this country"
The great purposes of horses in war
are to transport guns, to carry the SOL
diers. to protect them in case of a
charge and to furnish food to the army
in case Of famine. Many a soldier has
protected his own life fighting an
enemy from behind the dead body of
his horse, and when retreating force
was cut OF from its base OF supplies,
an army was ofen provisioned by
the suffers forces returning to the
scene of defeat and cooking the horses
that were killed in battle.
And in the Sioux campaign of 1875
General Crook was SO hard pressed for
food that he had to kill some Of the
horses, the command subsisting on the
meat for several days.
The well-trained cavalry horse fights
some upon his own account. He rears
upon his hind legs and strikes venom
ously with his forelegs at the sight of
an enemy whose colors he knows near
ly as well as those Of his master. In
charge of infantry the horse being so
much larger, offers a greater target
than the rider whose chest is protected
by the erect neck and head of his gall
lant steed Horses thus save the lives
OF the men, and few phases of war are
better calculated to inspire terror In
unmounted troops than desperate ad-
vancing charge of cavalry at close
quarters, with dust flying and hoofs
Changing, and the discharge of carbines
Keeping music to the war-liI-e neighing
OF stations on full gallop. The skir-
mishes during the Peninsular war ware
mostly of this character. and the Duke
of Wellington used to say that a man
and his horse thus equipped, were
equivalent to five infantry soldiers,
though since the introduction Of re-
peating rifles the proportions of We'll
lingtons time are sadly altered now.
1t is somewhat sad to state that de-
spite all the uses of horses in war, and
Notwithstanding the great exposure of
this noble animal to danger in case
of battle. statistics show the death OF
greater proportion of horses from
disease, neglect or starvation than
from actual slaughter in action. Want
of food. want Of water and want of
rest, the common misfortune of every
campaign, kills over fifty per cent. Of
the horses; and overwork, disease and
exposure destroy far larger proper