Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-05-25
THE ROUGH RIDERS.
Some Feats Of Horsemanship in Tie
Camp at Tampa.

| delectatiOn and my own amusement
! agreed to assemble his troop and show
US some rough riding, says the cor
| respondent of the st. Louis Globe
| Democrat. No bugle is used in this
command. A sharp command uttered
| in not much more that natural tone
was instantly taken up by trooper
| seated against a tree, half a dozen
! yards away. He passed it along and in
! less than a minute men had sprung
from hammccks, horses were united,
| saddles thrown on and cinched and
| the 1.-THE, active men were mounted
and formed At the command Of for
| ward" the horses leaped out at gal
| lop and fairly charged to point with
| in half a score of yards from Mr.
| Chambers position, when the Ire
halted as suddenly as If it had encoun-
tered a stone wall. With a grace that
can come only from long practice, the
| commander yaulted into the sadie,
and with a quiet command, which was
instantly obeyed, the column swung
off at a gallop, forming twos as they
went. Another command, and with
wheel as sudden as it was unexpected,
the line charged fairly at the ladies',
who were seated among the trees at
headquarters. The broad heavy blades
of the machetes flashed from their
sheaths and circled the air with
thrilling swish that was really dramat-
ic. The ladies screamed and were
abort to take flight, when the plunglng
steeds refined up with jerk at their
very feet, the rough riders saluted with
their machetes, and, gracefully bow
ing, turned like flash and were off
like the wind Through the trees they
went forming into two squadrons as
they rode. One bore off towards the
north. They were too far away to
hear the command, but turned sudden
ly and dashed at each other, riding like
Cantauers. The machetes leaped out
as the lines closed in, and when they
came together there was clash or
steel that was positively fierce. 1t was
real, too, fer the men wore no masks
or other protection, and one OF them
had the end of his nose split as neatly
as a surgeon could have done it. The
wounded member was plastered up by
skilled hands, and the incident was
dropped with Mr. F1int's remark: He
should have remembered his instruc-
lions about guarding, and he wouldn't
have been touched. He won't be
again"
Wheeling, circling, yelling and riding
with a positive abandon that can pc
seen nowhere else, these men showed
how practically impossible it would be
for a foot soldier to defend himself
from machete charge. No one who
has never seen it can form an idea of
| it's impetuous dash and irresistible
| fierceness. The fatal machete blow is
delivered downward, at an angle OF
about as degrees, and usually lands on
| the side and back of the victims neck.
He may be superb fencer with napier
or saber, but he knows no guard that
will avail this blow.
st is remarkable fact" said Mr..
Flint, who has seen many Spaniard
after the machete had done its work,
that almost every one struck at all is
struck on the side and back of the neck.
The blow almost sewers the head from
the body | had little regard for the
machete as a soldiers weapon until L
saw it used by these men. Army Off
GERS who have seen it have, to con-
siderable number, armed themselves
privately with the murderous corn
| knife of the Cubans. Strange to say,
the machete is not made in Cuba or
| Spain, but in Hartford, Conn. Aside
from these weapons, this force is armed
with six-shooters and either 45-calibre
caI'bines, Winchester 30-40 rifles or the
Mauser rife They are all crack shots
! and experts with the pistol
| The Sixth United States cavalry is
encamped in a pine wood about mile
| from CHAMBERS camp. This regiment
| includes among its troopers those mar
| velous Cossack riders who electrified
| New York audiences some months ago
| at Madison Square Garden, at the mill
| tary tournament. "A'' troop, in COM
| mand of Capt. H. P. Kingsbury, ably
| seconded by Lieut.. w. c. Short, is ia
| nous throughout the army for the dar-
| ing of it's riders. F. troop, OF the
| Third cavalry, encamped in an adjoin-
| ing grove, Capt G.. A. Dodd, is another
equally noted troop of Cossack riders,
so the rivalry between them is marked
to a degree.
Lieut. Short kindly ordered out sew
eral of his men to show what could be
done in the way OF Cossack riding in
rough ground, where underbrush and
palmetto sprouts made it more difficult
| than in a tan-barked arena. Such lit
tie trifies as picking up bit of paper
from the ground, from a running horse.
| leaping high obstacles, mounting and
dismounting at charge vaulting en-
tirely over a running horse, or vault
| ing from the ground, alighting on the
! horses back and facing to the rear,
wheeling on fore feet, wheeling on hind
feet, ETC., ETC., were rapidly executd
| by these men, and they appeared to en-
| JOY it. The drill, when completed by a
trooper, gives him entire and absolute
command Of his mount The horses
are trained to do everything and the
entire troop will move sidewise, at a
trojan almost improbable thing to
! imagine, vet it is true. The entire
troop will charge over fences, bitches
| or hurdles, with the men standing bolt
upright in the saddles. Every horse
| will lie down instantly at word of COM
mand, and thus force of cavalry in
| the woods can be concealed until an
enemy approaches within few yards.
| One of the most difficult feats, one
we'll worth illustrating. was performed
| by one of the men. riding at gallop
over very rough ground. He handled
! two horses, both spirited steeds, and
| rode bolt upright, standing fairly in
| the saddles, one foot on each animal.
Another pretty effect, which shows the
perfect control Of the riders over their