The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-05-05
The ROuI Of The white HuSS0TS.
By RUDYARD KIPLINGa

-beOnl DIT
Some people hold that an English
cavalry regiment cannot run. This is a
mistake. have seen 437 sabers flying
over the face of the country in abiect
terror have seen the best regiment that
over drew bride wiped off the army list
for the space of two hours If you re-
peat this tale to the White hussars, they
will in all probability treat you severe.
ly. They are not proud of the incident
You may know the White hussars by
their "side, which is greater than that
of the cavalry regiments on the roster
If this is not a sufficient mark you may
know them by their old brandy 1t has
been go years in the mess and is worth
going far to taste. Ask for the INC
Gaire" old brandy and see that you
get it. II the mess sergeant thinks that
you are ureducated and that the gen
, nine article will be lost on you, he will
treat you accordingly. He is a good
man. But when you are at mess you
must never talk to your hosts about
forced marches or long distance rides
The mess are very sensitive and, if they
think that you are laughing at them
will tell you so
As the White hussars say, it was all
the colonels fault He was a new man.
and he ought never to have taken the
command. He said that the regiment
was not smart enough-this to the
White hussars, who knew they could
walk round any horse and through any
guns and over any foot on the face of
the earth That insult was the first
cause of offense
Then the colonel cast the drum horse
the drum horse Of the White hussarsl
Perhaps You do not see what an un-
speakable crime he had committed.
will try to make it clear The soul of
the regiment lives in the drum horse
who carries the silver kettledrums. He
is nearly always "A big piebald waller
That is a point of honor, and regi-
ment will spend anything you please
on pietald He is beyond the ordinary
laws of casting His work is very light
and he only maneuvers at foot pace
Wherefore so long as he can step ont
and look handsome his well being is as
sured. He knows more about the regi-
ment than the adjutant, and could not
make mistake II ne tried.
The dunn horse of the White hussars
was only 10 years old and perfectly
equal TO his duties He had at least six
years more work in him and carried
himself with all the pomp and dignity
of drum major of the guards The
regiment had paid / 200 rupees for him
But the colonel said that he must
go, and he was cast in due form and
replaced by washy bay beast as ugly
as Il mule, with a eve neck, rat tail and
COW hooks. The drummer detested that
animal, and the best of the band horses
put back their ears and showed the
whites of their eyes at the very sight
of him They knew him for an upstart
and no gentleman. | fancy that the
colonel's ideas of smartness extended to
the band, and that he wanted to make
it take part in the regular parade move.
ments. A cavalry band is sacred
thing. 1t only turns out fer command
ing officers parades, and the bandmas-
ter is one degree more important than
the colonel He is high priest and the
keel Row is his holy song The
Excel Row is the cavalry trot, and
the man who has never heard that tune
rising, high and shrill, above the rattle
of the regiment going past the saluting
base has something yet to hear and un-
derstand
When the colonel cast the drum horse
Of the White hussars, there was nearly
mutiny
The officers were angry, the regiment
was furious and the bandsmen swore
like troopers The drum horse was
going to be put mp to auction-public
auction-to be bought perhaps, by a
Parsee and put into cart 1t was
worse than exposing the inner life of
the regiment to the whole world or
selling the mess plate 10 a Jew-a black
jew
The colonel was mean man and a
bully He knew what the regiment
thought about his action, and. when
the troopers offered to buy the drum
horse. he said that their offer was mu-
tinous and forbidden by the regulations
But one of the Hogan
Yale. an lrishman-bought the drum
horse for 60 rupees at the sale, and the
colonel was wroth Yale professed re-
pentance-he was unnaturally submis-
sive-and said that, as he had only
made the purchase to save the horse
from possible i'll treatment and starva.
tion, he would now shoot him and end
the business This appeared to soothe
the colonel for he wanted the drum
horse disposed Of He felt that he had
made IL mistake, and could not of course
acknowledge it Meantime, the presence
of the drum horse was an annoyance to
him
Yale took TO himself glass of the old
brandy three cheroots and his friend.
Martyr. and they all left the mess to-
gether Yale and Martyr conferred for
two hours in Yale's quarters, but only
tho hull tprriar who keaus watch ovnr