Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-17
WERE "BATTERY BROKE,
The Behavior of Two Horses That
Knew Only Three Things.


Knew Only Three Things.
From the New York Sun
Horses in the artillery are required to
know just three things. When they know
these three pieces of information they are
called battery broke and they are re-
lieved from all obligations to know an
other thing during their careers. The first
item in the education of the artillery horse
Is that when he is standing still he is to
stand still, regardless of everything, until
he gets the next order. The next point is
that when he is ordsred to go then go he
shall for all there is in him. The third
point is that when halted he shall swing
around in the direction from which he has
come and stand stock still, and that is the
prettiest of all, for it goes to the tune of
battery front into action" When a horse
In the artillery knows those three things
he's battery broke" and he never needs
to know any mora. If there is need of
few other bits of miscellaneous inrorma-
don the horse looks to the artileryman
to know them
The simplicity of all this is what raised
mob on the farm. The comma nding officer
or the farm had bought a pair of con-
demned horses at an army sale. Fine, big,
heaVy beasts they were, and there is sell
dom too much the matter with the horse
when the army comes to sell him, so there
is many good bargain to be had in that
way SO long as one doesn't mind the ~.
s. and the condemned brand on his bit
of stock. This farmer maybe didn't know
the DIN ference, or perhaps he forgot to
make sure, and there was nobody at the
sale to tell him that these were battery
broke horses that knew only three things
and would never know mora nor less
The farmer had out his pair III big field,
where he was busy about some of the tasks
which keep farmers busy at this time of
Hhnt Ii,
farm wagon, which took up about as much
room as the caisson and timber did in the
light battery in which these horses had
served. but it didn't begin 20 weigh any
thing like as much, and was just easy for
those two horses All went well SO long as
1t was question of using the first idea
those horses had. The field was a big one,
and they were stopped at one end of it.
There they stood. The farmer chirruped
at them to follow him along the row he
was setting out. When that was without
result he yelled, Get apr with trimmings
me order was not military, but the trim
horses of the artillery. Stip, the order Cor
the forward march had NOT come, and the
horses were too well trainHl to bulge. AT
last the farmer came rueRirs up with a
Whole lot or almost genuine artillery ian
guage and grabbed the whip and dashed the
horses. He did not hurt them-tney were
too tough for that-kut he's did convey the
impression that thed tins HAD come 10
started for the otheri end spf the field full
TIT, as they had been taught to go under
all circumstances. and with the fine scorn
OF what may be in the way which charac-
terizes the artillery Along toward the
other end of the field 1t SCENE 10 STRIKE
tnem that things were not altogether as
they used to be in the ola battery; there
were no drivers to keep the pace up and to
use language. But they found farm road
which worked them around the field nearly
to where they started. This brought them
PACK TO the farmer and the way in which
ne was swearing mada them feel natural
once more. Therefore, when he got close
enough to them to enforce his order, al
though whoa was not quite tbs same as
matt! they wound MP in line shape; they
swung the farm wagon clear around with
good imitation of battery front in action
put the wagon was SO much lighter than
the piece 10 which thay were used that
damage resulted. The contents of the wagon
were shot out upon the advancing farmer
ana left him buried under a heap. The
wagon body was hurled far away through
the AR and came to grief oy striking the
trunk or tree, the wheels went off on in
dependent careers and most of the harness
came to grief But the horses stood stock
stu awaiting the next order They had
run through the list Of their small accom-
plishments esd they were content, for they
were battery broka."