The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-22
~ ..... WHY THE REGULARS TOOK SANTIAGO. 81
<~~ ----------. Nv,
By ROBERTSON HOWARD, j.
4 ~
BY ROBERTSON HOWARD, Jr.

master just how heavily ne may load
a six-mule wagon. A body of troops
can only march as fast as it's slowest
baggage wagon. So you see it is very
important that the quartermaster
should know just how to load them.
There is nothing that hardens the men
like a practice march, and there is
nothing so healthy.
In the West the conditions are bet
ter for practice marches than in any
other section of the country. 1t is so
very sparsely settled that the troops
can tramp hundreds of miles without
meeting any signs of civilization. They
must rely entirely upon themselves,
which is the best training in the world
for soldiers
We started on our practice march
early one morning, when the day was
just beginning, and everything was
new and fresh. The word march
came clear and sharp. and two bat
talon commanders and eight company
officers sang out arch" and the
big column started.
We swung along through the long
grass until dinner time, when we
came to halt for just an hour. Then
we tramped on again until the shadows
began TO steal down the hiIlsides,
when the colonel raised his saber YER
tieaIly to the full extent of his arm,
and the bugles blared out halt" and
one days march was over.
Soon the white tents began TO dot
the grassy little plain that had been
selected for our camping ground, and
in an incredibly short time the canvas
town was completed Then came sup
per. After we had finished eating. we
went out to where the wagons were
parked and watched the teamsters
prepare the mules and wagons for the
night. Then we went over to the head
quarters tent, where the officers had
all collected, and heard the orders for
the next day, and smoked a cigarette.
And when we started back for our little
canvas dwelling, the stars were shin
ing brightly and the night was dark,
and we could hear the cinch, cinch,
cinch of the sentry and the rattle of
an infantry sword, and taps" came
soft and sweet from the guard tent,
and all the lights showing yellow
through the canvas walls went sud-
denly out and darkness shut US in.
There We're some things that happen
ed on this march that l remember quite
well, even now. and which L will prob
ably be conscious of for long time
to come, because they We're very nice
and thrilling things AS we, of one
battalion, were marching along, calm
ly. and thinking of our dinners yet to
be cooked, and not knowing where the
other battalion was, or what 1T was
about. it would suddenly come whoop-
ing and bobbing and racing down a
hill on our flank in a mad attempt
at capturing our baggage train Then
we would deploy like a flash and open
fire and then mass to repulse a charge.
The attacking battalion would halt
then and retreat a little distance and
reform; and then would commence
skirmish at long range, while the re-
spective companies formed an instan-
taneous plan of action.
Sometimes the places where we stop
ped our march to kill our fellow men
and perform some of the maneuvers
found in certain books of military
science-although we didn't always kill
any one and often disobeyed the rules
laid down-were very beautiful spots.
Once it was on a green hillside, with
fields of golden corn, and a tall, white
farmhouse, surrounded by slender
wind-bowed poplars, and fine brown
haystaclks showing in the distance. We
could see the blueeoats and gray hats