The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-05-28
ARTILLERY TACTICS ON A FARM.
Two Horses That Knew Only Three
Things in Their Training.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
Horses in the artillery are required to
these three pieces of Information they are
called battery broke" and they are re-
neved from al. obligation to know another
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
stu. regardless of everything, until he gets
the next order. The next point is, that when
ne is ordered 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 p~rettiest of all,
Tor Ii goes TO the tune Of battery front
INTO action" When a horse in the artillery
broke and ne never needs to know any
more. If there is need of a few other bits
OF miscellaneous information the horse looks
10 the artllleryman TO know them.
Inc simplicity OF all this is what raised
hob on the farm. The commanding officer
OF the farm had bought a pair of condemned
beasts they were, and there is seldom too
much the matter with a horse when the
army comes to sell him. so there is many
a 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 differ
ence, or perhaps he forgot to make sure,
and there was nobody at the sale TO tell him
that these were battery broke" horses that
know only three things and would never
know more nor less.
The farmer had out his pair in a big field,
Where he was busy about som of the tasks
year. They were hitched up TO a good, big
farm wagon, which took up about as much
room as the caisson and Timber. did in the
HgnI battery In which these horses had
served, but 1t didn't begin to weigh anything
like as much, and was just easy for those
two horses: All went well so long as it
forses had. The field was a big one, and
they were stopped at one end of it. There
they stood. The farmer chirruped at them
IN FOLLOW him alnnO tho rnuv hn xvnE a
ting out. When that was without result he
yelled Get APP" with trimmings. The order
natural; they reminded the horses of the ar
tillery. Still, the order for the forward
march had not come and the horses were too
Well trained to bulge. At last the farmer
came running up with a whole lot of almost
genuine artillery ~languag and grabbed the
whip and dashed the horses. He did not
hurt them-they were far too tough for that
but he did convey the impression that the
time had come to bring their second idea
into play; They started for the other end
of that field full tilt, as they had been
taught to go under all circumstances, and
with the fine scorn of what may be in the
Along toward the other end of the field il
seemed to strike them that things were not
altogether, as they should be in the old
battery: there were no drivers TO keep the
pace up and to use language. But they
found a farm road which worked them
around the field nearly to where they
started. This brought them back to the
farmer, and the way In which he was swear
ing made them feel natural once more.
Therefore when he got close enough to them
TO enforce his order, although whoa was
not quite the same as halt they wound
up in fine shape; they swung the farm
wagon clear around with g good imitation
of battery front into action. But the wagon
was so much lighter than the piece TO which
they were used that damage resulted. The
contents of the wagon were shot out upon
the advancing farmer and left him buried
under a heap. The wagon body was hurled
far away through the air and came to
grief by striking the trunk of a tree, the
wheels went off on independent careers. and
most of the harness came TO grief. But the
horses stood stock still awaiting the next
order. They had run through the list Of
their small accomplishments and they were
content, for they were battery broke"