The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-03-07
LONG CAVALRY RIDES.
Fests OF British In Africa Compared
with American Achievements.
(From the PhlladelphIa Times. J

(From the Philadelphia Times.)
There is much Of interest to riders gen
orally, but particularly to the United
States cavalrymsn. In reports that have
come from South Africa Of soms Of the
long, hard rides made there by the British
mounted troops. The accounts OF some
Of these rapid forced marches Of cavalry
are lacking In detail, but the specific
statement Is made that squadron Of the
Natal Mounted Rides recently rode eighty
| i've miles In twelve consecutive hours.
The English press speaks Of the rides Of
sixty miles By detached cavalry troops
which are complsted within tbs limit of
the daylight hours, and thess aohiave-
ments Of The troopers and thsir moants
are spoken OF ss II Of frequent occur
renee.
At first thought It may not appear that
these rides are particularly remsrsable,
but the fact must bs taken into consider
stIon that bodies of troops and not single
individuals are concerned, and where this
Is the case the rapidity OF the march
must necessarily be gsuged by the rapid
ity and endurance Of the poorest horse Of
the Quilt. Moreover. each animal en-
gagged has to carry weight OF man and
equipment to an averages amount OF s5o
pounds. Many Of the horses used by the
English troopers are American bred. and
q natural interest In this country Is
added to tbs rides, for IL gives chance
to "gst q llne'' on the endurance of the
American animal under abso utely strange
cliInsti conditions.
No army In the world, psrhaps. has had
the same opportunities 20 tsst the endur.
snoe of cavalry horses as ha, tho small
regular force of the Unitsd States. The
long. level stretches o, the plains and the
activity of the mArauding Iodisn mount
ed on his tireless bronco have been the
conditions which gave to Uncle Sans
cavalrymsn his matchless chances for
long forced mounted marches
Col. Theodore 'Ayraut Dodge, United
States Army, collected the cffioial records
OF long distance cavalry rides. and has
made them public, SO that they may be
compared with the performance Of the
soldier horsemen Of other nations. Col
Dodge declares specifically that he has
rejected all "bearsay rides, of which
there are no end" and has accepted only
these proved by official reports.
t.ip, U nited States Cavalry, In the year
1891 rode with deta chment Of his troop
eighty -four miles In eight hours. This
record is vouch I'd for, and IL Is better
than that Of the Natal Mounted Rifles by
about four hours, the distance being
49, L. t..
Africa For actual speed this forced
march stands perhaps at the head Of the
~ erican army record. though othei
rides have been more remarkable. In the
year 1879, when the Utes succeeded In
getting some Unit I'd States troops into
what Was afterward known rs Thorn
burg's "Tat hole" several mounted
courtisrs succeeded In slipping through
the circliug line of savsges. All of them
reached Merritt's column, 40 miles dis
tant, In less thnu twentyf-our hours,
The exact Time was net taken, for, as
Col Dodge puts IL, rescue was OF more
Importance than records"
It must be understood, OF course, that
all these American rides were made with
out changing horses. The eteed at the
start was the stsed at the finish. Ibe
bsst rider, according to cavalry experts.
Is not the man who takes u Hve-barred
uate or who can ride standing, bat be
horCe, and, though gstting the most OFT
| of the animal, knows how to conserve
his strength. The late Cen. Lawton.
who was killed in the philippines, in the
| year 1876 rode from Red Cloud Agency,
Neb., to Sidney, In the same state. u dis
tanoe u 125 miles. In twenty-six hours.
| He was carrying important despatobes
| for Gen. Crook, and, though the roaf
WAS bad his mount was In good condition
when Lawton, looking five years Older
than he did the day before, handed over
| his bundle of papers to the black bearded
General. Gen. Merritt has forced
msrch record that has no American par
allel when the conditions of his journey
| are considered. He was ordered In the
fall Of 1879 to the relief OF Payne's CON-
uand. which was surrounded by hostile
| Indians. Merritt's command consisted
of four troops OF cavalry. but at tbs last
moment he WAS ordered to add to his
force o battalion OF infantry. The
| dough boys" we're loaded into army
wagons drawn by mules, and with the
cavalry at the Hanks the relief column
| started. The distance TO be reed was
| 40 miles, ana 1t was made noiwitt stand
ing the handicap of the wagons. and
trails that were muddy and sandy by
| turns In just sixty-six hours, At the
| end of the march the troopers won't into
| the fight, and In the entire command not
ono horse showed lame leg or a saddle
sore.
| -Four troopers of the Fourth Cavalry,
who had volunteered for the particular
service, were sent In the summer of 1870
| from Fort Hsrney TO Fort Warner with
dispatches and were told to make the
best time possible without killing their
horses. The men were on their mettle.
They made the distance, lao miles,
| twenty miles of the way being through
| loose sand, IN twenty-five hours, this 40
| tuaI marching time being eighteen hours
and thirty minutes. At Fort Warner
they rested one day, and returned tn
rats Of sixty miles day. Capt. Edmund
f. Fechet started at midnight for the re-
| lief of the Indian scouts who had been
sent out to arrest Sitting Bull who, after
killing that chief. were belsaRuered in a
log hut by his followers. Fechet took an
| ...huIarsa aaonu and Haf,h kisa oun