The National tribune., 1900-04-05

down IN t!.eiic4: rG ba.:le. AMI lis lng; wa.
! just as truly aud sii!!cerrlE mnaIrned.
"" r".I"l:cI Cap G!far.l al Sept. -, ant
went into camp With III" r"st Of the rcgi
! m"nt ab0at = mi" fro n town. ia-c aglii
came steady drill, AM w. got practice il
| cvoluiionS Of larger bo!."S than hereto
| fore, and saber practice on horseback. The
| Ros"rdaie Squa.! We're apt scholars, anC
soon i.ccamc adopts in tn" manua! of arms
OF the cavalry branch of service. Hero
We drilled by platoon, company and bat
talon on walk, trot and sallop. Oh, tht
bruised shinS, knees and lacerated legs
carried back to camp from these drills
| II was hard to get the filc-clo31r TO right Y
Judge the circle in which the wheel was tC
he made: and almost invariably one was
described too small in diameter, resulting
in Il jam before the wheel WAS half com
p!ete1, in which the buckle tongues Of the
saddle bags got in their work on the thighs
driven into the horses, and their frantic
plungcs added nothing to the comfort OF
their riders. If the pivot maintained his
| position the Jam was complete.
| believe all regiments had their in
corrigiblcs, and the 1st Wis. Cav. was not
an exception in this respect. The old
| boys, as we recruits termed those members
who joined the organization before it left
the State, We're, as n general thing, as
| SiduouS in their efforts to make US prof
| cicnt III the arts of war and helped us in all
| manner OF ways. They hal seen the old
organization, the pride of the State, dwindle
away and ravcl out like linen rag hung
in the autumnal brceZcS, frittcred away as
a sacriticial Offering on the altar OF their
| former Coio:erS ambitions, AMI gladly
welcomed the large influx Of the recruits OF
| '62, their hopes rising rs they saw the noble
regiment emerging from its crucial fires
| like 4 strong young Ph9niX through this
] ..f
high hopes lei them to believe there were
new l1urcls TO be plucket and placed III
| flames enduring clIaplct through glorious
decls done in future emergencies, and
thoJe hopes We're not in vain.
They used 10 rcgale us with numerous
| tales and incidents Of the regiment before
We joined it; and this leads me 10 the dis
covery that | have wandered from my
| theme, and haste To return 10 it. We had a
character in our regimcntal blacksmith
| an old. grizzlcd lrishman who dearly loved
| his toddy and WAS pretty generally braced
up with the ardent. He often impressed
! his Importance upon us "grccnicS," and al
such times would rear back like a colt
stifTrn his stubby figure, aud cxcIaim:
| Dim Paddy f'itZgibbon. sur, the siventh
son nv a blacksmith" and We We're always
| impressed.
CUTTING AND SLASHING.
Old Paddy WAS one Of our incorrigfbles.
aud one day, after a hard and fatipuinn
Sabcr drill, ono Of the old boys told us of one
of his cScapadc5 upon the drill grounds al
| k"nOSha, Wis, which ran in effect thus:
Capt. Mars, Il brilliant officer, and one OF
| the best drll-masters in the service. was
putting the boys through a hard drill il,
saber exercise, and all had To turn out o.
such occasions. Thorough a;d cxhaustivn
| instructions had been given in carte and
tiercc, and the almost interminablc pamut
! .f n i,I II, ri
ments of the sword, when the dril-master's
eye caught Paddy in the ranks, noticed his
utter abandonment Of system in the move
meuts Of his sword and cross-cut destruc-
ton Of tactical science, and went 10 show
him how it was dqgc. With much patience
and emphasis he faborcd with this refrac.
tory son Of Erin, when Paddy suddenly
exploded, "To HI wild yer mullnavs,
| Capt. Mars. Phwen Oi gifts in battle won't
Oi coot and slash." and away he strobe to
quarters with his saber s!ashng about as
though he was beating rabbits out from a
| brush heap. This was the last endeayor Ia
make soldier of him, as he was much more
proficient IN the use OF his hammer and
! tongS than the Saber, and We never had an
! opportunity OF witnessing his prowcss in
cutting and slashing in battle.
Our squad can bear testimony 10 the
! thoroughness of Capt. Mars rs "A military
| Instructor, as he laid the base for our after
proficiency in the use of arms, and the
| marks OF buckle-tongucS received from
| platoon and company wheels executed
under his orders at full gallop remain with
US as mute witnesses
Soon after our arrival at the Cape, Co.
was ordered TO prepare for a scout, with
two days rations in our haversackS. This
| was new business for us. and we expected
! now to see some real soldering. 1t was
something Of a motley crowd that stood in
| the company street the next morning await
, ing the order TO prepare to mount Arms
Of the cavalry branch seemed TO be a little
scarce, as most of the recruits were armed
| only with old Springfield muskets
Preparations in other portions of the
camp indicated that Co. j was not to be
| alone on the expedition and soon We we re
moving in column OF twos away fro m
camp, about 200 of us. under command of
| Capt. A. 5. Seaton, of Co. X. How par
| ticular we were 10 observe all the prophecies,
| that our friends the old boys might not
| he ashamed of US, and how we husbanded
our resources, for fear we would not have
enough 10 eat the second day All went
well with us, and we went into camp about
sundown.
We were up early the next morning, get