Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-10
FINE NARESMEN IN THE ARMY
Uncle Sans Soldiers Win Medals BY Good
Work on Rifle Range.
TEAcHNG sOLOIIRs aOw 10 sHoor
How the Competitions Are Arr.ur.s
n Carried Out, with Som.
Stories OF Rssult. Obtained
IN Former Years.

me infantry rife competition just con-
to be held under the present orvsni,.t,ar
Of the army BY which the headouarters ~
the Department Of the Missouri were located
At Omaha but II is not by any means the
nrst In which the troops stationed AZ ~
near the city have taken part. and At armv
headquarters there Is the l~Iveliest interest
among Officers and men az to the result Of
this contest.
The competitions were FIRST authorized
long before the civil war, but they aid not
reach their present state OF perfection until
afterwards, when the officers In charge found
mat the men required something more than
the ordinary drill to lnstfI In them a live
tor practice at the targets. The desire on
the part Of the officers for a high state Of
pkill In Workmanship on the part of the
enlisted men was the prime reason for the
establishment Of. the annual compositions
In the departments, and recent events have
shown that. coupled with the general use
OF firearms In the United States, these an
nual contests With their subordinate con-
tests between the members Of the various
companies Of the regiment have made the
soldiers Of the United States army ahe bspt
individual marksmen In any Of the armies
Of the world. now that the army OF the late
Boer republics has been disbanded.
General Rates an E~nthusiass.
The present regulations are somewhat diff
ferent frcm those in force during the
greater part OF the time the contests have
been held, for the reason that the introduce
ton Of the magazine gun made the rules
which applied to the operation Of the
Springfield rifle inappllcable. On the board
which framed the present regulations for
the contests was Major General John g.
Bates, commander Of the Department Of
the Missouri, than whom no man has taken
q greater interest In the Workmanship Of
the enlisted men. AS colonel OF the Second
regiment General Bates not only took great
interest In the target practice, but also
gave hts men every opportunity to perfect
themselves in rapid and sudde firing at
moving objects. 1t is related Of him on
good authority that when commanding a
cost in Montana. Just before the beginning
Of the Spanish war. he not only permitted
but insisted upon his men taking part In
the hunting which was carried on to a great
extent In that part OF the country. said an
onieer who was at the post at that time:
The general never refused the application
Of a man to go upon q hunting expedition,
unless he had gone on one since other mem
bers OF his company. The result was not
only that the post was supplied with more
than enough deer and antelope TO run II,
but the men had learned to see the object
Of their pursuit before the pursued saw
them and that is about ell that is neces-
sary to make a man a good scout in time
OF war"
Confidence I'm Hunsers.
Another Illustration showing the high
confidence that General Bates placed in men
having experience as hunters is shown by
= conversation between him and Captain
Wassels OF the, Twenty-second, now at the
rifle competition at Fort L~eavenworth. The
Twenty-second was part OF the mman
Of the general in the Philippines, and II
was apparently crippled for videts or scouts,
The general met the captain and asked him
Il he had no scouts in his company.
s'No." replied the captain. my men are
largely recruits brought in since the be-
ginning Of the war"
Have you aPy men who have been hunt
srsf" he was asked.
II believe l have g few who have done
some hunting" he replied.
"Well. / want you to give them permits
sion 70 60 In advance OF your company, to
scout around your camp and bring in any
Information they may learn Of the enemy"
The captain acted upon the advice and
since his return to the United States he
told the general that the action Of those
hunters surprised him. They would range
for q mile to a mile end a half ahead Of
the company and secured information which
was OF great value. "They would go so
fan. said the captain. that 1 would DO
afraid that they had been captured. but
&aey always returned all right"
Advantage Of Competition.
Speaking OF the advantage Of individual
competition. General Bates has said:
such practice not only raises the en-
cheney OF the army. but II gives the men
confidence In themselves. II they know
that the chances are that they will hit the
enemy at whom they shoot. they are not so
apt to become panic-stricken as II they
were in doubt Of the result. In warfare,
such as we have carried on against the In
Adians and such as the Fiiipinos have
forced upon US, this Is especially valuable.
80 In engagements with a concealed