The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-24
BADEN-PoWELL ANSWERED.

General Baden Powell. of the British ar
my. while in this country a few weeks
ago. criticised the cavalry branch of the
United States army, declaring that it
was inferior to the British cavalry. 1t
could not be expected that any officer of
our army would so far violate military
propriety as to reply to Gen. Baden-Pow-
ell S criticism, but there are others, not
ably Frederic Remington. who are well
qualified TO be heard in the defense of
Uncle Sans men on horseback" Mr..
Remington has 'summered and wintered'
with our cavalry on the plains and on the
field of battle and no one could furnish n
fairer or more informative estimate of
the character and capacity of the mount
ed troopers than he. Another authority
in every respect competent to discuss the
question authoratvely is Theodore Ay-
rault Dodge, author of Great Captains"
and several other works dealing in an
intimate way with the armies of the
world Cen Baden-Powell, since his re-
turn to England, has found expedient
to attempt any explanation of the inju-
dicious interview in which he criticised
the United States cavalry.
Frederic Remington writing in the New
York World on United States Cavalry
after Indians who have Jumped the res
ervation, says:
II the United States army was strung
out in line with its General ahead, and
he should ride out into the broad Atlantic
and swim to sea, the whole United States
Army would follow along. for that's the
idea. you know.
Gen. Miles has acquired his knowledge
of riding from wild Indians and wild
Indians go uphill and downhill as a mat
ter Of course at whatever gait they hap
pen to be travelling He would make his
horse climb tree with equal gravity If
he was bound that way. The General has
known Indians 10 ride for two days and 4
night at a rapid gallop. and it never oc-
ours 10 him that he cannot do anything
which anybody else can.
The military process Of stiffening a
mans backbone and reducing his mind 70
a logarithm breeds a homogeneous class
whom we all know. They have small
waists and their clothes fit them; they
are punctilious: they respect forms and
always do the dignifed and proper thing
/ at the particular instant, and never dis
/ play their individuality except on two
/ occasions: one is the field of battle and
the other Is before breakfast.
/ It is worth any ones while to go to
+ Fort Myer and see four troops OF cav
airy which cannot be beaten and II is pos
+ itively exhiliarating to meet their creator.
a thoroughly typical United States caval
/ ~ officer and I'm bound to say that his
superior has had a hard place TO set foc
him.
/ Theodore Ayrault Dodge. Brevet Gener-
/ al United States army. author of Riders
Of Many Lands says:
| our frontier cavalryman is the beau
/ ideal Of an irregular. The Irregular horse
man Of all ages was recruited from among
rowing. unintelicent classes, and had. ex-
! cept in his own peculiar province. 4.
! plentiful a lack Of good as he had SUI
/ perabundance Of bad qualities. our troop
! e. is intelligent and trained in the hard
! est Of schools.
No experience the trooper could possibly
have could be a better training than II
dian warfare. and at the end OF his en-
liStneEt the Intelligent cavalryrnsn ha:
perhaps no equal as light Dragon.
His performances reflect unlimited cred
II upon his Supporters. And when ho has
learned his business he is certainly no
surpassed by any cavalryman who he
strides a saddle.