New-York tribune., 1905-02-26
FE4TS OF C4V4LRYMEN
Hozo E@pertness and Derterity on
H0rseback Are Secured.

Ihe true caVaIrymdn and the raw recruit who
has just been thrown over the head of his
horse are agreed point in the theory of
mounted warfare They would be willing to
swear roundly and strike hands upon it that
tie horse is more than a beast of burden, that
it is in fact, a weapon of warfare. The day
OF the mailed knight has long passed, and the
value of the cavalryman, his successor, has
somewhat decreased in recent years because
of the changed conditions of warfare. In the
theory of warfare the horse of the cavalryman
more than a beast of burden. 1t a
weapon. The cavalryman expected to
his horse where the infantryman used his gun
Arn cd with sabres or spears, a body of horse
il the old days would charge down upon the
foot and frequently carry the day. That
when a gun once discharged could not be
loaded again within period of several minutes
TIE cavalryman in these days of magazine ri
+ is too good a target. Against organized
i ntry he has little chance. Even more than
in he days of THE Light Brigade would a
char &c upon the enemy's line be a ride
Into the jaws of death,
Into the mouth of hell
In accounts of the Japanese Russian War one
dols not read of the famed Cossack charges
that a part of the military history of Rus
sa, for they have not been made. Japan practi-
CGlly has no cavalry at all. 1t is only when
troops have been scattered and are to be pur-
sued; when a baggage train has been left with
Insufficient guard; when body of the enc
II Us cavalry is to be met or when scout duty
is called for that the mounted soldier has an
opportunity to accomplish anything in these
days.
The sign of the disappearance of the old the
ory Of cavalry is it's use of the carbne. In the
warfare with the willy redskin which has been
the chief occupation of United States cavalry,
outside of its part in the Civil War, there were
no compact bodies of to be carved with
the sabre in bloody hand to hand conflict 1t
was carbne that needed to pick them off
as they galIoped over the prairie. So carbine
was given to the cavalry. They called
upon to use the weapon of the infantry, the
gun, instead of the old weapon of the cavalry
man, the lance and the sabre. In European
armies the carbne has also been adopted as one
of the cavalryman's weapons. They STILL how
ever redeem themselves from the charge of
being mounted infantry by carrying spears or
abres.
While the horses position in the mounted |
has changed, the cavalryman continues to
practise the picturesque and more less diff |
cult feats of horsemanship, tent pegging, head
cutting, etc. These feats frequently dis |
played at military shows. Their chief objects are
to give the cayalryman confidence in himself
and his steed and skill in the management of
the sabre and the horse. There are few oppOr
tunties for their in warfare, but they help
the riding fighter to get into sympathy with the
plunging creature beneath him.
Tent pegging in Europe is done frequently
with Il spear. In this country the cavalryman
having spear, he learns to do it with a sabre.
white pine peg from six to ten inches long
and two to three inches square is driven into
tie ground. The rider with sabre in hand gal
IS down upon it, dropping the point of his
sabre Cntil it is aimed directly at the peg. The
l3rse must be guided truly the trick will
{ IL /. he should chance to swerve a hairs
Ire. d;h, the point of the sabre will flash past
The peg. AS the horse approaches the peg the
q iCr lends over his neck and holds the sabre
II an almost horizontal position. He depends
u'cH tbs momentum of the horse draw the
- cl from the ground Suddenly he straightens
4 aud the white stick rises into the air on the
I1int of his shining blade. CompiaCently he
rdcs down to the end of the lists, where he
lles it from his sabre point, and turning
swings back past the hole from which he lifted
it. Leaning over as he returns he drops it as
rear to the empty hole as he can