Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-04-28
TIE GREATEST RIDERS.
rhey Are the Cavnlrymen of the
American Army.


American Army.
American soldiers. have made some
long hard rides in the campaigns IN
which the forces have been engageu
since the first regiment Of regulars
was made possible by the law or the
land. In a recent article the magnln-
cent horsemanship OF an individual SOL
der was touched upon more than
briefly. but it should not be understood
that endurance and skill are not the
part of the vast majority Of the men,
bers of Uncle Sans mounted service
No army in the world, perhaps, has
had the same opportunities to test the
endurance of cavalrymen ana caNa"!
horses rs has the small regular force
of rho United States The long, lever
stretches of the plains and the activity
of the marauding Indian mounted on
his tireless bronchO have been III part
the conditions which gave to the
mounted arm Of the United States
army its matchlesS chances for long,
forced marches.
Colonel Theodore Ayrault Dodge OF
the army has collected the ohcial rec
ords of long distance cavalry riders
and has made them public so that they
may be compared, if one wishes the
comparison. with the performance Oh
the soldier forces Of other nations.
Some time ago a squadron Oh the
Natal Mounted rifles rode eighty-nVe
miles in twelve consecutive hours. Inc
English press speaks Of this ride as
being a remarkable achievement. FROM
the standpoint of the American cavaI-
rvman the ride is almost the reverse
of remarkable. In the year 1891, at the
time of the Sioux uprising in South
Dakota. Captain +. ). Fountain, Unit
ed States cavalry, with detachment
of his troop. rode eighty-four miles III
oiehr hours. This record is yOuched
for and il is better than that OF the
Natal Mounted rifles by about four
hours. the distance being within one
mile of that made by the South Al
rican troops. For actual speed THIS
forced march stands perhaps at the
head Of the American army record
though other rides have been more re-
markable in other respects.
In the year 1879, when the UteS sue
ceeded in getting some United States
troops into what afterward was known
as "Thornburg's rat hole" three mount
ed couriers succeeded in slipping
through the circling line of savages.
Every one of them reached Merritt
column. 10 miles distant, in less than
twenty-four hours. The exact time
was not taken. As Colonel Dodge puts
it. RESCUE was of more importance
than records.
II must be understood, of course, thai
these rides, all of them, were maze
without changing horses. The steed a
the start was the steed at the nnlsn
The best rider according TO cavalry eX
merits. Colonel Dodge in particular, Il
not the man who takes five barred
gate or who can ride standing. but The
man who by instinct knows the condl
ton of his horse and, though getting
the most out of the animal, knows how
to conserve his strength.
In the year 1876 Major Henry w
Lawton. who afterward. when he ha(
won his stars, met death in the Philip
pines, rode from Red Cloud agency
Nebraska, to Sidney, in the same state
q distance Of 125 miles, in twenty-toul
hours. General Crook had sent hin
with dispatches. The road, where there
was q road, was Of the worst, but Law
ton delivered his message, though h
looked FIVE years older than he di'
when ii had been given him the da.
before. The horse that Lawton rod
was fit for service again inside OF
days time.
Four troopers Of the Fourth caviar
who had volunteered for the particula
service rode in the summer Of 1871
from Fort Harvey to Fort Warner wit
dispatches. Their route lay throug
an Indian country, and the men wer
told to make the best time possibl
without killing their horses.
The troopers were on their mettl(
They made the distance-140 miles, ,
miles of the way being through loos
sand-in % hours, the actual marchln
time being IS hours 80 minutes. a
Fort Warner they rested one day an
then returned to Fort Harvey on tn
same horses at the uniform rate
sixty miles a day.-Chicago Post.