Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-25


azwzS HERE, * more of interest and I'M
portauce than appears on the
surface in the sanction just gwen
bv Mr. Haldane. the new iioera'
secretary of war. to the estao-
,..,,,.,+ of the Legion of Frontiersmen
AnDarently it's field of operations is to be
the. whole wide world and its component
rarfs the British empires most vigorous
and picturesque inhabitants-those Oh "hoi"
<ipliug wrote:
There's legion that never was listed,
That carries colors or crest.
But split iu a thousand detachments,
Is breaking the road for the rest.
OF the best men Of this heretofore wholly
unauthorized horde new army is now to
he formed. entirely civilian in organization
uufettercd by any red tape. self-governing
and self-supporting In time OF peace. but
ready. wherever and whenever there Is q
shiudy, to take the field and tackle the
fghting jobs for which the rough and ready
ife Of the frontier affords far better train
ug than any machlue-made army provides
Because America contains better material
than Is found anywhere else In the world
for the formation of a similar organization
and the wars in which the United States
may become engaged are likely to be of a
kind that viii afford excellent opportunities
for the employment of just such force
the romantic story of the founding OF the
Legion OF Frontiersmen, its plan and scope,
viii be OF great interest to American
readers.
The founder Of this new army is Roger
Pocock. an English gentleman rover. au-
thor and adventurer. who has spent most
OF the forty years OF his life in hunting
trouble and has been gorgeously successful
fa finding it. That is shown by his book,
A F'rontiersman,' which Is really his au-
ayeif trcy
Curly" which is based on his own per
sonai experiences among the robbers of the
wild west. He has taken part in severa!
campaigns and has engaged In no less than
thirty varieties OF the fool trades" as he
calls them. because We who serve in them
get only a small part OF our wages i'm cash.
taking the balance in kind, in excitement,
discomfort. adventure. plague, pestilence
aud famine, battle murder and sudden
death
1t was at the Savage Club that Mr. Po-
cock told the story OF the founding of the
Legion OF Frontersmen. Personally Mr..
Pocock is one of the gentlest of savages.
Soft OF speech, urbane of manner. there is
nothing about him remotely suggestive OF
a daredevil. according to the popular no.
tons OF that type OF character. That makes
him all the more interesting 1t sets you
wondering what IL is IN him, of which the
outer man conveys no hint, that has i'm
PEELED hFm so often to go forth on the long
trail and risk his life, apparently just Tor
the sheer JOY of risking IT,
In civilized life" he said. "a mustache
pnd trousers are held sufficient evidence OF
manhood. But to enter our ranks a man
must first be passed by DR.. Death and with
fuerciless certainty he tells the unfit to fan
out. SO We are trained men, yet those who
have been through our training have usu-
ally been more or less damaged. Having
been out in the weather we are not pleas
ing 10 the medical eye for our most alert
hunters, needing four eyes in their bust
ress. have taken to spectacies: our scouts
are apt TO be- gone at the knees; our fight
efs have been varlously punctured with
small arms ammunition; our rough riders
have their insides shaken into q rearrange-
nent with the thirst department on top
D the scars OF the veteran, the proofs Of