Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-10-30
Mistsllanruu5 8raain9.
IN THE CAVALRY.

Gossip of Troop 1 of the Thirteenth.
The crack saddle squad Of L troop Of
the 18th cavalry gave its fancy saddle
drill at the baseball park again last
night; the same drill which was so ad-
mired by a large crowd Monday even
ing. There were a hundred or two
spectators in the grand stand, and the
drill was possibly executed in better
form than when the great crowd saw
/ them. This saddle squad Of thirty-five
men will represent their regiment in
competitive drills in the big military
tournament at st. Joe next week. Be-
sides the fancy saddle drill, they do
the monkey" drill, which consists Of
all kinds Of fancy bareback riding.
Jack Woods, also Of L troop, is one Of
the best riders in the army, and last
night he had two horses on the field
after the drill which he rode Roman
fashion, standing with one foot on eth
er house. His horse were not well
behaved last night but they showed
|
and Woods rode them at run and
made them leap a hurdle. A horse
thief would have all kinds of trouble
getting away with a cavalry horse, even
should he manage to elude the vigil
ance Of the sentry, who always PAGES
the picket lines or who watches over
the stables when the troops are in gar
rison.
Every cavalry horse is numbered.
The number Of the horse is cut into
the front Of the hoof Of the right front
foot. Similarly located on the left foot
is the number Of the regiment, and the
letter Of the troop to which the horse
belongs. Besides these individual
markings, each horse is branded with
the "U ST." with which the Federal
| government marks most Of its prop
erty. But cavalrymen are not mere
machines, and do not call their horses
by number; nearly every horse has
its name. There Is one horse in L
troop known as Panhandle Pete" and
he has the reputation of being the
meanest horse in the squadron. A few
of the best riders can ride him, but few
Of them like to. Sergeant Knapp, who
has charge Of the troop horses, says
that when Panhandle Joined the COM
mand he showed his mean streak and
the troopers tried to kill him by riding
him hard and then giving him corn and
water. But instead Of dying the horse
was up and kicking as mean as ever
the next morning. The favorite horse
in the troop is named Peggy, and is a
shapely little horse, with a long name
and tail. And Peggy is a good cam
paigner. He remains in good condition
in spite Of hard hikes or drills that cut
most cavalry horses down. The troop
horses know the trumpet calls, and as
retreat is sounded at night begin to
make a fuss for their feed. The same
thing occurs after first call in the
morning.
The main topic Of conversation
among the men at the camp yesterday
was the candy episode of the night be-
FORE Eight troopers are under arrest
and were taken to Leavenworth today,
where they will have to face general
courtmartial, which means they are
likely to be severely punished II they
are guilty, and evidence seems rather
strong against them. There Is regret
| in the squadron that the candy was
stolen, but most Of the men agree that
the guilty should be punished; the
army doesn't want to harbor sneak
thieves. Work is one Of the things that
isn't a drawback in the army. Lack Of
II may be; but even the cavalrymen'
with horses to attend to, can do all the
real work of the day in an hour or two.
And, besides answering a few calls,
they are at liberty the rest Of the day.
The men carry little clothing while In
the field, and what extra garments the
18th has are packed away in the wa
CONS to be used at st. Joe. But few
popular men have overalls, which are
going the rounds; other men borrow the
overalls to wear while they wash their
own trousers. Almost any time In the
camp you can see some man addressing
or writing postcards. That fad seems
to have a good hold on the army
Atchison Globe.