The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1909-12-16
CAVALRYON THE MOVE
They Usually Travel at a Walk
While on a March.
CAREFUL OF THEIR HORSES.

Reasons Why q Trot or . GaIlep Might
Prove Disastrous to the Animals.
The Wagons and Supplies-Going In
to Camp at Night.
People unfair iliar with the marching
of troops frequently have the impress
sion that mounted troops usually trav-
al at trot or gaIlop while on a march.
III the cavalry. however. the gait is
usually q walk.
There are reasons why II Is not adj
visa Bile for cavalry to trot or gallop on
its road marches. The trooper Is re-
CURED to carry his three weapons
rife, pistol aud 81 borrower q hundred
rounds of ball ammunition. bis bian-
ket. shelter tent. caDteen. extra horse
shoes and sundry other articles. all OF
which add considerable weight to that
Of the trooper.
This weight IL more or less concen-
trated at comparatively few points In
stead of being uniformly distributed
over the horses back. SO that at trot.
In spite Of all that may be done to
avoid 1t. the conclusion at certain
points Is considerab BILE and II kept up
tends to develop blisters and sores on
the horses back. which may increase
until the animal Is no longer DIT to use.
AS the supply department furnishes
but one horse to each trooper. differ
ing In this respect from the mounts OF
the cowboy. who has as many as he
wants. constant vigilance Is required
On the part Of the captain while on
long march In order to keep his horses
serviceable and prevent his troopers
from becoming dismounted.
This be accomplisbes in part by
marching at walk whenever the cir
cumstances will admit il BY means Of
the walk we make four miles an hour,
says Captain William r. Flynn. U. S.
A., In Forest and Stream. and as twen-
ty-five miles Is considered fair days
march IL is thus made In about seven
hours. considering the necessary haits.
The wagons carrying our supplies can
so no faster than that. and there Is
rarely any advantage in reaching ones
camping ground very much in advance
of the wagons.
1t Is customary with individual tour
lists and campers upon making camp
to turn their horses loose and either
to watch them or else trust to luck In
the matter of finding them again. We
are not permitted to do this In the
army. We always mean to provide
grain for our animals on the march.
aud when we are unable to buy hay
en- route and thus have to rely upon
grazing we Put each horse out on n
rope fastened to q picket pin driven in
the ground
On the march each mounted man
carries his Iariat and pin attached to
bis saddle and as soon as he unsaddles
seeks good grazing place for bis
horse and drives his pin In the ground.
The horse thus gets a limited area
upon which to Craze The pins are
changed once or twice daring the eyen-
ing. and as the horse, stays all night OF
bis rope he gets pretty fair cha
at the grass, after all. and when we
want him In the morning We can iind
him.
The horses having been uiisaddied
and disposed of. the men then put up
their shelter tents. 4 shelter tent Is a
convenient little affair made in two
halves to accommodate nicely two SOL
diers. Each soldier carries his half
and bis pole with him on bis blanket
ron 20 n
as be unsaddles he can select his
'bunkie" and put up his teut rhp Of
fcers' tents are wall tents. carried in
the wagons and cannot be put up Till
the wagons come In.
AS soon as that takes place details
OF men put up the officers tents. get
wood and water for the cooks. and the
latter build their fire and at once set
about getting supper. Soldiers like to
have their food well cooked: but bet
ter still. they appear to like it prompt,
ly cooked. and that camp cook is al
ways popular who wells Come a,n;
get it!' just little sooner than 1t Is
expected.
On the march we eat but two meals
Aittt tCsth tut KY Z
each man Il liberal sandwich nf bacon
and bread. This the man i,niuS.'s hi
his meat can and Wien he gets nuu
CRY eats it. This constitutes his mid
day meal
| Supper over. II guard is posted t.
| look out for the safety OF the camp
| and the other men usually collect fuel
build rouslng fire. gather round il
| and amuse themselves by singing. tell
ing yarus and cracking jokes upon
| each other till bedtime which comes
| pretty early with men on the march
| The officers fill In the time in about
| the same manner
/ On the march Que always has to rise
early. There are SO many things to bt
| done in order TO get the cavalcade fai
ly on the road that early rising is es
sential. The guard rouses the cook.
long before daylight. and by the time
the horses are fed and brushed of
the cook announces breakfast. Afte'
breakfast the tents are taken dow
wagons packed. the horses saddled. ant
| tho column ia pnco moro On tho p,oroh