The Washington herald., 1909-01-24
Feat Of Mr.. Roosevelt Simply
a Canter by Comparison.
FAMOUS TRIPS ON HORSEBACK
CaTaIrymen Think Nothing of 100
mile Rides on Horseback for Prac-
that often Held on Western Plains.
Commands Cover Distance in Body.

disposed 70 DeNIIle the ninety Y-slgnl-rllle
ride Of President Roosevelt from Wash
ingtOn 10 WarrentOn and back in seven
teen hours. or TO pooh-pooh It as an en-
~durance test ~On the contrary. they ad-
NIT that Il was good ride and an effec-
tive answer 10 army and navy men who
complain that the required test Of ninety
miles in the saddle IN three days Is IN
York Post
But, add the cavalrymen. II was only q
good ride, not an extraordinary one, in no
sense a great ride. As compared with
many exploits Of cavalry officers. troop
ers, cowboys. and pony express riders
on the Western plains. the trip Of the
President was mere pleasant afternoon
canter on the park bride path. Due
credit, however, should be given 10 the
President fer shaking those thousand
hands at Warrenton. when il comes 10
comparing feats OF endurance Plains
men were never called upon 10 go
through that ordeal Sometimes they
fought a battle al the end Of century
ride, and sometimes they found that the
stopping point Of the first leo miles was
such an unhealthy place TO be in that
they had 10 keep right on for another
100 But there was no handShaking and
such speechmaking as there was would
run something ike this; Draw saber,
charge"
Here are a few Of the notable distance
rides by American horsemen. mostly
army men. taken at random from the list
compiled by Lieut. Col Theodore AyrauIt
Dodge:
In 1879 several single cOuriers rode from
Thornburg's rat hole" with news Of that
officers danger 10 Gen. Merritt's col
Uan, a distance Of I70 miles. which each
courier covered in less than twenty-fOur
hours
Col Lawton rode from Red Cloud
Agency. Nebr-, 10 Sidney Station. Nebr.
with dispatches for Gen. Crook in 1vren-
ty-siX hours The distance was Is miles
That was in 1S76.
Capt Fountains Feat.
In 1891. Capt Fountain. Of the Eighth
Cavalry. rode eighty-four miles in eight
hours and 10 miles in tventy-three
hours. while two troopers Of the Eighth
bearing dispatches, covered 10 miles in
twenty hours.
Rides Of from 10 10 80 miles within the
day and the night. says Col. Dodge, have
been made repeatedly by ordinary United
States troop horses. when not specially
prepared for the work. and over very
bad ground, and. as a rule. the animals
have not been injured by the test
ThiTJy-six years ago Col Mackenzie
rode his command into Mexico after
Lepan and KickapOo Indians. defeated
them in sharp fight. and returned
across the border. making 145 miles and
winning a battle. all within twenty-eight
hours. The following year Col Mac
kenzie rode into Mexico again. this tine
in pursuit Of a band Of horse thieves. and
covered eighty-five miles in fifteen hours.
In averaging these rides Of regiments or
troops, the fact must not be lost sight
Of that a large body Of horsemen. carry
ing equipments and in column f0rma-
ton, cannot begin 10 get over the ground
so rapidly as a group of three or four
riders without luggage Of am. sort.
Four men OF Company h First Cav
airy, carried dispatches from Fort Har-
ney to Fort Warner in 1870. Their time
was eighteen and half hours. and the
distance was 40 miles, twenty OF il
through deep sand. But the horses were
IN such good condition that after one
days rest the troopers started back
and made the return trip at the rate Of
sixty miles a day
Lieut. Wood, with a troop Of the same
regiment, did seventy miles in twelve
hours in 1873 and Capt Dodge. that same
year. rode his troop eighty miles in six
teen hours
Capt Fechet, in command of Troop F
and Q OF the Eighth Cavalry le7t Fort
Yates on 2 December midnight. In 1872
and reached Sitting Bulls camp, forty
five miles away, at 30 O'Clock in the
morning. Then the troopers dispersed
the Indians in a skirmish. rescued the
survivors Of the band which had killed
Sitting Bull. secuted the country q dis
tance Of ten miles beyond. and then rode
10 camp al Oak Greek. covering. all told
a distance OF eighty-five miles. besides
fighting the Indians. in fourteen hours.
Gen Merritt, in 1873 with four troops
OF cavalry. and hampered by a battalion
OF infantry. in wagons. rode I70 miles TO
the relief Of Payne. IN sixty-six and one
half hours, and reached his destination
In prime condition, and ready to 90 at
once into a fight.
Four Troops, los Miles.
Col. Henry rode los miles in thirty-tbree
hours. with four troops. IN 1850. The
actual riding time was twenty-five hours
There were between 800 and 100 men in
that column. and with the exception Of
one horse that fell dead al the end of
the journey, troopers and animals were
TT 20 take the return ride after a davss
rest.
There are numerous cases on record of
entire regiments Of cavalry making long
continuous marches at the rate Of sixty
miles a day Col Henry, an expert on
distance riding. used TO say that after 2
months hardening Of men and horses
by daily rides Of from fifteen IN twenty
miles a day, a cavalry command coufd
easily cover from fifty to sixty miles a
day for an indefinite period. and could.
IN an emergency, do loo miles without
hardship
For the purpose Of seasoning the men
and their MOUNTS. Gen. Miles once orEa-
nized system OF pursuits on the plains.
A raidiRg party, sO-called. consisting of
about twenty men. was sent out from a
fort OF camp. and eighteen hours later an
equal number OF troopers were sem olr
TO catch them
One Of the rules was that the fugi;ives
should rest six hours after riding eighteen
and tc' halt again for twelve hours. after
riding twelve PUrsUers could ride go
as YOU please" but were ordered not n
injure their horses by too hard a mace
This was, in one sense. only plav. That
Is, there was no spur Of compulsi0u 20
save life or turn the tide of battle
Nevertheless. the results were creditable
20 men and animals. One Of these pylr-
suits began on September L. 1917. when
Lieut.. Scott, OF the Sixth Cavalry. with
twenty-five troopers. rode away from