Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1910-03-02
CAVALRYON THE MOVE
They Usually Travel at a Walk
While on a March.
CAREFUL OF THEIR HORSES.
Reasons Why q Trot or a oai'op m'ens
Prove Disastrous TO the Animals.
The Wagons and suppIiss-ooins In
TO Camp at Night


The Wagons and suppIies--ooins In
to Camp at Night.
People unfamiliar with the marching
af troops frequently have the impress
sion that mounted troops usually ,rav'
el at trot or gallop while ON march.
In the cavalry. however. the gait IL
usually walk.
There are reasons why Il Is not ad'
visable for cavalry TO trot or gallop ON
its road marches. The trooper Is re
quired to carry his three weapons
ride. pistol and saber-over hundred
rounds OF ball ammunition. his blan'
ket. shelter tent. cantecn. extra horse
shoes and sundry other articles. all OK
which add considerable weight to that
OF the trooper.
This weight In more or less concen-
trated at comparatively few points In
stead Of being uniformly distributed
over the horses back. so that nj trot,
In spite OF all that may be done to
avoid II. the conclusion at certain
points Ia considerable and n kept MP
tends to develop blistsrs and sores on
the horses back, which may increase
until the animal n no longer nt 70 use.
Az the supply department furnishes
but one horse TO each trooper. diffsr-
Ing In this respect from the mounts OF
the cowboy. who has ~ many M 10
wants. q constant vigilance Is required
on the part Of the captain while on q
!. long march In order TO keep his horses
serviceabie and prevent bis troopers
from becoming dismounted.
This he accomplisbes In part By
marching at Q walk whenever the cir
eumstances will admit H. by means Of
the walk we make four miles an hour.
says Captain William Y. Flynn. y. ..
A.. In Forest and Stream. and as twen-
ty-fve miles II considered a fair days
march Il In thus made In about seven
hours. considering the necessary halts.
The wagons carrying our supplies can
20 no faster than that. and there In
rarely any advantage In reaching ones
camping ground very much In advance
OF the wagons
IL Is customary with individual tour
lists and campers upon making camp
10 turn their horses loose and either
TO watch them OF else trust 10 luck I'm
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.
and when we are unable 10 buy hay
en- route and thus have 20 rely upon
grazing we put each horse out on q
rope fastened To a picket pin driven In
the ground
On the march each mounted man
carries his lariat and pin attached to
his saddle and as soon as he unsaddles
seeks good grazing place for his
horse and drives his pin In the ground.
The horse thus gets limited area
upon which 10 Craze. The pins are
changed once or twice during the even
ing. and ms the horse stays all night on
his rope he gets pretty fair chance
al the grass. after all. aud when we
want him IN the morning we can ind
him.
The horses having been unsaddled
and disposed OF. the men then put up
their shelter tents A shelter tent Is
convenient little affair made Ia two
halves to accommodate nicely two sol.
dicrs. Each soldier carries his half
and his pole with him on his blanket
roll attached 10 his saddle. no os soon
as he unsaddles be can select his
'bunkIe" and put up his tent. The of.
fcers' tents are wall tents. carried In
the wagons and cannot be put up I'LL
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 tre and at once set
about getting supper Soldiers like Ia
have their food well cooked; but. bet
ter stu. they appear TO like II prompt
ly cooked. aud that camp cook Is al
ways popular who yeils Come and
get itr' Just little sooner than IL II
expected.
On the march we eat but two meals
a day. After breakfast the cooks give
each man n liberal sandwich Of bacon
and bread. This the maD incioses In
his meat can and when he gets hun
cry eats II. This constitutes his mid
day meal
Supper over. a guard II posted TO
hook out for the safety Of the camp.
and the other men usually collect fuel.
build a rousing IRE. gather round IL
and amuse themselves by singing. tell
Ing yarns and cracking Jokes upon
each other TILL bedtime. which comes
pretty early with men on the march
The oncers oil In the time In about
the same manner.
On the march one always has TO rise
early. There are 20 many tsings 70 be
done In order 70 get the cavalcade fair
" on the road that early rising IL es-
sential. The guard rouses the cooks
long before daylight. and by the time
the horses are fed and brushed on
the cook announces breakfast After
breakfast the tents are taken down.
wagons packed. the horses saddled. and
an. colurun A onee more on the march