Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-03-08
Black HuSsars Quell the
Mob Spirit of Philadelphia

: that might need them They have been
4 in the saddle ever since. ~ to speak.
! patrolling the mountains and tho
| woods. on the routine duty uf enf0ic-
/ ing the game laws and of lighting for
/ est fires riding OF in small groups to
| make turbulent villages behave. and
| occasionally assembling as "a squadron
| of cavalry % take care of % city Ike
| philadelphia At McKeo's Rocks and
! Mt Carmel they went about as iudlvid-
unls. making housc-to-houac searches
~ the shacks and tencmcuts of the
| miners. "a connscate dynamite and hrc-
arms But In spite of the dangerous
character ~ their service, only two of
the force have been killed and only
mine seriously wounded bon the last four
years.
Their arrival here yesterday morn
ing was an Indication Of the quickncss
with which the force can be- monillz-
cd and OF the rspidity with which u
can cover the state None of them
knew until noon Of the day before
that they were TO- come Co Philadcl-
phia. but four hours later the Greens
burg troop. which ls iu the steel dis
trict $50 miles from this city was on
the train with its horses. An hour
after that the troop from PunNsataW-
new was on It's way. Al midnight the
wyoming. OF wilkes barre, and the
Pottavillc troops boarded their trains
and all arrived here together on the
minute the next morning. To Do this
some of the troopers had 90 ride 80
miles in four hours 20 get BOO from
their forest patrols to the assembling
points ON time. Then they slept ON
q train for n few hours as a prelimi-
nary Co tacklng the Philadelphia situa-
tiou. and they have been on almost
continuous duty here FOR twenty-f1ur
hours But they do not show &c. They
are that sort Of police.
The officers are Of the type that
West Point furnishes for the army.
The men are selected for courage.
physical endurance. military experience
and personal dccency and character.
They suggest the old requirement of
the days Of chivalry-that man
should be able 20 ride and shoot and
speak the truth
II was agreed four years ago that
the makeup OF the state police
should be absolutely free of Voliu-
cal considerations. and the agreement
has been kept So there ls another way
I'm which this force Of fighters is
unique IN this rlng-ridden state.
There Is not a poser In the whole
outfit A local photographer asked one
Of them ~ he would not draw hi7
revolver and have his picture taken
while aiming at an imaginary riotcr.
The trooper grinued. turned his back
to the camera man. and walked away.
But In trying not 20 be picturesque
for tho sake NJ publicity and IN carc-
fully avoiding the SNOWY" In their
equipment. the Black Hussars have
unconeciously become the most real
~ picturesque body of troopers that
ever responded 10 boots and saddles"
UNIFORM AND EQUIPMENT.
Their uniform from helmet 10 put
tees e. a dead black Even the metal |
pieces bearing the state coat-of-arms
on their helmets IS oNidl2ed. so that
there Is gray blur instead ~ a gilt
ter. So are the shoulder bars Of the
captains and tho lieutenants. and so
are spurs. There is nothing Co fash !
until the long forty-fours spit FIRE
The troopers black ovorcoat Is so |
long and cumbersome that 10 makes |
him look as much like a monk MS a |
soldier except for the fact that there |
Is room below tho bottom Of q 20 sec |
the spur and the lower spiral OF the
strap that binds the riding Logging ,
But there Is a special reason FOR that.
az there Is for every detail Ia the equip
ment Of the state police The troopers
come from sections Of the state
where the snow r. still several fcot |
deep They ride many miles In zero |
weather In tho course OF their patrol !
work and when trooper IS In his !
saddle the skirts of that long coat !
spread out as a protection for his |
horses TANKS and his own knees
They use the black Mcclellan army
saddles, with wide cinch girths, al |
though the army has shifted to the /
tan leather. In place OF sabres they
have their three-foot not sticks. with |
the handles turned ln grooves for the !
fingers and with leather thongs TO 20 |
about the wrists Ordinarily they carry |
carblnes IN the saddle boots, hut they |
did not bring them 20 this city. Here |
~ n troopers explanation Of why the |
guns were left In the armories. They
are not 80 good for street work as the |
revolvers. and only make n show. and
get In the way al close quarters I'm "a |
crowded street The a. Colts extra /
long. are much more accurate whom a |
man Is working IN the saddle. and they |
can b. put out OF the way moro quickly !
when the situation becomes mild !
enough TO require only the sticks"
Each man carries two of those eek |
ira longs" one on his bolt outside the |
overcoat. and the other on the belt UNI |
der his overcoat II may bo mentioned |
In passing that each Of those belts |
is heavily weighted with "a callber car- |
tridgcs. carrying steel needle bullets. !
which have been found very effective