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, _ r I t ‘I’ 268

THE AVENGER OF BLOOD.

The three parties closed in rapidly. A figure, clad only in underclothing. ran toward Captain Helm’s men with a white flag. “Cease firing” was sounded. The man with the white flag was “General“ Legaspi. The surrender was complete. Soon the cuartels and storehouses were burning, and the soldiers amused themselves by blowing up a primitive arsenal and powder factory. Shelton approached Juan and started to loose his hands, but he protested. *‘No. Take me back bound, and let the people see,” he said. He was left bound. “General” Legaspi observed to one of his fellow prisoners: ‘‘Some Americanista has betrayed Juan, and they have forced him to betray us. He was loyal. ” Juan remainkd a fellow prisoner with the “General” until they were both released under the general amnesty order. Francisco trailed along with the troop when it went north. Somehow he felt lost away from it. The doctors cured Ale-jandro’s wound, and Francisco forgot the grudge he had held on account of his brother having been wounded. When the troop came to the States he came with it, and now lives at an army post, still .working for Shelton and doing odd jobs for spending money. “ I suppose he was an insurrect0 at heart.” Shelton remarked to a friend, “but not a treacherous one. He has always been loyal and faithful.” See how he has suffered. 1 . ODDS AKD EXDS OF I?rlPRO\~E3IENT.

BY CAI~TAIW

IVN. \V. FORSYTH, SIXTH C.k\AL.RY. S choosing a subject for the essay required by the recent I General Order of the War Department, the writer has been mindful of the injunction that subjects of immediate military importance should be preferred to those of mere historical interest. That injunction places the essayist on a strictly business basis and makes the same demand of him that the spirit of the age makes of everybody: i. E., your wares must be useful as well as ornamental; if they cannot be both. discard the ornaments. The age in .which w e live is matter-of fact, practical, and progressive; it has little patience or even tolerance for what is merely pleasing or ornamental, and our profession, more perhaps than all others, shows how relentlessly the useful has attacked the beautiful or spectacular. The pomp and panoply of war is going, if it isn’t gone. The flounces, frills, and furbelows of the military calling are passing, if they have not passed. T h e soldier no longer goes forward on the battlefield arrayed in brilliant uniform and inspired by the strains of martial music from a hundred bands. Or if he does, he at once calls forth the Frenchman’s exclamation, *‘It is magnificent, but it isn’t war!” So, when we read of Russian bands playing on the battlefields in Manchuria we are either incredulous, or we note it as an indication that the Russians are behind the times, and our surprise at their reverses is swallowed up in amazement at their folly. The spirit of the age whispers to us that a hundred bands means 2,000 men, and that if men are scarce. 2,000 men with rifles in their hands might turn defeat into victory; or, if

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ODDS AND ENDS OF IMPROVEMENT.

I men are plentiful, the place for the bands is the camp and the hospital for the diversion of the sick and wounded. The touchstone of every new invention and of every new idea is utility. and every old invention and every old idea survives only as long as it can maintain its superiority over the new, and thus we see in progress in the inanimate world a struggle for existence and a survival of the fittest not unlike what occurs in the creature kingdom. In the search, therefore, for a subject that would fulfill requirements, and at the same time perhaps escape the attention of other writers, a number of things have been found, not each in itself of sufficient importance for an essay. but when taken together might justly be so considered. It would be an improvement in the way of increased efficiency if each cavalry squadron had a quartermaster sergeant. When the army reorganization measure of xgox became law its failure to provide such a sergeant was, to many, so striking that the omission was believed to be an oversight. T h e provision of a squadron sergeant major gives only partial relief to a trying and vexatious state of affairs that arises whenever a cavalry regiment takes the field for an extended period. That is, the detail away from their troops, where they are presumably efficient, of a number of noncommissioned officers for the performance of staff duties of which they are, as a rule, utterly ignorant. Of course they are inefficient. Whenever a cavalry regiment goes to the field in one body the regimental quartermaster sergeant is, if he does his duty, an over-worked man. The fact becomes apparent at once, and several of the aforesaid noncommissioned officers are detailed to his assistance. Formerly, this might have been said with equal force of the regimental sergeant major, but the provision of the squadron sergeant major has relieved the pressure there. At this most inopportune time, then, we find the regimental quartermaster and his sergeant occupied in teaching inexperienced noncommissioned officers their new duties, sometimes to the neglect of other important and pressing official business.

ODDS A,VD E-VDS OF ZMPRO VEJIE9T.

271 Again, if a squadron is detached a noncommissioned officer must be detailed from some troop to act as its quartermaster sergeant, and, as in the other cases, he is usually ignorant of what is required of him, and must be taught. It is inadvisable for several obvious reasons to detail a troop quartermaster sergeant for this duty, however well qualified he might be. Again, either the quartermaster or commissary of the regimeqt is detailed as ordnance officer, and he must make his own sergeant, or some other sergeant, acting ordnance sergeant. He usually makes hls own because the other one is ignorant of paper work and there is not time at that strenuous period to teach him. But this is not all of the evil. In addition to the delays, mistakes, unnecessary labors. and general lack of efficiency in staff administration, brought about by the d'etail, in this hour of rush, hurry and excitement, of noncommissioned oficers to new and unaccustomed duties, there is to be considered the impaired efficiency of the troops from which the men are taken. At this time above all, these men are needed with their troops, and it is a hardship on a troop commander and a serious blow to the efficiency of his troop to take from him on such occasions one or more of his good noncommissioned officers. A full measure of relief from this state of affairs would be given if a quartermaster sergeant were provided for each squadron. In garrison, if it were a regimental post, one of these might be detailed as overseer in the quartermaster department in charge of the issues and sales of fuel, forage, straw and oil ; the second one in charge of shipping and receiving stores, and the third one as post provost sergeant. In case there is no regular oranawe sergeant, the second one instead of serving a$ described above, should be detailed as acting post ordnance sergeant, and in case there is one, the second one should be detailed as his assistant in addition to his other duties. Froin time to time all three should be shifted from one duty to another, so that they would all learn thz duties of the quartermaster and ordnance sergeants in the post, where the circumstances are favorable fofin- ' struction.

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ODDS AND ENDS OF ~ ~ R O V E M E N T .

;f 1 $ If the squadrons of the regiment are at different posts, the =me end could be attained by slightly changing the above arrangement. In the field, then, there would be available from the start a sufficient number of experienced sergeants to do the work required without calling on the troops, and the administration of staff affairs would go on with a refreshing absence of mistakes, delays, friction, turmoil and Of course this almost ideal condition is based on the sup. position that the regimental and squadron noncommissioned staff oscers are, in time of war, to serve with their regiments. If, however, they are not; if, instead, they are to be detailed to special duty at brigade, division and corps headquarters, as happened in the Spanish War, then the relief fails of effect, and the ideal vanishes. 'I i. i 1- confusion. 1 I

ADSIINISTR;\TION.

Much has been done in recent years to foster patriotism time observances of a patriotic nature have been From prescri timeb ed to and devotion and reverence for the flag. with these ends in view. Would it not be in harmony with this policy if each post not otherwise provided with the national colors for ceremonies, should be furnished with one stand of colors, to be carried at all garrison ceremonies by such company as shall be designated by the post commander? It would also add to the dignity and impressiveness of such occasions, it would promote esprit de corps, and it would not be expensive T h e present method of making issues of clothing will not stand the test of war. It did not stand the test of the Spanish War. It was too slow, and like other methods of administration based on the hypothesis of eternal peace, it went by the board. Formerly the company commander was accountable for his camp clothing and garrison equipage, and made his own issues of clothing to his men, and while that arrangement had its drawbacks, the clothing feature of it was better in time of war than the present method. ' ODDS AiVD ENDS OF I:IfPROVEMENT. 273 Under this latter method it requires in the field a week or ten days to make a complete issue of clothing to a regiment. Ask any company commander or any regimental quartermaster who served as such during the Spanish War if this is not so. When the troops that were engaged in the Santiago campaign arrived at Jlontauk Point, although it was August, the cold winds and fogs that blew across that end of Long Island chilled the men. to the marrow, and they had to be supplied at once with warm clothing. In one of the regiments there the following plan was adopted : The clothing called for by each schedule was sorted out and placed in one pile, and the totals of articles called for by the schedule jotted down in a memorandum receipt book; the company commander was then requested to send an officer to receive the clothing, and this officer checked it into the wagons. which had been ordered up from the tr:iin to haul it. After checking it he receipted for it in the memorandum receipt book and the clothing schedule was returned to him to be used in making the issues to the men, and later returned to the qunr-termaster to be extended. The issues to the men then went on simultaneously in the different companies under the supervision of their own officers, and the plan was so espeditious that the whole reg-itnent was clothed in two days. The writer believes that the feature of the old system, which made the company commanders accountable for clothing, is more satisfactory in time of war than the present arrangement, and that it is unwise to practice in time of peace methods that, although admittedly in some respects less laborious, will have to be abandoned when war comes. The regulations now require that the descriptive records of enlisted men shall be kept on loose leaves, and when men become separated from the service their leaves shall be filed away and permanently preserved, but the means for preserving them are not provided. Unless some good binding file be used, the loose leaves are liable to be lost or destroyed ; and it is hardly possible to protect them from mutilation or defacement. J

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ODDS AND ENDS OF IMPROVEMENT.

The binging file furnished by the government for keeping the loose target record leaves would admirably serve the purpose, and, at the same time, facilitate the use of the leaves.

CAVALRY DRILL REGULATIOSS.

The items of improvement that are suggested here in our drill regulations are only such as have, as far as known, escaped the attention of other writers. The signal prescribed for fours right or left about is, ex-ecuterear point and turn the horse right or left about according as the fours are to wheel. but as rear point is to the rigbt rear, the signal for fours left about often confuses the trooper. He sees his officer point to the right about and at the same time turn left about, and much drill and explanation are required to make it clear to him. The signal should be, point the saber to the right or left rear according as it is to be. fours right or left about. In closing chamber, Par. 100, two cases are presented. In the first case each man pulls the trigger and then locks the piece ; in the second case he pulls the trigger but does not lock the piece. There is no necessity for locking the piece in either case, as the chamber is empty. In throwing the horse. Par. 417, it is prescribed that the. horse shall be brought down on his right side. In my troop it has proved just as easy to bring him down on his left side, and with the additional advantage that the trooper is behind his head when he comes down and is thus already in position to hold him down. - - The regulations do not prescribe that the guidon socket shall be attached to the stirrup, but the ordnance department furnishes them thus attached, and this would seem to have the force of regulation. The writer has found, however, that at drill, at the faster gaits, the sergeant has better control of his guidon if he carries it with the socket strapped around his ankle. The former method is better for the march, the latter better for drill. The regulations say, Par. 849, that the posts of the majors , ODDS AiVD ENDS OF ZMPROVEJfENT. ?75 in the regiment are the same as in the squadron, except in the line of masses, and then do not inform us where their posts are in line of masses. Every cavalryman is familiar with the annoyance caused by the flapping of the canteen when the horse is moving at the trot or gallop, and several devices have been tried or suggested for fastening the canteen so that it can have no pendulous motion, but none seems to have given general satisfaction. The writer thinks he has solved this problem by means of a leatherstrap passed around the saddle bag and held in place by two loops on the under side of the bag. This strap also passes under the forward strap of the saddle pocket and is so placed that it will pass over the canteen just above its middle when the canteen is hung from the cantle ring. This contrivance has not been thoroughly tested, but so far it promises well. After having adjusted the strap, all that is necessary is for the trooper to snap his canteen into the cantle ring and then push the canteen well down between the saddle-bag and the strap. If it is not pushed well down it will work out. Finally, we have for consideration the best method of carrying the new Springfield rifle. Since the Civil War every change that has been made in our carbine has involved an increase in its weight; each new model has been heavier than its predecessor, but, nevertheless, it has always been carried on the saddle. The new rifle with which we are soon to be provided weighs about nine pounds, or nearly double the weight of the carbine of 1t63. H o w shall it be carried in order that the cavalryman’s ability for rapidity of movement may not be iinpaired? It greatly increases his functions and responsibilities, for he will be expected to do all that he ever did before and display the shooting power of the infantryman also; and in order that his new quality may be made most profitable he must maintain his ability for rapid moGement. Many of our old cavalrymen believe, with the conviction born of experience, that our present carbine carried on the saddle is the principal cause of the sore backs that prevail to