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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1906 



over the horse and onto the back of another trotting beside 

 his own, landing first in the natural seat, then facing the 

 rear, and then standing. After he has acquired these tricks 

 he is permitted to do what else he can, and he is encouraged 

 by the officers to learn new tricks. These things are permitted 

 and encouraged by the officers because they give the man con- 

 fidence in his ability to manage his horse, and help him there- 

 fore to become a good soldier. Some of the exhibitions given 

 frequently at cavalry posts outshine even the best efforts of a 

 carefully trained circus rider. 



But while the "rookie," as the recruit is called, is learning 

 these fancy tricks, he is also being drilled in other branches 

 equally as important, but, to him, the most onerous and use- 

 less task he has to perform. These are, to groom, "police" 

 and drill. The first sergeant and even the officers give him in- 

 structions in grooming, and the wise recruit will make special 

 effort to master the details, for he is held responsible for the 

 proper care of his mount, and should he be remiss he will be 

 reminded of his responsibility in a fashion not too gentle. 



"Policing," which in the army means to clean, is another 

 irksome lesson the recruit has to learn, and he must learn to 



The Trooper Stands Erect on His Horse and Takes the Hurdle 



do it well, for there is no excuse for bad "policing." This 

 "policing" is not limited to the stable, but extends to the 

 kitchen and dormitories, and in fact the entire quarters. 



It has been said that if there had been two regiments of 

 cavalry at Manila in February, 1899, properly mounted and 

 equipped, the insurrection could have been put down within 

 a month. This statement was probably based on the fact 

 that the cavalry branch of the military service were, at the 

 time the war with Spain commenced, all well seasoned sol- 

 diers. They had spent the better part of their lives in the 

 West, fighting much of the time, enduring hardships almost 

 all of the time. The ten regiments of cavalry, split up into 

 small units and scattered over thousands of square miles of 

 territory, were used to restrain any disposition that might 

 be manifested by the red man to leave the happy home a 

 paternal government had provided for him and take up the 

 bellicose habits of his fathers. This service was not attrac- 

 tive. To spend days and nights at lonely posts in Arizona or 

 New Mexico, enduring the blasting heat of an almost tropical 

 clime, or to be compelled to do duty in Montana, Wyoming 

 or the Dakotas, where the temperature frequently registered 

 forty and fifty degrees below zero during the long winters, 

 was not calculated to attract any but the hardest of men, who 



Posing for the Camera. The Horse Assumed this Position at Command 



were imbued with a genuine love for the service. They were 

 not pretty to look upon ; they were nothing but tanned bone 

 and sinew, but they could spend twenty-four hours in the 

 saddle, if need be, without rest or food. They could remain 

 in the field for weeks at a time and subsist on almost nothing, 

 and they could endure anything human beings could endure 

 still retaining their vigor under all circumstances. 



Six Men and Three Horses. This is a Modification of the Three-Horse 



Pyramid. The Success of the Feat Depends Upon the 



Horses' Rising Together at the Hurdle 



