WARFARE OF MODERN TIMES. 67 



swung over the crupper, but must go directly forwards ; the hands are not 

 rested and must not touch the horse, so that it is sometimes made holding 

 at the s^me time one or two flags or muskets. In the full thief's leap, the 

 spring is made also on the left foot alone, but in rising the right is brought 

 up as well and the leaper passes entirely over the saddle, without touching 

 it, and comes down on the other side of the horse. This leap also is made 

 with flags or muskets, and the half turn can be made in it likewise, so that 

 in aliirhtinsf the face is towards the horse. 



After vaulting come bathing and swimming, in which the soldier is 

 practised not merely in the ordinary swimming and treading water, but 

 also in swimming with the full equipment and carrying the weapons, in 

 exercising and firing while in the water, in riding upon the swimming horse 

 in rank and file, and is taught also how to proceed in rescuing persons from 

 drowning. 



So soon as these exercises are completed they pass to the beam on the 

 ground, the balancing beam, and the hanging beam. The first exercises only 

 teach the man to preserve his equilibrium, even under the most diflicult cir- 

 cumstances, and not to lose at the same time the proper carriage of the body. 

 But when the soldier comes upon the balancing beam, he is raised above 

 the ground, and must, in the beginning, maintain his equilibrium by means 

 of his outstretched arms, until after a time he learns to keep it with his arms 

 folded, is even able to step over objects held in front of him, or to stoop 

 down and remove things which are lying upon the beam {fig- 1), and at the 

 end of the beam to turn round, or to go backwards and pass another per- 

 son on the beam. Then follow exercises in balancing on one foot with the 

 other hanging down {fig- 2), changing the feet and thus moving forward, and 

 finally exercising with the musket upon the beam {fig. 3), which, of course, 

 is placed higher and higher as the men acquire greater confidence. Last 

 comes marching with the whole equipment upon the beam {fig. 4), at first 

 when supported, and finally when suspended from ropes at each end of the 

 hano-ino; beam. 



The exercises in climbing are very various. The men climb first upon 

 a rope ladder with wooden rungs, then on the common rope ladder {fig. 15) 

 carried obliquely to the beam ; this climbing is at first with both hands and 

 feet, afterwards with the hands alone. Then come exercises upon the free 

 hanging rope with wooden rungs inserted ; then on a rope which has only 

 knots instead of rungs {fig. 16), and finally on the smooth rope {fig. 17) ; 

 all of these exercises being made also with the hands alone, the feet hangins^ 

 free. The final exercise in rope-climbing is climbing between two loose 

 hanging ropes, using the hands alone {fig. 18), and on the rope stretched 

 obliquely {fig. 32), in which, at first, to guard against accident, particularly 

 where the climber is using the hands alone, an assistant is employed {fig. 33), 

 who supports the climber by means of a rope passing over a roller. The 

 same exercises are made also between two ropes stretched in the same 

 manner. Then begins climbing on the ladder-pole, an upright pole through 

 which rungs are inserted in the ladder form, or in a spiral line, and this leads 

 to climbing on the smooth pole, of 5 to 7 inches in diameter {fig. 19), which 



543 



