MARCHING AT HOME AND ABROAD. 567 
along the road to honour drafts. The Captain, Q.-M.-S. and some few 
old married men will be left behind to close the barracks, send off the 
heavy baggage and kits, and to hand over to the Barrack Department; 
they will then, if the regiment or battery is making a permanent move, 
proceed by train to their destination ; but if the vacation of barracks 
is only temporary, a senior N.-C.O. and one or two trustworthy men, 
such as the storeman, will be left to take care of the barracks and 
stores during their absence. 
The billeting party, which for a battery or squadron consists generally Billeting 
of two N.-C.O’s. and two privates to look after their horses, will pre- P2"v- 
cede the battery or squadron by oneday. The N.-C.O’s. (and especially 
the senior) should be very intelligent, reliable men, with tact and good 
manners ; for the comfort of the men depends a great deal on these 
doing their work in a satisfactory manner. ‘The route or a copy of it 
will be in their charge, and on arriving at the town or village where 
the halt is to be made for the day, they should proceed and report their 
arrival to the Superintendent of Police showing the route; he will then 
issue the billets for themselves and their horses for that night, and later 
will give them in detail the billets for the regiment or battery. They 
should go round with a policeman and visit all billets and apportion 
them off, taking care as much as possible to keep the different units 
together. 
The parade ground or gun-park is generally in the market place, and 
they should rent a room close by for a guard-room. ‘The Sergeant- 
Major, Farrier, senior Trumpeter, and Pay-Sergeant should be billeted 
close to head-quarters. 
The billeting party should then draw up lists of the different houses, 
with the names of the streets where the billets are situated, for the use 
of the C.O., the Pay-Sergeant, the Sergeant-Major, and also for the 
subalterns and sergeants for their special commands. 
It is advisable also for the senior N.-C.O. to draw a rough sketch of 
the village or small town, filling in the names of the streets, head- 
quarters, post office, station, and so on for the convenience of the C.O. 
This of course is impracticable in large towns. (Wehada German bom- 
bardier in “C” Troop in 1879 who had served in the Prussian army ; 
he spoke broken English but his maps were wonderful. This man was 
promoted from “C” to “A” Troop in 1880 and deserted very soon after, 
he had a clean defaulter sheet, and had risen to Sergeant in about three 
years.) 
The billeting party meet the regiment or battery when it arrives 
just outside the town and shows the C.O. the way to the parade ground 
or gun-park, where they will distribute the lists and billets and give 
any directions they can to guide the men. This being done the party 
should get ready to go on to the next halt on receipt of orders from 
the C.O.; it saves a deal of work to send the billeting party on by rail 
if possible; it gives them more time and they get through their work 
easier ; I invariably did so myself, and it costs but little. 
Tt is a good plan to pay the men daily at the mid-day halt, one day, Pay 
say, one shilling, the next day eighteenpence, thus avoiding very “partment 
small change. My own plan was as follows: this daily pay was put 
