THE STORY OF A CAVALRY HORSE.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11151, 18 December 1901, Page 3

THE STORY OF A CAVALRY HORSE.

Br Frederick Pauier. "It doesn't taste much like iome," said Billy, as lie munched a mouthful of hay from one of the long feed-boxes in the quartermaster's corral, on the shorei of Manila Bay.

'It is, though," replied the horse opposite him. "They -bring it over done tip in wires, the sihaps of hitching-blocks. You ought to be thankful to get it. When.l tiist came, I lived on rice .grass, along with the Filipino ponies. My whole inside felt saddle-galled. That's how I learned my Spanish, my son." For the first -time, Billy, a new arrival, took a. look at the speaker, whose name was Thomas; and Billy's heart was chilled by the sight. ' He had never supposed that a cavalry horse could fail to such a,state. "Oh, you needn't look! ,, said Thomas, angrily. * 'Tm valuable, as it is. It. costs Uncle Sam a thousand dollars to take one of us across the Pacific Ocean. We go in the steerage, too, as you've probably observed. So they keep our skin and bones together, as long as they oan. This is the second time I've been sent down to Manila, to be 'patched up. , " "And' shan't we ever bs sent back?' .

Thomas shook his head in contempt at such ignorance. f "Not one of all the thousands that ihave poms here'U ever see the United States again. When they can't patch you up any more, you'll be shot, to save expense." "And is 'it always so hot?" Billy asked.. "Yes, and sometimes it's hotter. Oh, I felt just the way you do when I first came. But now I've lost ray spirit. I'm life the tramps. 1 don't care." A mule, who had been listening with his long ears inclined forward, 'put in his gibe. "And you'll start out like the rest," he said to Billy, "with your head in the air, tossing foam about and lathering your sides, and loolring down on plain mc that draws the oats, and hay which.- keep you from starving. And Til have fat on my ribs and still be jogging along (Oh, they can't hurry mc!) when you're a bag of bones, like Thomas, there." "It's a mule's country, I'll admit," said Thomas.

"It isn't good enough for a horse But I'd rather ba what I am, knowing that once I was somebody, than the youngest and fattest mule that ever brayed or balked."

"And I, too," added Billy, striking the ground spiritedly. "So you say. The xnule showed his teeth in a leering grin. "So you say. This hay is awfully good. I don't mind the climate a bit. Ha! ha! I expect to eat tall grass, growing over both your groves. The United. States army oame to } the Philippines so that the mules could have revenue. Ha! ha,!" " ">'

Then the mule turned his attention strictly to ■ the* business' at hand , , and ■ got most of Billy's dinner; for Billy's throat was too full for him to eat—full of the weary voyage which separated him from California, where horses feel the prick of their oats and awaken in the morning with a desire to jump fences. His head .drooping, ail through, the night, Billy thought of ways to win the heart of the trooper whose lot it should 'be to ride him. He had heard of masters "become so fond of their mounts that they would not be separated from them; and, in this posibitty, he concluded, lay ibis" one - chance of ever seeing home again. ~ The next morning, when he saw an officer and his orderly coming into the corral Vith the "boss," a great liope rose in his heart; for -he knew, by the eagles on his shoulder straps, that the was a colonel. As he understood the world, everything in it except • generals,* moved at a colonel's command; and , , of course," a" colonel would have only to say the word to have any horse in the army sent back to California. •'What if he.should! choose mc! ,, Billy thought, as he put spirit into every hair of his mane and trotted toward the colonel. WKen the colonel stopped to look him over, Billy stood quite" still, with his head thrown high. When, he felt the colonel's Band gripping loiin". where the saddle sits, he made his backbone a rib of steel. When the colonel-gave-him a slap on the quarters, Billj- "already' :saw himself a hero,', spending his declining days as a family pet at home. ■ ■■ - -

"He's 1 got .'a> leetie too much spirit,"'put in the btifes, who knew horses from, the Canadian to the Mexican border j.-"and he's pretty light, too. That 'kind wears out tiunekly, in tthis climate. I/reckon Hua one' will suit you 'better." Billy turned hie head, to see the colonel and the "boss"- examining a big sorrel who had the bulk of a draught horse. ' ''Probably you're right. He looks more suited to my size,'* was the reply.' The colonel was thickset, and over six feet in height. Billy liked him for this, and liked his - voice, wnica' had a heartiness that is a' tonic to the nerves and & delight to the ears. ■ "Oh,- if it's size you're doubtful aboiit," Billy was thinking, "you needn't worry, I can carry you fifty miles a day so easily that you'll think you're in a rocking* chair."

But- the colonel could not understand' Billy's language, let, alone his thoughts. Hβ stopped ibeside the sorrel, while, the "boss" and- the orderly went away. "He's' going to take mc," tine sorrel called to Billy. "He doesn't like your spider * waist." '' " . Billy was too disappointed to xna&e any reply. ■ He had lost his first, perhaps hie only chance. Disconsolately, fie watched the "boss" returning Vittt a saddle; ' and then he "pricked up his ears, as he saw the orderly with another saddle. " "He'll do very well for you»" said the colonel, pointing Billy out to the orderly. Hope rose in Billy's .heart again. If he could not carry the colonel, he was to be him.

He expected to go: forth jpn a career of suob mauoeuvres wAe had learned on tibe parade ground. Instead, trotting behind the sorrel, life followed the colonel in his long rides, in the heat and dust, through bamboo graves and paddy fields , , to. and from the many villages garrisoned by the colonel's regiment. The colonel's regiment was not mounted, as Billy had supposed; so the sorrel'was the only cavalry horse the had seen, thus far, in his campaign- When night came> the orderly was often too. tired to use tie currycomb and brush. Sometimes, Billy's feed was

only green paddy grass; or,, hiiv. it WM saturated, vith ram JStlil. lie dkl nut mind at s0 ITtJiin the realisation that, he was r<>w ™* aud losing, his strength.'. .. $r ft o V" "Why don't, you .take 1* easy, asked the sorrel, who was and more iil-tonlpered. tires thinks,-because lie's so heavy, mc. and it's many, a five miles ed off in a day's, trot by hanging: and lagging. "But he'll.Qatcn on^, if you Bon\ stop playing up ~ What do you want to spoil the gafl». lO ' "Thafs what I was taught. I ««?*£££ it. It's the wav of the serpce, to Keep on your pins oa long as you can, ff * flow a stiff upper lip." . . . ,l»f / v n it»» "You're a sill/little the sorrel remarked, for -the hundredth liad been any fi*£jpl** colonel had left his horse behind, and g™e ahead on foot. If he could only fff™° just one fight, Billy was nimself, he might do something «md fine, to attract the colonel's attention. He n> thinking of this, end-of mc evening..when a big, strident voice, vtUb a memory of his first day in the corral, attracted his attention. Sβ... looked around; to see a pack train «HP"*S «* Its leader \ras the mule vrho had leered at him across the feed box. mn ,~c "Well, do you know that I can draw more and stand tfie heat better than the lilipino's water buffalo?" piped the "Sorry to see you looking so glum, just as yo"u*re going "into a fipht." "X fight? Ko! "Honestly?" cried Billy. '.'Surely! to a finish, too," was response. '"What dt> you suppose Ive got a pack on for, instead of drawing a waggon? It meaife that we're going to chase Filipinos! as long as we can stand- on tnir feet. While you're beinp shot at up front, and you're the colour of khaki from dust that sticks-to your-wet sides, Til be back under a J shade tree, nice and dry; ami you can't have your dinner till I.come. up, in the cool of tiie evening." "Who'&thirk oi the dust and sweat, in a charge ?•-" Billy replied. "Wiho'd think of the* buUets, with a chance to distinguish himself? One would feel as if he were soaring instead of galloping, I'm sure. "Ha! ha!" roared the mule, flapping his ears. • . BillyUooked quizzically at him, wondering what there was to lnugh at! t "Excuse mc," said the mule; "I can fc help it. The idea that there will be any charges or chances to distinguish yourself ia the Philippines tickles the ribs, thick as my liide is. Take a look,at this bamiboo thicket! Let's see you gallop through it!" . " "But there are open places," Billy added, tenaciously. • "But the Filipinos never make a. stand in them,"' said the mule. "And it seems to- mc,- my -young friend, that your back has sagged away from your hip ,bones a little since our 'last talk. You remember what I said?" Billy* made no reply. He fortjot the mule 'when; he heard the sound of horses' hoofs. A troop of cavalry- came trotting up. the road. Billy recognised some friends whom he had seen on the transport. He whinnied in greeting, and they wiunnied back. ■ Then the colonel rode on, while Billy was behind him, and. just ahead of the "troop. =Tw-o or three mules further on. they halted. Men and horses rested until one o'clock in the morning; ..then they started again, at a slow trot. "I hate this night -work," called the sorrel. "Let's ball;!"

'.'lt's an important movement," Billy replied. -"You can see that for yourself. We ought to do our duty this time, if ever."

At half-past three they stopped, and Billy followed the etftonel along the line, as the gave ordere. ,At dawn, as the troop burst from the bamboo, on either side, the colonel rode down the road. Every minute Billy expected to hear bullets .-whistling by,, and to rush upon a line of bayonets. Instead l , they reached a village which 'was in flames. An insurgent force, under an important insurgent general who occupied it, had received! news of the advance, and fled. The colonel's face showed "his disappointment. Success in this movement, which ihe had ■ planned, meant promotions The sorrel sidled, and tossed his head, before minding the rein; while the-observing Billy was brimming with sympathy for the commander. "Balk!" the sorrel cried; "we've had enough of this!'! * • . The colonelwas soon convinced' that the enemy" had not been, long gone. He spoke a-few,.short explicit sentences to the -or- , derly. ' While he remained; behind, to get ,the troop together, Billy led .the little scouting party which hurried forward. At that moment, quiverjng with. excitement, as he answered the pressure of the orderly's legs, and the loosened rein, with a< gakr lop, fatigue passed from Billy's consciousness. Only a quarter of a mile beyond, first his - clear' eyes, then the orderly's, lighted with the vision of a large band of insurgenta crossing a bridge.. Quickly and- exultingly, the scouting party 'wheeled, and galloped back with the great, news' to the colonel, who had his force ready for instant movement. '

For the first'time in the campaign, the happy troopers heard the bugle sound the charge. ' , , ■ "Down the road flew a column of duet; flew a'hundred nfen and horses, .i The eor£el alone shook im head angrily and cavorted; while the'spurs (as' this was no time for kindness), took the temper out of Sum, for' the time being, but left him sulky. When they arrived at the river, the last of the insurgents was on the other side. The bridge, Jouilfc of light bamboo, saturated with. ■ petroleum, and ignited, • burnt fiercely, making ■ it impossible- to cross. From - the bank, beyond, "stretched acres upon acres of treeless, land. , Billy saw, as"quickly aethe colonel, low the troop could ride through the fleeing «aemy as easily-as a carpet sweeper is run oyer a, floor. Hβ thought only m a straight line, as horses do, He forgot that there were horses, beside him, or. behind him. He leaped. down. th« bank, and started into the stream ahead..of the whole troop, only to stop suddenly aifc ths call of the orderly, and toe pull of the rein. And there be would have stood uncomplainingly, until he Saw the last* insurgent disappear in the distance; for the first .principle in. the service, ia to obey. , "Balk it,'; all you fellows! we've had enough of this!" he heard a familiar whinny, saying. He turned hie head to see the sorrel on his hind legs trying to" throw the colonel.

Failing in this, the sulky-one planted his* lour feet obstinafely an<i) shook his head, throwing Hakes of foam liifcher and thither. * ■Uien Billy felt all his burden pass to one stirrup and off, and then a heavier weight, wid— yes—the colonel was in the saddle 1

Billy waded into the liver until Ins feet »o longer touched the bottom, but he Kept on walking as confidently as if he were m the corral. Up the steep bank on the other side he leaped , , throwing spatters* « mud from his shiny hoofs, wfole his oay coat glistened "with moisture, and hie. eyes gleamed with the love of conflict, which is stronger in the cavalry horse than }t is in the cavalryman or in any otfoer uvmg thing. * * For an instant, at the bank of the river, {How the colonel appreciated Billy's instinctive understanding, after the experri. ence -with the sorrel!) he halted', while the line formed, with the flying "white figures only three hundred yards away. Hero was the supreme moment that ho had looked forward to from the days of the drill ground; that the colonel "had looked forward to from his cadet days at West Point. As a runner waits for the crack of the pistol, Billy waitodi for the signal of the rein, which meant that he should strain every muscle to its utmost!

With the yells of their riders and a thunder of hoofs, the troop swept forward. The insurgents turned to face the charge desperately, without order and without plan. If they had had order and plan, they would have presented a row cf bayonet?, and this story might have had a different ending. ■ Billy heard- the sound of bullets, but ne did not give them a passing thought. No liorse does. No horse fears anything except a cold, gleaming lance of steel pointed at his breast. He -will not leap into that any more- timn he will spit himself upon the sharp rail of a fence, whew he is trying to got- out of his pasture into a cornfield , . Billy .heard, too, the • cries of tue men, the shrieks of the enemy, the sound of horses foiling to tha ground, and the swish of sabres. What surprised him was, that it seemed so much like what iio had imagined on tho transport before he had. had actual experience;*that it was all so very easy. He understood, then, that the work on the drill ground w&s practical; that it locked toward the great crises, which win and lose battles.

The line wheeled and again rode through s the enemy. A second time it wheeled, and then Billy had a sensation in his leg as if a bee had stung it- He could not understand why he should fall because of such a little thing. Yet he did , , fairly on his side, wilih his legs lacking in the ah , ; for the littlo thing was a bullet. When ho rose—raid he did , rise with a. struggle— his ridey was not on his back. The colonel gave him a pat on the neck—such a wat—a pat that said: '"Well done, old pal"!" , Billy turned his aching head to look his gratitude, and saw ,the colonel hfnd over the- wound and take something' white c<::fc' of his pocket. Having knotted his handkerchief around Uillv's leg, the colonel hurried off to the iieJd wiere hi?, nrc-n v.-ere tnlring their rifles away from fear-strickit brown men in cotton V-Uirts and trrn-eri who lav flat on their etomachs, with haudsupraised, in token of Submission. Uuly, standing on three feet, vatclird the prisoners escorted away. The soldiers bandaged his leg again, and went into camp. A week later, after a ride on a- train, he found himself once more in the corral in Manila. Day after day he vainly scrutinised all the comers to the corral for the face and form of his hero. He-, thought a great deal of what Thomas had said, until his fears became conviction, Jjkyond a doubt ,he was being "patched tip,' , , to be sent to the front again; else, on the authority of- Thomas, they would have shot him, alter he was wounded, in order to save the Government further expense. But • how oould he keep pace with, the troop on three legs? The foisrt3i leg, though it was 'healed , , was so stiff that he could bare- . ly touch it to the ground. As he was hobbling away from the feed-box one afternoon, hie head ihung in dejection, a man's hand was on his neck, a man's face was rubbed against * his muzzle. In place of tfhe. eagle on Jus shoulder, the colonel ihad a general's star, which the laane charger had won. for him. Then Billy found himself on. a ba/rge; ! then, with a band turner his etomadb., weing lifted aboard; a transport. Yes* ihfe waa going ihottie to be tie pet of the general's family for the of his life.