The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 19, 1898, Page 21

THE SAN F the Spanish military authoritics in Havara could get a momentary glimpse pf a regiment of soldiers encar in the sand at West T 2 y would see one of the | numerots sights calculated to cause them uneafine lonel Roosevelt’s rough riders are the to the numbe; a thousand, ‘and they certainly de- the name that has been given serve tt They are not “roughs” by any man- ner of means, but tk are rough, nevertheless, and will play rough when they get a chance at the enemy. They know a great deal about the man- of arms, as practiced by the Amer- ican army, and they can’t load a rifle and fire it with the trained regulation of a veeran soldier. But th can handle 2 Winchester with a swiftness and deadly precision that is astonish- and what they can’t accomplish with thit weapon their heavy six- rs will take care of. yugh riders are not men select- graded as to size, weight, teeth and waist measure- me of them weigh close to £ won't tip the beam But the little fel- of exposure on , are as tough as sts and can shoot as fast and straight as a man who weighs three much. “Teddy’s” rough riders can't ride a e at all—that is, according to mil- itary regulations. do not grasp the T point one-third from bit to end; they do not all sit erect, with line of back ranging with the line of ing, shoot T ed and soundre the horse's spine; they don’t all sit with ehin erect and eyes front, knees | gtraightened out and toes only touch- g the stirrup. Im fact, every man apparently has his awn way of riding and when he starts for a horse the half-wild beast kndws something is coming 1f doesn’t make the sllghtestt l;iirzer. ence to pne_ t] men Ww. €] munu'fiam‘ fiu‘flflldn Ar From . there v’ hou fiwfiu vould dle o He finds the horse, which s out of ten is standing on his 8s in the air, and in a jiffy there left side. hind is a man in the saddle. The horse rears and plunges, tries to throw his rider by every means known to bronchos, but the rider, turning half-way around in his saddle, yells to “Bill” or “Snuffy” or “Shorty” to do something that he has forgotten, and then darts off with the speed of the wind. Once the horse is started he has to go. The rider is the master, and his unmilitary seat, his supple, swaying body, meeting every motion of the horse, is a picture of grace and skill such as can be seen nowhere except in the far West, or with this outfit of men who come from there. | And to top it all off, these men can- | not fight at all, according to the rules laid down in the tactics for cavairy- men. But they can drop the reins of their horses, gulde them with their knees, whip out a six-shooter with each hand and get in about three shots to a mounted cavalryman's one, with the inction that every shot goes very close to where it is intended to go. They are a picturesque, devil-may-care lot of hardy men, whose hearts are in the right places and whose hospitality is as broad as the limits of the earth. Their language Is sometimes more pie- turesque than polite, to be sure, but they are used to emphasizing their re- marks when obedience is not imme- diately forthcoming. They have a wholesome disregard for rules and regulations and books on fleld instruc: tion. They haven’t much use for junior lieutenants of the army, as a rule, and particularly for those of State regi- ments. But they uphold their officers, who are to a large extent regular army officers, in everything they say or do. If any one wants to see an aurora borealls in midsummer or a shower of shooting stars in midday, let him go into the camp of the rough riders apd criticize any of its officers, before the m'o}r;]e camp of the rough riders lies directly west of the town of Tampa, is an open sand flat where the sun beats down all day with the heat of a fur- nace. Any regiment of volunteers shade and wih- like gheen. But these hardy fellows, inured to hgifl. cold and exposure in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, never think of mak- ing a complaint about their camping place. What suits their officers suits them, and it would be all the same to them if they were told to camp in a swamp. 1 visited the camp in the forenoon and found Colonel Roosevelt at his headquarters, chatting with some of his officers. I was given the freedom of the camp and told to make all the photographs I wanted. “Here is a strange thing,” the colonel said. “I have here among a lot of re- cruits Bob Wrenn, the champion tennis player 0f America, who wants to join this outfit. He's & strapping good fel- low, with plenty of nerve, and I've sworn him in. Isn’t he an odd char- acter to have with a cowboy outfit, well sprinkled with ex-United States mar- shals, sheriffs of formerly ‘hard towns,” and such types of Western life as I have in this regiment?” These rough riders all adhere to the .45 caliber Colt pistol, which has been in use in the West since pioneer days, and which has not yet been equaled. They will not use the Government 38- caliber revolver, claiming that it is too #light and jumps too much for accurate shooting. That their judgment is sound is evidenced by the fact that since the 45 was replaced in the army by the 38 the average of accuracy in pistol shoot- ing has dropped almost 50 per cent. Through the influence of their commander the regiment has been equipped with two Colt rapid fire guns, using the small 27 caliber steel jacketed bullet, and capable of firing accurately 600 shots per minute, at ranges from 200 yards to two miles. The regiment is not well supplied with tentage, having only the little “dog tents” which are carrled by the men on the march. They don’t seem to care anything about tents, however, as almost every man has lived out of doors all his life, and has been accus- tomed to sleeping under a tree, with no roof but the starry sky. As types of the make-up of the rough riders, three men who have been selected as scouts may be taken as a fair average of the men. One of these is B. F. Daniels, and his last address was Cripple Creek, Colorado. He is a Marshal of that famous type that has rid the West of its hard men. - He has the reputation of having always brought in his man, when he went af- ter him, although not infrequently the man was sent in, in a wagon, feet first. Ben Daniels has a record. To those who do not know him well he 1s a old. passionless. secretive man of Heral FRANCISCO CALL, culean frame, who goes about his ness of thief catching a bloodhound, and with scarcely certain results. To the few who know him well he is a stanch friend and ally, who never was known to desert a comrade, even in the most i straits. Those who have e tions of his marksmanship, old-fashioned, single-action six-shoot- er, which is his favorite weapon, mar- vel at his rapidity and skill. He never does any talking, but when the instant comes to use a gun it is used so quickly that the “hard man” never knows any- thing about it. Daniels has had a long and varied experience in the West. He was Mar- shal of Dodge City, Kansas, hardest town in the countr; y. He is and has been for years a close friend and companion of Bat Masterson, the fa- mous Sheriff, now in Denver. He has been tried for years as a scout against Indians on the frontier and against the cattle thieves and rustlers who almost caused a war in the early nineties. There are seventeen notches on the handle of Daniels’ six-shooter, and every notch could tell a thrilling story if it would. In person Ben Daniels is a glant. He stands nearly six feet one inch and weighs 240 pounds. There isn't an ounce of fat about him. Colonel Roosevelt said, in speaking of his three scouts, that too much could not be said of Daniels as a man and a fighter in a just cause. Armstrong, he says, is another type, and is also an- other of his scouts. He is highly es- teemed by his commander. Bell, the third man selected as scout for the out- fit, shares equally in the confidence of Colonel Roosevelt and is equally valu- able. All three men are distinct types of the West, and each is invaluable in his particular line of work. J. T. Armstrong is from Refugio County, Texas. He has long been a Deputy Sheriff in that county and has had a list of experiences similar to those of Daniels. The organized bands of thieves who a few years ago ter- rorized that section of the State have good reason to remember this nervy man, who was largely instrumental in breaking them up and sending many of them to their Jast accounting. Sherman M. Bell, who is seen at the right tn the picture, hails last from Cripple Creek. He is equally important as a scout with the outfit of which he is a member, and his past record is al- most equally thrilling. He is a man of quiet demeanor, but crafty, keen and untiring in the discharge of his duty, elther as an officer in the West or as a scout. A book of goodly proportions might be compiled in this camp, for it teems with Western celebrities. I have ge- lected these three as tyvnes of e 7ne' men. Indian campaign, disturbance that they will be likel i a fight with cannot ' co that could is‘thousand rien e. All the tricl | coupled with the g e in the use c the first body of | any -of them-*get By the time th reader the rough ri with the Dons, phalanx. . ® @ o | ® New York special to the Sun- @ | | ® day Call: It Is now definitely @ & settled that John Jacob Astor's @ | © battery will go to the Philip- © | & pines. Final orders to this ef- | ® fect were sent to Captain March & | © last night. The battery will start | | ® immediately. It is expected it | ® will embark from San Francisco | @ with the rest of General Mer- & @ ritt's troops, comprising the & ® third shipment, about June 23. & @ The horses and mules pur- | © chased by Colonel Astor will not & | ® be sent to San Francisco. Gen- & ® eral Merritt will take only a few ¢ | ® horses with him as an experi- & & ment. He believes the native & © horses to be more serviceable & | & and less expensive. The animals & @ purchased by Colonel Astor will & & be bought by the Government ¢ ® and sent to Cuba. @ @ @® COOOOHOOOPODIOOOS GG & to leave its ippines. known tillery company. equipment regulations gency the tinctive in object 'light artillery. ernment. men. company is, if present plans are cz ask no better assignment than to be permitted to report their first meeting who fire from shoulder, shoot high, and form in solid should be of mountain UNDAY, JUNE 19, 1898. Reminiscences of every Western' cattle war or has occurred within the last twenty years can be found here, for of such men as have passed.| through these expe: s the regi- | ment of rough riders made up. There | | isn’t any question as to whether they will fight. There is one order, however, to ignore and that reat. They a de of the sort of stuff that goe: ny such end in view. ive .of any human ithstand the onslaught of once th of Ind Teat expertne »f weapons, w der them an uncontrollable force Spaniards th zainst will have reason to believe that inferno has been turned upon them, if vay to tell the tale. ches the eye ders will be in rried out. POPOOPPCPOOPOOOOOCOS Special Correspondence of The Call. EW YORK, June 15, 1898.—The Astor Mountain Battery, called because of the munifi- cence of John Jacob Astor, the well-known millionaire, is about temporary for San Francisco, en route to the Phil- Mr. Astor conceived the scheme equip and sustain a company entirely at his own expense for emergency work in our present war. This desire he made to President McKinley, upon its acceptance Mr. Astor formed an entirely independent organization,| which should go at once to the front, preferably to the Philippines—an ar- in truth, and in conform! of the and support. mountain battery is indeed a modern It is the first appear- ance of such a battery in this war, as well as in the war service of this Gov- The enrollment calls for ninety-eight A rigid. examination is to be pased similar to that required of the regular army volunteer for the East. is, of course, volunteen, | n 70 [} Jife quartersy regular army, but individual in name and dis- 21 other re not into ¥ force run | of the Cuba, I can the | S0~ !04 and which emer- ity to The | front with full uniform, excepting only & “\\w&.\\ and for the most part from in and about New York, although some hail from Montreal, and one or two from Detroit. A fine, healthy, intelligent set of young fellows they are, tco. They average between 25 and 30 years of age. Among the vocations and professions represented are eight lawyers, several doctors; the late superintendent of the Presbyterian Hospital, New York City; a United States marshal from Texa: barber from the We: a . and men from | the regular army and the artillery, and’ over half a dozen boys whose fathers rank high on the list of United States millionaires. As soon shaken the organization all around - a nt to Mr. Astor. had vote of In an h apprec of the chance his d given them; they said they hoped to be an honor to the coun- try and to the name of their benefactor, which they proudly bore, and that they should always ‘“remember the Maine.” Of late days the men have found time to form a glee club, dignified by the name of Astor Battery Glee Club. Its orchestration include three violins, four jos, three guitars and two mandolins, which the members are expecting to take with them to camp. The battery has a mascot, of course, a rescued Irish collie. He is the pet of the battery and answers to a list of names worthy of royal imperial blood. His collar bears the following inscrip- tion: “ASTOR BATTERY, U. S. A. We Remember the Maine.” Thanks to the voluntary contribu- tions of his mates, he is to go to the the trousers and pedal paraphernalia. Mr. Astor has been most generous in glving orders for the personal equip- ment of the men. Each man receives two uniforms, one the blue cloth of light weight of the regular artillery, a brown campaign hat, brown canvas leggins and gauntlets. The other uni- form is of brown canvas stuff, known as kaki cloth, trimmed in scarlet, pockets and shoulder straps included. With this canvas suit is worn a cork helmet—white—such as Stanley wore during his African sojourn. Similar helmets are worn by the British ser- vice in the far East. These helmets are water proof, with top and side ven- tilation. A protection hood which falls over the shoulders is made to adjust to each. 'The entire headgear weighs only seven ounces. The outfit further includes three suits of underclothing, three blue woolen shirts, six pairs of socks, three pairs of canvas leggins, two pairs of tramping shoes, six hand- 'kerchiefs and a pair of buckskin gaunt- let gloves. The men enter for three years' ser- vice and receive $15 60 a month. A ru- mor has it that the day the battery moves each man will receive $100 in gold. The fleld equipment includes twenty horses and 100 mules and six Hotchkiss rapid firing guns. Each man carries a self-cocking Colt revolver of the lat- est pattern with a shooting bullet of 40 caliber and flve chambers; and a saber with a long curved blade, the reg- ulation artillery saber. The six Hotchkiss guns are known as three-inch mountain guns, throwing a twelve-pound shell. These guns are a very powerful little weapon, especial- 1y designed for mountain service. The Hotchkiss is a French gun; the factory is in Paris. Tt is thought by experts to be superior to the Xrupp make, though similar in constructfon. The breech mechanism {s strong and simple and is operated by the turn of a lever, sliding the breech block to the right. Each gun is forty inches long and alone weighs 204 pounds, with car- riage but little over 300 pounds. When ready for actfon the gun stands thirty inches from the ground. It s in two pieces—gun and carriage. Four men are required to handle each of the two s and they mangage each piece with A CHARGE. OF HIS cowBoY: {LCAVALRY' forming a sling, a contrivance made for the purpose. The carriage consists of a cradle supported by a tripod. Into this cradle the gun is set. ‘The.cradle is fitted with spring clamps. In mount- ing a gun all that is required is to set up the tripod, drop the gun into the cradle and the clamps hold it in posi- tion by automatic action. Two minutes is'required to unsling, mount and load, and two minutes to return the gun to the mule’s back When the battery is moving on level ground the guns are placed on their carriages and drawn by mules hitched tandem, but over moilntain_ trails the guns are taken apart. The gun proper is carried ‘in a sling between two mules pack-sad- dled, ' while 'its complement ‘of wheels, ammunition - boxes, etc., is distributed among the beasts of burden. The officers charge of ‘the Astor Battery are: First lieutenant, - Peyton C. March, late of the Fifth Artillery, in command. Lieutenant March is a warm personal friend of Mr. Astor's and it was at his solicitation Lieuten- ant March was put in command. Sec- ond Lieutenant Koehler and Second Lieutenant Williams, late of the Sixth Artillery, junior officers. Among the non-commissioned officers are: Ser- geant Crimmins, late of the Fifth Ar- tillery, . S. A.; Sergeant Burton Holmes, who has seen active service in the British army in India and Africa; Sergeant Young, a member of the fam- ous Young family of Salt Lake City, and identified with the Mormon settle- ment of Utah. Sergeant Siliman, of late a commander of a battalion sta- tioned at Detroit, Mich. All commis- sioned and non-commissioned officers are mounted. Among the supplies which arrived last week were 120 red flannel blankets of fine quality for the horses; also long brush hooks and axes for clearing the way_ when the battery operates in a wooded country. Lieutenant March has reported to ‘Washington that, except for some un- foreseen delay in the arrival of sup- plies, his battery will be ready to move ‘Wednesday, June 8. The shell boxes, immediately upon arrival, were sent to the Government magazine at Fort Wadsworth for loading with ammuni- tion, and they will be shipped probably directly to the Presidio at San Fran- cisco. Mr. Astor has made arrangements for a special train to convey the troops. It is to be made up of sleepers and bag- gage cars. Each man has been given a brierwood pipe and a pouch of tobacco. Lieutenant March has orders from Mr. Astor to keep the boys well supplied with tobacco until they sail from the Golden Gate. The men are most impatient to be off and hail with delight each new delivery of equipment. They are being housed in one of Mr. Astor’s buildings on Broadway, just above Spring street, and though the lower windows are whitewashed, hiding from public gaze the rows of neatly made cots and mess tables, in the upper story the men sit watching Broadway and its traffic. An American flag has been pasted upon one of the large windows. The groups of civilian-clad young fellows have created general comment and the start- ing day promises to be an event in New York life heralded with enthusias- tic crowds wishing them godspeed. —_—————— According to the best authorities less than one thousand-millionth part of the sun’s rays reaches the earth. It is fortu- nate that this is so, as any considerable concentration of the rays upon our Pla.net would speedily destroy it. According to the same account, if all of the ice at the orth pole were so pl.ed that the heat of ?he sun could be focused on it, it would dissolve at the rate of 300,000,000 miles of solld ice per second. The heat is esti- mated to generate energy at the rate of 10,000 horse-power to every square foot of space. The beginning of the radiation of heat from the sun must date back some- thing like 100,000,000 vears. Like every- thing else it had its start and must have its finish. It may continue for 15,000,000~ or 20,000,000 years longer, but there is a limit ‘and it must be reached. One cannot but wondei %tt}hu con&imol:n tof the uni- verse at that time and what wj] e New Yok defaer