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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1907)
ill-. SUXUAV OKKUOAlAiN. X'Ult l J A A L It 11 imii. f 1JFB After Three Centuries of Glorious Warfare the Armored Soldier on florse&acK is Found useless now army hfcan. some of the eipprls. who under ljjuls XIII deveibped several excel- 1 I ii ' fV W ' i J 5 ' S' ' . 5? T ? ? ' ft si I 1 nation wa9 gft muck 11 that the wtit tacticians as Luieintiourg. "Thurcnne .,' VI . $pp' t 1 AfrSTZ fMfa 'w l a Glorious Hlstorj. to a. still finer- poini of perfection. i s t 'vXJ6' ?t'4 " t 1 The cuirassier of this-rperioa was Jw V ; ? . " - Jf " V Then came the famous Marshal Saxe 'lo , 11 WVi W? ' 4 " ' V ' ' V' ffi 4 I 11 carry alony ftlll further the work" of V tS - v -" -1 " ?lVv' 1 1 preparation traa.t w.b to give Napoleon VVV' Jf .""5,. 45 ' ' I the finest cuirassiers m Europe. 1 k JWyi V! I t t ft - 11 It wrb Marshal Sajre who laid down the . . B ' VK W? W ' i S ' " I V k ' 8?'Wi 1 hi I "AH evolutions must be made at the ' . . IfW iTl , ' ' W 11 i $V 'A k!fT V "I"-." ordered Sie. "Cuiras- 'ft- T!i?4..'' V " I, I -'its must bo aa handy and expert on - j'C TKnet 4 V JlorsmcK as a Hussar, ana well exercised "1 U t t4 ' Irt-V.A . W ,W " I V r?-vfni " AMI I :. Jtrr.--"-. laiillUllllllllllNr 11 tC glory of the French army the tie. culraanlcr baa lought his loat bat- Wha.t th armies of the world couM ot acoorriDlJBh In lh- wars, of tlxj-ce cen- turiea Is to bo achieved In a stroke of th j)en by a French military official, anil in a fow minutes the cuirassier will be only a. tradition. ( The showy soldier on horseback, wear- lnr hla flaahlr.tr breastplate of steel, with " braw piece In the center, ti.ir. ever been tbe Idol of the show-loving French na- llcm. and the winner of some of its Rreatest hat ties, but modern mthods of WHrfa ro have put out of commission too uipment Ilia; comes down from.uie Middle Arcs. o -culrKf, no matter how craftily wrought, could rcaUst the bullnt of today, nnd so General dc Xpgrlcr, French Min- inter of IV'ar, has decreed that the It reKmtMltl, or culrasniers muHt be nms- terert out, their horses used for the bat- terios of field artillery, which the dopart- ment In rapidly orsanlsinf?. and the men themselves eitlier turned adrift or Klvcn places in other branches of the artillery. The fact in the cuirass has passed its usefulness. Kvery recent war ban shown that. fifty years or battle show not a var in which the armored soldier lias been successful. In our own Civil War. neither of tbe contestants made use of armored warriors. Napoloon III did turn the cuirassiers )ooae in the Friinco-Prusslan war. tout. thouKh they founht with unequaled brav- ery at Gravelotte, where they bore the brunt of the most spectacular chars of the struggle, their courage could not make up for their somewhat outworn f nulpment Moreover, they, were fighting against better men, better suns and bet ter horses. In the frightful carnage of Gravelotte, the cuirassiers sustained the greater part of the, damage, ajid whole companies were wiped, out. At the end of, the struggle, when tlie reorganization, or the Frencii of the patrie they cut a superb Hgure. and until they lowered their colors at at Waterloo to the valor of tbe Scots the world bad come to beli them invincible. There are not many cuirassiers left in the world's armies. The abolition of the 13 Kreneh regiments will leave three coun- tries with this arm of the service-Russia. Germany and Italy. Germany has 12 regiments and ltusula four, but It Is altogether possible that the Kaiser and Czar will foiled the .lead of the French. Yet only a few hundred years ago the man in the cuirass was the iUeai fltshter. Before tne deadly aulek-ftrlng rifle and machine gun had come to deal out death as swiftly and surely as a barrel organ grinds out a tune, the cuirass was suffi ciently effective to turn as ide bullets. Gustavus Adolphus, the greatest war rior of Sweden, first tausrht the world what a wonderful fighting possibility there could be in a' well-drilled company r expert horsemen. able to maneuver with lightning swiftness, so well protect- ed as to be comparatively immune from danger, and having in their pikes, lances r sabers and the irresistible onrush of their mounts, the force to wipe ( any ordinary antagonist out of the way. Only equally powerful force of cuirassiers could resist such a lorce, and. the military experts of Europe, profiting by tne lea- sons by Gustavus, directed their attention- to perfecting tbls feature of offen sive warfare. England then had Its cuirassiers, thouffh they have Ions since been aban doned in the service of the British King. France early took up the subject ana in the use of the sword. Every squadron must attack the enemy sword in "hand, and no commander , shall be allowed to fire, save under penalty of the most In- famous chasiering-." Until Frederick tbe Great came th. was no culrasaier to rival those of the Marshall Saxe. hut the warlike German developed a body that did most remark able fighting. Napoleon, witty customary sagacity, adopted all that was best of every sys tem, and the finer points of the knowl edge of Saxe and Frederick he applied to Ms own cuirassiers. In 11 against the Prussians at Jena and Auerstadt. they did matchless work, and were responsible for these successes, That command of cuirassiers under Kellcrman. at Alar en go, numbered only 200. tout it turned a rout into a victory. and by a rugli of matchless valor put the Austrian army to flieht after what seemed certain victory. The 200 culraa- siers were directly responsible Tor the taking of 2000 prisoners, and the saving of Napoleon from tho threat of a serious defeat. Napoleon violated the law of Saxe, and He relied on thorn in tlio struim'lc that broke his career, and they did not prove a in iff. but the odiln iiKu I rvjt which 1 1 1 -- pitted were too overwhelming for any bravery. The o f x - WpllliiRton, knowing 1 lie pro woh.m of the French cuirastilerii, - op- DOSPd Mem Willi the pirK uf his rism force, the oavalry under General Ponsoti-b-- Thin conslnted of the Royal nrirooin. Scots Greys and inlsklllen Dragoons. 'These LtU WW Mrly AtM illlO IN1' Hon. for !"' Krlon. after overcoming By Iandt, was chased rrom a strong position by the Greys, ( Between 4 and 6 in the afternoon, under the TersonHl direction of Ncy. a move ment of the l-'rench cuirassiers was or- dorod. Tlio old vetiTans Keller- man. ftfilhnud ; i 1 Guyot took chnrcc of t he men. w ho I"C:t iiolcun alwa y awarded thC hOUOr Of belli : thrown at the enemy In the crisis of tho battle. StralRht at the nnter of the Hrltloh line rode the culrassli km. They were sup- ported Dy artillery, art ma ternwe - ecution junonfr the Tlrlt ; shers. Had they likewise been siipportcl by Infantry. Waterloo might -have had n. different out come, but the wonderful Vfllnr of tilt Splits Ore vs. formed In so, 11:1 r tlie attack, and compelled to s to rclt re- Wfflllftll PtmpglO for hours, linall.v p vailed, and the cuirasntcrs. shut to piot-O!. ilnally had to retreat to avoid t-ompli-te extermination. When Nnpoleon Maw tliem come hark lie conraiefl the m, It U a curioiiM fart thnt at the same time that the cuirassiers are to pumm out Of existence there is also talk in KnRiami of abolishing the Scots Groyfl, th IhM'ot who beat them. Tbe suggestion has been made In Kim- liind, ami CIltllUHlnsUcally reenvco, Hint, b?fore the two. Cuirassiers and Gnys. ptiSB out of existence, it would be a tlt tliiR and beau ti ful sentiment to let the in moot in a reunion In Paris, The date proposed is July 14. the French national holiday. AH a final reunion of brave men, whose predecessors in the sanio regimdlits op- poned ea.-li other In one of the pros test bat tl cite Ids of history, this would seem the must appropriate r an iut aits in the warlike drama of Cuirassiers and "permitted his cuirassiers to use their fire arms when they could be employed to good advantage. They did this at Eyiau. At Austerlltz and AVagram the cuiras siers brought victory to the lesions of the Kmpcror. The Russian campaign dealt hardly with the cuirassiers, for Napoleon, by one of the few oversights charged against him. failed to provide frost nails for the cav alry and ruined that arm for the time. Hut when Waterloo came- the Emperor had managed to restore his cuirassiers to their old state of strength and proficiency. TliaaLfulnrK. I 1 ii ti t ii fr.T-, mH.il i.T-i . ' thankfulnirB for Alt cur Though tho mnrnins round the iwmght ar.a the blosoms mot tne Diat. , Let' fay thiit on th. w ay "- w.-rt- hn iiy fox- a d:iy . And C1iuk 'i w nnHi rnt'il the N' inter we knw tlie flowere oC May. lfn rrinR Rnne V thank f ulns for ha.rt Even If we nilsd tho mounts in top, the valloy'S rhmlcp were wcet! r-t'p dram that ! doffl bflf. Though th thorn be at the brat. W e th:ill drpam hl? dri-ama of silence, rna p . the rosts of his r:t: MUST SCARE THF. PI TBI IP FOR A LIVING to Thrill the Sillv Crowds CW lurK rosi. . I otter. Inventors., ho has'tils nRrentricl-. THIRTY years as a parachute jump er is a life more . venturesome than falls to the lot of most men. That any one who attempts it should end hla days as sound in - body and lienlth as when toe beeran is remark able, and yet one may find many para- ehute jumpers at the Aero Club'a ex hibit at the aiitomoblle- show. ' They usually gather around the flying ma- chines, where they spin yarns and taiK about "next season." Alexander Wilson, of Bar Harbor, le.. 13 dean of the fraternity despite tlio fact thnt he has given up an ex- citing- carrer to settle down to the daily srind of an Invintor. Wilson is Hit, but supple and strong as when he vu$ loapinjr from the clouds as a draw ing, card for county fairs and farmers picnics. lie took to paravhute Jumping wnen n engineer's apprentice.' because It of- f ' 1 ' '1 him more mon-v than he colli.) nirrlce po.ir.1iriK rlvew. Besides,, tie AvantMi funds to help him secure a pntrnt fur a flying; machine. That wati in 1S89. nnd today Wilson hns hiH device perfected, trie papers. In hla pocket and his creation on exhibition among the "heavier than air" ma chines. It looks like the skeleton of a square dry goods box. with two wings propelled by a motor within the frarae- tvork. The popular Idea of a parachute .lumper Is a spectacular sort of person, loud In his tsllc. dress and manner. SAVUion Is the opposite. Like many ties. He is slow in his speech, care less at? to nls clothes and has the "down East" drawl." One migbt easily mistake him for a fisherman. Wilson can f!y. His longest horizon- ta.1 progress through the air has been 1TOO reefc. rerpendicularlv, he has made several hundred times that, but this he doesn't count, for. according to him. "any one can Jump from, a bal loon." "I began ROing aloft in 1S69 any- way, it was about that time," he said. "It was the year of the Boston peace jubilee, when they had a captive bal loon In that city. I stayed with the balloons until 1ST3, when I made my first Jump, out In Iowa, and after that I stuck to jumping. More money In it. WTieii a town is srettlnsr up a sho.v or a lair or a picnic ana wants a crowd you contract to deliver the goods. That's all there Is to It. You'nfe paid to erive the people a scare, and your job Is to keep jour, end of the con tract. .' "It's easy money. Sometimes the peo ple are ii ii i m o t, ill, 1 and then you nave to risk your neck or be called a faker by the local newspapers. -, Want Their Money's Worth. ' Vlf It Is bad weather or your bal- loon catches P.re or the wind is too high and you think you ' have a. Rood excuse to stay down, the crowd hollers that you're a coward, the newspapers say you're playing a shell game, and that . hurts your business. The next tovrn won't hire you. so after you are aavtftiBcd t'neif is iteming; to u but go ' up; 'winfl storm, fire or anything else. Give the people their money's worth. . "The most dangerous thine; in these situations is fire. All jumpers' balloons are Inflated with hot air. and often catch Are. But the Jumper mustn't 3i-lt out. He must cast off and gro up with his bag ablaze, taking: Ms chances on jumping- before the balloon burns enough to drop. "At Buffalo once I was billed to Jump irom a tielg-ht of 1700 leet, and because I shaved 500 off the first day the management cried fraud and held the money. T-ts-rt day there was a moS on tlis- -fair grounds and tnose neast the balloon jeered me. I made rhe longr est drop of my life that day. Afer I cast off and went up I huner to the balloon till I lost sight or Buf falo, and then cut loose. The wind carried me beyond Tonawanda. I had my mad up that day. and If there had not been a duty on balloons I would have crossed the lake and dropped in Canada. ".Spectators at a fair who come to see ml parachute jump jaret the impres- slon that the man depends entirely upon his hands to hold to the trapeze. This is a. mistake. The jumper could not ..afford to do this, because' he has use for his hands. - I always strapped myself to the trapeze bar while going up and then turned my attention to the folds of the parachute. You see. It is necessary that they do not . become tangled but are perfectly free to open the minute the jumper's weight stretahes them out. "Thn astrain the Jumper has also to think cf nia balloon ana where it la Parachute Jumpers Fly a Most Hazardous Vocation going to land. His object is, to tip the bag: over and throw the opening at the bottom upward as he leaps so that the smoke and hot air may escape quickly, allowing the balloon to drop somewhere near himself and the para chute. Otherwise It would sail off for miles and be lost. Balloons cost money and we can't afford to buy very many of them. - "Every - para chut te is fastened to' the side of the balloon with the trapeze bar tied close to the seat of the operator. There Is also a cord, by which n may be detached, and when the jumper is ready to let go he sees that everything- is clear and then swings to one side so that he will pull the, top. of the balloon over. If Parachute Opens Too Quickly.' "Here is where his hands come into play. As the balloon turns he pulls the cord that frees htm and the para chute and both shoot downward. The parachute should open m 100 or ioo feet, but I've known jumpers to drop twice that - distance before the canopy Inflates arid checks the descent. This Check at times is sudden and often the force rends the parachute In twain. Nothing- can save the jumper then. To guard against such accidents I always had a round hole sewed in the top of my . parachutes to serve as a safety valve. Ths hole, I think, also iielped to' straighten out the canvas" more quickly. ... "With the parachute open the weight of your body.ehoots you through the air at a rat? of from eight to ten miles an hour. That Is fast enough to jar you when you hit-the ear to, and. be sides, jumpers have to let go their parachutes and fall 30 feet with noth- iTisr to- a!d them this is to prevent them from being smothered by ' the Colas or the canvas. I have often hit a houce or a barn . or a tree and turn-' bld 30 or '4, :feet. but fortune was always-with. me. Parachute Jumpers con trol their course by . tlppns u p the edsfe of their canopy and making: a plane down which they slide at a long er angle and also much .faster. - W lien Slx-Sliooters Are Popping. "I could always get down some way. There isn't any doubt about your hitting- the earth in some shape or other. That never worried me. I didn't mind barns or houses or. trees half so .much ns I did curious people, and particu larly the people in the Southwest. Ex:-- J citement always brings out the wiid- ness in a man, and down there the spectators, fret worked, up to a great pitch over a parachute Jumper. "Their pent-up feeling has Its effect on the jumper, too, and tends to rattle him. Jumping isn't the pleasantest oc cupation in the world, and it is a laqQ slgrht more unpleasant to hear bullets singing past you, either coming down or groins tip. 'A balloon ascension ' in my early days out West wouldn't have been natural without the popping; of six-shooters. It was' all done in play, of course, but when a man gets red liouor in hia system and a (run In hia band It's no place for a balloon. The old saying, 'Tou can t hit a balloon," is all bosh. ' I. know better. I've spent a good ' many hours sewing- up bullet hoi'' n in my apparatus. "Another disconcerting thin was to look down as you fell and see a string of mounted men come riding 'cross lots at full Jump, shooting as they rode and yelllntr like Indians to see who would be first to get under you as you ueared the ground. Usually these citizens would have a small bet up on t'ne result of the race. Add this little per- soi;ai interest to the excitement of the jump and the result was enough to mrikp you want to keep on proinjc riffht through - the earth and never stop on top. t ; "Ire wild look of excitement in some of those eyes I'll remember to my grave. As many as could would -BTet.- their hands on me the moment they came up., They would slap me on the back, punch me, pinch me. offer me tobacco, whfsky, guns, everything they had. -uttering yipplng yells in shrill staccato to let heir exuberance of spirits escape. ' .."But my lumping days are all over. I'm spending - all my time now and. money, too, trying to fly. Parachute jumping, besides bringing In money, helped me with, ideas for my machine. Sometimes when I was Jumping the fair management would give me dol lar bills to-throw down as "I went up and the zigzag movement of tnose banknotes as they fluttered down gave me or.e idea. The movement of a clam shell when thrown into the water is the same as it sinks. It is a glidinr;, shifting movement, and the wings on my machine have Identically the same movement reversed. "There is also a tail and a head on it which largely control its flight. ' T go the Idea from watnhing pigeon a. They us, the balance of their heads and the movement of their tails t' guide their course and to aiit. Tr.r longer' the nock and the larger the he&.d the faster the flight. Mo bird can touch the ww. in or the goose for Iohr U,ml Strong tlights. It you are Koms to learn to fly you must Study 111 - A Iloy's Choice. Houston Pout. I'd ruther be a. kid today 1 n cotton ovfraily, A-mockin or the roundelay Anrf'of the wild bird's call. A-wadtn" in the branch as'in. A-HptaMhln up a.n' do wn . Than to be old an iivln in Th' finest house In town, I'd ruthfr be a ragged kid ' With frcklos on my nose. A-mockln- of th Ua.t-olci. Than wearing Bustfr clothe And bcln' always spick an' -pan, An' always clean an' neat. Afraid of nun. afraid of tan. Wltli now Bhoe' on my C ee t . - I'd ruther be th Utile boy - Tlitt goo an', gits tli' cow?, A-whistUn soul brimful of joy When all th world's n. -rtrow oarly In tl" mornln", on. The country life fer me. And pastures where the cattle low And clover blossoms be. Out whore the unnet Kllmmrs red In day'ii departn' ltjtht. An' the dark trees reach overhead An' eottagejamps are bright, I'd srladly be a boy Aff'ln, t I'd lilcf- to rle an ttn ArroM the Ileitis I rambled in' ' Where clover blossoms hiw I'd like to holler to the cows . ' The sweet old-fashioned calls. When alt tho world im half draws. -A a- wear blu overalls.
