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.