division two or three days previously, we had
moved off at nearly a right angle from the
intended route of the larger body of troops.
The latter had, meantime, pushed on
by forced marches, to prevent certain
disturbances amongst the tribes; so that, when
our work with the marauding party was
over, we were at a distance of two
hundred and fifty miles from where it was
supposed the general's camp would be found.
We moved at the rate of fifty miles a-day,
and in five days rejoined the column. This,
together with our previous march, made
about three  hundred and thirty miles.
Including a halt of twenty-four hours, the
distance was performed in seven days ; yet we
returned to camp with only one sore back
among the two hundred horses, and not a
single man or beast on the sick-list, except
such as had been wounded by the enemy.

When this statement is compared with the
condition in which our cavalry returned to
Lord Raglan's head-quarters after Lord
Cardigan's reconnaissance into the Dobrudschka,
it will appear incredible that such different
results could ensue from two somewhat
similar trials of strength on the part of European
dragoons. But the fact is, as JACOB OMNIUM
has stated it to be, we have really no English
light cavalry. The Chasseurs d'Afrique are not
better mounted, nor are they better horsemen
than our own men; but they are very much
lighter, and are furnished with nothing that
is not absolutely necessary for their efficiency.
With saddle, bridle, and all other accoutrements
and arms, they weigh on an average
fourteen stone English measurement; whereas
the regiment of light dragoons with which I
served through three campaigns in India,
averaged in marching order very nearly
nineteen stone. When this enormous
difference is taken into consideration, all wonder
must cease if our cavalry are found to fail
in efficiency when sent upon active service.
The Chasseurs d'Afrique I look upon as almost
the beau-ideal of light cavalry.

Shortly after we rejoined the head-quarters
of the column, an example of how horses
can be protected in wet weather, when in
the field, was practically illustrated by the
French cavalry. Owing to some information
respecting the movements of certain tribes,
it became necessary for the general to make
a detour into the hills with the whole of his
infantry: leaving the cavalry— eight hundred
in number—to guard a pass or entrance into
a plain, so as to cut off the retreat of the
enemy, should they be driven in that direction.
Expecting to witness some fighting in
the plain, I remained with the cavalry;
although it was considered certain that our
portion of the force would not have to move
from their pickets for a week or ten days, as
it would take the infantry at least that time
to effect the object for which they went into
the mountains.

The very day after the general left us, a
storm came on. Our Arab guides, as well
as the French officers who had any
experience in the country, declared that there
was every indication of the bad weather lasting
some time, and advised the commanding
officer to shelter his horses in the way best
calculated to protect them against wind and rain.
The quickness and systematic manner in
which the men commenced, under directions
from their officers, to dig out temporary
stables—if what did duty as such can be called
by that name—was, what an American would
call "a caution." During the last few months
I have often thought it would have been well
if some of our cavalry generals had received
a few lessons from these French dragoons
before taking commands in the Crimea. The
commencement of the undertaking was marking
out in white lines the length and breadth
of the intended pits in which the horses were
to be placed. This was done in about an
hour. Then the men began in earnest to
dig as if making the foundations for a street
of houses. In twelve or fourteen hours every
horse in the detachment was well protected
against the weather. The animals stood in
a space sunk some three feet below the level
of the ground, which was sloped as well as
drained, so that it would retain no water.
The spare earth turned up from these
places was plastered into a rude wall to
windward; so that the horses were protected
up to their chests from the weather, although
there was neither the time nor the materials
to cover them in overhead. The precaution
had not been taken in vain; for a more fearful
storm than that which burst over our
heads before the job was over, or a more
lasting soaking rain than that which then
commenced and continued for four days, it was
never my fate to encounter. Had the horses
been left unprotected, they would have all
broken away. As it was, when the bad
weather came to an end, they were one and
all in as good condition as if they had just
come out of the best stables in France.

The enemy which the infantry portion of
our column had hoped to drive out upon the
plain from their mountain fastness, proved
too cunning for the general. They escaped,
and never came near the cavalry which was
waiting to give them a reception. The
consequence was, that we who had been waiting
for some days at the mouth of the pass,
received an order to make a detour, and
rejoin the head-quarters of the column at a
place some thirty or forty miles off. This
was accomplished without delay, and in the
course of two days after leaving the place
where our temporary stables had been dug
out, we rejoined the general and the force
under his command.

Here began a portion of the expedition
which I enjoyed excessively. The main body
of the troops only moved camp, while small
parties of one and two hundred men were absent
occasionally to collect tribute from the tribes.