|THE question of mounting the United States cavalry upon ostriches, as
a matter of economy, is being agitated on the strength of their easy
propagation in Arizona and New Mexico. There being now one hundred and
seventeen of these birds in that region, the result of the increase
from nine of them imported several years ago. However successful ostrich
farming may be in and of itself, we cannot speak too highly of the
feasibility of using the bird for cavalry purposes. It is an established
fact that the ostrich is very swift and will live for days without food,
and be verier viceable all the time.
A detachment of ostrich cavalry could light out across the enemy's
country like the wind, and easily distance an equal force mounted upon
horses, and after several days' march, instead of a weary, worn, and
jaded-out lot of horses, there would be a flock of ostriches, hungry but
in good spirits, and the quartermasters could issue some empty bottles,
and some sardine boxes, and some government socks, and an old blue
overcoat or two, and the irons from an old ambulance, to each bird; and
at evening, while the white tents were glimmering in the twilight,
the birds would lie in a little knot chewing their cud constantly, and
snoring in a subdued way that would shake the earth for miles around.
One great difficulty would be to keep a sufficient guard around the arms
and ammunition to prevent the cavalry from eating them up. Think of
a half dozen ostriches breaking into an inclosure while the guard
was asleep, or off duty, and devouring fifteen or twenty rounds of
ammunition in one night, or stealing into the place where the artillery
was encamped, and filling themselves up with shells and round shot, and
Greek fire and gatling guns.