All gun orders are given in English. Although very few of the men
understand the tongue, they learn to recognise the meaning of the
words of command. Every officer must, however, pass a colloquial test
in Hausa. Recruits are put through their early stages by the native
non-commissioned officers, who take most of the parade drilling. All
these native Sergeants and Corporals, and most of the Bombardiers, are
capable of commanding the battery and of taking a series.
Do I labour detail too much in stating the items of transportation? The
process is as follows:
The gun itself, weighing about 240 lbs., is borne on slings, the poles
of which rest on the heads of four men.
The cradle, into which the gun fits and to which are attached hydraulic
buffers to take the recoil of firing, weighing about 240 lbs., is carried
in the same way as the gun.
The trail, or carriage, which has a spade to assist in checking the
recoil, weighing about 240 lbs., is transported as those stated above.
The two wheels are each carried by a man, who has a 70 lb. load.
The axle, about 70 lbs., is a one-man load.
A box of spare parts and cleaning traps, about 70 lbs., is carried by one
man.
There is also a Headman to superintend and assist.
Similar guns were used in the capture of Kano, in 1903, the great Hausa
city with mud walls 40 feet thick and 50 feet high. Against these walls,
which it was thought would be knocked to pieces by the artillery, all
ammunition was impotent. An entry was at last effected by smashing one of
the heavy gates with a shell.
The sports in which the men of the regiment are encouraged to indulge are
mostly of British origin. They are very keen on wrestling and tug-of-war
and greatly enjoy dipping for toroes. A toro is a threepenny bit. A large
basin of flour, in which a number of toroes have been buried, is placed
on a table. At the side of the table is a pail of water. Competitors,
stripped to the waist and with hands behind back, one by one dip their
faces into the water and then plunge them in the flour, attempting
to pick out a coin with the teeth. The crowd of sightseers at the
public display I saw at Zungeru shouted with delighted amusement at the
ludicrous appearance of each contestant as his features emerged from the
flour.
The favourite sport of the mounted infantry is wrestling on horseback.
That itself is pretty exhilarating. A spice of added excitement is
provided by the mounts, which enter into the spirit of the situation with
zest, by darting at and attempting to viciously bite one another.
I may explain that in their ordinary training the men of the mounted
infantry do not pass back into the unmounted branch. The uniform somewhat
resembles that of the Sikh, and, though their arms includes a lance, they
are taught to fight as foot soldiers as well.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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