The Discipline Of This Picked Corps - "Abd-El-Kader And The Forty
Thieves" - Was The Commencement Of A Great Moral Reform, That Resulted In
An Improved Tone Throughout The Force, Which Ultimately Did The Great
Work Of The Expedition.
The efficiency of "The Forty" was an established fact of what could be
accomplished where officers and men were governed by that peculiar
confidence that bound them together as one man.
Throughout the
expedition, after this confidence had been once established, I never for
an instant doubted the fidelity of my men; they would have followed me
through fire or water, without the slightest hesitation. In action, "The
Forty" were always in advance, and they were watched with eagerness and
even pride by the other regiments: when thrown out as skirmishers they
climbed rocks, pushed through jungles, and cleared the enemy from the
country with irresistible activity. Promotion from the line to "The
Forty" was considered as an honour, and so perfect was the esprit de
corps, that in the event of a vacancy being caused by sickness, or other
cause, the men reported to me the character of the new-comer before he
was admitted, and respectfully declined to receive him if he bore a
doubtful reputation; virtually he was "black-balled."
A corps of this character was a nucleus for an extension of military
morality. The "Forty Thieves" would not admit a thief; and they became
generally accepted as a model of what government soldiers should become.
I believe that if it were possible to convert the greater portion of
African savages into disciplined soldiers, it would be the most rapid
stride towards their future civilization.
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