One of them would have passed for white, with brown hair and blue eyes, while others were so black you could hardly see their features.

These picked men varied in other respects too; some were neat and well-drilled soldiers, while others were slovenly, heedless fellows,--the despair of their officers at inspection, their pride on a raid.

They were the natural scouts and rangers of the regiment; they had the two-o'clock-in-the-morning courage, which Napoleon thought so rare.
The mass of the regiment rose to the same level under excitement, and were more excitable, I think, than whites, but neither more nor less courageous.
Perhaps the best proof of a good average of courage among them was in the readiness they always showed for any special enterprise.

I do not remember ever to have had the slightest difficulty in obtaining volunteers, but rather in keeping down the number.

The previous pages include many illustrations of this, as well as of then: endurance of pain and discomfort.