The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1879-02-26
BARBARITY OF THE WAR IN SOUTH
AFRICA.

The war in South Africa against the
miserable, hali-starved, unclad Katfirs AID
Busllmen by the British, appears to be car
ried on with great barbarity as instanced
in the following letter to the Cape Town
Argus, 10y young volunteer with ten
derer care for humanity than his fellows
up to the present we have had it pretty
hard, and since last wrote we have been
out on patrol. We started from here
tKocgas) on the morning of the Goth of
October and saddled off at place three
and half hours distant. We fell in with
the enemy on the morning of the Both.
Our Captain and his men were stationed on
the kopjc, and IS men underneath.
Capt. IS men then crossed the river to
sec if they could trace the spoor. They
came back with the news that the
footprints were going towards LANCE
berg, and consisted of Bushmen
and Kafiirs with horses, goats, and one OK.
We were ON the Kopie when we received,
word that the enemy were in the bush
about 1000 yards away, Capt IS men
then being underneath us IN the bush We
then had orders to cross the nver, and
IS men open fire on some OF the Bush
men in the northern part Of the bush,
whom they found sitting down enjoying
the stolen OK which they had slaughtered.
They were laughing and sinirg, seeming
to be very happy, when suddenly they re-
ceivcd bullets to flavor the meat. They
then ran through the bush, expecting TO
reach the mountains on the opposite side OF
the river, but when they came to the edge
Of the river they saw Vernonlen's
men opposite, so that they were completely
hcmmed in, and thus persisted forty-one OF
them, and thirty-tour we took prisoners.
Six of our men got leave to cross, as we
were anyions to be IN 1t, and we then went
myself being one OF the number--to the
other side of the river, the bullets from our
own men whstled about our heads by hun
dreds. When we came to the bush we saw
what do not wish to see again. Women
with children lying there shot through and
through, no mercy having been shown to
them. | came to one place and a bushman
got up. | raised my gun, but the man
said in Dutch: please. master, don't shoot
me- | then saw. that he had already
been wounded, and would have been left
to die; but, as was speaking to him. a
gun was put quite close to my ear and fired
The fellow gave one spring and then fell
dead at my feet. On turning round dis
covered one of IS men, who said
The must not live l was glad to
have it out Of my hands, as did not wish
to kill him after being wounded They
then drew lots as to who had to shoot the
prisoners; mean to say that those who
} could not walk we had orders to
shoot, and | am glad to say that
was fortunate enough to be out of i,
One girl was wounded in the UPPER part of
the leg and could not walk As soon as she
saw the man who was with me, there being
only us two at the time present, she recog-
nized him as having been once her master
whom she had served for two years. He
wished to help her and bring her to camp
but some of our fellows went through the
bun to see what they could do as to kill
ing any of the wounded that the captain
had overlooked. They shot this girl while
she was binding up her leg with handker-
chief that her former master had given her,
and which he had taken off his hat, all of
, us having red handkerchiefs round our hats
No one escaped.