New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-06

mackintOshes strapped to the SADDLES, ana
towel, razor and brushes in their wallets
AS they had gone their errand to save
Johannesburg, SO they returned to England;
, and II their appearance was melodramauc
and their corduroy costumes and fyaway hats
were unsuited to the winter climate. they mad
been cut off from outfitters since the battle and
their release from the prison yard. Tney
laughed heartily over their grotesque dress, and
were pleased with the attention which it at
tracted when they appeared In the streets near
the station. Some of them swung their kits
from the windows as the train moved out
They jolly Adventures, these men from
South Africa, with fine flow of spirits and an
easy going way Of taking rough or smooth as
1t came. Adventures rare in this prosaic
modern world They had had a real one-a
long ride a killing pace. and battle in which
they might all have been killed IL the Beers had
not sighted their rifles too high: and they were
satisfied even If they had been defeated. for
they had story to tell that would always be
worth hearing. Each one could say as long as
he lived: Il with Jameson!
EVOLUTION OF HEROIC MYTHS.
But when the IA; lers tried to tell the story they
disclosed either the worthlessness of all official
and press information from the Cape or else
the natural process Of evolution in mythical
literature. The second alternative seemed more
probable, because the evidence Of the returning
natives was confused and contradictory. In
place OF five Beers killed at Krugersdorp. the
estimates ranged all the way from so to 2SS
The strength OF the enemy was magnihed from
500 the generally accepted figures. to 1000 Ay
the bush was full Of them! The distance traV-
ersed from the frontier to the scene Of the sur
render was doubled and even trebed in COM
&c t1,a
the two central themes of the ride and the bat
tie had been deposited large accretion or TO-
nance and fancy The horses were marvellous
creatures making from fifty to seventy-nve or
hundred miles a day. and feeding on air. Rider
and horse were inseparable, the mythical cen
taur Reproduced in modern days. On they went
together day after day night after night. with
an occa sioral ten-minute halt on the chivalrous
GRAND to save Johannesburg and In the emo
thew were all caught in a trap which the Beers
and Judasburg had together baited Tor them
But not man in the column would nave t~o
down his arms except at the bidding OF the I'M
peral Government!
Inspector Froezst had Joined the snip AZ 'ia
deira and made strenuous efforts TO correct eNi-
dence against jameson and the other ieaue''
The raiders received him, according 10 theif OWN
accounts with suspicion and reticence' i"eS
were loyal to their leader Inc WI"
nassed around the ship that nothing WAS u 'e
told which would incriminate jameson. lheS
rore rarrulous among themselves and there
was hardly anything about the RAID which my
d,d M, know: but when the sleek-looling IN
..- a,ov, ,hern into q corner their ignorance
ahout every detail phenomenal. iaVorlle
! rrsa wae the adoption Of a thoughtful, wary air
u,har the Inspector approached them and theh
tho deliberate reply: This is matter 'hat
may incriminatc me. ! shall have 10 rei6r you
70 NV solic.tor!" Coming from man with only
one available suit Of clothes. and that one
much the worse for wear. and with XII "i'"-
ou, a change OF linen and possibly not even a
ha,rbrush. this reference to the family legal ad-
wiser was the best Joke of the passage
The INSPECTOR. baffled by the fidelity OF the
ren 70 their beloved leader speedily Withdrew
from the hunt for evidence. This was the YER
sion ~ his mission given by the troopers them
selves An impartial observer listening TO ther
own elastic accounts of the incidents OF the
raid would have been justified in reaching an
other conclusion. The Inspector II prudent
and sagacious man, would nave peen appaHeu
by the contradictory and apocryphal character
of the evidence and would nave eNerclseu
discretion in abandoning the pursuit OF kho"i-
edge when there was pound of myth for every
Africa had been herding together for seven
weeks and talking about the one absorbing
tonic: and every ones own impressions ana
oscillations had been colored and deepened by
tho imagination and conjectures Of his fellows
and the collective testimony OF the three hum
dred witnesses would have driven the discreet
Muse OF History into madhouse
Utterly contradictory accounts were given on
shore Of all essential facts relating to the RAID
The generally accepted theory that the horses
| were not fed, that the troopers were exhausted
with hard riding and fought on empty stomachs
and that the surrender did not occur until the
| ammunition was exhausted, was alternately
| confirmed and vehemently denied Many as
| serted positively that every man carried loo
| rounds of ammunition, and that there was plenty
| of IL remaining when the nag OF truce was
! raised. and with equal emphasis II was oeciareo
! that II the men did not have breakfast or DIN
| ner on the last day. 1t was not because there
| was q scarcity Of provisions. but because they
we,e too busy fighting to think OF their ratons
| On only two points was there concurrent tesu-
| monv unbroken by dissent. One was the fact
| that the troopers were not aware that the col
| ,,mn had been ordered back by Queens messen-
| ger. and the other was the general recognition
| n, the good treatment which the troopers had
| received from the Boers after the surrender
TROOPERS "REMINISCENCES
| Perhapo the clearest accounts Of the ride ana
| the battle came from the stragglers who re-
mained over night in Plymouth. and had leisure
| to discourse In smoking-rooms and barrooms on
the per.lous experiences which they had shared
and the mighty works which they had wrought
| One OF these troopers described his humiliation
| on one OF the night rides in waking up from
| sound sleep on his horse and finding that ne
was riding between jameson and Colonel White.
| Another gave me a graphic description OF the
main battle. when the column was exposed 10
murderous fire from unseen foes in front and
| on each flank. How did 1t happen" I asked