The Portland daily press., 1899-10-13

State was but II years old he had
knocked over an antelope at 1900
yards.
Every time the Boer shoots he shoots
to KILL and 1t is not often that he
is disappointed. When he fights. he
fights from behind some friendly rock.
There is nothing to disclose his where
abouts but the tantalizingly intermit-
tent flashes of smoke. To attack him
with heavy artillery is a very difficult
task. first because it is no easy thing to
get big guns into the Transvaai, owing
to the broken and rocky nature of the
country, where roads are all but I'M
known, and also because the veldt
burgher has habit of picking off
gunner when he dares to show himself
beside his gun. This is precisely what
he did at Majuba Hill, and again re-
peated during the engagements of the
Jameson raid. At Krugersdorp, Jane
sons men, with all their Maxims and
carloads of ammunition could do moth
ing against the handful of Beers who
harassed them from flank and rear
The machine guns rained their leaden
hail, but it did nothing but splash on
rock and stone. Behind each stone, of
course, was an astute Boer smoking a
pipe. When the least sign of move
ment made itself manifest about the
machine gun, a long, lean rifle barrel
showed from behind a rock, there was a
pun OF smoke and the rifle barrel once
more disappeared. 1t was maddenine
to the English. They were absolutely
afraid to show themselves, for every
man who showed head or hand was
sure the next moment to be a target for
the enemy's long distance rifle prac-
tice.
1t became matter of lodging from
kopje to kopje and not even waiting to
pick up the wounded. The puffs of
smoke from behind rocks continued I'M
til Jameson and his men reached the
now historic vlackfontein farmhouse.
Here the Englishmen continued to dron
like bowled over ninepins. But thew
could do nothing. Some of them. II 10
said, burst into tears of impotent rage
at their very helplessness. The heroic
surgeon of the little division finally
gave his last piece of lint for use as q
white flag. and it was run I'D, The
Boer fire ceased, and Beers seemed to
spring up from all over the country. as
II by magic. The survivors of the in
vading party were surrounded. though
they were still holding their arms in
their hands, for they half expected to
be massacred to man. Instead they
were given brandy and milk and meat
and marched off to Krugersdorp, where
they were treated with the greatest
kindness. But it was the end of the
Jameson raid. and an inglorious end at
that. 1--WE were nothing but pirates"
one of their officers has since confessed
'and we richly deserved hanging, every
one of u.s.
There is prevalent idea that the
Beers are not strategists, and that their
methods of warfare are simply the
primitive ways of the ordinary guerrilla
This is mistake. Cronje. who led one
division of the Boer force in the can
ture Of the Jameson buccaneers, is one
" the keenest strategists who ever
commanded company. He success
fully led his little band of men against
a superior force which had with 1t II
pieces of artillery, eight of which were
Maxim guns. This enemy also had am
munition by the wagon load, trained
cavalry horses and experienced officers.
The Beers under Cronje, on the other
hand, We're woefulIy short of ammuni-
ton and Mers mounted on green farm