Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-12-07
THE BOER As A SOLDIER.


Roer armies. The farmer soldiers of the
two republics make or receive charges
in silence, their minds intent upon aim
and upon strategy. If it 10 u charge,
they advance in u scattered and what
seems to be confused manner. In
reality IL is only tho Beers natural
order, in which they fight best.
A retreat looks like iout, because
each man tries to save himself as
quickly as possible a rout is almost
impossible, because the farmers do not
understand how to '.lose their heads. -
They scatter, ard when place of
safety has been reached come together
again, rs ii nothing had happened.
While they have no martial music in
thejordinary sense, they have martial
music of the most impressive kind in
the extraordinary sense. Each night
before turning in and each morning
before breakfast, and also before going
into battle, If there is opportunity, the
entire army, with heads uncovered, join
in singing "One Hundred = Each
note is prolonged and the effect is
solemn and even awful, so much Of
resolution of stern and relentless re-
solve do they put into the singing.
The two strongest points about this
practically ununiformed and strangely
organized Boer army are both indi-
vidual the individual ability Of the
Boer at strategy and his individual
ability as Il sharpshooter.
Tho favorite topic of conversation
among tho Roers has always been how
best to meet the British when they
come to destroy the republics, how to
| Fight the great defensive war which
every Boer has felt sure would in.
! eVitably come. The plans that are
being carried out and will be carried
out are the result of years upon years
of study OF the situation by the burgh-
/ ers OF all ranks, consulting together
/ upon the stoops Of their matched
+! houses Of evenings. The Boer is a
natural stategist, willy. crafty, hard to
| Cplner, quick 10 seize the slightest adj
vantage, quick to soc advantage when
even trained soldiers of other nations
would fail to SEQ it.
Ii is mistake to suppose that the
! Beers have deteiiorated in marksman-
ship. The English have got that i'm
1 preston from a superficial observation
OF the Beers of the large towns. The
4 villagers and farmers are as sure OF
shot as of old
With a smooth bore gun Boer shot
SIR George W. Cooley through the
head in the Maiuha Hill fight at |, 400
yards. With one of the new guns
General Symons was shot IN the Boer IS
new target--the stomach-at far
longer range. have seen girl bring
down bind on the wing at 400 yards.
If Sir Redvers Butler shows himself
at 4.C00 yards, his fate is hardly doubt
full; for the special sharpshooters nj
| the Beers are now armed with .1e
sporting Mannlicher, and they can,
with their knowledge of air currents,
hit small object almost every time at
4, 500 yards.
President Kruger has been buying
these arms in large quantities ever
since the Jameson raid and the practi
cal failure of the British to punish the
raiders. Gen. Joubert took me into a
storehousa at Pretoria filled with
thousands Of these rifles Isn't it a
beauty?'' he said, picking up one Of
them and ratting 1T atfectionately. VI
20 yards it will shoot through 81
inches Of pine.
The Mannlicher bullet travels with Il
velocity of 1000 feet second. AT
4,000 yards il will piece two inches Of
solid ash and three inches OF pine. AT
1000 Yards the bullet, if it does not
ilatten, will bore hole right through
a bone without splitting The rifle has
a barrel 80 inches long and weighs
eight pounds. Its calibnr is 30. 1t is
hair Fingered, has q pistol grip. and
the Boer carries it sluDg over his
shoulder by a strap,
In the last two years the countrymer
have been putting away the old smooth
bore and providing themselves with
the MauseI and the Mannlicher. Fol-
killing game they use q bullet of which
the lead point is exposed, so that il
mushrooms when it strikes. Or
entering the bullet expands and tear.
an ugly hole. If it strikes sidewist
the effect is horl ible.
Gen Joubest assured ME that these
bullets would not be used against the
English, unless the latter emp.oyst
their barbarous dum-du
If the British try to go up into tn,
republics by way of Natal they mus
traverse the Drakensbure Mountains
the only great range in South Africa
The peaks of these mountains rise a,
high as ll,000 feet The way thrcugl
the range is torturous course alon.
steep ellis and above yawning precI
pieces. Every few hundred yards there
is an imrregnable position.
The evaporation of the lowlands con
denses there and gives plenty of waite
for a force intrenched high among tn,
rocks. Fc rage, toe, is plenty. A few
men can held cut indefinitely, and un
less tho British take heavy ARTILLERY
with them-a wel-nigh impossible fea
Ia few hundred men can almost de
struy a great army
Once the British gain the almos
level and almost open veldt over which
the two republics spread, the Beer
have left two physical allies -famin,
and fire.
Water in South Africa is often a
precious as gold and sometimes in
tinitely more precious. Every year wit
nesses IA terrible drought 10 some part
One may journey 100 miles on tn
"karoo" and never find drop o
water. In Johannesburg the write
vas glad to pay "A cents for quart
Nearly the whole city was drinkin,
notified and imported mineral waters a
the time
Scarcity of water is the curse of tina
country. Every farmer maintains
reservoir, but even these give out
There are only two or three large river
il the whole country, and in the dr.
season they degenerate into shailoy
pools. These are called pans and sery
TO quench the thirst Of wild animals
The Ttansyaal and Free State are higl
plateaus that the sun bakes to cris
and where the water eyaporates rs
falls. Ne
Tho Beers, however, being thorough
acquainted with the country. have