Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-18

before sunset These drawbacks are
not without compensations. Sixteen
or IS oxen will carry load of from
5000 pounds TO 5000 pounds in tent
ed wagon weighing about $500 pounds.
Each team has u leader, or voerlOuper,
who walks in front and guides, while
the driver encourages the cattle 10 pull
together by cracking a rawhide lash
II feet or IS feet long attached TO a
bamboo stick.
In order that the strain may be d.
minished as much as possible and the
most economical use may be made of
the transport the line of communiCa-
ton Will he divided into sections. The
distance between these sections must
depend on local circumstances. though
as a general rule where no attack is
unprecedented and an escort is uEneces-
sary the intervals should be short, SIX
miles loaded and six miles return being
considered a good journey. The ad-
vantage of this system over the or
binary convoy is obvious. Transport
riders become intimately acquainted
with the road and travel without the
usual impedimenta of camp equipment.
1t is at once economical and efficient
and should enable the army service
corps 10 maintain continuous and I'm
broken communication between the
base and the army in the field.
Between Pietermaritzburg and La
dysmith will be established a central
depot, where each company or battery
or troop will find its horses, mules and
equipment ready. There will conSe-
quently be little delay in moving the
force to the front. A rest camp and
remOunt depot have also been prepared
at Durham. Two hospital ships will lie
in the roadstead, one of them being
stationary, while the other Will steam
backward and forward to the Cape,
which is healthier and cooler than Ma
tai. The medical transport from the
brigade field hospitals TO the field hos
pitfalls at the advance depot and thence
along the line of communication to the
base is carried out by the army service
corps. Rapid transport of the sick and
wounded is of the utmost Importance
not only for themselves, but in order
that any accumulation of invalids at
the advance depot may be avoided.
The sectional stations ought to be in
valuable for this object"
Such, then, is the general scheme so
far as it can at present be outlined. To
what extent it will be successfully and
smoothly carried out remains to be
proved. Upon the working of the lines
of communication depends the success
of a campaign. The duty of a director
of transport and supply is therefore of
the highest Importance. His sphere of
duty extends from the base to the
troops at the front. 1t is Indispensable
that he should be man of infinite in
dustry and resource as well as of va
ried experience. These qualities may
certainly be aScribed to Colonel Ward,
assistant adjutant general to Sir
George White, and to Colonel Richard
son, who will act in a similar capacity
to Sir Redvers Butler. Both have
served in African campaigns and have
proved themselves masters in the diff
cult art of organization. Both are as
sisted by number of young officers in
the army service corps who have done
transport work in many parts of At
RIGA.
But officers, however good, cannot
thoroughly succeed unless provided
with proper material. And another
correspondent, writing from Cape
Town. has serious complaints TO make.
TO begin WITH" he says, hundreds
of general service wagons for engi-
neers We're shipped to Cape Town, tax
ing the place of supplies that We're
more urgently needed. Those wagons
are totally unfit for service in this
country, as experience showed Is years
ago, when countless numbers of them
were left at Durham and never did a
days work. The blunder has been re-
peated now. To replace these useless
vehicles blackboard wagons have been
built of green wood, that will probably
shrink and twist into many strange
shapes under the strain of service.
But il was the best that could be done
to atone for shortcomings at home"