The Portland daily press., 1899-10-13

NA< Transvaal, the clock of South
~ II Africa was turned back ter
years. Briton and Boer alike
now realize that that untimely invasion
of the Chartered company's troops was
mistake. 1t awakened dormant race
hatreds. 1t compromised the British
colonial office. 1t COMPOUNDED the long
laid plans of Cecil Rhodes. 1t put the
Boer on the qui vive. 1t brought igno-
minious defeat to British arms, and.
what is even more deplorable, it paved
the way for the present condition of af-
fairs in South Africa. Today England
is reaping the aftermath of Jameson
reckless outlawry.
The Boer is not afraid of the Briton
In fact, he thinks he is worth two Eng
lishmen put together when it comes to
fighting. His experiences in the past
have been such as to bear out this in
genuous belief of his, for whenever
there has been clash of arms between
the South African Dutchman and the
Englishman 1t has been the latter who
has suffered. Such a belief has not
been conducive to the peace of South
Africa.
There is of course, a slight dispropor-
ton between the actual fighting power
of the British empire and that of the lit
tie South African Republic 1t is like
fox terrier bristling up to blood
hound. Great Britain, one would think,
with her immense navy and her well
trained and long experienced army,
could easily overcome such a diminu-
1--WE opponent as the Transvaal. Why is
t, then, that this tiny country of Dom
Paufs has been able so successfully to
Withstand every attempted encroach-
\. A..
is it that the union jack has been hauled
down SO often and so ignominiously
when 1T had once been carried north of
the Vaal river?
There are many answers to these
questions. The Britisher has his ex-
cuses, and the Boer has his boasts. The
most important one, however, is the
fact that the Boer fights as fights no
other man in the world. To meet this
trained marksman of the veldt in the
regulation manner has been and al
ways will be as stupidity foolish as
General Braddock's Quixotic march 10
Fort Duquesne. Like the red Indian.
the Boer never stands up to fight. He Is
too willy for that and knows that he
would be foolishly sacrificing all of
those peculiar strategic advantages Of
fered by the unusual character of his
home territory If he did his campaign
ing in the orthodox manner. 1t is,
with him, case of making the most of
environment, for the procedure of the
Boer in time of war is admirably adapt-
ed to the land in which he lives. In the
first place, it must be remembered that
the Transvaal and. in fact, most of the
territory of all white mans Africa" Is
broken and rough and nearly always
rocky country. offering many chances
for ambuscade and intrenchment and
almost preventing anything like the
regulation company formation.
Another thing to remember is that the
Boer, from the oldest patriarch in Pre-
toria to the youngest lad on the veldt
is sharpshooter. He is also an expert
horseman. The child of the Transvaal
cuts his teeth on a cartridge ball. Otter
before he is 10 years old he is able to
handle rifle. and always before he
is out Of his teens he thinks nothing OF
bringing down n buck at a thousand
yards. When boy of 10. Kruger him.
self used to go lion hunting, and wher
President Steyn Of the Orange Eres