Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-23

swinging along with a rifle on the lookout
Tor hartbeeste or turkey buzZards.
In fact, the women count on doing their
share of the fighting Since the Beers left
Cape Colony in 1886 the feminine portion
have been accustomed to loading a rifle be-
hlnd the laager, and, If necessary, firing it
at black face In case Of war with the
! English they are supposed to look after the
hooks and herds and defend the home
| stead, and every Boer hut in the Transvaal
IN war time is fortified block house de-
, Tended by company of girls and boys
with the mother of the home in command
| What they most fear is uprising of
| the natives. the very thought of which
| gives every white person in South Africa
| chill of horror. II a chieftain should
| arise with the ability of Dungeon or Jchaka
at the time when the English and Beers
were at war the consequences would be
| too horrible to think Of With the blood
| thirsty nature of the North American In
| dian and surprising him in vicious cruelty,
the African natives could wipe out the
rest of the population of South Africa, so
| greatly do they outnumber them.
Vast Horde of Vicious Natives,
Thus Mr.. Kruger counts on being able to
muster at the very most 5000 men in the
| Transvaal and Orange Free State, but
around him are 367 900 natives, little better
| than savages, who are only waiting for an
| opportunity to massacre white men, not
being particular whether they are Beers
| or English. The English town of Durham
| NatA contains 10000 white persons Just
north of them are 100000 Zulus who are
the bravest black fighters in South Africa
| NO one knows what attitude the blacks
| would take in case Of an English-B oer war
| but both Queen Victoria and Dom Paul
dread an uprising in this quarter
AS 4 fighter the Boer is a mixture of
strategy and religion. Before going into
| battle each captain leads his troops in
| prayer, for the Boer children are brought
| up on the Heidelberg catechism and the
l fISt thing they learn is no IN b.a
| question: What is the only comfort in
life and in death?" The army then joins
in singing Old Hundred, every man." as
one Ensiishman described it, trying to
Guido the other in sowness of time each
note being prolonged for at least six beats"
| The religious injunctions are not forgotten
on the march and travel the Saba tn
day is tabooed as much as possible. Dom
| Paul pre-eminence in the nation is due to
| his piety as much anything else, and
when he was commandment general and mil
itary leader he could get a following by
| raising his hand. The Beers are almost
| as great fanatics in war as the Moham-
| medans, though their natural strategy pre-
| vents them from recklessy destroying
themselves. Kruger rose to fame by TAX
ing hold of a campaign against the ma
tives in which his predecessor had failed.
| This man did not belong to the. Dopper
Church, which Is the ultra-orthodox branch
| of the Dutch Reformed that is in the as
| cendant there. The Beers said the Lord
was against the other leader on account
A Boer military camp, however, IS not
| entirely devoid of recreation. Shooting at
| mark is always in order. and the young
| men indulge in a rough sport that some
| times proves serious. They call it throw
| ing the ox-hide." and it consists in tossing
man up in the air, just as the American
soldiers do with a blanket. About a dozen
chaps grab the edges of an ox-hide. and
| from this throw comrade in the air so
| high that when he strikes again he is I'M
| conscious and perhaps has broken a few
bones.
| Wonderful Mnrksmen.
There is no doubt about the skill of a
Boer with the rifle, though the English
| contend that the new generation has de-
Perforated vastly in this respect. This may
be true Of those young men who are grow
ing UP in the towns, but of those who live
| on the open veldt this cannot be said. 1t
| IS common to see them while riding at a
| good pace drop bird on the wing at 100
| yards. In killing an OK for meat on the
| march more than one bullet is never used
Tommy Atkins breads the Boer There is
such a cold. unfeelng crack to his rifle
that makes the English soldier pale for
he knows the bullet is coming straight for
| the center of his belt. Fighting against the
Matabeie or Buchuana Is not such a dan
gerous matter. The machine guns do most
| of the work, and the only reply is a scat
| tered volley of assegais and slugs. Kruger
and Joubert know this. and count on this
shrinking dread to keep the English troops
dl d ulStdilCe THIS has been
| done.
VIctOrs in battles.
| Five battles has Joubert had with British
| troops. The number of troops engaged on
each side at these various engagements
| have varied between 80 and 1890. At
Laing's Mex the English lost 100, the
, Beers, "a; at 1ngogo the British loss was
142, the Boer II; at Majuba Hill the British
| loss was $50 the BOer g. at Bronkhorst
no trif iCh lncf ID
in the Jameson raid 100 reformers fell
while the Beers lost but 5. Thus while the
| English troops have suffered in their fights
with the Beers to the extent of S32 men.
| the Transvaal farmers loss has been but
| 81, and at this rate they believe they can
at least maintain long war with the Eng
| lish
A war with the Beers will prove a costly
| proceeding to England, for Kruger's first
| move will be to rush over the border to
Kimberley and wreck the diamond mines
that have produced s4OO. 100000 worth of
| diamonds in twenty-five years. There Is a
militia regiment at Kimberley, but 1t Is not
strong or we'll armed and they could not
withstand an attack by the Beers. The Jo-
| hannesburg mines he could destroy at his
leisure. They produce $l25,000OOO worth of
gold every year and are owned almost en-
| tirely by Englishmen.
Laing's Mex is a pass in the Drakens-
| berg mountains and 1t Is the key to Natal.
1t is Kruger's plan to secure this. and from
there ravish the colony of Natal. 1t would
| be easy for him to destroy the railroad
communications, as the mex is pierced by a
| tunnel 2,113 feet long and the Natal rail-
| road worms its way around mountain
peaks at great height and one sortie
| would suffice to destroy its usefulness.
| The Boer raad has been experimenting
| In the last two years with devices to uttl-
| lie the railroads in the Transvaal In event
| Of war, and to this end have employed
| skilled engineers to construct fortified cars
| consisting simply Of steel bed with an
| oval covering Of wrought steel This hood
is large enough to contain a company OF
| sharpshooters. who fire from portfolios. and
| large quantity Of ammunition Kruger
has been progressive in recent years with
| regard to railroads, and the systems in the
Transvaal compare favorably with those of
Cape Colony. One line connects at Volks-
| rust with the Natal line: another runs south
| through the Orange Free State, Connecting
with the Cape Colony road: a third runs
| northward to Petersburg: q fourth goes d.
I rectly eastward to Delagoa bay in Portu-
| guese territory. while a short line has Just
been completed which makes connections
| with Cecil Rhodes Cape to Cairo system.
| westward from Johannesburg. The country
| is thus fairly well covered with railroad
l lines and II the iron cars prove serviceable
they could be operated in all directions from
the capital