The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-24
HOW THE BOERs FIGHT.
They Are Hereditary MarI<smen.
and Fight With Their Women
From the New York journal.


From the New York Journal.
How is it that the Beers keep winning?
How can these plain farmers of the veldts
and kopjes be victors in every fight of i'm
portance? Ununiformed, undisciplined as
bodies of soldiery, unschooled in the arts
and sciences of war, they win victory af-
ter victory against the flower of the Brit
ish army, whose Maxim guns are the
deadliest and their Colts the wickedest in
the world: whose men are perfectly drill
ed, and disciplined and equipped whose
officers fear nothing in the hope of getting
their Victoria cross, and whose general
commander is man of undoubted skill
and proved personal bravery?
The Boer army exists only on paper ex-
cept in war times. There is practically no
paid force. There IS little cf~Hhe technical
drill so common here, and in European
countries. Many Boer, who fights to the
death and kills a dozen redcoats before
ne dies doesn't know tours right from port
arms, but he knows one thing-he can
shoot.
In South Africa they dig a hole in the
ground and put a turkey in 1t. Then
they cover the pit with cloth with a
hole in it just big enough TO let out the
turkeys head Occasionally the eobbler
pops out his head to take the Law of the
land. Then the Boer marksmen shoot
with their excellent Martini rifles. The
red necks of the turkeys are called
''rooineks." So when the Beers shoot AT
Englishmen they call them "rooineJxs
They fight with their women one dav
behind them. When they administered
that crushing defeat to the British at
Majuba Hill their wives had no idea that
the redcoats were close and drove up thar
bright Sunday morning in 1881 with fresh
bread and
wife who first saw the English host. She
gave the alarm and Joubert so disposed
OF his 800 Beers a to wipe out almost
completely the British force.
The Beers are hereditary marksmen."
says he. We had to send our children to
school in the old days and the country
was full of wild beasts and Kafirs. So
every boy had to carry rifle to defend
himself and his sisters. He was also ex-
pected TO prove his skill by bringing home
bag of game from school. That's how
we teach our boys"
These boys are men to-day. Joubert has
them divided into seventeen military dis
tricts. This is the army of the Trans
wall Each department is divided into
smaller and smaller districts, each with
its duly appointed commander. The smaller
the district the lower the rank of the Off
Ger in charge.
Every man in the smallest district IS re-
sponsible to his officer and every one Is
taught to be a trained soldier without
leaving his farm. His complete equipment
is kept at home. The Beers have no bar
racks or armories Every man is pledged
to appear at the appointed spot whenever
summoned. To mobilize the entire force
of the Boer army when war was declared
took but seventeen kilograms from Gen.
Joubert.
The word passed down the line. In the
twinkling of an eye hundreds of postriders
were scampering over the veldts and
through the passes in the rolling hills
with their messages of war. Within forty
eight hours the entire force was modified
at the designated places fully euuipped
and ammunitioned and rationed for a
month.
Forty bullets per Boer soldier and one
Brlton per bullet"-that is Joubert's mot
to.
If that is all the Beers had I'm their
fights then they well nigh lived up to that
fierce maxim.
The military axiom IAN army wastes
a mans weight In lead for every man
killed" doesn't seem to apply to the
Beers.
They don't know much about tactics
but they seem TO know strategy. Their
movements are not so beautifully precise
as the Englishmen, but when the decisive
moment comes In the action they seem
to hold the commanding positlon-at least
that is what Gems. Methuen, Csatacre and
Butler have found out.