Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1900-01-10
SEEKING MISSING SOLDIERS.
The HaadbllIs That Are Distributed Ansss
British Reglments.

From the London Mail:
In the whole copious realm of liter
ature dealing with our wars, big and
little, 1t is rather surprising that there
should be only one passing mention
made of the fact that periodically tens
OF thousands of circulars and handbills
are Issued by the relatives Of supposed
ly dead young soldiers in the ranks
asking for detailed account of the
last moments of the slain.
The writer has seen many Of these
circulars that have not only been cir
culated in the regiment to which the
dead or missing man belonged, but
have, In certain cases, been given to
every surviving soldies of the particu.
lar campaign In which he was en-
gagged. One of these latter handbills
was periodically issued, literally by the
hundred thousand, over a period COW
ering ten years. 1t related to young
private Of high connections, whose real
name was Gordon, but who had en-
listed in the name OF BRASIL. He was
reported us missing" and 1t is an
array tradition that something like
$150OO0 was spent by his mother on
advertisements and inquiries in all
parts Of the world, a regular army of
non-commissioned officers OF certain
regiments-who never asked for and
sometimes declined taking a penny
receiving tips" for making strenuous
inquiries among Sepoys.
Some of these circulars that have re-
lated to men killed in n very early en-
gagement of long-continued campaign
have followed the dead mans COM
rades who participated In and survived
the same action to the most outlandish
places, where our troops seemed cut
off from the whole world; and, in one
case, slender and delicate looking
middle-aged woman herself bore her
circular of inquiry into the very heart
of Burlnah.
AS to the handbills that go with the
tardy and scanty mall to isolated bod
les of troops, here is an actual one
which in 1879, just previous to the
battle Of Ulundi, arrived Mt the camp
Of Conference HILL" in Zululand,
where our troops were waiting to ad-
vance on the savage King Cetewayo.
In texture and printing the bill is only
of the sort that is given away by thou
sands in our streets; In its text it af-
fords tragically clear view of what
many of these momentous and really
vivid circulars are like.
1t is notable that In this handful no
particular regiment-the man really be-
longed to the 24th-or regimental num-
Der is specified, nor does the advertiser
insult the dead mans comrades by Of
fering any semblaace of u gratuity.
But how terribly the tragedy of Isandl-
wana, where our brave fellows miscal-
culated the strength Of the teeming
thousands of Zulus, who chased them
for miles, is Indicated in such graphic
clauses as the second! Ibid he escape
the carnage and get to that river where
somany were cut down? Or was he
with tile poor remnant which depended
on the bayonet alone, and which fought
to the last gasp?'
These circulars are, in all the SEEM
ing simplicity of few lines of print,
such as we Mt home are accustomed to
associate with lost bracelet, most lu-
rid reminders of the horrors of war,
for there is II dreadful particularly of
information asked for. The Soudan
produced whole sheaf of them, and
In each one occurs the dreadful Ques-
ton, WAS he mutilated?"
OF course, many such circulars are
issued to British troops everywhere
certain of them have been repeated at
intervals for years-in regard to MISS
Ing men who have never been in action
in their lives, and one of these, which
has again and again been repeated,
and which palpably relates to some
"ne'er-do-weel.' states that the sup
posed private is ''giyen much to drink
wherever he is" A copy of it was to
be seen posted at Aldershot only lately.