West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1900-02-01
IRIsnuES nrHr norR Army.
Their Brigadc. LED 30 a West Pointer.
4 Deinx Great work.

10Th from James Il. Damn, formerly
of Lowell, Mass. who IS fighting
with the Beers in south Africa. the
Burghers have an Irish bngide OF
more than 1,soo men, the majority
Of whom are from California and
the West, with quite a sprinkling
from ,he old country and the Cape.
re says he hr.gadcs commander
is Col Blake, a Yves, Pointer, for
merly Ia the United States cavalry.
Dunn writes that the Beers are
getting new men every day from
every country ia Europe and from
the United States, and that while
the majority from America are from
the Middle West, there are some
from around New York. Boston
and Philadelphia. All the Ameri-
can recruits are veterans of the
Spanish-American war or have
served in the regular army. Dunn
says It was 400 men Of his brigade
that captured the Irish Fusiliers at
Dundee, and adds that II the Boer
contingent had had more experience
in military matters they would have
taken the whole Of Gen. Yule's
command. In speaking about the
army penned up in Ladysmith, he
says
"They used to make sorties and
rush hills; but we had orders to drop
back and let them rush; and when
they got tired we occupied our old
positions and soaked them as they
limped back to camp. A few days
ago they came out in strength, and
when the Beers retired Col. Blake
held our position and we waited
for them, running up the green dag
to make them raw. The Beers
don't carry bayonets; the Irish
brigade does.
"They shelled our position for an
hour, dropping shells over us and
beyond US, but no particular harm.
Col. Blake passed the word along
the line to wait and give them a
good fight. A real English regiment
came at our position, and their
officers called and urged them on.
am in Cassidy's company. He is
an Arizona man, and we have half
dozen fellows from Tucson who
are dead shots. We lay low.
squirting over the breast works
while our Tucson fellows tumbled
over officer after officer.
"When they reached the foot Of
the hill, Col. Blake ordered us to
cease firing AMI told few men
from each company to yell, lump
up and petend to run away. This
encouraged the Johnnies to cheer.
and they came up the hill painting
and shooting wildly When about
one hundred feet from us we let
them have it from Mauser Mann
licher and Maxim, and Blake
yelled: Now, boys, give them a
taste of the real thing ? The cheer
that went up could be heard mile
off and we went over the inuench-
ments at them with the bayonet.
Surprised ? You never saw
anything like it. a volley point
blank and then metal We went at
them in good Irish fashion and
some Of the Yanks and Ohio chaps
were wilder than the Turks. The
redcoats wouldn't stand for il, but
went down the hill on break,
sprinting like greyhounds. We
marched back about one-sixth Of
them, and there was a badly mauled
lot laying around that we sent into
the English camp that night, as we
preferred to let them have the
bother of dootoring them. They
won't be very hot to rush Hill with
green flag over il again, imagine
"The accounts sent out by the
English come back to us, and the
fellow that run their intelligence de
parlment and sends ont the news is
a star, the noblest liar Of them an.
You want to take no stock whatever
10 him we are all right The only
thing we arc short Of is doctors and
medicine; we ought TO have a better
staff Of physicians and an ambulance
corps, and suppose they win be
organized soon, as these things are
to arrive from Europe"
We shall build, control. and
operate the Nicaraguan canal. When