The Springfield herald., 1900-02-23
HOW BOERS FIGHT.
AN ENGLISHMAN'S COMMENTS
ON PRESENT WAR.
Millionaire Mine Owner of South Africa
Pays the Usual High Tribute to the
Farmer Republicans - Served with
Them In Basuto War.

]. B. Robinson, a millionaire mine
owner of South Africa, who fought
side by side with the Beers in the Ba-
suto war, comments interestingly on
the present campaign. AS an example
of what Beers can do in the way OF
holding a strong position by dint OF
courage and Workmanship, Mr.. Rob-
inson gives an experience of his own
in the Basuto war. Potgieter was out
with scouting party of thirty men,
and found himself between two large
parties of Kafiirs. Four of the little
commando tried to get away, trusting
to their well-bred horses, but only one
got through. and he could not make his
way to the laager to give warming
Potgieter and the remaining twenty
six men galloped for n small ridge,
and. getting there in time, at once
started throwing up stones in semi
circle to form rampant of defense
Mr. Robinson goes on:
They had only raised the rampant
two feet high when the Kafiirs were
on them. Potgieter quickly issued his
orders. No one is to fire until after
me- the leader said; L will bring down
the chiefs. so many of you are to fire
at the horses, and the remainder are
to shoot down the dismounted men
when they get on their feet All the
kafiirs were mounted, and they rode
up to the little band in apparently ire
sistible numbers, the chiefs, gay with
their war plumes and heavy with kafilr
beer at their head. The first body that
had been sighted consisted of between
400 and 500 men. and a second strong
force was afterward discovered in the
rear. Potgieter let them approach to
within seventy yards and then fired.
Down fell chief after chief. The rifles
of his men rang out, and all the horses
of the leading men stumbled, shot
through the breasts. The, fire was so
resistless that the charging party edg-
ed off to the right and then the left,
and made a circle in retreat. Again the
Kaflirs came on. They were armed
with rifles. The fight started at y
o'clock in the morning. BY 2 o'clock
five or six of the Beers were SO eX-
hausted they declared they could do
no more. Their mouths were parched,
their tongues We're swollen with in
tolerable thirst. Their arms ached so
that they could hardly move them,
and they were stiff in every limb. They
said; We cannot fight any longer,
but he laughed at them. Put two peb-
bles in your mouths, he said, that will
lessen your thirst. If you cannot fire
any more let me have your guns You
keep them loaded, and | will do the
shooting. We must fight or die; there
is no escape And so he heartened
them. The fighting kept on till 6
o'clock in the evening and then the
Kafiirs drew off.
perhaps this incident will help you
to realize what kind of fighters the
men of South Africa are. Yet against
such men our generals have blindly
hurled their infantry. to be shot down
like sheep. The madness of it! To
see so much courage in our British
troops thrown away, and for nothing
at all. We do the Beers no damage.
Up to now their losses have been in
finitesimal.
THE British soldiers are too depend
ent on their commssarat, too slow.
A Boer commando. the men armed
with their rifles alone. will take with
it sufficient food for four or five days.
each man carrying his own provisions
in saddlebags. In that four or five days
the commando can with ease cover $50
miles. distance that infantry would
require from twelve to fifteen days to
cover. This Boer war will lead to the
revolutionizing of European military
methods. and the hope of its speedy
end is the liberal use of properly Sc
lected irregular horse