The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-20

je's new home"
George Lynch. the correspondent who
sailed cut OF Ladysmith during the
siege, riding a white horse which had
been dyed khaki-cUlOr al over one side.
and taking uudcr one arm "A bottle of
whisky and some copies OF the siege
paper. the Ladysmith Lyre, hoping TO
trade them for some Transvaal news
papers. has rsturned to England. and
writes some rather reahstic dsscrip-
lions OF things seen In action.
Death from a Mauser bullet, ne
writes. is less painful than the draw
ing OF tooth. Such. at least. appears
To oe the case. speaking generally from
apparent evidence without having the .
OF collecung the opinions OF
those who have actual y died. In books
we have read OF shrieks OF expiring 4
agony. hut ask those who have been on
many battle fields. and they will not ,
tell you they have heard them. as a /
rule "A sudden exclamation, I'm hit! !
My Cod Dam itI They look as III
staggering from the blow of a fist
rather than from a tiny pencil of lead |
then a sudden pa eness. perhaps
grasring of the hands occasionally. as
N 20 hold on To som thing when the bot |
tom seems to be falling out OF all things
stable. but generally no sign of augnt
To sleep-a drunken sleep-drunken
death. Il often seems-very common
place as a rule. a, smile as often as or
oftener than any sign Of pain. but gen.
orally no sign OF either.
I'm our first engagement there was
rather too much anxiety on the part %
n wOunUed mans comrade sto carry him
90 the rear. but Il did not continue for
long. The actuating motive Is not al
ways kindness and humanity. but a d.
sire to get out Of danger. IL was soon
evident that u was only going from the
frymEpan into the IRE. as the danger
% walking back carrying a wounded
man was Immensely greater than re-
manning or advancing. more or less on
ones stomach. Sometimes II was the
unfortunate wounded man who was hit
again. Men carrying off n wounded
comrade OF course render themselves
strictly liable to be regarded as COM
batants
Two men being killed on one horse
seems rather n tai. order. yet Il Is per-
fectly true. II happened at the cavalry
charge after Eandslaagte Some of the
| Beers stood their ground with great
stubbornness TIL our cavalry were only
few yards away. one middle-aged.
bearded fellow stayed just a little too
long and had not time To get to his
horse, which was few yards away.
Il re Scrambled up Dehlnu a bTOtner BDer
who was just mounting. but almost i'm
mediately the .'ifth Lancers were upon
them. There was n farrier-corpOral, an
Immensely big. powerful fellow. who
singled them out. They were galloping
down a slight incline as hard as they
could get their horse TO travel but their
pursuer was ginning on them at every
stride. when he came within striking
\ distance he jammed his spurs into his
L f.a "A q,
\ tiger. Weight of man and horse. inn
petus OF gallop and hill focused in the
| bright lance point held as in n vice.
II pierced the left side OF the back OF
the man behind. and the point came out
through the right side OF the man In
front. who. with n convulsive move
4 ment. threw up his hands. finging his
rife In the air. The lancer could not
withdraw his lance as the men swayed
and dropped from their horse. but gal
lOped on into the gathering darkness
punCtured with rifle flashes here and
there. and fitting forms that might be
friend or foe. The poor fellow was kill
II n few days after at the batttle OF
Rietfontein. How heartily the Beers
hated those lancersi They would havs
liked so much to have had iances barred
as against the rules OF war. And Il
certainly would have made an i'm
mense difference ~ our side had sue
ceeded in getting few more chances
especially at the commencement of tn,
war. OF using the lance.
Wounds or death by Mauser bullets
or even by the thrust OF a lance. arr
not 10 be compared from the point o
. View Of their pain-infilcting POSSIBLE
ties with what may be done in tina
way with the fragment OF a shell
! That's the thing that hurts. Shell fire
speaking generally. o. the 'bogy of bat
L.
main purpose Il accomplishes IL to es
, tablish funk When the actual dam
: age uonc by shell fire after n bat,le 4
a counted up and the number OF she'll
: fired. the results are most surprising
n Thus. many shells were fired b.
a the Beers 90 kill or wound one mar
: while In the Siege OF I.adysmith tn
: number was immensely greater. a poe
o In the l.adysmith Tyre wrote: ON
y thing is certain In this town of lies:
Z Long Tom hits you on the head yo
: dies You do-unquestionably; but per
I haps 10 ~ worse To get a piece of she
r somewhere else. What frightful wound
= they make sometimesl What mangle
: butchery In their track
!. "A boy who could not have been NOR
Z than ~ or Is years OF age was lying o
{ the side OF the hill with his head on
z fiat stone. He had been hit by n piec
Of shell and both his legs were broke
and mangled above the knee. He wa
= done for. and his life was only a matte
y OF lasting some minutes. Another maj
r wounded somewhere internally, was ~
h ing beside him. There was no sign
n pain on the boys face. His eyes WEI
a closed. He Just seemed very tire,
. Opening his eyes he looked downwar
e intently at his legs. which were lyin
J.. at an oblique angle with his body froi
n whore they had been hit. IL looked Q
n " his trousers were the only attach
A. ment. AS he gazed intently a trouble
IN look came over his face. and his wound
NJ ed COmrade beside him was watchiu
he him and saw Il. The tired neyes close
AZ again wearily. Then the wounded ma
| alongside him, cursing with variegate
~ and rich vocabulary. bent or half role
VI over and caught first one boot and the
IN the other and iifteu each leg straigl
D. down, swearing under his breath Il
" while. Then he lay back, swearing
IN the blankety blank young banker ar
=, still watching him. soon the tired ey
TO opened again and instinctively look,
~ down at his legs. They seemed TO op,
Ia wider as he looked: then he smil,
family. thinking he had been mistake
m about them before. and lay back, al
"a the eyes did not open any more. II
Is fellow beside him chuckled and said
~ himself. Well. I'm damnedl' But DC
sibly the Recording Angel had put dov
a ff.ark that rnav hahn 20 ,ro,.... a. /,