The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-09
WAR LETTERS FROM soUru AFRICA.
What British Onicers and Soldiers Are Writ
Ing Home-Boer Kindness To Prisoners
Fighting on Empty stomachs-How 1t
Feels to BE Trapped-Woman Hears a
from ths London Daiiv Chroncis.

fTom I'M London DdtipC hrorrts.
Second Lieut.. c.. Z. Klnahan Of the Royal
Irish Fusiliers. writing to his father. Mr.. @. L.
kinahan. Bagshott. from Staatsmodel Schulz.
Pretoria, says:
W were all taken prisoners. together with
the uloucester Regiment and a battery OF
monntain artillery. which accounts Tor US being
IN Pretoria so soon. We went out at night to
GiSe orG a Hill RICH, i2 the %ldS, Of the enemy
attack next day. Everybody knew that to he
able TO relieve us he would have to be entirely
successful and from what we hear he was not.
AS We were going M tho hill In, the dark \
small party OF Beers dashed through
our ammunition. mules, causing them to
s5am pede. by this move we lost all our mules
,ZOO,, and with them. all our ammunition and
artillery, We started fighting at 5 A.. NJ. and
In 9 few hours time the Beers were firing on
US ,ro z all lou, sides s. until n by 2 o,el0 loci they
means shooting at a BoserG 2 he is 6ehind a rock
oaf. al FS SG thS sf ias, e SSar , sf th is t nif r | had i' 4 iias
and ammunition which took from a dead man.
ana ana p,azsd away f9r all was worth; Then we
the tISsS ee nayoI iirs n .oan p1I%Saredw W. Tor we're e suI III when ,hen
taken prisoners. except two officers killed and
eight wounded. aud marched 10 the Boer
, ,ssN and sent on that night to w 9 station
were in their lager they treated us extremely
well and gave us food and tobacco. All you
read about tho Beers in England is absolutely
prisoners, looking after them a. well as their
own wounded. and anything they've got
eVsg II III they Hi Gepri you themselves IL yGS aS We ' a"me
carriages. and the way. they treated. us was
most coffee, sSns a1erS Time 'ee1 Ms s,o us an1 Tb sivdin aS
we arrived WE took IN quarters on the race
course. but We have been moved into a fine
brick building. with baths. electric light. &c.
They provide us with everything. from clothes
down to tooth brushes. They also feed us,
and we are constantly getting presents OF
vegetables and cigars from private people.
In fuct. We can have everything we like except
our liberty for some reason or other they
won't at present give US parole, and we
upon fifty officers IN this building, and they
have got any number OF wounded ones In dit
ferent places. They say they won't exchange
the officers at any price"
A letter. dated Nov. -, received from Alex
ander and Robert Carlyle. Argyll and Suther-
land Highlanders. addressed 20 their father in
Durnfrles regarding the battle of Modder River.
says
Bullets and shells were falling among us
and going oyer our heads in hundreds II be.
gan at Z 4. NJ, and 1t was between X ana 9 Z
NJ, before il finished. and it never slackencd
one moment The Borrs had a splendid. po,i-
ton and trenches. and II our troops had been
in them an enemy would never have got within
Il thousand wards, The Beers lost heavily and
we are buryiag their horses, iyiag ia tho river
and on its banks. IN huudrc Is, We have been
over two days without food AMI on foot all the
time We are lying n a farm and have nothing
for IL but to steal whatever we cah lay hands
unop, lc9ught a hen and Bob got potatoes
"A field, and these are leing cooked in an Old
can, The rest are killing pigs, goats or any
thing"
The writer's have been missing since tho
Magersfontein battle.
From Il vnoLdSs N,Uspdpsr.
A letter has been received from Gunner
Alfred Beadnall OF Scarborough OF the Sixty
second B.. r, +. A.. dated from Orange River.
Nov. l.. in which he says;
How ] often wish | never had enlisted. what
with the Lardships. such as hali-staryed. and
we have not had over five hours sleep at a
time, Perhaps We have lust got our topcoats
on the ground and tried to catch a f. wsRnin-
utes' wink when those d Beers have come
lodging about, when We have had TO stand to
our guns as lar as eight and ten hours at a
about sick OF this life. often wish / was back
You could hardly realize what an awful
scene II battlefield l.. some poor fellow asking
you for a drink a. you pass him. Perhaps
some will never ask for water any more. The
most painful thing to see wa a Dutch spy who
was caught. an he was tried and sentence 70
he shot, and the poor fellow was marched TO
dig his own grave, and when he hal finished
it he was stood over Il and then twelve soldiers
marched out and had to pick up a rifle out OF u
group OF twelve. There were six az these
loaded and six unloaded. so none Of hem knew
who shot him and the poor chan never said IA
word II was all over in "A few Minutes.
W were Just about to eat our humble tea
which j. a ha.d biscuit aud a drop Al water
when the alarm sounded and We went into
action, and We had not been our about twenty
minutes when there was one officer ont of the
Northumberland FusIliers shot through the
heart and another got shot ana died IN the
saddle and three mora wounded, Thar was on
Friday night. and We buried thcm on saturday
niGht with military honors. Things are so
dear out here, We pay Add. a pint for beer.
and we can only set TWO p'nts a day: 80 you
can restcontcn'ed that we don't get drunk.
We had "A very bad time Of II at sea. We lost
nearly forty horses and We have hnd ten die
out here so we did not do % well. | shall be-
thankful when we get INTO barracks. II ever We
do 50. as we shall have a bod 10 sleep on. 1t
viii tie quite a change from serping on the
hard, bare ground and only your top
coat to cover you from tn" wlnd and
rain. suppose YOU have been scanning
the papers every night to see il you could see
any new about me-. but We are IN a country
where all communication is cut of and they
can only take letters every forth ight. and It
takes it over a month TO come. so It will be
close on Christmas when you get this and |
shall have to wish YOU all a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New lear when It comcs.' Think
myself this will be the last letter that ever
shall be able e write. because we are in a ter
rible position. com pN"tely surrounded by Beers.
and we are going to try to get out. 50 let US
hone for III" best.
II am writing this or my water bottle. NO
you must excuse the writing. We start fight
ing again 10 the morning"
We have received the following letter from
a private in the Royal Field Artillery at pres
ent on duty in South Africa:
Il think IL is my duty 10 inform YOU OF the
way our British soldiers are treated az present
in South Africa We rise at 4. VI. sometimes
e~arier-and are out in the burning sun all tn.
day At night we arc bulliet about like dogs.
anlfed by change on dry bra and coffee. | am
a driver in the Fourteenth Battery K. +. A., and
/ am bound TO tell YOU that | never saw such
treatment Of our men Cleaning harness.
grooming horses. driving drill. riding drll,. gun
drill, besides seven hours stables. We are like
OF The battery hope that YOU viii publish this
letter a.. we are lighting for our Queen and
country.
Lance-Corporal Enright. Third Battalion
Grenadier Guards, writes under date. In camp.
Jacobsdal, Nov. ~;
Il write TO let YOU know I am alive and kick
ing. though. as YOU viii have seen by the pa
pers. we have been twice u. action The first
time, at Belmont, on the 23d, wa awful. We
LETT camp at about 3 A. NJ. and marched
about four miles. in pitch darkness. Just 40
attack. and Just then the. enemy caught sight
OF us and opened FIRE. We had then an open
space OF about 100 yards to cross, and a. the
Doe r. were behind tire mendouS rocks on n sue
had no cover at all. It was not pleasant. Well.
we got across this al right, and went for their
first position, which was among some
hills shaped like a horseshoe. Here we
lost our AdJutant and our Colonel aud
two officers wounded, while the men were
falling right anG lett. As soon as we got to the
top the Beers cleared out. a. they hate cod
steel We then saw they had occupied u much
stronger position OF, another very ,precinitous
anil want for thorn IL WINS "A trAmpnIAns