Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-04-16
ABOUT 1HE BRiTlsH OFFICERS.

ABOUT THE British OFFICERS.
corrsspendsnt Describes ThsirG Great
cklessness Under Fire.
London. April SIC Correspondence to
Associated Pressl Tho British oficers
dress like privates when under IRE; they
won't take to cover. So Telegraph
correspondent writing from Natal says.
The minute fighting begins, : says
the correspondent, the men lie down.
but the officers stalk about, giving sig
mails. waving their arms. smoking Gig
Ears, and generally behaving as II they
were In Picadilly. watched q young
gentleman carrying his rifle under his
arm. as one does ones gun when walk
ing between the beats OF q covert
shooting. In his other hand he had a
walking stick, with which he was point y
ing out where his men were to fire
The soldiers We're carefully hidden
and he was under q merciless fire, but
4 saw him the next morning trudging to-
Ladysmith, none the worse for the days
lighting. Indeed 1T does not atterif
you are going to be hit you'll catch It,,
whether or no you disguise yourself as
a private. Habit is q strong thing and a.
British subalt terms or a captain OF imam
try Of the line how you like, but IL he
is the right sort you can spot him as far
as you can see him.
Certainly at close range the Beers
have made a dead set al our officers
An officer of my old regiment got two
bullets in his thigh, one thru his hand,
three thru his helmet and his right arm
yte iv,lv
lbusiness-like shooting, but the damage
was done at about 800 yards, when all
men shoot fairly we'll. On the other
fhand the Beers blaze away an alarming
amount of bullets which hit nothing at
longer distances. Twice l have seen the.
South African Light Horse under a
heavy rifle fire, as harmless as it was
Iheavy-three or four men hit out of
three or four hundred. Compare this
with the shooting of the Bazingers in
our zareba at Gumbat. where they
wiped out every man who stood on his
fleet. On the whole, don't think the
Boer army above our average in shoot
ling. Where they are facile principles is.
at mounted infantry work in Selling
and abandoning or reinforcing a posi-
ton as necessity. may compel; their
tenacious clinging to a place they know
to be necessary TO their safety, and their
sure eye for such a position.
Indeed, against a slowly moving
army like ours, whose precise tactics
compel it to shift in a leisurely man.
4 ner, they are formidable. Each good
\ Boer Is a general in himself; each pile
\ of stones he shoots from fortress iii
i itself, and a commando of 300 men in
a good position means 300 fortresses to
4 be taken. Then the Beers let off their
Ammunition unstintedly. So far as
\ they can see they shoot. not because
4 they think they can hit anything, but
for the Very good reason that nothing
,Isdemoralizes an enemy more than bull
He's coming from unseen rifles. Indeed,
1.-The Beers produce great moral effects
with their little bullets. They are ex-
jtremely busy at 1000 yards. I will bet
jany man that he can not walk slowly
I5across a bit of fiat ground, under fire
4 from the Beers at 1000 yards range,
land whistle God Save the Queen at
1.-THE same time. If any one accepts my
4 bet he will see what he will see.
What affords the Beers most glee
lis our regular cavalry. Indeed. 1T does
iIspresent a ludicrous aspect in this coun-
!. try of stones and kopjes. Isoften Won
a der what would happen to regula,
Il cavalry brigade il surprised, armed az
81 ;they are with lance, sabre and carbine
s. The untidy Boer horseman, with grass
4 fed pony, lopes along quite regardles.
b of his formida ble-l looking adversary I.
a lancer attempts violence the doppel
dismcunts and Shoots. Our colonia
Il cavalry is a little better, but they suf-
4 fer considerably from their want oil
knowledge Of horses. Even they are
mot a march for the Boer at the game
Il of hide and seek. Fortuna ely they are
a brave and have general contempt for
4 the Dutehmen. and often achieve by
i 5aceenlpiich if their usually willy en-
4 Las they look Their work in Natal,
However. can not be sufficiently ex-
j4tolled. 1t is one of the most pleasing
sIscertain that our cavalry Will have 10
i be differently trained or, at all events,
EARNED with the long rifle. The day Of
4 shock in action is practically over
4 Those vast plains of Germany and
Austria where Murat's legions thun-
dsred to victory are row intersected
Il VIII WIRE fences.
II Purify the blood-cure disease: Keep
i the blood pure prevent disease-these
4 two laws of health constitute the mis-
4 sion OF Beggs Blood Purifier, the great
sllspring medicine. Best blood medicine
\ on the market. says Mrs. James Nc
4 Bride, Apalachacola. Fla. Geo. P. Pow
y ers.
Army oMccrss Are Degraded.
. Madrid, April i .-- royal order ha:
lust been issued, degrading captain
and four lieutenants Of the Spanish
army who are accused of having ac
:. Icepted service on the American polio.
81 force at Manila. The action is ascribet
a 10 the activity of the Filipino junt;
3 here
Portuguese affairs continue to be fol
Il lowed here with the closest attention
1.-The Lis&sn government exercises