Evening star., 1900-03-06
IN BETTER SPIRITS
London Feels the Good Effects of
Recent British Gains.
SERMON BY 4 SOLDIER PREACHER
A Picturesqe Scene on the Banks
Of Modder River.
THE STRAND

| Special Correspondents Of The Evening Star
| LONDON. February 20, 1900
1t looks as though the tide Of war had
| turned in South Africa, and though only
| the most sanguine consider the end near
| and a British victory Inevitable, yet I be-
lieSe that 1t will be found that we have
| turned the page Of British incompetency
and muddling and begun a new chapter,
which, after many hard battles and great
| losses will wind up with victory and peace
In six months we will be turning our atten-
tion to the new South Africa and busy
| minds will be scheming for profit and ad-
vancement. Then will be a new exodus to
! that fair country. Many hundreds are at
cape Town now ready for the first chances
| that present themselves in Boerland
| London Is as joyous today as 1t was duh
| week ago. Spirits had been so long at a
low ebb that Roberts victory, followed by
| Buffers small triumph, raised all English
| hearts and made faces smile again. One
| can put admire the pluck of these English
! people, VINO week after week opened their
papers every morning to see what positions
| mad been abandoned by their army and
| what new glories had been added to the
ever; only the lines In faces got erimmer
| and expressions more sober Next time"
| they said, Roberts will show them" and
| Doos oio snow them and the relief Is i'm
| mense.
1t Is easy to gather from the messages of
| the war correspondents that much Of the
success of Lord Roberts master stroke has
| been due to the excellence of the transport
The transport owes it's perfection to Lord
Kitchener, who, as chief Of the staff took
| IN hand this important matter and made il
work much better than ever it has done.
| his nrst measure, understand, was to di-
vide the service into two departments.
| namely, supply and transport the latter be-
| ing limited to the carriage of supplies
l Whatever be the reason ii is certain that
| under Lord Kitcheners enlivening influence
the transport worked as never 1t did before
| Geographical Difficulties.
The intelligence department Of the war
once, and the mapmakers in general are
| not altogether to blame for the note which
| often has to be appended to cablegrams
from the seat of war saying that this
| place does not appear on any of the maps"
Several causes combine to make the ldenti-
| hcation OF any particular farm very diff
CUT should it he a drift ford that is in
| question, it often occurs that it Is known
| by two different names; those that dwell on
| the one side call it after the farmer whose
| Northern boundary is formed by the river.
those who live across the stream call it by
| the name of the farmer who owns the land
on the south. Again, South African nomen-
ciature is very limited. and such farms as
| Modderfontein. Klipspruit, Reitfontein are
repeated literally by the dozen all over the
country.
Quite one-half Of the places hitherto men,
tloned IN the course of the war are not
towns or townships, even villages but
| just isolated farms which are unknown to
the Typographical and pathological experts
and probably to everybody else excnnt the
| registrar of deeds. The patriarchal Boer
custom OF a farmers sons each cutting off
| a portion of the parental farm, dwelling
upon it, and rechristening it, has also much
to do with the constant recurrence of un-
| tracable names. l have just been assisting
| to get off four war correspondents to the
front, and have had a deal to do with maps
and this is the conclusion which nv ex-
| pertence confirms.
Natives on the Defensive.
Apropos of the announcement in the
| house of commons by Mr.. Chamberlain that
| if native territory In Natal were deliber-
| ately invaded by the Beers the natives
would be encouraged to defend them
| Selves, 1t Is Interesting to recollect that
| there are close upon 100000 of these natives
| in Natal and Zuluand, 10000 of whom are
| fcuno in Zululand. According to the ma
| 1--WE code OF 1891. they are prohibited from
| being in possession of firearms. and special
| permits have to be obtained to carry their
native weapon-the asseGai
| The natives in Natal COMPRISE eighty-fye
| tribes. occupying thirty-seven native Ioca-
| tfons or preserves, in which white settlers
| are not allowed Every encouragement is
| given by the Natal government to the per
| petuation Of their tribal system and in
| each location they are ruled by their own
| chiefs, assisted by indunas or headmen
| These native officials are. Of course, sub
| Ject TO the white magistrate in each dis
| trict and the whole system is controlled by
| a secretary of native affairs, who has a
4 Sc in the Natal cabinet. The governor of
| the colony has the quaint title of supreme
| chief of the native population" Every hut
/ Is subject to an annual tax of fourteen
shillings which is a light burden to the
kaftir. as poverty is unknown to these pas
| toral people.
A Soldier Preacher.
| One Of the cleverest bits of writing from
South Africa that have seen appeared to-
| day in the Yorkshire Post, published in
| Leeds. II is a sketch of q soldier preacher
at the Modder river holding spellbound
| large audience of his comrades. I.will give
only portion of it.
He standing at eventide facing the
| rough and rugged heights of Enslin. The
| crirnson-tnted clouds that emblazoued the
| sky cast ruddy radiance around his head
| and face. making him appear like one of
| those ancient martyrs one is apt to see in
| stained-giass windows in old-world churches
| in Rome or Venice. His feet were firmly
| planted close to the graves of the British
| soldiers and sailors who had fallen when
we beat the Beers and drove them back
| upon Modder river. In one hand he held
| little well-worn Bible his other hand WAS
| raised high above his close-cropped head.
while his voice rang out on. the sultry
|
| steel-'Prepare to meet yer Gawd.'
| NO one who looked at the neat, strong
| figure arrayed in the plain khaki uniform
| of a private soldier, at the ciean-shaven,
| square-jawed face, at the fearless gray
| blue eyes, could doubt either his honesty
| or earnestness. Courage imprinted by
| natures never-erring hand on every Inca
| ment of his Saxon features. So might one
| of Crumwells stern-browed warriors have
| stood on the eve of Marston Moor.
| Long and Honorable Service.
| "On the soldier-preacher's breast a long
| row of decorations CLEANED. telling Of hon.
| orable service to queen and country. Be-
J fore a man could wear those ribbons he
/ must have faced death as brave men face
| 1t on many battle field. He must have
known the agonies of the thirst, the dull,
| dead pain of sleepless nights and midnight
| marches. the tireless watching at the SEN
| trys' post and onward rush of armed men
| up heights almost unscalable.
| Rough as the thrust of broken bayonet
| was his speech. unskilled in rhetoric his
tongue, his periods unrounded as flying
fragments Of flying shrapnel shell, yet all
| who listened knew that every word came
/ from the speakers soul from the rnapa-