The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-04-16
PEN PICTURES OF WAR.
COBdiiions-S0me Marvellous
Recoveries.

One of our war correspondents, in the
course of private letter to a friend,
gives some vivid pictures of the reali-
ties of war under modern conditions:
"Asregards my ownfeelings in a fight
tits very hard to describe; know when
the thing is allover and I am all right
feel much happier. Any man who has
been in a modern fight, where men are
being knocked over all around, and
says he likes it, is liar. In former
days it must have been different. The
enemy could be seen, the smoke could
be seen, and rifles had to be reloaded
after every shot. AT 1,G0O yards you
were in comparative safety. The in
fantry, after receiving one volley,
would charge, knowing that until the
enemy had loaded again each man was
practically safe.
"Nowadays that is all changed.
Nothing isseen, no man, no smoke. The
only thing seen is the dust thrown up.
by the bullets, like rainstorm on the
surface of a lake, the artillery throw
ing shells, and the shells bursting. In
contrast to this is the noise, which is
Internal; with occasional lulls it sounds
as If a million kettledrums. were being
played-a constant tra-ra-ra-ra, with
the boom, boom of the big guns and
the harsher sound of the pumping Of
the Maxims, Hotchkiss, Maxim-N Norden-
feldts and machine guns in general
The discord is appalling, as every gun
has different sound, and each shell
going through the air huns or whistles
according to its own breed After a
time you can tell what is coming, or,
if7itis one ofyour own, what is going.
The most terrifying Of the enemy's
guns is sort of HotchlSiss, which fires
about five rounds at time and throws
a one-pound shell which bursts. You
are safe nowhere, as a bullet, fired at
an object at 500, yards, which misses,
hits and kills at 1000 or 5000 1t prac-
tically means with these rifles that a
bullet is neverspent until it hits some
thing and remains there When bull
let strikes you hearnothiDg; it goes
right through man and probably
travels. on another 1000 yards You
hear grunt or a gurgle, and the man
collapses and doubles up; sometimesi If
hit in the arm or leg he spins around
and falls, and probably gets up again,
as it is only the shock which knocks
him down, and he hardly feels the bull
let At Modder river / went down
with three guns Of the Eighteenth bat
terry to within l 1,300 vsrds, and saw five
men go over, one after another, but
only one killed Fl
''1'he worst thing Is d bullet wound
IN the stomach, just below the navel, |
which is mortal The pain Is excruciat-
ng, and they howl like shot hare; il
sounds like child screaming, and is
horrible. But you see such a lot of
,eastly sights and hear such lot Of
sounds that YOU become
accustomed to them and callous, l
ound a wounded Boer AZ Magersfon-
ein who was shot-evidently while "
ng down-through the top of the head
bove the right ear; the bullet hnls1
raveled through his head and out *
he back of his jaw on the left side 1t
ad then broken his collarbone and
aiken a turn, Travelled round his ribs,
nd out at his side. He was not pretty
o look at. but did not seem much the
Torse, ana while I gave him water he
xplaiued to me The course of the bull
1t. Some Of the recoveries are per- {
ectly marvellous. I suppose after the
hing is over the doctors win publish :
ome of the extraordinary cases which
ave passed through their hands,
ondon News a