The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-04-12
THE BOER SOLDIERS.
As Described by an American Jour-
nalist Who Went Among
Them.

cember 4. There were not more than
so guards out on that day, though
the English outposts were within
about three miles. On the Sd Presi-
dent Steyn ordered all the ammuni-
ton and supplies out of the town, and
all were busy till late at night mov-
ing the wagons, says the London
Times.
On the 5th l visited the camps
which lie on the north side of the
Modder.
The large wagon laagers in these
camps present strange appearance.
In some of the larger commands as
many as $50 wagons are grouped in
a large irregular circle; inside this
there are few tents and many large
awnings. The wagons are all loaded
with supplies and ammunition. In
nearly every one there are a number
of steel trunks, large and small. In
these the burghers carry their spare
clothing, and perhaps some luxuries
brought from the distant farm.
All the time the roads were crowded
with men fastening to the front. Al
most all of them had merely the most
primitive kind of outfit. The cheap
''store saddle" which the majority of
them have, has few paltry bags at
tached to it in which the rider stores
a limited supply of food. All the
clothing, boots md blankets the men
use are the usual "shoddy" that is
sold in the country trading stores. 1t
seems incomprehensible why no pro-
vision was made to clothe and mount
the men in serviceable manner,
when one thinks of the immense
amount of ready money on hand.
There appears also to be great lack
of order, and it is surprising that the
primitive system has stood the strain
so long. 1t is the marvellous adapta-
bility of the people that upsets a
strangers estimate of what results
of their methods are likely to be.
During the time | have been among
them | have not heard one man
really grumble or refuse duty. The
discomforts are accepted as unavoid-
ably incidental to the war, to be
borne with equanimity. A consider
able proportion of the young men are
well educated, and many of them have
been to Europe to study or for pleas
ure. There was a large corps of ex-
press riders under Capt. Fichardt and
Capt. Jooste doing splendid work on
horse and bicycle around Jacobsdal.
On the morning of the 9th President
Steyn returned suddenly to the vii
lage from his tour of the camps Ab-
ruptly entering the door of his prim-
tive hotel. he found that the well-
filled table left no room for visitors,
so he sat outside on a dilapidated
bench till the men had finished their
breakfast. The president is distinct
ly democratic. For a conveyance he
had an old blue farmers cart, with
out a hood or shelter of any kind
from the scorching sun. That morn
ing. as he and Mr.. Fischer sat on the
bench, they received people, read and
dispatched their kilograms and at.
tended to all their varied business.
When this was done the president
visited the hospitals, and, after pass
ing a few cheerful words with the
dozen wounded who remained there,
he left for Bloemfontein.
During the whole of that day
mounted men md wagons kept
streaming into Jacobsdal from the
front. The general at last seemed
to have recognized the necessity of
protecting the place, and at the same
time using it as a base for attempts
on the English rear and on the rail-
showed no signs of advancing, but
kept working at the repair of the
railway bridge while they waited for
| reenforcements.
1t was practically impossible to ar
rive at any reliable estimate of the
strength of the Boer army BY the
9th it was perhaps 1000 men, and
constantly increasing in small num-
bers. 1t seemed to me impossible for
this small number of men to oppose
the magnifcently equipped army that
might attack them at any moment
The English, moreover, retained con-
troll of the railway behind them, and
thus had constant supplies of all
sorts. The Beers, on the other hand,
We're 100 miles from their base rail-
way, and had to depend on the OK
wagon. Nevertheless they seemed to
have complete confidence in their ulti-
mate success. "a
On the 5th about 1900 men. Justify
singing praise God, from Whom all
blessings flow started out to take up
a position for an attack on the Eng
lish rear and railway. With them
went three cannon and the Scandina-
Wan corps. The Scandinavians were
to use the dynamite when necessary.
Their corps consisted then of 100 men,
speaking nine different languages
among them. | heard Danish. Swed-
ish, Norwegian, Russian. Finnish and
Polish. They have, together with the
Irish brigade at Ladysmith, great
reputation for reckless bravery. A
jew with whom | talked told me he
had made his money in the Transvaal,
and would fight for It, to show the
world that all Jews were not mere
cowardly money makers.