Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-04-14
Reckless Bravery Of Some British
officers ON the Field Of Battle,
COMMENT ON BOER SHOOTING
British Cavalry Inferior Go Boer
Mounted Infantry - Changes
That are Needed,
tEarly Dispatched

London, Aprn 5.-[Correspondence Of
the Associated Press. Though British
officers dress like prIvates when under
fire, they won't take " cover. So a
Telegraph correspondent writing from
Natal says,
"The minute fighting begins DE says,
'the men lie down. but the officers stalk
about giving signals, waving their
arms, smoking cigars and generally be-
have as II they We're in Picad.lIy /
watched a young gentleman carrying
| his rifle under his arm, as one does ones
gun when walking between the beats Of
covert shoot In his other hand he
had a walking stick with which be was
pointing out where his men We're 10 fire.
The soldiers were carefully hidden and
he was under a merciless ire-but ! saw
him next morning trudglng To Lady
smith, none the worse t0r his days
fighting. Indeed, IL does not much mat
ter-if you are going 10 Doe hit you'll
catch Il whether or not you disguise
yourself az a private. Habit is a strong
thing. hard TO get rid Of You may
dress a British subaltern or captain Of
the infantry OF the lire how you like,
but II he Is Of the right sort You can
spot him as far as you can see him.
Certainly, az close range the Beers
have made a dead set at our officers,
an officer Of my old regiment got two
In his thigh. one through his hand. three
through the helmet and his right arm
was shot Off This Is certainly extreme
~ business-like shootng, but the dam
age was done at about 300 yards, when
an men shot fairly well. on the other
hand. the Beers blaze away an alarm-
ing amount Of bullets which hit nothing
at longer distances, Twice / have seen
che South African light horse under
heavy rifle fire, as harmless as IL was
heayy-three or four men hit out of
three or four hundred. Compare this
with the shooting Of the BdzIngers IN
our Zareeba al Gubat, where they wiped
out every man who stood on his feet.
/ have already told you how / was
missed 90 close range by twenty or
thirty rilemen and, on the whole, 1
don't think the BOer army Is above our
average Ia shooting. Where they are
faclle pTincepes is at mounted infantry
work, selling and abandoning or re-
inforcing q position as necessity may
compel; their tenacious clingiug TO a
place they know TO be necessary TO their
safety and their sure eye for such q
position.
Indeed, against a slowly moving
army Ike ours. whose precise tactics |
compel It TO shift IN le.surely man |
ner they are very formidable. Each /
good Boer is a general ln himself, each |
Pile OF stones he shoots from a fortress |
IN itself. commando of 900 men in |
good position means 300 f0rtresses TO be |
taken. Then the Beers let of their |
unstlntinsiy as fgr as they |
can see they shoot, not because they |
think they win hit anything. but for |
the very good reason that nothing de- /
mOrallZes an 9uemy more than bullets |
coming from unseen rifles. indeed the |
Beers produce great moral effect with |
their little bullets They are extremely |
busy at 1000 yards But every man |
win not walk across the ground under
fire from the Beers at 1000 yards range
and whistle God Save the queen az the
same time II any one accepts my bet
he viii see what De VIII see.
What affords the Beers most glee Is
our regular cavalry Indeed. II does
present a ludiCrous appearance I'm this
country Of stones and kOpjes. / often
wonder what would happen 10 a regu-
lar cavalry brigade, if surprised. armed
as they are with lance. saber and car
blne The untdy Boer horspman with
his grass-fed pony lopes along quite
regardless of his formidable looking
II the lancer attempts vio-
lence the dopper dismounts and shoots.
our colonial cavalry Is a little better.
but they suffer considerably from their
want OF knowledge 1f horses. Even
they are no match for the Boer az the
game OF hide and seek. fortunately
they are brave. and have a general. not
yet eradicated. contempt FOR the Dutch
men. and often achieve by audacity
what they would Doe unable TO accom-
plish q their usually willy enemy did
not think them as formidable as they
look Their work IN Natal. however.
canont DE sufficiently eytolled. II Is one
OF the most pleasing features Of the
II is almost certain that
our cavalry win have TO be differently
trained az an events armed with a
long rifle The day OF shock action
is practically over Those vast plains
Of Germany and Austria, where Mu-
rats legi0ns Numbered TO victory, are
now interesected with wire fences"