The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-09
PEN PICTURES OF WAR.
What n Battle Is Like Under Modern
COnditiOns-Grim Realities and
Shocking scenes.

Shocking scenes.
From the London News
One of our war correspondents in the
course of private letter to friend. gives
some vivid pictures of the realities of war
under modern conditions:
"As regards my own feelings in fight
it is very hard to describe; l know when
the thing is all over and I am all right
l feel much happier Any man who has
been in modern fight where men are
being knocked over all around and says
he likes it, is a 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 1000 yards you were in compara-
tive safety. The infantry, after receiving
one volley could charge, knowing that
until the enemy had loaded again each
man was practically safe.
Nowadays that is all changed. Moth
ing is seen, no man, no smoke. The only
thing seen is the dust thrown up by the
bullets, like a rainstOrm on the surface
of a lake, the artillery throwing 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 MaXms HOtchkiss, Max
im-Nordenfeldts, and machine guns in gen
eral The discord Is appalling, as every
gun has different sound, and each shell
going through the air huns or whistles
according to its breed. After a time you
can tell what is coming or, if il is one of
your own, what is going.
The most terrible of the enemy's guns
is a sort of Hotchkiss, which fires about
five rounds at time and throws a one
nowhere, as a bullet, fired a. an object
AT 500 yards which misses, hits and kills
at $500 or 5000. II practically means with
these rifles that bullet Is never spent UNI
til it hits some hing and remains there
When bullet strikes, you hear nothing; it
goes right through man and probably
travels on another 1900 yards. You hear a
grunt or a gursle, and the man collapses
and doubles up; some times If hit in the
arm or leg he spins around and falls. and
proba bly gets up again, as 1t is only the
shock which knocks him down. and he
hardly feels the bullet. At Modder River
| went down with three guns of the
Eighteenth Battery to within 1900 yards,
and saw five men go over, one after the
other, but only one killed.
THE worst thing is a bullet wound in
the stomach below the navel which is
mortal The pain is excruciating, and
they howl like a shot hare; it sounds Ike
a child screaming, and is horrible. But
you see such lot of beasuy sights and
hear such a lot of heartrending sounds
that you become accustomed to them and
calus | found a wounded Boer at Mag
ersfontein who was shOt-eVidently while
living down-through the top of the head
above the right ear; the bullet had travel
ed through his mead and out at the back
of his jaw on the left side. 1t had then
broken his collar bone and taken a turn
Travelled round his ribs, and out al his
side He was not pretty to look at. but did
not seem mucn the worse, and while l gave
of the bullet Some of the recoveres are
perfectly marvellous. I suppose after the
thing is over the doctors will publish some
of the extraordinary cases which have
passed through their hands"