The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-01-11

~~~~~~I~>~~s~~~c~.~~N~
tween the Roers and the British in
South Africa.
The armorcd train has been par
ticularly prominent feature in this
Traasvaal war because of the position
Of he contestants and the long, un-
protected plains along the different
boundaries.
The idea Of The armored train, how
ever, is by no means new one, for,
although past experiences with such
trains in open warfare have revealed
little concerning their more or less
predetermined value as an offensive and
defensive factor, trains covered with
armor and filled with sharpshooters
had been used in the neighborhood or
Paris even so aerly as the, Franco
Prussian war During the Cuban re-
bellion the armored train was used
quite often by the Spaniards, though
the most successful recorded operation
of such a train occurred in 1882. when
the British fleet was bombarding
Alexandria. During this bombardment
Capt Fisher, an officer in the British
n"vy, conceived the idea of taking an
ordinary locomotive and several cars
and covering them with good heavy
boiler plate. When this was done the
train was equipped with field guns,
manned with blue jackets from his
ship, and then started along the rail-
way line that skirted the coast where
the enemy lay in force. When the
Egyptian troops were suddenly con-
fronted with this unexpected engine
of war, they straightway took to their
heels.
Armored trains mounting field pieces
and machine guns have been, and for
that mater, are even now being used
by the American troops engaged.in the
rounding up Of Aguinaldo and his
men. The successful engagement at
Calumpit. for instance was largely at
tributed to the opportune arrival of
Just such a flying battery on rails.
Gen. Lord Kitchener also made fire.
quent use OF the armored train In his
advance up the Nile. During this
Egyptian campaign 1t was found that
rifle bullets fired at short range pierced
the plate with which the British cars
were armored, so for extra protection
sand bags were piled up along each
side Of the cars, and behind these the
sharpshooters of Kitchener we're quite
invulnerable.
In the armored trains which have
been spreading CONSERVATION among
the belligerent burghers Of the Trans
vaal the locomotive is the only part
that does not carry guns. The cars
themselves are simply box cars, COW
cred by steel boiler plating three
quarters of ain inch in thickness. This
while the locomotive itself is we'll in
cased in the same plating, particular
care being taken to protect securely
all vital parts of the machinery. In
stead of hauling the cars in the usual
manner, the locomotive is always
placed in the center of the train for
the sake of extra protection to such
an important part of the flying bat
terry Portfolios are made in the armor
plate sides of the car through which to
operate the quick-firing and machine
guns, with smaller apertures lower
down through which the Tommy At
kins sharpshooter pokes his deadly
rifle barrel. 1t requires a very steady
aim to send its bullet home from
last moving train. so the deadliest
marksmen are always selected.
powerful railway crane and a strong
searchlight are also usually included
In the euuipment of such q train.