The evening times., 1900-03-31
TALES OF SOUTH AFRICA
Beers Said to Allow Mercemaries
to Do The Fighting.
battling Beneath burning sun for
Eight HOurs-Retrenting Under
f"t"t"l C""ditions-A Paradise for
NnsherwOmen - How Dinner
MRS Captured From the Bu-ghers.

NasherVVOmen How Dinner
MRS Captured From the Bu-ghers.
LONDON. March ga curious feature
OF the Boer methods OF warfare is de-
scribed by an officer of the Queenstown
Volunteers in letter to the Morning
Leader Whenever We get ar the Beers
and punish them it is always the German
Irish, johannesburg or Scandinavian con
tiugent Trust the Boer to save his own
skin Not but what I think they are quite
right in pushing these comparative outsid-
ers to the front line They were hired 20
fight long ago, and are now being kept 90
their bargain. These are the people who
are working the guns. TIE Boer proper Is
still behind the stone. and when the hire
hngs are chawed up, which they must be
soon, anticipate sudden collapse. though
some people think they will fight all the
way to Pretoria l must say / do not
Private Fl. Willis. who was KILLED at
Spearman's Camp had sent the following
letter to a friend in London Of the battle
OF Colenso: We fought for eight hours I'm
the burning sun, ard then had to reJire 1t
night Don't forget. if any letters come to
mothers place you must take them in. be-
cause you don't know but that any time 1
might get killed or wounded. As sooa as
any man gets killed the officers in my regi-
meut write TO the mems wives if they
are married; il not. 20 the parents. had
a narrow escape this time Of my life. Bui-
lets were flying an around us. and shells
going In all directions. I shall be glad
when IL is all over. I hope to get through
safe once more. Keep my medal safely uu-
I'll / come home.
Writing from the hospital ship Umbria
to the Morning Leader Trooper Parry
OF the Inuskillins says. when one se,-
the doctor and nurses baudaging up toe
wounded everything and everybody seems
lost or confused I got down on my srom-
ach Gin the battle Of CoIeusoi. keepiur my
eyes hAed on The front, and with my hands
pushed myself backward for about half a
mile. You can imagine the state We yysre
ID when we reached camp. We have long
"h'skers and plenty or mud"
sergeant Wilson OF the Hlwftzer Baf-
terry writes from MClder River We
bathe now every day and wash our own
clothes. Like the poor l0dger Dickens
wrote about we go half naked while ys
S"iu our shirts. This would De- paradise
Tor "dsherwomeu. wiJh the sun shining
and wind blowing nearly every dav Our
things are dry enough 20 put on a fa,,-
minutes after they are washed That is
the one remarkable thing about This cII-
mate IOu may get soaked 20 the skin and
90 10 sleep IN the open air all night. but
IN the morning you wake up as fresh as a
daisy"
Drummer Hearu. Of the Second Battalion
Royal Berks Mounted Infantry. write.
from General French's camp We Vsrs
hghiing on Christmas Eve at place CALI
e1 Pen Hook We did the Beers a Tanker
capturing eighty Of their oxen and horses
besides two wagons containing their
Christmas dinner. which were going 10
StormoeTg. We drove them back for about
seven miles. That's what I Hkc-gcrriug
them on the open. You should see them
90 with a biz of cold steel al their backs,
] had a Christmas dinner after all. ] took
O duck and about peck Of green peas OF
lhe wagon. This was enough for our mess
50 ] had buster at the expense OF the
B0ers,"
Trooper F. Whitby Tenth Hussars de
scribes how hardened one gets To- the lv-
Ing bullets. He says Myself and The
other remount take II in turn 90 go out
with the boss. He is a very daring fellow
and takes YOU in some very dangerous
places He does not stop for shot or she'll.
Nobody can describe the feeling when the
bullets are coming round you like hail
stones, with an occasional shell from Long
Tom. You look round after the dust has
passed and ind three or four Of your com
Tades and HOSES have gone down. You
mink 10 yom i wonder who's next?'
But you take L. tice; simply press your
spurs into your 'Oor horse. grind your
'eelh' grip IKE iron. hold up your sword.
and 20 on like mad"
Private Domeney. of the Roval War
wicks, writes from De Aar. We are the
next lot 10 90 on TO the front and we
snail not be sorry. either. to get away from
this place There is too much duty here
We are having three nights sleep ont of
the six; the rest we are on the hills or on
outpost duty. We have caught a lot of
Beers. and they look haIf-starved. 4
good few are giving themselves up. as they
are sick Of fighting. The sand here is
something cruel. II comes on like a Lon
don fog generally when you are getting
your dinner; you get your can half fun of
It. But we get il down somehow. Though |
II is quiet here. we are In a responsible !
place. All the provisions and other things
10 supply the troops come here so we
have 10 be on the watch. especially al
night time"
BOer correspondent tells a story
that is not believed here He saws that |
after the defeat Of COlenso Sir Godfrey |
Langdon, British Commissioner in Basuto- /
land. assembled the principal chiefs of the /
country and announced to them that the /
English. having just achieved series OF /
were on the point OF making a /
triumphal entry into Pretoria. The sim
ple-minded negroes opened their eyes in |
wonder Thereafter they said. thew couId |
refuse nothing to the vanquishers OF the |
Beers
Mr. Steyn. President of the Oranqa /
Free State. got wind Of the boast. aud Un-
derstanding the English intention found
immediate means OF saying to the great 4
chiefs Of BasutOland that il they could
send some men on whom they could RELY
10 Pretoria their representatives would see
what was really occurring there.
The natives held a council instantly
and delegated the oldest son of their most
powerful chief to go at once into tbe
Transvaal on the mission
When be arrived at Pretoria be vas
given place OF review on the public
square, and before him. without drums or
were marched the English Off
,eTs and soldiers numbering about $500 |
Who had been made prisoners on recent
lattleiields
The son OF the chief seemed speIIbound
)y the sight. He looked first as il he
hought he was dreaming. then little by
title the humOr of the situation Eroke
ipon him. and he roared with laughter.
orgetting the dignity of an envoy, and
performing one OF the dances that are the
nf - IL