Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-10
PEN PICTURES OF WAR
What n Battle is Like Under Modern
Conditions.

From the London News
One of our war correspondents, In the
course of a private letter to friend. gives
some vivid pictures of the realities Of war
under modern conditions:
LAS regards my own feelings in a fight
it is very hard to describe; 1 know when
the thing is all over and 1 am all right
feel much happier. Any man who has
been in modern fight, where men are be-
ing knocked over all around, and says he
likes it. is 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 comparative safety.
The infantry, after receiving one volley,
would charge, knowing that until the enc
my had loaded again each man was prac-
tically safe.
Nowadays that is all changed. Nothing
is seen. no man, no smoke. The only thing
seen is the dust thrown up by the bullets,
like Il rain storm 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 1t
sounds as if 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 Max
inns. Hotchkiss. Maxim ordenfeldts and
machine guns in general. The discord is
appalling, as every gun has a different
sound and each shell going through the air
huns or whistles according to its breed.
After time you can tell what is coming,
or, if it Is one of your own, what is going.
The most terrifying of the enemys guns
is a sort of Hotchkiss, which fires about
five rounds at a time and throws a one
pound SHE'LL which bursts. You are safe
nowhere. as bullet, fired at an object at
500 yards. which misses. hits and kills at
1000 or 5000. 1t practically means with
these rifles that bullet is never spent I'M
til it hits something and remains there.
When a bullet strikes you hear nothing: it
goes right through a man and probably
travels on another 1000 yards. You hear
a grunt or a gurgle, and the man coilapses
and doubles up; sometimes if hit in the arm
or leg he spins around and falls, and prob
ably gets up again, as it is only the shock
which knocks him down. and he hardly
feels the bullet. At MOdder River l went
down with three guns of the 18th 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 excruciatiug, and they howl
like a shot hare; 1t sounds like a child
screaming, and is horrible. But you see
such lot of beastly sights and hear such
come accustomed to them and callous. l
found a wounded Boer at Magersfontein
who was shot-eyidently while lying down.
through the top of the head above the right
ear; the bullet had Travelled through his
head and out at the back of his jaw on the
left side. II had then broken his collar
bone and taken turn, Travelled round his
ribs, and out at his side. He was not pref
ty to look at, but did not seem much the
worse. and while l gave him water he ex-
planned to me the course of the bullet.
Some of the recoveries are perfectly mar
VelouS- L suppose after the thing Is over
the doctors will publish some of the extra
ordinary cases which have passed through
their hands"