Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-03-21
: fHE BoER coMlMlssARlAT.
One of the Remarkable Features of Thei
Army Is It's Food Supply.


Ohe, ,feature.of the Poar army has
especially attracted attention during
the presentiwar, aud that is how they
have .contrived with their limited
resources not only to, keep, the army
well supplied with ammunition, but
also with food. = Il
With allsthe perfection of organIZa.
tion resulting from the aecufnulateaeS-
periences of big Continental wars .iAa
safe to say that were q European wal
to break out tomorrow it :woulds be
found that now, as in the past, tho
commissariat would b efound:wanting.
An English schoolmaster who has
just in England after an alb
sence of twent ty years, aid who served
in the ranks Of the Boer army when
they fought the Basutos, has been in
terviewed.
,'tThe Boers,- in my opinion" he
said, fare the finest irregular troops
insthe world, not only because of their
valor, but what is quite as Important,
the excellence of their commissariat8
1.-THE government; has plenty Of
wagons, but the ehardships endured
by Beers in past wars have madethem
distrustful Of Pretoria, 80 they have
brought the family wagons and all the
Kaffirs with the exception of two or
three. ,ts5%s s5sq':.ytS, 5f.S7s sa9
1T was predicted that this war
would be,signal for o native uprising.
..t.sWhat the. zulus and .Basutos may
do cannot say, but the .Kafirs,syill
not rise as the Beers have taken all
the young men and chiefs with them
to the war. ...-,....
TtAnd now learn the reason whyathe
Boer commissariat has been SO well
supplied, It is worked blythe Kafirs,
the handiest people in the world.
Although my life was safe, I had
made up my mind to leave the Fcoun-
try when hostilities broke out, 80 the
next day I hade the old vrouw andsher
daughters good-by and went south; to
Pretoria. -,+ a.. 3'i's = ssi}
eat every centre T found large
parties of mounted Beers waiting the
signal to start sg-ssS.-g J;;eSiss ;;gss
'The, number Of wagons being
loaded up with ammunition was enor-
nous. A vast quantity has. been
stored at Pretoria, but knowing that
the war once started there wonld be
no chance of getting more, 80. yastsa
quantity had been imported that great
stores had to be built for it's reception
in every part of the country. :
.""Scarce an hour passed day after
day as T rode toward Pretoria, thatI
did not meet huge droves of cattle
bound for Pretoria, where they would
be sent on railway trucks to- the
frontier.
The Kafirs are smart, active fellows,
but doubt whether they would have
achieved the success they have were
not the Beers most frugal eaters.
"When I arrived at the camp which
Joubert was forming outside the
northern boundaries Of Natal sRe
burghers were doing what [ supsose
syouSwonlds call drilling
"It was hardly that the Beers
were simply getting their horses accus-
toned to the work before them by
galloping them about the mountains.
"You see the Boer has been trained
from his birth to be an irregular horse.
man. When lad he is taught to,ride
q calf and then horse. Then he is
shown the secret of cover and how to
fight behind bowlder and club q wall
occupied by the foe. 2
"In the open q Boer in fight
stands behind his horse like dragoon,
only the dragoon is taught late in life,
whereas the Boer and his horse grow
up}together and are one.
Gas strolled through the camp to
wish all the people I knew good-by-:
and, mind you, knew a good many,
for the suspiciousness and reserve
with which Boer regards the stran..
ger vanishes when he gets to know
and like IL saw thousands of men
lying about, but all the repasts were
of the simplest.
"Biltong aud square face Moth
ing more. " Not very difficult to feed
an army which exists on dry meat and
spirits.
"No; and the organization is furr
ther simpli6ed by the fact that where
as an English cavalry horse requires
his hay and oats, the Boer horse will
do splendid days work on grass.
"He wants looking after and rub
bing down, though, and this the Kafir
does."