Evening journal., 1900-03-07
WAR PEN PICTURES.
WHAT A BATTLE is LIKE UNDER
MODERN CONDITIONS.

Grim Realities and Shocking Scenes
Nothing is seen, No Men, No Smoke
The Noise Is Infernal-onastIy
Sights and Awful Sounds.
One Of our war correspondents. In
the course Of n private letter 10
friend. gives some vivid pictures OF
the realities of war under modern
conditions;
"As regards my own feelings In a
fight It is very hard to describe;
know when the thing is all over and
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 liar
In former days it must have been diff
ferent. 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 yolley, could charge knowing
that until the enemy had loaded
again each man was practically 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 a 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 oc-
casional lulls It sounds as II n million
kettledrums were being played-a con
stant tra-ra-ra, with the boom. boom
Of the big guns and the harsher sound
of the pumping Of the Maxims, Max
| im-Nordenfeldts, 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. Al.
ter time you can tell what is com
ing, or. IL It is one of your own. what
is going.
''The most terrifying of the enemvs
/ guns Is a sort of HOtchkiss, which
fires about five rounds at time and
throws a One-pound shell. which
bursts You are safe nowhere. as q
/ bullet, fired at an object at 800 yards
which missed hits and kills at 2.OOi
| or 5000 1t practically means with
/ these rifles that a bullet is neye.
spent until 1t hits something and re.
4 mains there. When a bullet strikes.
you hear nothing; 1t goes right
through a man and probably travels
on another 1000 yards. You hear q
| grunt or a gurgle, and the man col
lapses and doubles up; sometimes IL
hit In the arm or leg he spins around
and falls, and probably gets up again
as II Is only the shock which knOckl
him down, and he hardly feels ths
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 shot hare; i.
sounds like a child screaming, and Il
horrible. But you see such a lot OF
beastly sights and hear such a lot OF
heartrending sounds that you become
accustomed to them and callous
found a wounded Boer at Magersfon
tein who was shot-evidently whill
lying dOwn-through the top OF tbs
head above the right ear; the bulle
had travelled through his head and ou
at the back Of bis jaw on the left side
1t had then broken his collar bone anf
taken a turn. travelled round his ribs
and out at his side. He was not pretty
to look at, but did not seem much tn,
worse. and while / gave him waite.
he explained TO me the course of tn,
bullet Some of the recOveries are per
fectly marvellous. / suppose after the
thing is over the doctors will publish
some of the extraordinary cases whicl
have passed through their hands. -
London News.