The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-04-14
z11TH1EsT PLACE ON EARTH
A Typical Boer Camp Is Master than
Anything on the FOotstoOl-Ex-
cert Another Camp.


A Typical BOer Camp Is Master than
Anything on the Footstool-Ex-
cept Another Camp.
KISIBERLEY.-As soon as the Boers
deserted the trenches and kopjo at Ma
garsfontein all the British oficars wnp
could do so hastened. to the spot TO zee
what manner of Qualifications had 80
successfully withstood their attack.
what they found was, suppose, the
althiest place In the world. II any
place ever was dlrtiar is was the Bosr
stronghold at Paardeburg Drift, where
Lord Roberts vanqulshed Cronte; but
that pestholc had not been created at
the time that we went over the veldt
to have a look at Magersfontcin.
The Beers had gone away In such a
hurry that they had no time to take
their belongings with them. Evidently
the order was"every man for himself,
and no time must be lost" CONSEQUENT
~ the position was Uttered With truhlSs,
saddles, tin boxes, bags Of mealles, Of
mealle flour, and OF rice, cartrldgeI
were as thlckly strewn about as II they
were as cheap as dead leavesin autumn.
Blankets and clothing were also much
in evidence.
In places the frightened Boers had
made an effort to hide their leavlngs by
piling them in the trenches and then
throwing skins or canvas over them
and dirt and tree branches on top Of all.
In their trunks we found usually,
only clothing and letters. Much that
they had been using was Of British
make. largely taken from the British
dead, for these simple pastoral people"
strip and rob our dead after every bat-
tie
Dozens and dozens of bullock hides
were in use there, for shelters and for
coverings. These had been taken fresh
from the backs of the cattle, and the
sun was making them elzEle and bubble.
frying the fat and tissue on the under
side of each so that they eXhalad d
nauseating stencil. But this formed the
least part Of the etIluvia. A plague OF
flies helped to make the pest spo5 still
more undesirable.
From every shelter and pole and bush
hung strips Of biitong, tjprked beef or
venison). for they had not dared to
stop even long enough to take away
this main staff of their lives. The
drinking water-perhaps even more
precious since it is more scafce-hung
upon the bushes as they left II In the
dTum-shaped wooden casks which they
sling below their carts and wagons.
The place was n village Of shelters.
or, in reality. two vlllages-one upon
the rocky kopjo and one by the trenches
on the vsIdt
on the kopje the habItations were
walls Of piled up boulders covered with
skins or canvas wagon covers. They
made the hill resemble one Of the ruin
ed cities Of the American cliff jewellers
in Arizona.
on the veldt the shelters were made
OF upright sticks, rooted over with
skins. wagon covers. or bush branches.
To use these branches they had cut the
bushes inGaniously, taking away only n
branch or two from each bush. and
thus leaving enough OF each for them to
hide and move behind in battle with
out being seen by our soldiers.
Little heaps of bits Of exploded lyd-
dita shells in many shelters showed
that the Rocrs had been collecting
these as curious to take to their homes,
though. as 1t proved. they were glad to
be Off with only their lives.
Their trunks were nearly all the
cheapest Of tin boxes. The saddles they
abandoned were mainly loot from our
/ troops-our dead, probably. All seemed
to have had mackintoshes, the same
that the Transvanl government took
from the uitlanders' stores In johann
nesburg. l suspect No one has yet
found any soap or towels among their
leavings. They ate and drank from The
came sort OF cuamaled iron plates which
our mon and officers use. but they had
| brought no knives or forks. Instead of
doing so. many had busted Themselves
! in cutting knives and forks out Of wood.
a great many of these rude homemade
table implements were scattered about
the camp.-From the London Mail.