The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-04
y relations Of Lieut.. Brooke that ssosld

Il am more impressed than evsr py INC Won-
dsrfully fair and manly spirit shown by the
Free State Boer-the utter absence OF oil oras
or bounce. the quiet. resigned way ne speaks
Of BritAin's power and their own small chanoe
OF victory. is really Astonishing to ono VINO mas
I'll now seen the worst side OF Boer nature IL
IL the conviction OF the justice OF their cause
and their strong belief In the help OF the Al
mighty that make them such dangerous ioes'
Every Boer fights for what no r'ghtiy or
wrongly considers his liberty and country. and
u he psrseveres he will be most dimcuN 70
beat: but Il has yet TO be proved II he pos
sssses the required stamina Tor prolonged
war"
Rain fell In torrents on the night Of Nov. 20.
and concerning this he writes: Il thank God
thatthe rain 10 falling; many Of them take this
a. another slgn OF the Almighty's favor OF our
cause. The pa.turage will Do excellent In .
few weeks. and the empty dana rsplsnished
on the other hand II will also enable the ensmy
to move a big body across the desert country be-
tween this and Kimberley"
The next entry. which 10 also worth notice.
runs as follows; Early this morning the ON.
GERS of this lager came into our tent; We dis
) cussed the war and the result OF II. and l was
again struck with the msrvsllously fair and
manly way these men look at It: many OF them
expressed great regret at having to shoot limo.
cent soldiers, and the few here who have o.
ready been under fire do not boast OF having
shot 80 many soldiers"
This, too, 10 full OF interest: Another thing
| that struck me In the Bosr character Ia the
absolute fear he has before the light and the
cool and collected way he behaves when In 1t.
When our lager left Kafir River We expected
10 be in action In q few days time the result
was that out OF our lot Of 200 men over nifty APP
piled to the doctor for a sick certificate, Only
one such was granted. 80 about % per cent. OF
our men funked 1t: this. l am told. happens
with every commando. but II has been proved
In many instances already that the very men
who pretended sickness when there was a
! chance OF meeting the enemy were the plucki-
est and coolest when un er fire."
Here he comments upon the cheerfulness
! with which the Free Staters accepted the hard.
ships OF their bivouac. The water was bad
and sometimes there was no food, but every
thing was taken with contentment and even
laughter. Commenting on these notes. the cor.
respondent says:
These extracts are valuable as showing
the attitude taken by an intelligent man
toward the shortcomings az we'll as the good
qualities OF our enemy. He Is never
bitter against tho English and 1t Is
more than probable that his capture
was not unwelcome to him; but the few ex-
tracts here giveN will do more than many
words to show his appreciation OF the Free
Slater before the latter had come into contact
with Cronjs and the Transvsalers. There is a
good deal OF evidence to show that the charac-
ter OF the war spirit OF the smaller republic
has altered lately. and that the military inde-
pendence OF the Free Staters has BEEN lost. the
hand Of Cronje now stretching from Mateking
on the north to Stormbsrg on the south.
though his present work at Magerstontein has
prevented his taking over in person any OF his
duties on the southern border"
II must, however. be ememb erei that the
evidence OF friction between Transvaalers and
Free Staters rests as yet on very shadowy
foundations. There Ia a good deal Of the they
say" about 1t. Many OF the statements come
from men who have voluntarily given them
selves up 10 the British. and from the same
source come the stories OF the Beers being
whipped to the battle, being starving and sick
OF the war. The evidence OF a deserter must
always be received with reserve. and only a
counle OF days ago THE SUNS correspondent
cabled from Spearman's Camp that prisoners
taken by Buffers troops after they had crossed
the Tuvela declared that Transvaal Boer and
Free State Boer we're still good friends, and
had no idea Of giving In even II they suffered
defeat.
The correspondent OF the Daily Nrcs relieves
himself by q little open confession. Ho merely
says what every one is now convinced Of. but he
puts it with feeling. as q man who has seen
things.
'The Boer." he says. has been underestl-
mated Individually and collectively. both as a
man and as food for powder. and the sooner
this Is realized by Great Britain the better,
The Boer Is not a kind OF white savage. full OF
foolish ideas concerning Great Britain and her
power. The average Boer with whom | have
come In contact knows a great deal more
about us and the forces at our disposal
than the best Informed star officer on our
side knows about the Beers. The Boer
knows all about our Navy and what that Navy
can do. He knows the gigantic proportions OF
our national wealth. and is very we'll assured
that Great Britain will spend the last shilling
10 the Treasury before retiring from the con-
hict. He knows. too. that We have myrlads OF
men, drilled and undrilled, to fall back upon.
He knows that We can. and will. roll those le-
| Qlons over the African veldts. as waves roll
over the seaside shingle. He knows oil this.
and a good deal more. and he knew it perfectly
well before he commenced to fight. 1t has been
part Of tho programme for the Beers to sham
ignorance. and they have fooled our clever Of
fcinls and globe trotters as men surely were
| never fooled before. Now. what do we know
| about them? Nothing. except what we learn
when We march up 10 drive them out OF a POSI-
| ton and how dearly are we paying for each
lesson We pay for It in blood. In money. and
I'm loss OF prestige; for II the Beers are such
clowns az they have 10 long been reprssentsdto
be, how 10 It that such men as Butler. Gatacre
| and Methuep. backed by the grandest fighting
troops In the world. can make no Roadway
against theml The Beers themselves are
fra,ly convinced that they can win In the long
run.
We have now TO unearth In the British Army
q man OF commanding ability who will know
| how TO deal with the gigantic obstacles In front
OF US. Such q man must be found. and, doubt
| less, will be found. Some say he is found al
| ready Lord Kitchener OF Khartvum. the
| man OF ice and iron. 10 the genius who will
know how to overreach Boer cunning. and turn
the burghers' kopje strongholds into prison
Businesses. Who ever he Ia. he will need to bs
a mar who knows how to sit down and wait
upon opportunity. He will have to pos
sess patience passing the understanding OF
man. lie will need to be a magnificent orgau-
iZer, not only OF men. but OF materials. He