The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-08-22

Perhaps the firing is PROLONGED and
Mr. Boer gets tired. His gun gets hot
or his shoulder gets a little tender from
the concussion of the butt He ceases
hrlng, lights his pipe, and smokes and
rests a while. In certain way it ia
all very amusing, but somehow the re :
suits have shown very striking effect
!veness. To this system of field opera
lions is due a considerable measure of
the unvarying British overestimate Of
the force of the opponents. One might
almost as well essay the counting OF a
nest OF hornets. In many engagements
notably those among the hills in Natal,
many OF the English troops never even
saw Boer. In Durham | met wounded
men from Sr>ion hop, Eiaandslaagte
ar;. other fields, who told me that they
had never laid eyes on q Boer. The
number engaged Is estimated by the
damage which results. The Boer stalks
his Englishman as he stalks his blesbok
or his springbok. Tho Natal Mercury
OF April 18th estimates the Boer force
on the Natal border at 10000 men.
When 1T becomes possible to quote
hgures without the risk Of complicat-
ing military conditions, the people
who MAKE such estimates are going to
be treated TO what Is known as an
eye-opener."
From the south, upon the east and
upon the west, three. column move
ment seeks to close In upon this great
ly outnum berea but plucky little fight
Ing force. Thus far their success in
resistance has been remarkable. In
the main 1T has been q process OF resis-
tance. Attack by the Boere has been
comparatively infrequent Now and
then Tommy has charged trench,
| but it has always been at frightful
cost. Roberts, with 10000, rounded ND
Cronje, with his 1000 and England re-
| joiced In a glorious victory. Buler's
10000 relieved Whites besieged lO, 600,
at Ladysmith. Against how many
Boers? | doubt II there has been, at
any time since the war began, so large
| Natal border, and at the time OF Bull
ler's relief Of White, a very heavy draft
had been made from the Natal army
for the support OF the forces in the
Free State. AS clearly as | can make
out, 1t was the confusion caused ny the
read iustment OF an unsystematized
force which lett an opening through
which Butler entered to Ladysmith.
1t was fluke rather than a military
or strategic success.
1t is reported here that Roberts has
publicly criticised Warren for his
action at Spion Kop. From strictly
military standpoint, the criticism may
be justified. But, in justice to Warren
some allowance must be made for the
nature OF the warfare against which
he had to contend. Scouts could nc
moro effectively locate Boer forces
than one could locate mosquitoes on q
Jersey meadow. They were there but
their location at one hour was no Ger
tainty Of their location at the next
hour. Nor do think that, In the face
OF his experience since his arrival al
Bloemfontein, such criticism comes
with special grace from his lordship
There is a somewhat formidable list oil
little reverses which have marked hi,
operations since March 18th, and some
OF them occurred within very few
milesOf his own tent. Ssnnahspost
ltiddersburg, Dewetsdorp and Thabt
N'chu are only g little way from Bloom
fOntein.
His lordship appears to have made
too little allowance for those Boel
methods with which he Is now perhaps
somewhat better acquainted. He ha,
perhaps learned how easy 1t Is t
"blunder whom one Is up against such
q mobile, intangible, evasive proposi
tion as this collection OF undisciplined
farmer mer-snarpshoOters. He would learr
something moro II he could spend s
day on the Boer firing line, and SEE
men, with cool stolidity that puzzlel
an outsider, stop firing, simply OF theii
own volitiop, and leave their posts
while they mako cup OF coffee OF
J smoke pipe.
: The American soldier, notably tn,
volunteer, is disposed to do mis- work q
fever heat. He is impatient for tn,
: word OF command. He wants to rusl
and yell and shoot The German
marches and fires with the formalit
OF an automatic machine operated b
the commanding officers. Tommy
somewhere between the two. But