The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-15

his other hand he had walking stick,
with which he was pointing out where
his men were to fire. The soldiers were
carefully hidden and he was under a
merciless fire. but I saw him next
morning trudging to Ladysmith, none
the worse for his days fighting. In
deed, it does not much matter; if you
are going to be hit you'll catch it
whether or not you disguise yourself
as private. Habit is strong thing.
hard TO get rid Of You may dress a
British subaltern or captain Of the in
fantry Of the line how you like, but If
ne is Of the right sort ynu can spot
him as far as you can see him.
certainly at close range the Beers
have made a dead set at orr officers.
An officer of my old regiment got two
IN his thigh, one through his hand,
three through the helmet and his right
arm was shot off. This is certainly
extremely businesS-like shooting, but
the damage was done at about 800
yards, when all men shoot fairly well.
Beers Waste Bullets.
"On the other hand. the Beers blaze
away an alarming amount of bullets
which hit nothing at longer distances.
Twice l have seen the South African
Light Horse under heavy rife fire, as
harmless as it was heavy-three or four
men hit out of 300 or 400. Compare
this with the shooting of the Bazing-
erS in our Zareeba at Gubat, where
they wiped out every man who stood
on his feet
I have already told you how was
missed at close range by twenty or
thirty riflemen. and, on the whole, 1
don't think the BOer is above our av-
erage in shooting.
Against a slowly moving army like
ours, whose precise tactics compel 1t
to shift in a leisurely manner, they
are very formidable Each good Boer
is a general in himself, each pile of
stones he shoots from a fortress in it
self, commando of 300 men in a good
position mean 300 fortresses to be taken.
Then the Beers let off their ammuni-
ton unstintinsly, as far as they can
see; they shoot, not because they think
they will hit anything, but for the very
good reason that nothing demoralizes
an enemy more than bullets coming
from an unseen rife. Indeed, the Beers
produce great moral effect with their
little bullets
They are extremely busy at 1000
yards. But every mai will not walk
across the ground under fire from the
Beers at 1000 yards range and whistle
God Save the Queen at the same time.
If any one accepts my bet he will see
what he will see
Cavalry Amuses Beers.
What affords the Beers most glee is
our regular cavalry. Indeed, it does
present a ludicrous appearance in this
country of stones and kOpjes. I often
wonder what would happen to a regular
cavalry brigade if surprised, armed as
they are, with lance, sabre and carbine.
The untidy Boer horseman with his
CRASHED pony, lOpes along quite re-
sardless of his notwithstanding adj
versary. If the lancer attempts viO-
lence, the dopper diSmounts and shoots.
Our colonial cavalry are little bet
ter, but they suffer considerably from
their want of knowledge of horses.
They are no match for the Boer at the
game of hide and seek; fortunately
they are brave, and have a general, not
yet eradicated, contempt for the Dutch
men, and often achieve by audacity
what they would be unable to accom-
plish if their usually willy enemy did
not think them as formidable as they
look
Their work in Natal, however. can |
not be sufficiently extolIed. It is one
Of the most pleasing features of the |
campaign. 1t is almost certain that our
cavalry will have TO be differently
trained, at all events armed with a
long rife. The day of shock action is
practically over. Those vast plains of
Germany and Austria, where Murats
leg1onS Numbered to victory, are now
lntersected with wire fences"