Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-22
AN ARTISTS VIEW.
Things Seen at the War Through tn,
Eyes of Vi1liers.

Things Seen at the War Through the
Eyes of VilIiers.
From the London Mail.
well, Mr.. Villiers," said a Daily Mail
correspondent, greeting the celebrated war
correspondent on his return from his fif
teenth campaign-for he first began his
LIES work as war artist in the Servo
Turkish war in 1S76-"well, what most
strikes you in connection with the present
campaign as contrasted with any other in
which you have taken part?"
THE unpicturesqueness Of the whole
thing was his very unexpected reply. 1t
is unpicturesque to the last degree.
ITO begin with. you seldom see any Of
the enemy. There's no smoke; occasionally
you may see a white puff when they open
fire with gun, but ordinarily there is SIM
ply the barking Of the Mausers, and a few
men may be falling down in your vicinity.
shot, no one knows from where. Then the
eternal khaki-men, guns, even the business
end of a lance is painted khaki-no pen
nants, no distinction regarding grade; all
one dull dust hue.
Then, again, what has struck me is the
colonial element. Some of these men had
never been under fire, and yet the way in
which they sized the situation and be-
came at once lighting men. quite equal to
our trained soldiers, was marvellous.
'One of the finest and most dashing
things / saw in the campaign was the TAX
ing up of two Therapeutics on the top
of Coles Kop. an almost perpendicular hill,
] 400 feet from the plain. But French was
always fixing up little surprises In TINS
the eremys lager, killing some twelve
men and eighteen horses The enemy for
days didn't know where these shells were
coming from, thinking as any other enemy
might well think. that 1t would have been
an impossibility to drag gun up to such
a position. But that is where British pluck
and enterprise come in and help to equalize
the situation.
.Another remarkable thing was the huild-
ing of the AZ gun at Kimberley by De
Beers Engineer Labram. To think that In
the heart of Africa, in little beleaguered
township. a gun almost equal in finish and
shooting accuracy to those turned out from
Woolwich should be made in mining
workshop. Labram got the design of the
gun from a number of Engineering. He
then made the tools. and built the gun. all
within three weeks I got snapshot of
this gun, with Cecil Rhodes at the breech"
well, and what was the most ticklish
position you found yourself in In this war,
Mr.. Villiers laughed heartily as he re-
piled. "Well, If you asked me when felt
safest should tellyoutt was when was
taken for a Boer, and shot at by three gen.
tlemen in khaki at,100 yards; but, as you
see, am still unharmeds
II was driving ina Cape cart from Coles
berg to Naauwpoort was lying asleep
sound of a shot and bullet whistling by
me- l ordered the aCapeIboy to pull up the
horses. and looked toward the nearest
kopje thinking 1 was attacked by Beers,
when the report of a rifle came from the
opposite direction. I discovered three men
approaching me. whom l recognized as our
gentlemen in khaki.
They surrounded the cart, and then I
thought it was time to speak. When they
discovered who I was, they said: Well. you
nearly lost your horses, sir. I was 80
angry I replied, Well. with your shooting
l think I should have been perfectly safe
OF I'd ~