The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-19

the sort. 1t rather revolted the most
of US
I'VE burned track about six miles
wide through these fertile valleys, and
completely destroyed the village of Will
pOort and the fourishing town of Dull
stroom. The column left a trail of fire
and rnoke behind 1t that could be seen
at Belfast Many of the houses were
surrounded by beautiful gardens abloom
with roses, lilies and hollyhocks, and
could see the women and children bundled
out, their bedding thrown through the
windows after them. The cavalry would
ride rapidly away, and the poor women
and children, utterly COMPOUNDED by the
sudden visitation, would remain standing
in the yard or garden, watching, helpless
ly their homes disappear In fire and
smoke"
Describing the sack of Dullstroom,
Lieut. Morrison proceeds: ION the fol oW-
ing morning the troops were up long be-
fore daylight and marched off at o'clock.
We had no trouble in getting up at the
right hour You could hear alarm-clock
bells ringing from nearly every head or
blankets upon the camp ground, and the
veldt hummed like a telephone once.
When a soldier loots a house, the hrst
thing he grabs is the clock. In the dliIi'
early dawn the column, nearly all mount
going to sack and burn the town of Dull
stroom.
Nobody who was there will ever for
get that DAYS work. About O'Clock In
the morning our force seized the town
after a little fight. The Beers went INTO
the surrounding hills, and there was no
body in the town except women ana chh-
dren. II was a very pretty place, nesting
in a valley. The houses had lovely hover
ba bloom.
seized a kopie overlooking the main street
and ndaced all the guns on it, while the
cavalry galloped through and sklrnlsheu
up the the hills beyond. The Beers drove
in our outposts on the flank, ana began
shining the guns, and amid the row OF
the cannonade and the crackle OF rlhe
fire the sacking of the place began
First there was an ominous blulsh maze
over the town and then the smoke rome"
ND in volumes that could be seen for hfty
miles away. The Beers on the hills seem
ed paralyZed by the sight and stopped
shooting When the luil came zen
Smith-Dorien invited the artillery ofhcers
to go down into the place with MIN on
sort of official appearance-Just tel tneH
that YOU saw me- style OF thlhs' ne
town was very quiet save Tor the roaring
end crackle of the flames. on the steps
of the church a group of women and
children were huddled. The women
faces were very white, but some OF them
had spots of red on either cheek ana
their eyes were blazing
"The troops were systematically looking
the pace over, and as they got quite
through with each house they burned it.
Our Canadian boys helped the women TO
get their furniture out with much the
same concern as they would exhibit at a
village fire at home. If they saw any
thing however they particularly fam
ced they would likely appropriate it
Cmuzzle not the OK that treadeth ont
the corn), but they had not the callous
nerve to take the peoples stuff before
their eyes. But you should have seen
the Royal Irish on the loot. They helped
the people out with their stuff by heaving
bureaus bodily through the windows put
ting pickaxes through melodeons and
such like wautonness. | heard one yell:
Begorry. Tim, here's a nice carpet. Oh
think Orll take it home for the ouId
woman. Lind hand here R-r-r-rip,
Up came a handsome pile carpet in strips.
And so the work went OIL, the officers
standing by laughing at the costly fun
their men were having
"As l stood looking a woman, the own
er of a very pretty little cottage stand
ing in a rose garden on side street
which was being destroyed, turned to
me and pathetically exclaimed: oh, how
can you be so cruel? / sympathized with
her and explained that it was an order ami
had to be obeyed. But all the same IL was
an intensely sad sight to see the liz lie
homes burning and the rose bushes with
erng up in the pretty gardens and ths
pathetic groups of homeless and distress.
ed women and little children weeping in
AFFECT misery and despair among the
smoking ruins as we rode away"