The Irish standard., 1901-01-26
is the redoubtable soldier, in spite of

is the redoubtable soldier, in spite of
his ''unkempt'' hair.
The Boer officer is generally a very
good man in all respects. He repre-
sents the best sort of the men, with re-
gard to ability and courage. Even if
De Wet were shot, or captured-and
that is contingency that might hap
pen at any time-it would not mean
that the campaign was over. De Wet
is simply one of the best types of the
Boer leader, but there are others, even
on the Free State side, hardly, if at all,
his inferior, such as Delarey and Philip
Botha; while, not to mention General
Louis Botha, who is the greatest of all,
Ben Viljoen and Christian Botha are
capable of emulating at any time the
daring feats of De Wet.
The British army, like all armies, has
one great advantage over the Boer
forces, as over all militia, and that is
in the sense of discipline. Gradually,
and especially since the rise to chief
command of Botha and De Wet, this
defect has been remedied among the
Beers. De Wet is now practically die
tator in his own country. He does not
call war council. He hears all the re-
ports from scouts and despatch riders,
and he thinks out his plans, and often,
without communicating to his officers
even his destination, he will give the
order to saddle up and follow him.
They never fail to obey. The Beers
like stern, decided man Of strong
will, provided that his intelligence be
on a par with these moral qualities.
De Wet is essentially such a chieftain.
He is nov a little over 40, a tall,
strongly made, bony man. His coun-
tenance, with it's somewhat ordinary
features, is redeemed by the deep eye,
and the general expression of patient
thought and indomitable resistance
The attitude, the bearing, the whole
look and manner of the man suggest
the obstinate and logged resolution of
one who will die fighting, if necessary,
but who will never strike his flag.
Great as is his power over his men,
he is never violent or even impatient.
Good nature is one of the most preva-
lent characteristics of the Beers, and
nearly all their officers possess that
quality. De Wet did not gain his pres
ent great ascendancy all at once. Many
a time his men have slipped through
his fingers under the influence of one
of those waves of panic so apt to seize
undisciplined troops, and he has been
detected and bitterly disappointed.
But he has not exploded his wrath on
his followers; he has shown them the
example of fortitude, and he has
brought them around again; often the
very troops which have given way too
easily on one occasion have fought like
lions when next day they have been
called upon to face the foe.
De Wet, previous to the war, was a
butcher, noted simply for his regular,
business-like habits and his honesty.
He has proved himself a veritable ge-
MUS in the leading of irregular troops.
De Wet does not think much of the
English generals, with the exception of
French, who has plenty of dash. Kit
chener is certainly fine soldier, and
he is in many respects also clever
commander, but hitherto he has had
no success against the Beers. De Wet
has no great appreciation of the Eng
fish soldier, and it may be said of him
that during the rush of the English
from Bloemfontein to johannesburg
they never pushed De Wet in front of
them. He held his ground, and as
they swept along he slipped through
their various forces. Since then he has
been continually harassing their rear
guards, their advanced guards, their
outposts and their communications;
and his action in this respect has been
the salvation of the Beers. He has
great penchant for surprises, and at
Sanna's Post drove the crack regi-
ments of Household Cavalry and Tenth
Hussars in sudden panic, killing,
wounding and taking prisoners nearly
1000, and losing four of his own men.