Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-14
The Wheel Supplants the Horse on
the Veldt of South Africa.
THE SUCCESSFUL Spy, DANNY THERON
How He and His Bicycle Brigade
Took a British Train.
BOER ARMY OFFICERS VIEWS

In the Transvaal the bicycle has dealt
the last blow to the horse. The testimony
of Gen. Samuel Pearson an official high in
the Boer army, is to the effect that the
wheel is now supplanting the hoof in al
most every branch of army service, but
especially in scouting duty.
Gen. Samuel Pearson is a native-born
Afrikander. He a trader, but Joined
the army, and because of his special knowl-
edge of foodstuffs and provisions had a
rapid advance in the councils Of the chiefs.
He now bears a long tiue-assistant head
commissary general for the South African
republic-and for several months before
leaving his country had almost complete
control Of the food for the army. He is
now acting under orders of his government,
and will travel through the United States
in an attempt to set the Boer cause favor
ably before our people.
In methods Of transportation and all
things pertaining to the mobilization OF
troops he is more than an expert From
the time he took charge Of the commissary
department until the final breaking up of
the organized army not only did he pro-
vide his soldiers with food but so arranged
it that in every retreat the soldiers were
able either to take their provisions with
them or destroy them before they fell into
the hands Of the British. Gen. Pearson Is
in Washington for several days.
I'm the land of horses he said while
discussing Boer methods of transportation
with a representative Of The Star, the days
of the hoof are past and the age OF the
wheel has come. This will be even truer
ten years from now than 1t is at present,
for the bicycle habit is constantly growing
upon the Beers. In past times the welfare
of Boer was almost as much wrapped up
In his horse as was the welfare Of the his
torical Arab in his fleet steed. Distance,
| the sparsely settled country. the warlike
natives were all factors combining to make
the possession of horse the greatest ne
cessity. The situation was well recognized
by the lawmakers. They passed statute
making it obligatory for every male citizen
to have in his possession a well-cleaned
gun, one hundred rounds of ammunition,
saddle, bride, blanket, macintosh, provi
sions for several days, and horse. In
fraction of the requirements Of this law is
punishable with heavy fine.
ut would scarcely seem that in a country
where the horse holds such a position he
| would be supplanted by an inanimate con-
| coction of stringers, screws and nuts, yet
| slowly this is coming around
The Transvaal Scout of Today.
.In the Transvaal at least the poetic ro-
| nance of the scout and his horse, and the
| familiar picture Of the keen-eyed man sur
veying the broadspread plain from the
| back of his and feet-footed steed, no
longer has place. Substitute dusty bicycle
lying Dy the TOdOSlue dllu d IIldH III hulCh-
| ers'' stretched out beside it. There you
| have the Transvaal scout of the present
| Boer- british war. For this special service
| of scouting the horse has really been sup
| planted almost entirely. Inc great indl-
| vidual scouts all ride bicycles and some
| times there are large parties OF reconnoi-
terers who go together awheel:
| Our Transvaal scouts. to tell the truth,
have found the horse rather clumsy and
undesirable means of locomotion since they
| have had bicycles at their command. You
| can see why. In comparison between
| the bicycle and the horse for scouting pur-
/ poses the latter comes off second best. Firs'
| of all the bicycle is noiseless, while a
| horse even at a walking pace, makes enough
| racket to wake up whole camp. More
| over, horse may betray you by Whitney
! while bicycle never does such an illbreo
| or unfaithful thing as that. A horse must
| be watered, need which a bicycle has
| not nor does it have to be fed. 1t gets
| tired only when you do. and needs only
short nursing TO put in shape again II Il
| goes lame. Not, of course. that bicycles
| are available generally for scouting pur
| poses everywhere. 1t must be remembered
that the veldt is tolerably smooth country
that there are roads in the Transvaal; in
word that conditions are exceptionally goot
for cyclers in South Africa"
The Pioneer BOer Scout.
Pioneer among the cycle scouts of thu
| Roer army Is Danny Theron, formerly
| Krugersdorp lawyer. His name and hi.
exploits are in the hearts and on the tongue
of every true Boer. He has, indeed, don'
i some very wonderful things, and recita
| of a quarter of them would fill book.
The principle of Boer generalship Is decoy
strategem, ambush. Danny Theron In hi.
exploits, is the epitome OF this Boer princi
pie.
II was one day in July. 1900. il I remembe
| correctly At any rate. it was during thu
time De Wet first began to threaten tn
| british line of connection to Pretoria, afte
they had really established themselves
| there.
| Through scouts news was brought to D.
i Wet of a large commissariat train coming
north over the Cape railway. The captur
of the train was placed in the hands o
Danny Theron, and with a large comman
. | Of bicyclists he swooped down upon tn
! railroad The party divided, one going t
L far