The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-03-02

The Transvaal Irish Brigade was
born on Sept 3, 1899. in johannesburg
when few of the Irish Nationalists of
the Rand responded to my invitation
and we unanimously decided that it
was our duty to Ireland to seize the
opportunity of paying back Il little of
the score we owe England. says Major
John Mcbride in the Chicago Ancri
can. We summoned H. public meeting
of our countrymen for the following
Sunday, and to it they camr-mincrs
and artisans, clerks and merchants
''ncw chums" just out and old pros
pcctorS who had spent the best part
of their lives knocking round Africa
The Brtishcrs threatened they would
break up the meeting, but they didn't
The enthusiasm with which the
lrishmen responded to the call aston
ished everybody. From the meeting
Of the 10th of September Il dcputation
was appointed to wait upon the cxccu-
tive, asking that all members of the
brigade should he admitted full burgh-
| erS.
YES" said the president, "the Irish
men have come to the assistance of
the republic in it's hour Of danger. and
they must be admitted at once"
After that we went ahead organiz-
ing, and ON Oct. 1.-THE day the people
Of Dublin gathered In Beresford place
to support us-wc met Mt Van Brands
square. Everything was working
smoothly. had made the necessary
arrangements with General JOubert
for the immediate arlning and equip
ping of the brigade. Colonel Blake
was elected chief Mt the meeting, and
next day we opened the brigade office
ut the corner of Pritchard and Won
Wellcigh streets, hoisting the Irish.
Transvaal and American flags over it
and posted our call to arms all over
Johannesburg.
| At last the order came for us to start
| to the front, 0nd never was an order
more welcome. AS we marched through
the streets Of Johannesburg to Park
station with the flag Of our country Mt
our head the people checred loudly
for Ireland At Sandspruit we halted
two days and then proceeded to Volks-
rust. A few days Of inaction followed,
and every man was fretful At last
we heard an ultilnatum had been sent
to England, and the news was re-
ceived in our camp with such wild
cheers that the Beers were astonishcd
General JOubert rode down and ad
dressed a few words to the men,
thanking them for coming to the aid
of the republic and expressing his SYM
pathy with the cause OF oppressed Ire
land. After that there was much ready
ing of arms and every man went to
sleep exulting in the thought that the
morrow would bring war.
And it did. The order to advance
was given, thrilling us like an electric
fash. Before us lay the frontier line,
behind 1t Majuba rising rough and
dark. AS the head of the Bocr army
crossed the lines Il cheer rang out, but
1t was feeble to what followed. The
brigade could not hold itself in The
standard-bearcr waved aloft tlcTKrccn
flag and the men, squirting their horses,
gallOped over the border line into Brit
ish territory with a fierce, frantic
cheer and Il wild shout of "Ireland =
Ireland-~GOd save Ireland" 1t was n
moment worth living for. Here we
were, with arms in our hands and the
flag Of our country above us in the ter
ritory Of the oppressOr OF our race
Ireland was alive again and breathing
defiance. The passionate cxultation
in the voices of the Irishmen impressed
the Beers.
"Allamachtig! how you Irish must
hate the tOoineks," said a Bocr COM
nanOanC passing ny.
The brisade was attached to Com
mandant Trichardt's column, and with
it we moved to Dundee. The battle Of
Dundee-we read Of it aftcrward in
the British papers-was long a source
Of fun to the brigade and the Beers.
We read of how the British troops
made gallant bayonet charges and cap
tured eleven cannon, and how they
stood at eve 'like eagles in the sum-"
victorious. But it wasn't that way.
There were no bayonet charges, not
even revolver captured, and at eve
the British army was running for all
it was worth, leaving it's arms and its
stores and its sick and wounded and