Washington sentinel., 1901-06-15
IT, TT, SENTINEL


5OER WAR Lynch OF the ia
eroaIEs nous Irish Brig
SlOH'| ade, formerly
special correspondent Of COll'et's
WeckLy with the Boer army, in a
forthcoming book relates the fol-
lowing anecdotes:
The best of the Beers fired not
only very accurately, but very
quickly, and l have known a
burgher to bring down a so dier,
firing while sitting in the saddle,
while holding the rifle with one
hand and the bride with the other.
AS to recovery from wounds, |
can cite some curious cases. One
burgher recovered after a Lee
Metiord bullet had gone clean
through his brain, entering at one
side OF the head and passing out at
the other. l knew another case
In which this happened, and where
the patient, an IriShman, had got
on so we'll that he used to stroll
about the streets Of Pretoria, or
even dance a jig. He got into a
drinking bout, however, one day,
and that was the beginning OF the
end.
/ saw a man whose Jaw was
smashed in three places, but who
soon recovered. | knew another
whose leg was so badly shattered
that it had TO be amputated sub
seQuently, but who sat stolidly
loading his Mauser and blazing
away at the enemy. One OF the
most curious cases / know Of,
however, was that OF a man who
received a bullet in the middle oi
the forehead. BY happy eombI-
nation Of the thickness OF the skull
and the inclination OF the bullet,
the missile did not enter the mans
brain, but circled round his head to
the point OF original impact, scor-
ing Of skin and hair in its passage,
and so furnishing hip with a
crown more curious and more dur
able than laurel.
Another curious member OF my
brigade was q mad artist. He used
to spend his spare time drawing,
with various colored chalks, the
most extraordinary p ctures ] ever
saw, filled with fantastic imagin-
. alton. He used to prize these pro-
ductions enormously, and l believe
he thought that one day they
would bring him fame. Now on
a certain occasion my brigade oc-
cupied an exposed position. and
it was intended to make a stand.
Subsequently a range OF hills fur
ther westward was selected as a
better line, and my troop was LETT
high and dry, and the English in
vast force were coming rapidly on.
Receiving the order to retreat, we
soon had everything in readiness.
and / was about TO mount my
horse. The shells were already
falling about US, and some rifle
practice had taken place and some
men had been killed. Just at that
critical moment my mad artist sal
lied from under a wagon and came
up to me. He was calmly indiffeT-
ent to shell and bullet In his
hand he held a strange cartoon.
i,i ,aloneI." he said, "I hope you
WILL Ike thas one"
He also later paid the forfeit OF
his innocent but dauntless courage
The cheeriest individuals about
the lager were the Kafir boys.
They were virtually slaves, though
we did not call them so. We
"commandeered" them, we did not
pay them, and that for a good
reason, viz, that contrary to what
has been said, none of our men
were mercenaries. Neither / nor,
OF course, any OF the troopers re-
eeived or asked penny OF pay.
Therefore, l did not pay my Kat
hrs, OF whom | had about a score
to do the menial work OF the camp
anc to look after my horses and
those OF my officers. Now there
is something in the black-at least
in those climes-that makes him
content to be a slave. Service i'm
plies projection, and that is a con-
dition he perfectly appreciates.
One Of my boys, Pete, was a black
hero. He would go through any
thing So fighting (oi course in a pas.
sive way, but that is a most difficult
triaD, fatigue, hunger and thirst
yet he would never utter a word or
give sign oil complaint. On the
whole, he liked fighting best, for
ne was OF one Of the tribes OF
Zulus.
] would like to give a chapter
on Pete, but will now mention
only one curious detail. He told
me the real meaning OF the word
"impi," usually employed by war
correspondents, who want to show
how deep they have gone, as equiv
alent to horde, or troop, or Com
mando" OF Kafirs. l asked Pete
what il meant. He opened wide
his mouth and showed his ivory
teeth; his yellow eyes opened also
with wonder and rolled in their
sockets, and he laughed. "Impi,"
said he, with a deep, thick utter
ance, "that is WAR" And the
way Pete brought out the word
War made me feel that Impi or
War to Pete was the summation
oil everything that made life terri
bic, and yet all that made lite