The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-28
OF the stuff, and very comforting it

was.
Were there no other, no white,
sources of supply?"
MY friend" said Jan, with a por-
tentous wink, for the purposes of
your journalism I most solemnly affirm
there were none. But. speaking in strict
confidence, which | know you will not
abuse, there were. The elastic con-
science of our sympathetic compa-
triots enables them to assist us to a
very marked degree"
"As how"
Thus. I am a burgher Early after
the fall of Pretoria ! surrender. 1 re-
turn to my farm. 1 have cattle, horses,
chickens, perchance pigs, certainly sheep,
fruit vegetables, flour, sugar coffee
and such like commodities. There is a
commando in the neighborhood. 1t is
no more than a matter of accommoda-
ton"
Tell me some more about your brig
andage," l continued
"Oh yes. In strict confidence, which
/ dare you to divulge. Well, we fought,
and we ran away, and we stole. all
most successfully. You see, our object
was to remain at large. and give as
much trouble as possible: and since
we invariably carried out our purpose,
1t may be with truth maintained that
we had the best of it."
Didn't your ammunition run out?"
mot at all. We had heaps, and big
stores from which to refurnish our
| bandoliers. Honestly, / cannot tell you
anything about those stores; they were
cached here and there, and only a few
men knew of them. And if Mauser
| cartridges were for the moment scarce,
we had only to capture convoy and
| revert to Lee-Metfords. Quite simple,
you see."
You didn't get as many conveys as
all that" I retorted.
I'VE got more" he said Trains
as well, and outposts. and police posts,
too. Then there were native scouts
and individual prisoners
by the way, Jan, what set you to
shooting natives?"
| nothing of that. 1t is an innovation
of Kritzinger's. You know what ruff
| tiian Kritzinger is. And anyhow
what's a Kaffir?"
"Oh, most lame and impotent con-
clusion," 1 quoted.
Well" resumed JAM there was a
certain pleasure in roaming at large
| and breaking everything that ever was
law; but during the greater
part of the time my waist
was too small for me to appre-
ciate the beauties of nature. And then
horrible things happened, too.
Listen" he continued. This was
one of the things I experienced Our
| lager was attacked one night. and
| after time we drove the enemy off
| Several of our men were hit. but there
was also a woman, the wife of a burgh-
err, who was with us, that was shot
| through the chest. She lay all night
under a wagon moaning, while l walk
| ed 10 and fro a lifflo Distance off
could not go away; my friend, the hor-
ror Of it held me as though by chain.
/ cannot tell you how those hours
passed. and how all through the grim
eternity of that night life and being
We're attuned to those persistent, I'M
conscious means of the dying woman.
Her husband watched by her. and
dozed from time to time; you know
how it is with our people: and the rest
of the lager slept as though there
had not been in their midst a soul
fighting out it's freedom through the
throes of a woman's body. God! she
lay still in the darkness below the
wagon, and her face showed in the
shadow like ivory. and her means came
like the slow ticking of a big clock.
I'm the morning she died. with a
harsh rattle at her throat, a tossing
of her arms and scream that was
buried her where she lay, and shift
ed the lager at once"
Jan was silent for a while, and
saw with the corner of my eye that
there were beads of sweat on his face.
1T is not the horror of war in the
aggregate that goes home to one" he
said, after time. but the little vivid
incidents one hardly sees before they
are over.
IN - Y -.
afternoon with another man, fellow
with no more nerves than bulldog
We saw mounted men passing below.
They were British scouts. In time one
came near to the base of the hill. He
was a smart fellow. sitting we'll in his
saddle-a Colonial. / should think.
That man is within range said
my companion, and slid his Mauser
forward.
Don't l said. 1t looked so like
murder. / could see the young fellow
so clearly. His face was tanned, ana
his hair was yellow.
THE other man only laughed, and
smoked up his back-sght. Eight hun.
dred yards, he said, and about two
feet for wind. Watch my shot
He wriggled the butt well home on
his shoulder, and sighted deliberately
The scout was cantering. Soon he
came opposit a big, gray boulder, on
which my companion was sighting. The
rifle spat; and | saw the young man
throw up his hands and fall forward
out of his saddle. l was sick at the
sight"
He paused for some minutes and
then turned to me with the old grin
and eye-sparkle. II will tell you no
more" he said. MY bowels are cor
roded with thirst. We will have a
drink. Whisky and soda always did
appeal to my better nature.
But JAM" / said, as we stopped be-
fore hotel, what do you propose to
do now?'
MY friend" he replied. with a smile
that would lure an angel to destruc-
ton, "am / not a fit and proper per-
son to be awarded a civil service billet
| in the new Transvaal?"