Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1902-04-25

of that struggle which now reach us
are but faint whispers. The whole
affair seems vague and indefinite.
But today | looked through tele-
scope, as il were. l had talk with
young man who fought all through the
earlier stages of that war, who spent
months in Il British prison camp, who
escaped by an act of reckless daring
and who is soon to go back to the veldt
to fight for his country.
The young man is Adolph De Wet, a
nephew of the heroic Boer general who
has been conducting a campaign which
has no parallel in military Astory.
Young De Wet fought until a bullet
shattered his foot and left him help
less. He was captured and deported
to Bermuda. For eleven months he
endured a miserable existence in the
prison camp Oh Harris bay. Then one
moonless night his chance came. With
one companion he lodged the guards
and plunged naked into the shark in
tested waters.
Far out from shore were shining the
lights of Il steamer. 1t might have
/
the chance. 1t was not 1t was an
American tramp steamer bound for
New York. They climbed up the an
chor chains, told their story and were
given passage to this city.
Since then the young Boer has been
making a desperate effort to make
enough money to take him back to
South Africa. y fine. manly, intelli-
gent young fellow he is, tall, straight,
broad shouldered and muscular. He
can talk in four languages. He is an
electrical engineer by profession. You
might mistake him for a Yale gradu-
ate. Yet withal he is modest and I'M
assuming.
1t was at the end of a long talk that
he spoke of his wounds. "Only twice."
he said, was much hurt. Once was
when | got that bullet in my foot and
was caught. The other time - well,
that was funny, now | come to think
of it. | suppose | lost the first blood
that was shed in the war. You see,
we Beers were all prepared for the
thing when it came. Our plans were
all laid. The first thing we did, you
remember, was to ship all Englishmen
out of Johannesburg. We began the
very day war was declared.
"My folks lived in suburb of Jo-
hannesburg. AS soon as | heard that
the war was on | took My rifle and
went into the city. | had no more than
reached there when | met an English
man. He had an old musket with bay
onet fixed | stopped him, and he stop
ped me.
"'You just hand over that gun
young fellow says he.
"'Not much says. You come will
me to the railroad station. We're go
ing to send you all packing
"With that we had n scufTle. o.
course | might have shot him or b,
me, but you must remember that up t,
that time not blow had been struck
: 1t would have seemed like murder t,
me. suppose he looked at it tn,
same way. So we just scuflled. II
the miXup he stuck his bayonet int
the calf of my leg. Then | hit him be
tween the eyes and laid him out.
took away his old musket. What d
you suppose nc ulu tneH! why, II
gave me his shoulder as we walke
" down to the station and carried tn
V guns. Every few minutes he woul
say: Sorry jabbed you, young fellow
Does it hurt muchY We hadn't &c
used to killing each other then"
This was his story of an inciden
which might well find place in histor
the first blood spilled in war whic
. has made the world shudder.
K "When l went home that night,