The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-01-17
A SOPHISTICATED GUERRILLA

A SOPHISTICATED GUERRILLA
My friend. Jan Meyers, is one Of the
new Beers. says writer in the London
Daily Chronicle. His tastes do not lie
in the direction Of agriculture, nor does
be pay any particular observance to the
customs OF his fathers. He used to live
at ordinary times in Pretoria, where ne
inhabits set of rooms that would make
his unsophisticated family gasp at the
irreligious luxury of the fittings. His liv-
ing, and a fine fat living it was, was de-
rived from queer trade which he called
brokerage" and it had a good deal to
do with concessions and the byways Of
the gold law. In person he was fiorid
and affable. in the early prime of life,
and habited for the most part i'll purple
and fine linen.
Quite recently I met Jan in Durham
He was no less affable than before, if a
trifle less fi:,rid. His general appearance
had lost none of it's previous prosperity,
and his lips embraced plump cigar.
why, JAM l remarked, as he took
my hand and beamed, where have you
been all these months?"
Jan grinneG diabolically. My friend,'
he said, 1.-THE PAST is an episode; the pres
emf is the matter in hand. Come an
have a drink
Il will net" I protested.
Then we will take a 'ricksha.' where
we can talk in comfort while patronizins
native labor"
boy moved at a fox-trot down West
street I resumed my examination.
Were you captured. JAM
Am | an Imperial yeoman?' he re-
piled.
Then YOU surrendered?
'Not surrendere<l.' he submitted. Say
fought you English; now I fight unjus;
aspersions. Both are easy foes.'
hospitality, Jan? ?"
Just a month ago., or it may be five
weeks. l was wrought to it. My dear
friend, | endured the hardships Of I'M
tented field so long as the soap lasted.
Then, to choose an apt metaphor,
threw up the sponge"
"And how did bushranging suit you?''
I asked.
He grinned again: ''It had its COM
pensations,' he renlied.. Il have quite
a taste for sybaritic luxury that a coast
hotel hardly answers. Have you ever
eaten raw. potatoes!
Never"
''Then let me advise you; don't. I had
sooner eat dead frog"
plies?"
"Oh. as a general rule. we did not man.
age. We Jumped it, as the saying is.
OF course, there were cattle: and il
there weren't, they could be obtained
for the mere trouble Of: lifting. There
are few things more, .,nnllnviting than
killed. And then, the Kaffirs assisted
us a good deal with chickens and
me2lies:' o.,
"Well, Kafir is so. easy to coerce
that it is hard to say. Anyway, We got
SW We're there no other, no 10 w" White,
sources of supply?'
tous wink, ''for the purposes Of your
nalism l most solemnly affirm there were
none. But, speaking in strict confidence,
which l know. you will not abuse. there
sympathetic compatriots enabled them to
assist us to a very marked degree"
''As how?'
'Thus. I am ourgher. Early after
the fall of Pretoria | surrender. 1 re-
turn to my farm. I have cattle, horses,
chickens, perchance pigs, certainly sheep,
fruit vegetables, -four, sugar, coffee and
mando in the neighborhood. 1t is no
more than a matter Of accommodation. :"
Tell me some more about your brig
andage,' l continued.
''Oh, yes. In strict confidence, which
l dare you to divulge., Well. We fought,
successfully. You see, our object was
to remain at large, and give as much
trouble as possible: and since we invari-
ably carried out our purpose, it may be
with truth maintained that we had the
''Not at all. We had heaps, and big
stores from which to refurnish our ban
doliers. Honestly, cannot tell you any
thing about those stores; they were
cached here and there, and only a few
men knew Of them. And if Mauser cart
ridges 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
we'll. and outposts, and police posts, too.
Then there We're native scouts and indi-
Shooting og3 the sat T3y JAM what set you to
Upon my word" said Jan. II saw
nothing of that. It is an innovation Of
kritzinger's. You know what a ruffian
ktr r IL 81; is And anyhow, what's a
"Oh, most lame and impotent conclu-
sion | quoted.
"Well," resumed Jan. ''there was Ger
tain pleasure in roaming at large, and
breaking every hing that ever was law;
but during the greater part of the time
my waist was too small for me to appfe-
clate the beauties of nature. And then
horrible things happened, too.
"Listen.' he continued. This was one
of the things | experienced. Our laager
was attacked one night, and after time
we drove the enemy off. Several of our
men We're hit, but there was also WON
an, the wife OF bursher, who was with
us, that was shot through the chest. She
lay all night under a wagon moaning,
while I walked to and fro a little dis
lance off. could not 90 away; my
friend, the horror of it held me as though
by chain. / cannot tell you how those
hours passed, AMI how all through the
grim eternity of that night life and being
were attunel to those persistent, uncon-
scious 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 laager slept
as though there had no; been in their
midst a SOL! fighting out it's freedom