The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-03


passengers as were interested and the
train moved on, bearing, in addition
to passengers and baggage, quite car
load of stories of the great fight. To
Johannesburg came the rumor, and II
trickled into the railway carriage in
which | was making my way to Pre-
toria.
"A big thing; a very big thing, I've
heard, said my travelling companion,
an officer in an irregular regiment.
We've LOST don't know how many
and two guns, I'm told. They lost
Just as many as we did, II not more.
COMMANDMENTS Marais and Du Plessis
captured-so l understand"
You see. he had got hold Of the
evenly matched" story. The "coni-
piete reverse" yarn l heard from an
irate subaltern of militia, who told me
MS rather was an NJ. p. and would
see about il. He was very young
subaltern, and his clothes were quite
new.
Where did you hear of it2"
re2ly:
"Oh. a fellow told me- don't YOU
Know. He heard it from a passenger
on one of these trains who saw the
fight"
All this looked sound enough. and al
though the nearest inteIligence officer
knew nothing about the engagement,
prepared to get nearer to the scene of
operation. Officially, Johannesburg
knew nothing. as did Pretoria and Ner-
eeniging, but none the less there seem
ed every possibility of its truth. and IL
was worth looking into. 1t was some
what of shock to discover that the
news had come by the Cape train and
not, as | had imagined, by the Natal
which
which Botha usually operates. Botha
seldom goes south, of the Natal line, but
anyhow there was nothing 30 prevent
MN doing the unusual thing If he felt
so inclined. A few minutes after the
thought occurred to me, an officer hur-
rying past stopped to tell me that DO
tina had crossed the Natal line and was
engaged south. So the story grew more
feasible, and / resolved on moving
south toward Vereeniging. ! passed the
garrison post when the story had ema-
mated. l passed the blockhouse that
had reported the firing. and all I'M
knowing of the irony of 1t passed the
handful of men who had been engaged,
and so I reached Vereeniging. Vereen-
lying knew the truth of the matter. for
this station possesses a real intelligence
officer. | was told the true story of the
great battle" and how the mistake had
arisen, and got back to Elandsfontein
station in time to hear a veritable Bill
Adams of an Atkins telling an admiring
circle the story of the battle of ROOF
berg. He had been one of the patrol
and had brought the slightly wounded
men into Elandsfontein by means of a
convenient train that had happened TO
be coming the right way. Now the
way Atkins told his story was not as |
told II in the telegram which heads this
column. Nor was it told as the wildly
exaggerated stories that first reached
me We're told. This is the story as it
fell from Atkins lips and taken down
by me-
" Ere was them" said Atkins, indi-
eating them" with the butt of his
rifle on the station platform.
land there was us''-"us" being
by Weighing machine--"The
Captain, e says. | think we've got
EN-, now. me ads. All / want now is
a man to volunteer to go round the
back of that kopje and see If they've
got any one awaitin behind to give us
ell as soon as we move on 'em.
want, e SEE. trustworthy reliable
man, e sez-one that knows is dooty
and is an ole soldier, e seq; none of
your three months service boys, e
sez An, Sergt. Jones-that's my SER
geant-'e SEE, Send Barker e SEE. ''e's
a good soldier e sez-that's my name,
added Atkins modestly.
II dessay, said sarcastic listener.
And did you go?"
II did, replied Atkins, and"
II s'pose your face frightened em,
suggested the interrupter
shut up. Go on, cocky." This from
the audience.
well, ] crawls and / creeps a-idin
behind bushes and rocks, till | gifts be-
10 ~ L.. - Il
there was their nibs a sittin waitin
for the captain to come on. Nigh on
seven 'undred, | should say. AS soon
as l sees 'em / nips back to the captin,
an ] seq, There's about eight 'undred
burjers a-waitin' for you there, sir
And e seq, low many Eight 'un-
dred,' / seq Did you count en- e
SEE. Yes seq I, bold as brass. Well
e seq, 1t strikes me. Barker. you've
got second sight e SEE, an IL there's
eight 'undred Beers around there I'll
eat my boots, e SEE. Anyow, we got
the squadron divided into three sections
an one went to the left. the other to
the right. and the other straight
a'ead. Well, bimeby, we Civ a yell
an charged on the kopje, an sure
enough they started firm from the top,
only 1t wasn't what you'd call an 'eavy
fire. but just 'klik-klok, klik- klok,
Well. bimeby up went a white flag.
and me and Jimmy Sparks went up
with our rifles at the ready--you bet
your life on that-and there was three
wounded Beers an two dead 'uns. an
the rest of the commando was gone.
Then the captain comes up and abe
starts questionin' the wounded ones
that one" said Atkins, pointing to one
of the prisoners seated with his arm
in a sling on a bundle of blankets
and then e asks i'm what they called
the kopje-the name of II, | mean
an the Boer. e sez 'Baboon's Kop,' e
SEE. Are there any balloons about
'ere? seq the captin Lots, seq this
ere Boer. Look over there and may
| be id II there wasn't young thous-
and Of 'em chatterin' an jorrIng along
a ridge near by. So the captin e
laughs, an e SEE. oh, Barker e seq.
where's them eight 'undred Boers?'
e SEE. Didn't you notice they 'ad tails
on?' e seq"
GRIFFINs AND DRAGONS.