The Irish standard., 1902-01-04
The lndomitable Farmers of the Veldts
Have Inflicted Great Loss
Upon the British.
By their Unparalleled Herosm They Have
Brought the Robber Nation
to Dire Disaster.

Night in the Transvaal upon October
10, two years ago. fell blackcr than tn,
ninth plague of Egypt; and it raincd
The ritlcmcn of Joubcrt huddled under
cover of tented oX-wagons while water
soaked the vcldt. drippcd through can
vas, and gllshcd III torrents down Tho
mountain-side 1t was their first bat
tlc-cvc: little wonder they felt anxious
writes Allen Sangrcc in The Cosmopol
itan for December.
To the young men the English sol
dier was an abstract parsonage. They
had read of him in Kipling; had seer
him pictorially portrayed in gorgeous
uniform-hc hussar, the dragoom. th,
lifeguard. Now they were actually tc
meet this creature of engaging ro
nance and limitlcss trndition-thcy, Il
company of farmers, whose bivouaC
looked like Il gypsy camp. who knew
nothing of hcloyraph lydditc, cngin-
|
GERS and anccrs. Ii was prcsumptu-
Gus, almost irrcvcrcnt. Not a few
burgllcrs felt sick, like one who offers
to fight and suddenly discovers that
his opponent is a prizc-ring champion.
But the old men We're confident. AT
BrOnkhorst Spruit, at LangSncck, at
Ingngo and at Amaiuhn," they said
"God gave us victory, though in all
these battles the British troops were
more numerous and better armed than
ourselves. lie will deliver them into
our hands this time" SO they slept
TRANQUILITY.
Morning came with cIoudcd sky. An
opal spot showed toward the Indian
Ocean. When mist settled like blank
ct, the rifcmcn stumbled blindly over
rocks and hillocks into Il little settle
mcnt called Navigation COllcrics. The
miners had dropped pick ana shovel
and abandoned their lnts to seek safe
ty in the Natal plains below. Trans
vaal artillery boys were already using
their deserted brnkcrs for mmparts.
The artillery, always first to fire and
ast to retreat, had arrived in the night.
Leaning over their CreuSot guns care
lcssly or pccring with French glasses
into the mist, they keyed the nerves Of
any faltcring rillcman. No sound so
sweet Oh earth to infantry, when hard
pressed, as the dcath-r0ar OF Il bat
terry that suddenly comes to aid you.
1t was 12 o'clock noon before the
mist parted to disclose on the plain Il
house and barn surrounded by Il stone
wall. Colonel Blake, Of the Irish
Brigade, and Tricharh, artillery cap
tain, lying on their stOmachs behind
a rock, were the first to dcscry figures
moving.
With that. every man, young and
old, raised his head to gaze upon the
hustcolorcd forms, so tiny-looking, one
mile away. And you can Imagine
the quckcncd heartbeat, the flushed
cheek, the nervous finger, when Beers
first saw those far-fnmcd "Soldicrs OF
the Queen" the lcgions of khaki that
had swept DHrgai and crushed the
Mahdi! But even then the grim pat
riots were in no wise dishcnrtcnch.
They would have fought had the Brit
ish been as the sands of the sea. They
had in mind lbcrt nad justice.
Tommy was fighting for Il shilling Il
day.
The fight began with riflc-lirc from
two kopjes. which the British an
swcrcd in a struggling way, and ended
with Il half-doZcn shells that dropped
right in the stone wall. AS the mist
thiclcned again, ROcr infantry and ar
tillcry rushed up to Il position within
one thousand yards, prepared to raZc
tllc British camp, but there was ne
opportunity. In rift Of daylight Il
white flag waved, and the Beers hur.
ricd to the laagcr.
There they found one hundred and
thirty-fivc men of the English uuS
sars. the Dublin FusiIccrs and tho
Sixticth Rifles, crnuching by the stone
work, a sorry lot, unshaven, hungry
wet and soiled. Amazement on boil