The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-04-21
THE BoFRs IN BATTLE.
No Better strategists in the World
Than the simple Burghers.

II. 90 tlailal
A branch Of warfare TO which the Beers
attach almost supreme Importance. and
IleutN SO, Is scouting. At this their row
Ing habits and mode Of life make them
particularly adept, although during the
present var some OF the most valuabl
work in this direction has been peri 1rnned
10y litlaneers- Two corps of scouts. one
composed OF FrenChmeu under CAPTAIN
Le GailiaH ami ne other OF Italians un-
der the command Of Captain Ricchfardi
uoin recruited In Johannesburg during
the carrier months of the war. rendered
services Of almost ipcaIcuIa BILE value 20
the SOer cause. or am essentially cau-
uoUs nature -he Beers never think OF
moving d. any new direction until the
country has been thoroughly reCOnnoit-
ered nH scouting parties and The enemy
i.ds peen locdted- aud % IS t0 this fact
that their marvellous mobility Is largely
urc. Having asCertaincd The position of
their opponents and calculated the mum
oers likely 20 De engaged at any given
point the scouts report TO the general
Of the forces to which they are ATTACHED.
and tho burghers are then shifted from
one position To another so as TO be ready
Tor all emergencies Thus il Is that dur
ing the present campaign the Beers have
almost invariably been just where they
could do the most effective work and in
about the right numbers 10 do IT,
Another method OF guarding against
surprise is that of crow nests" ChoOs-
lng as elevated 2 position rs possible iu
the DelElo0rnooq or their trenches or
lager the Beers erect a cover Of loose
bushes, made to appear so natural that
from quite a short distance 10 is easily
mistaken f0r the growing. shrubbv bush
with which ihe country % q great OK
tent Is covered. Planted on the TOP of a
kopie the Beers. with their telescopes
and field glasses. are able 90 keep a look
ont over miles ~ the surrounding ColIu-
try while themselves perfectly hidden
intend to occupy and deI9nd. the
5ur- hers proceed TO dig trenches OF erect
IoU stone walls OF ,-schauzes." as they
Gre called, of loose stones piled I'D some
three feet high, or IF the ground is
suitable. they do both II anything. the
latter AFFORDS the more effective protec-
t1i' Of the two, since not only do these
s0hanZes Eive almost perfect shelter from
rife fire bit through the iEter-
~tfCtS between the stones the men are
emy. ON the smallest mark being pre-
scented. tbey either use the intersticeS as
-. loophn'aS or else they pop up. aim. fire
anu are down aga n in an almost incred-
IDLY short space 1T time. In this man
nvT tleY ran pick of the advancing sol
Jiers while rem-iuing In almost perfect
security themselves This method Of
lighting eEplaifis 90 a great extent the
uaittes of Beers and British. respectively
IN most If the important engagements
fought during the present war. These
SchanEeS are frequently several miles in
length, and are sometimes built in dupli-
E cate or even trIp1Cdte- thus enabling the
RoerS, on being driven back from the
tusi. 20 rCtt-e and continue 10 fieht be-
AirG the seccnd and the third The ad-
u1irahiC construction of their trenches
has been testifie+3 to on more than one
occasion bt The British generals. notably
[ ny Sir Redvers Butler In his dispatches
Z on the operations in Natal