The Tucson citizen., 1902-02-28
klTCHENER'S FIASCO.

A dispatch from London to the San
Francisco Chronicle describes Lord
kitcheners latest attempt to capture
the indomtable De Welt as one of
the most picturesque" movements In
the history of the South African war.
Armored trains. equipped with power
full searchlights patrolled the railroad.
while stationary lights added to the
hrilliancy OF the illumination. Along
the line of the railroad were thou
sands OF British soldiers in trenches,
massed in force to prevent the Beers
hayonets and narbed wire, Having hem
med them in on all sides with Bri-
fish cavalry Lord Kitchener began the
drive, which he hoped would result
IN the capture Of the Boer leader and
the humiliation of his force. And, yet
the odds of "a to l did not prevail.
the JOY of all men who admire skill
in war, united with courage and
determination unsurpassed in the his
tory of warfare.
Lord Kitchener has learned by cx-
perience that there is an immense diff
ference between a drive" in wnlch
haIf-tame pheasants fall before Tie
guns OF English sportsmen and a
drive" in which the quarry is body
OF men who do not know what fear IS,
men who would rather die than sur
render their liberties. 1t was the Bri-
tish generals expectation that when he
had surrounded the Beers with wall
of steel 1t would be easy to push tenn
into corner and kin them or compel
their surrender. But even the best laid
plans of a Kitchener may gang
aglee" The Beers turned upon the
drivers and charged them time and
again with a desperate valor which
their pursueEs haA-not counted upon.
Finally DeWett and his men broke
through the Gordon and Kitchener
was again discomfitted
The Beers" says the dispatch to our
San Francisco contemporary" were
everywhere met with q relentless hail
of bullets. A long line of flame ran
up and uown the firing line, nearly 80
miles in length as the armored trains
flashed their searchlights over miles
Of country. The reports Of the quick
and the booming of the field guns and
pompoms sounded very deep amid the
sharp cracking of the musketry, while
Hebron Fort contributed to the uni
versal din with the deep roar of it's
naval gun" No doubt this was very
picturesque but what terrible re-
fiection it Is upon our twentieth GEN.
fury civilization, All these Instruments
OF destruction were turned against men
whose only crime is that they prefer to
govern themselves rather than submit
to foreign domination. Their homes
burned, their land laid waste, their
women and children carried off to
prison camps. they still fight on, re-
CARELESS of the odds arrayed against
them, rather than submit to the tend
er mercies of John Bull.
John Bull may have his drives in
South Africa, but the sport has cost
him the respect of the world as we'll
as the lives Of many Of his best SOL
diers. Some day he may at ast corner
his quarry. but he may be sure that
when that time comes he will naVe no
cause to feel proud OF the achieve
ment. The Beers have carried off all
the honors of the unequal war hey
have proved that men fighting for a
principle can still command the
worlds admiration even if they do not
receive its support. And ii is quite
probable that If governments had act
cd in response to public sentiment the
British 'man-driying" expeditions in
South Africa would have ended long
ago with the expulsion OF the
drivers 1t is fortunate for Great
Britain that governments w-a-Gays
are controlled more by con3i ltrdtio g
of policy than of humanity.
--~ D