The Irish standard., 1903-01-17

position. The English abandoned the
first trench and we followed. 1t soon
grew so warm ON both sides of the
house that we retreated. The English
retreated also, and one careless fellow
in our army falling to hear shooting
ran back and later notified us that the
English We're in retreat. We followed
retreating column.
During that entire war not one Eng
fish infantry regiment, not one battery
of artillery and not one squadron OF
cavalry ever showed the British flag.
The colors were. all locked up in vaults
at Durham, and it was we'll for the
English they We're, as we would surely
have had every English flag or stand
ard that was ever displayed. The only
flag the British did espouse in the
conflict was the white flag. 1t is safe
to say that seven out of every ten
British soldiers in the field had ut
some time or other been captured by
the Beers and turned loose. General
Cronje, who is a great soldier, EXTERN
mated the entire Black Watch be-
cause Methuen did not reconnoitre IL
position and it is down in history that
after the regiment encountered Cronje
but seventeen men reported for roll
call. Cronje was not good general,
but he was wonderful soldier. Be.
fore being captured he was advised to
abandon the position he held, but he
wanted to fight, and his idea was to
eXterminate the entire English force
while he was at it.
81 recall in that war when seventy
two men Of Johannesburg police re-
ceived the entire bombardment of Bull
ler's army, and the little band on that
day made the greatest stand ever
made by a force in the history of the
world. Thirty-siX field guns We're
trained on them. They left the posi-
ton with but nineteen killed, and if
you can find any better men in the
world you have got to find them in
America.
General DeWet thought more of
field gun than he did of men. He cap
tured the imperial ycomanry five times
and once offered to exchange the entire
lot for one wounded commandant.
This was refused and later he notified
the English he would exchange the
entire troop, aggregating something
like 40 men, for two loads Of forage.
Failing to get a reply he turned the
yeomanry composed of lords and earls,
loose, telling them that he never again
wanted to see them.
''The greatest general of the Boer
army was De La Rey. De La Rey
captured Methuen, but previous to that
Methuen had captured De La Rey's
wife and children. Methuen turned
the generals wife and children out OH
the veldt to starve and die of exposure,
Jul h'tci, "lICH Nclilucl WIS CitpluICu,
wounded and in precarious condition,
the first help he got was from De La
Rey's wife, the woman he had but
short time before turned adrift on the
veldt
For the English l think Butler was
the greatest general, but he was made
a scapegoat of to hide Others During
the war Mrs. Paul Kruger died, and in
Il conversation I overheard between an
English and Boer woman the English
woman said: Mrs. Kruger uleu and
has gone to heaven to secure interve1l-
ton for her people, Yes replied the
1'oer woman, Queen Victoria died and
has gone to heaven in hopes of secur-
ing re-infOrcemcnts." Tho dAv will
yet come when the Beers in South At
RIGA will fight again for their indie
pendcnce, and they will win it with
little fighting, as England knows she
can never cope with the Bocr people,
When the Beers win their independ-
cnce, then the little island that lies
on the breast of tie ocean-Ireland-
will win it's independence and take it's
place among the nations of the world