New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-29
White Officers Of African Troops
Use Burnt Cork as Camouflage
American Has Narrow Escape Because Although His ace
Was in Sympathy With His Black Followers he
Forgot to Paint His Legs

ats my duty to protect my officer
he said. :, -,
"The doctor managed to pull him
through in spite Of all the hoies IN
him. Those niggers can STAND lou Vi
killing
Germans Also Use Negroes
The Germans are using negroes Also
In fact. the fighting is being carried on
in swampy jungle land where IL wouia
be impossible to keep any considerable
number of white men out OF FEVER ana
all the ailments of the tropics: Inc
fighting now is guerilla warfare, Tor the
organized German resistance has beeh
broken. The American officer said the
Frglish-led negroes fought better than
the German blacks. They had the ad-
vantage OF longer training and were
more loyal His experience was that
the English treated the natives very
fairly, indeed. while German brutality
was n byword. Often, when German
sent cut scouts. they would simply cut
and run away. The Germans them
selves, however, fought with great cour-
age and determination. :,
Although good soldiers, even the well
trained negroes seldom become expert
in rifle shooting. This is peculiar, ior
MANI are recruited from tribes which
show amazing skill and unerring eye
sight in the use of the bow and arrow
They always distrust their guns 1T
tie. With the bayonet, however, they
are superb. =,
II don't believe any troops could
touch them here" said the American,
although naturally they seldom had
chance to do much handto-hand night
inZ. OF course, their skill with the
spear stood them In good steady. oh
one expedition we found the lions al
most as troublesome as the Germans
After two sentries had been clawed up
we organized hunt. ] picked out
three of the best men in the company,
and they insisted on taking spears IN
stead of rifles. We used dogs to track
the lions, and we finally rounded one
up on an open bit of ground. de was
under a bush and clawing away at the
dogs. The negroes were all OUT OF
breath from following the dogs, but l
could hardly restrain them from going
right after him.
Good Spear Work on Lion
al made them wait until they got
their breath, and then let EN- go. They
were shaking in every muscle, but 1T
was certainly not fear. They advanced
very slowly, holding their shields IN
front of them, and at a distance OF NJ
teen yards one who had gone up a little
faster than his two comrades threw
his spear. lie hit too high-up in the
shoulder the lion charged him.
He threw his shield at the lion, and the
animal was so mad that he worried
that for second or two before he
came on. That gave the other two
negroes q chance. One sent a spear
which went right through the lion and
stuck out on the other side, but that
only slowed him up. The third threw
a spear that hit the lion just behind
the neck and did for him cold. 1t
smashed his backbone, | guess. The
man who made the crack hit staggered
up and pulled the spear out. ou see,
master he said; its child's play"
Back at the base the negro soldiers
saw automobiles, heard a photograph
and watched moving pictures. They
were enormously impressed by these
wonders and one night the American,
who was skilled in three negro dialects,
heard them talking around their camp
fire. One negro recounted the wonder
full things of the white man which
he had seen, and asserted that 1t was
his belief that white men could do any
thing. Finally, though, an older man
broke in.
"The white man can do anything but
keep from dying" he said. and they all
had TO admit that there was that lin
itation to the power of their officers.