El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-11-19

South Africa is contributing a strain
Of picturesque heroes; men with hair
on their chests; men tanned and
hardy. the spirit Of empire in their
veins-such an empire. indeed as they
have carved for the mother kingdom
from the death infested jungIes and
the putrId water teeminC with poison
out fauna.
Goes Into Battle Smiling.
Smiling they come. and cheerful
Z Though half the world has ridden be-
tween them and their southern
/ ranches. and they pulse into the life
l Of Internal. man breaking battle from
! their outposed craals. sweet with
1 everything domestic they have ever
I known, they 90 up in their harness
/ and bring back-the few who come
/ Out-victOry. Victory at Arras, at the
! country OF FrezenburC; victory they
/ have paid for at the fortress Of berry
{ farm and the Vampire and Bremen re-
( doubts. At the taking Of the redoupt
| OF Potsdam they Eallantly swung into
] the struggle When the peace OF
quiet came after W cary hours Of hand
I 10 hand snatchiug, Erunting. twisting
and stabbing OF enemy yielding flesh.
Z they Quivered in the mud and held
I their ground FOR old England On all
D the LLEEEEHL carnage ramps the EGt1aA-
I est war Of men has seen these British
South Africans have been right there.
British officers - observers - on
{ their watches behind the battles adj
Vances, frequently mutter, swear. II
you please, when they catch at a dis
lance Elimpses OF the South Africans
in their advances. They see the men
ramble right heartily through the
dirty work Of puncturinE German
lines Of flesh and then quizzically
tampering with the pill boxes 10
discover the 0rifices that they may go
7 in like ferrets and bring out their
human contents. They see the plains
men bayouetiug their way into Ger
man trenches and watch the surface
till the SLOUGH helmets begin popping
up and on TO the next line.
It was northwest Of the POtsdam re-
doubt that a strong cluster of con-
crete buildings formed German line
post While their advance was rest
ing between fights the South Africans
sighted machine guns, splitting from
loops; so. after a little conference be-
tween the men. they decided quite
logically and quietly that the best
thing TO do would be 10 stop the dis
turbance. Without an officer they
went for IL. The battalion command
er. seeing them go. and unable to call
them back, went out and Joined them. :
Training Tells
Inside the forts there were 65 Ger 4
mans. The SOuthrOnS were dropping
rapidly and some Of those who &
dropped returned the compliment by 2
chucEing the remainders OF their .
chambers at the loop holes. Training .
would tell. you know little idiOsyn- T.
Grassy Of these husNies was dom hip +
pos when they already done you in D
other words. If a hippo left enough .
unmangled parts Of them to pull q T
trigger, two beings died on the same (
day Pretty little thought, isn't it2 /
At length one of the brighter minds
conceived an idea: ne clambered up .
to the roof Of the impregnable outfit .
and began dropping inceudiary bombs .
down a ventilator or periscope- What F.
went on inside can only be imagined .
but the BOChe soon unbarricaded him .
self and broke out running FOR IL. .
They were all shot down.
Il is recorded Of one OF these he
men that he finished day OF battle
with an entirely different division
than the one TO ~ hich he belonged He
had advanced and fought with his
own organization till along about mid
DAY. While resting another division
passed on past his bunch TO attack an
enemy trench. He found il was going
farther than his friends We're sched-
uled TO 20. so he temporarily became
a part Of il. and with il he fought as
far g the high tide swept.
They Are the same Type.
What is thct2 Are they the BOers2
Surel They are the same men (Of
their sOnsJ who served out several
different brands Of hell to lord Rob-
erts and his British armies pathetical-
" outnumbering them. They think
more OF CrOnJe and revere his memory
more than any British leader IL viii be
possible TO put over them. Once they
were Beers. wild riding, hard fighting
heroes; the kind Of men who could
fight all day against one British army, P
81 IL aH-ana Hssn.H g -HaH
day against another British army.
Still-Old England is still in her
springtime-lilact time viii always De
demurely sweet on the Avon while the
borders OF her empire are fringed
with empire bullders-the men who
make England: men of spirit, heart
and and honest purpOse-and among
the greatest Of these is that boyish.
lifting maraderie-British South Al +
RIGA.