FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70  
71   72   73   74   75   76   >>  
tened to reason, and recognized the Boer Republic--a government which has never been in any really awful danger since, until Jameson started after it with his 500 "raw young fellows." To recapitulate: The Boer farmers and British soldiers fought 4 battles, and the Boers won them all. Result of the 4, in killed and wounded: British loss, 700 men. Boer loss, so far as known, 23 men. It is interesting, now, to note how loyally Jameson and his several trained British military officers tried to make their battles conform to precedent. Mr. Garrett's account of the Raid is much the best one I have met with, and my impressions of the Raid are drawn from that. When Jameson learned that near Krugersdorp he would find 800 Boers waiting to dispute his passage, he was not in the least disturbed. He was feeling as he had felt two or three days before, when he had opened his campaign with a historic remark to the same purport as the one with which the commander of the 94th had opened the Boer-British war of fourteen years before. That Commander's remark was, that the Boers "would turn tail at the first beat of the big drum." Jameson's was, that with his "raw young fellows" he could kick the (persons) of the Boers "all round the Transvaal." He was keeping close to historic precedent. Jameson arrived in the presence of the Boers. They--according to precedent--were not visible. It was a country of ridges, depressions, rocks, ditches, moraines of mining-tailings--not even as favorable for cavalry work as Laing's Nek had been in the former disastrous days. Jameson shot at the ridges and rocks with his artillery, just as General Colley had done at the Nek; and did them no damage and persuaded no Boer to show himself. Then about a hundred of his men formed up to charge the ridge-according to the 58th's precedent at the Nek; but as they dashed forward they opened out in a long line, which was a considerable improvement on the 58th's tactics; when they had gotten to within 200 yards of the ridge the concealed Boers opened out on them and emptied 20 saddles. The unwounded dismounted and fired at the rocks over the backs of their horses; but the return-fire was too hot, and they mounted again, "and galloped back or crawled away into a clump of reeds for cover, where they were shortly afterward taken prisoners as they lay among the reeds. Some thirty prisoners were so taken, and during the night which followed the
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70  
71   72   73   74   75   76   >>  



Top keywords:

Jameson

 
opened
 
precedent
 

British

 
prisoners
 
ridges
 
remark
 

historic

 

battles

 

fellows


hundred
 
formed
 

persuaded

 
dashed
 
forward
 

government

 
charge
 

favorable

 

danger

 

cavalry


tailings

 

ditches

 

moraines

 

mining

 

Colley

 

General

 

disastrous

 
artillery
 
damage
 

Republic


recognized

 

galloped

 
crawled
 

shortly

 

afterward

 

thirty

 

reason

 

mounted

 

concealed

 
emptied

improvement

 

depressions

 

tactics

 

saddles

 
horses
 

return

 

unwounded

 

dismounted

 

considerable

 

impressions