ucated in
dissimulation and the control of the emotions, but with a simple and
natural people I don't believe many mistakes were made in arriving at
just judgments.

"Innocence unmoved
At a false accusation doth the more
Confirm itself; and guilt is best discover'd
By its own fears."

THE ABORIGINAL WAR CORRESPONDENT.

From the earliest days of recorded history man has regarded his prowess
in war as the most valuable of his exploits, and success in war has
generally been measured by the number of slain on the battle-field. I
don't know how the facts were arrived at in ancient times, and whether
or not they had war correspondents who followed the armies and reported
their doings I can't say, but as the art of printing was unknown, and
the means of communication were very limited, it seems doubtful if the
results were arrived at in that way. From what I know of human nature
and character, I am convinced that, if the reports were made through the
commanders in the field, the lists of the enemy slain may fairly be
discounted about seventy-five per cent. Have we not had reports of the
most exaggerated character as to the number of prisoners captured and
enemies killed so recently as our Civil War? And have we ever read of a
battle with the Indians or other uncivilized people where, after giving
our own losses, we have not met with the old stereotyped report, "that
the loss of the enemy was far greater, but as they always remove their
dead and wounded, it is impossible to ascertain the exact number?" The
wars now raging in the Philippines and Samoa form no exception to this
familiar report. So far as our fights with the American Indians are
concerned, I feel quite confident that, where we have killed one Indian,
we have lost ten whites, take it through from the Atlantic to the
Pacific; but you can't figure out any such results from the reports
which have made up history. The temptation to exaggerate for the
purpose of hero-making and future political preferment is too great to
be resisted, and the consequence is that truth suffers amazingly.
Perhaps it is better for mankind that the slaughter should be on paper,
rather than in fact.

Modern warfare has introduced the new element of the war correspondent.
He is generally either a creature of the commander, or desirous of
flattering him for personal advantage or some other consideration, and
he piles on the praises of the side h