Not with vain boastfulness, careless, unheeding,Left we our homes and prepared for the fray.Sadly we answered our wives' gentle pleading,Hearing the summons we turned to obey.Not for the worth of the Rand's golden treasures,Neither dominion, nor riches, nor power,Ever had moved us to leave city pleasures,Ever had held us together an hour.'Twas not for this that we turned to assail you,'Twas not for this that we entered the strife.Loud though your country with tears may bewail you,Can she blame us for this waste of young life?What we have asked of you that we have given.Down in the South you may live and be free.When we have gained that for which we have striven,Then we will come and will share it with thee.Freedom you value but hoard as a miser;Freedom we value but offer to all.But of the conflict now sadder and wiser,Blame you not us, but yourself, for your fall.
Not with vain boastfulness, careless, unheeding,Left we our homes and prepared for the fray.Sadly we answered our wives' gentle pleading,Hearing the summons we turned to obey.
Not for the worth of the Rand's golden treasures,Neither dominion, nor riches, nor power,Ever had moved us to leave city pleasures,Ever had held us together an hour.
'Twas not for this that we turned to assail you,'Twas not for this that we entered the strife.Loud though your country with tears may bewail you,Can she blame us for this waste of young life?
What we have asked of you that we have given.Down in the South you may live and be free.When we have gained that for which we have striven,Then we will come and will share it with thee.
Freedom you value but hoard as a miser;Freedom we value but offer to all.But of the conflict now sadder and wiser,Blame you not us, but yourself, for your fall.
Finding us without a "Leader" for the Day, Lord Stanley writes one.
"The Friend" of April 3rd began its reading matter with a leader by the Censor. When he came to look over our proofs on that day he learned that we had not been able to find time to write an editorial. The value of a series of leading articles calculated either to inspire the army or to pacify or instruct the Boers had been newly impressed upon us by Sir Alfred Milner, and had, without doubt, been discussed at the headquarters of the Field Marshal.
"I will see if I can write one," said Lord Stanley, and, seating himself by the smaller table, where pens and paper were at hand, he began and finished the editorial here reproduced, without even one of the "false starts" which even we who are most practised so often make; and, so far as I recollect, without more than two or three erasures of words. This gave me a new view of the capabilities of our censor—a view in which he appeared more than ever the fittest man in all the army for his exacting post.
Mr. Ralph,Mr. Scull, of Chicago,Mr. Buxton, ofThe Friendare the 3 men behind the Censor.Mr. Pearse,Morning Post.Mr. Bennett Burleigh,Daily Telegraph.W. B. Wollen, R.I.Mr. Maxwell,of theStandard.Mr. Melton Prior.Mr. Rennet, of "Laffan's Bureau."Lord Stanley Censoring Reports of a Battle. Photographed by Mr. H. Mackern, of "Scribner's Magazine."
Mr. Ralph,Mr. Scull, of Chicago,Mr. Buxton, ofThe Friendare the 3 men behind the Censor.Mr. Pearse,Morning Post.Mr. Bennett Burleigh,Daily Telegraph.W. B. Wollen, R.I.Mr. Maxwell,of theStandard.Mr. Melton Prior.Mr. Rennet, of "Laffan's Bureau."
Lord Stanley Censoring Reports of a Battle. Photographed by Mr. H. Mackern, of "Scribner's Magazine."
Perhaps the reader will see at this date and stage of the discussion over the lessons of the war that thepractical, and with him wholly original, words spoken by Lord Dundonald in London on December 15th, were in some measure anticipated by Lord Stanley in this editorial. Both these noblemen set the same high value upon the services of the men of England without regard to class. Lord Dundonald said they would fight when called upon, but the best of them would not willingly or comfortably undergo the exactions of long-sustained military discipline. Our Censor was, at that time, for making their service an instantly ready organised source of strength to the Empire.
Though there is little to republish from the columns ofThe Friendof that day, the newspaper was a very complete and excellent collation of news of South Africa, the war, and the world. On this particular day, April 3rd, we published one of Mr. G. W. Steevens's artistic letters from the Natal front, taken from theDaily Mail; we copied an important article on the lessons of the war written by Mr. Amery for theTimes, and altogether the army found the number very readable.
THE FRIEND.(Edited by the War Correspondents with Lord Roberts' Force.)
No. 15.]
[Price One Penny
BLOEMFONTEIN, TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1900.
This war, with the opportunity it has offered to all branches of the service to see how the military machinery works when running at high pressure, must teach not only those who are out here superintendingand running the machine, but also those at home who are paying for its running, many a useful lesson.
That the machine has worked smoothly nobody for one minute will assert—but it certainly has run sufficiently smoothly to show that, with some alteration which experience alone could suggest to be desirable, our military engine may very easily be made as perfect as those of the Continental Powers are popularly supposed to be.
But it is not our intention to show what failings have been discovered, and what lessons in manœuvring—in transport—in equipment—are required to be learned. Our object to-day is to congratulate ourselves that one lesson at least which had to be learned has been partially learned—and that is that England must look not to one class or two classes of men for her soldiers and sailors, but must be able to draw upon all sorts and conditions of men, the rich alike with the poor, when she has to defend her honour at home or abroad.
The first part of the lesson has been learned, and men of all ranks in life are vying with each other in their desire to serve their country in any capacity, however humble. This is good, but the lesson has not been entirely taken to heart yet. It will not do for England to have to wait for an hour of danger before these men come to the front. They must always be there at hand when required, and it behoves the Government at home to so legislate as to make permanent in the ranks of our army those classes of men who are now in it temporarily.
Conscription may be a nasty pill for some to swallow. But what is in a name? Let us call ituniversal service, and let us ask our fellow countrymen at home to be prepared to emulate the example of those who are on service here and to be ready at all times and in all places to guard and defend the national flag—the symbol of British prestige and integrity.
Driven from pillar to post,Battered with shot and shell,Knowing full well his cause was lost,When the last of his burghers fell.Surrounded on every hand,He and his Army lay,Determined to make a final stand,Like a wounded stag at bay.When the British guns belched forth,The burghers held their breath,And down in the trenches deep they hidFrom these Messengers of Death.But the British had the range,And their lyddite and shrapnel fellInto their trenches till they thoughtWe'd opened the gates of hell.Then Cronje had enough,And a message came to sayThat he and his army surrendered,And this on Majuba Day:The day that the Boers heldAnd rejoiced with might and main,The day they laid their arms on the veldt;The day they'll ne'er hold again.For Cronje's day is done,The despot's rule is o'er,Their hell-fire on the WomenAnd the Red-cross is no more.For under escort he jogs alongWith never a word to say;He and his army four thousand strongAll bound for Table Bay.And Cronje can pray as long as he may,Till his poor old knees are sore;But it seems Lord Roberts has found the wayTo outwit the wily Boer,And St. Helena is his quartersTill the Transvaal War is o'er.Jas. L. Watson,1st Scots Guards.
Driven from pillar to post,Battered with shot and shell,Knowing full well his cause was lost,When the last of his burghers fell.Surrounded on every hand,He and his Army lay,Determined to make a final stand,Like a wounded stag at bay.
When the British guns belched forth,The burghers held their breath,And down in the trenches deep they hidFrom these Messengers of Death.But the British had the range,And their lyddite and shrapnel fellInto their trenches till they thoughtWe'd opened the gates of hell.
Then Cronje had enough,And a message came to sayThat he and his army surrendered,And this on Majuba Day:The day that the Boers heldAnd rejoiced with might and main,The day they laid their arms on the veldt;The day they'll ne'er hold again.
For Cronje's day is done,The despot's rule is o'er,Their hell-fire on the WomenAnd the Red-cross is no more.For under escort he jogs alongWith never a word to say;He and his army four thousand strongAll bound for Table Bay.
And Cronje can pray as long as he may,Till his poor old knees are sore;But it seems Lord Roberts has found the wayTo outwit the wily Boer,And St. Helena is his quartersTill the Transvaal War is o'er.
Jas. L. Watson,1st Scots Guards.
Below we give a translation of a Dutch proclamation issued by Sir George Cathcart nearly half a century ago. The CapetownArgussays that it shows a marked similarity to Lord Roberts' recent proclamation explaining the cause of the present war, but this we confess we are not so certain of, as that the proclamation is of interest in and for itself.
By His Excellency Lieutenant-General the Hon. George Cathcart, Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and Territories and Dependencies thereof, and Vice-Admiral of the same; and Her Majesty's HighCommissioner for the execution and adjustment of affairs of the Territory in South Africa bordering on and annexed to the Eastern and Northern Boundaries of the said Colony, and Governor of the Orange River Territory, &c., &c.
Be it hereby made known to all leaders and people of all classes and nationalities within Her Majesty's borders of the Orange River Territory that I have come amongst you to offer equal rights and justice to all in the name of Her Majesty. I have come not to make War, but to settle all disputes and to establish the blessings of Peace.
I therefore instruct and command all of you to remain quiet, every one of you in your own territory, and to await my judgment and decision.
I have with me a sufficient number of troops of the Queen to command obedience, and to punish severely and punctually any Leader, Class, or Tribe who would dare to resist my lawful authority.
All loyal subjects of Her Majesty will be prepared to join me, if I deem it necessary to call upon them for co-operation against any stubborn culprits.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
Given under my Hand and Seal, at Graham's Town, this 15th day of November, 1852.
George Cathcart,Lieut.-General, Governor.
By order of His Excellency the Governor,
Wm. F. Liddle,Secretary.
I declare the Original War ended and a New One begun—Enteric's ravages.
"The Friend" of April 4th contained a column of offers of a new name for the Orange Free State in response to our promise of a five guinea prize to the propounder of the most suitable new title for the country. We published a ballot form for use by our readers in voting for whichever five of the proposed names they preferred. All our readers were asked to vote, and it was to be our part to discover what person was the earliest to send in either the five most popular names or the greater number of them. This gave us such an addition to our labours that I suspect we were all as sorry as I know that one of us was for having gone into this gift enterprise.
I was the author of the "leader" of the day upon "The End of the War." In this I said that the war first planned by the Boers was already over and won by the British. That was a war of extermination of the British in Natal and the Cape, which two colonies were to be the scene of the fighting, and to be capturedby the Dutch. "It was to be fought out on British soil to the damage of British property and the slaughter of such British as did not flee from their homes. That war ended quickly in a complete failure. Now," I continued, "another struggle is going on to settle whether the two races are to live in peace together, whether the Boers are to continue to obstruct modern progress, and whether white men who live in South Africa are to enjoy white men's rights and white men's liberty."
We published an interesting review of the life of the late Sir Donald Stewart, who had just died in England.
Mr. Landon wrote an editorial requesting the editors of the mischievous Capetown organ of the Bond,Ons Land, not to send their wretched paper to our office, and he added that if we could have our way no such publication would exist.
Mr. Gwynne was the author of the witty paragraph on "How History is Made."
Enteric, the ravages of which were assuming extraordinary proportions, now began to exact attention from our contributors. One of these wrote recommending the transfer of enteric patients to a building put up as a retreat for lepers six miles away, at Sydenham. He argued that it was "not fair" to mass the fever patients in the buildings of Bloemfontein. I cannot have seen this article at the time, or it would have been either left out or answered by me with a modest suggestion that the "unfairness" might possibly be in allowing those of us who were well and strong to remain in the hotels, all of which, together with as many dwellings as were needed, could, perhaps,be turned into hospitals. To leave the fever-stricken men out in rain-soaked tents set up on muddy ground, where the most ordinary demands of nature had to be met at a risk of death—if this could be avoided, this was the unfair thing. I would have proposed that the sick soldiers and the too vigorous pro-Boers of Bloemfontein change places, putting our enemies in the tents, if such a course were possible.
THE FRIEND.(Edited by the War Correspondents with Lord Roberts' Force.)
No. 16.]
[Price One Penny
BLOEMFONTEIN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 1900.
There is a great want of bedsteads for the use of the sick and wounded in the various hospitals here.
An appeal is hereby made to the charity of the general public. All who can possibly spare any single bedsteads with mattresses and pillows complete, are earnestly requested to communicate with Colonel Stevenson, Principal Medical Officer, Maitland Street, who will arrange to receive them. Labels, with name and address of owner, should be affixed to each bedstead lent, so as to ensure its return when no longer required.
G. T. Pretyman,Major-General,Military Governor.
April 3rd.
Whereas: it is deemed expedient and necessary for the welfare of the Orange Free State that theRailway Service shall be resumed in the aforesaid Republic as far as circumstances permit,
Now Therefore,
I, Frederick Sleigh Baron Roberts of Kandahar, K.P., G.C.B., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., V.C., Field Marshal and Commanding-in-Chief of the British forces in South Africa, do hereby appoint Lieutenant Colonel Edouard Percy Cranwill Girouard, D.S.O., Director of Railways, South African Field Force, Administrator of the State Railways in such portions of the Orange Free State as have been or may hereafter be occupied by British Troops. And I do hereby order that the Railway and Railway Telegraph Services shall be resumed in the portions of the aforesaid Republic already referred to, from the nineteenth day of March, 1900, under the existing Laws and Conventions of the Orange Free State, subject to such alterations as may from time to time be notified, and to the requirements of the army.
Given under my hand at Bloemfontein, this Thirtieth Day of March, 1900.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
Roberts, Field-Marshal,Commanding-in-Chief British Forcesin South Africa.
Bloemfontein, Thursday, received Friday.
Kruger is reported to have proclaimed the annexation of the Free State to the Transvaal.
It is also reported that he is circulating a proclamation that England is in dire straits, the Russians have occupied London and proclaimed it Russian territory (Reuter).
It is painful to think that Lord Roberts is totally unaware that he is fighting for a country that has ceased to exist, that St. Paul's is now a Greek Chapel, that the Thames is called the Temsky River, that our beloved Queen is a prisoner at Moscow, and that Lord Salisbury is already trudging on the weary snow-bound way to the mines at Kara, in Siberia.
Why do you laugh?
To us it seems awful!
After three weeks spent in "bluffing" the Colesberg Boers, by holding various kopjes with a half company at the bottom, I found myself one fine February morning seized with a sudden attack of "Mauseritis," and so forced to watch the rest of a disastrous rear-guard action without taking part in it.
My company and one other, having spent a very cold night on a kopje N.W. of Rensburg, came down at 5 a.m. to find our other companies "not lost but gone before" to Arundel, and a sudden and unexpected Boer cross-fire brought on the aforesaid "attack." From 6 to 8 I lay watching little puffs of dust in the immediate vicinity, caused by our men returning the fire, as a lot of the Boers had followed us up and were lying down about 300 yards from me.
At 8 our fire stopped, and up galloped batches ofthe ragged ruffians, the first two pointing Mausers at me and asking, "Rooinek wounded?" My answer, "Yes," seemed to relieve them, and they jumped off their horses, and quickly relieving me of carbine and belt (the only things they took) galloped on. At intervals of ten minutes all sorts and conditions followed them with, "Good morning, old chap," and they seemed very sorry at seeing me wounded. At 10, four of them, under the guidance of a commandant, carried me in a bit of sacking a mile to Rensburg Station, to the "Station Commandant's" Room, and I spent a happy day till 5 p.m. with 11 of our men, all air prevented from coming in by our inquisitive friends, the enemy, who "held" both doors and windows with great success, making the place a regular Black Hole.
They seemed quite happy, just standing still, staring at us, and never uttering a syllable, though they would do anything we asked. At last, after hours of waiting, they moved us to a coachhouse close by and "dressed" us. We stayed there till 5 the next day, and had many interesting talks with them. One old man gave us a blessing, with "I wish Chamberlain was here to see you now." Their sole idea was that Jos. C. and Rhodes were entirely responsible for the war. Many such questions as "Were you compelled to fight?" &c., were asked you, and a small box of "sparklets" cartridges was a source of much wonder. My next move was to an empty store in Colesberg, where Hofman (of the Cape Parliament) had a Russian-German and Dutch Ambulance combined (one of his men had been fighting against us and now, covered with Red Crosses, helped to carry us about). I stayed therea week, having devoured more figs and grapes than ever before.
All the English ladies and the Dutch Minister in particular brought us fruit, and I should like to thank them personally. Only the Dutch people were allowed in to see us, and were very keen on getting our buttons and badges as keep-sakes.
They turned us out of the field hospital one night at 9, and we were jolted along in buck-waggons till 5 the next morning, then a halt of 5 hours, and at last we got to Norval's Pont at 5 p.m., after the worst journey I ever hope to have. It was quite a treat seeing trees again, as some of the country we passed through was really pretty. Our ambulance train consisted of layers of stretchers, one above the other, on a large "bogey" truck. At Springfontein, we were entrusted to a German ambulance, from Hamburg, covered with crosses, doctors, nurses and patient helps, but they were very kind to us.
We got news daily from the station telegraphist, Mr. Fryer, and Mr. Shipp, also employed on the station, till the escape from Pretoria put an end to our visitors. The hospital was half full of Boers, and they seemed perfectly happy sitting still the whole day long doing nothing, but smoking hard. Two engines were always left ready for emergency, the line being 100 yards away, so sleep at night was a matter of difficulty. Just when I was hoping we should be relieved, they moved us under the safe keeping of a Bloemfontein policeman in a gorgeous blue uniform to the Volks Hospital here, passing through hundreds of sleeping burghers in the station. Here we languished in the utmost comfort,till the famous Tuesday when little black specks on the veldt and the arrival here of "Bobs" made our scarce-believing eyes quite certain that we were no longer Boer prisoners.
Anon.
No disease causes such havoc in modern campaigns as typhoid or enteric fever, and it becomes the duty of every one having authority to impress this fact upon the men committed to their charge. More especially is this duty imperative when troops are on the march, for many a valuable life is thrown away by the want of the strong hand of a wise discipline. When thirsty, men will drink anything, and it is here that good may be done. It is reported that one regiment on the march recently made the use of water-bottles a matter of drill, the word of command being given every hour for a mouthful of water to be drunk. As a result, men arrived in many cases at their bivouac with some water still left from their morning supply, without being one whit more thirsty than their neighbours.
Typhoid in the vast majority of cases is waterborne, and hence the greatest care should be taken to avoid any dubious pan or pool. The only real preventative of this disease is to boil all water used, and although this may be impracticable on service, surely discipline will prevent the drinking of doubtful water. No medical observer can help wondering why more men were not inoculated on their way out from home. The inoculation does no harm, itspain is a small matter, and its utility in modifying the severity of the disease is now well established. Take a case in point: two officers in the same regiment, one aged 31 and the other 24, contracted the disease on the same day from the same source. On the usual lines, the younger man should have had the worst attack, and yet, although physically the weaker, he recovered and his senior died. The younger man had been inoculated but the other had not! Some will say that it was the senior's kismet, but let that pass. The campaign is now well begun, and it is not too late even now to furnish supplies of lymph to Medical Officers for use with their units.
The disease now so rife is marked by an absence of abdominal symptoms and may, in its early stage, be overlooked. It is during this period of uncertainty that harm may be done by a solid diet, and it is safer by far for any one suspecting himself to be suffering from influenza or other vague disease to restrict himself for a few days to a milk diet. Then if the febrile condition passes off, no harm is done, but it is to be feared that few will take this amount of trouble over themselves.
British Leniency and Credulity abused Past Endurance.
For several daysThe Friendhad been publishing this short but imperative announcement:—
From to-day (inclusive) all civilians must be in their homes after 8 p.m., unless provided with aSpecial Passallowing them to be out.
The Police have orders to arrest all persons breaking this rule.
N.B.—This does not refer to civilians who are in the employ of the British Government, who will have a pass to this effect. By order,
B. Burnett-Hitchcock, Lieutenant,Asst. Provost Marshal to Military Governor.
Government Buildings, April 1st, 1900.
This notice was but one of many of the signs we gave forth that we were being fooled by the tricky Boers, and that at last we were compelled to admit it. Far back at De Aar I had seen how constitutionally unsuspicious was the average army officer, how certain hefelt that, because he would not himself stoop to deception and treachery, no one else could miss the ennobling contagion of his example; how set he was upon carrying leniency and magnanimity to unheard of lengths, even with an enemy which neither practiced nor appreciated such treatment.
Back in the days at De Aar the Boer spies were thick among us, pretending to have horses or forage for sale, but in reality watching us, and making daily reports to the enemy. Even then I begged my friends among the officers to observe what was going on, and to take steps to keep all Dutch-speaking men out of our slenderly guarded great storage camp of supplies. But the typical officer said then, as he said afterwards for months, "Oh, there's nothing to worry about. These people are our friends." And the occasional wide-awake non-typical officer ground his teeth and whispered, "Lord! Lord! how we are being played with! They know everything about us at every hour, in every move—and we not only know nothing of them, but are being fed up with lies."
Far from merely keeping the Dutch out of our camps, we engaged the people of the country as transport drivers and waggon hands, and even—it used to be said—let them find their way into our corps of scouts and regimental guides. We demanded that they should know the Taal lingo and the country, and the result was that when we marched into a Boer village or hamlet we saw our own people hobnobbing with the residents, and asking, "Where's Piet? How's Billy? How have all of you been getting on?"—hail-fellow-well-met with these alleged "loyalists," who were among the most tricky, shufflinghypocrites I have ever met in any of my travels. On and on we went, never knowing anything of the Boers, and the Boers always thoroughly informed about us.
Everywhere the slimy, slippery ranchers and tavern-keepers and merchants welcomed us with the heartiest speech, and always were we fooled by it. They had been born in the country, half the people or more in all that great region were out "on commando," no man except a pro-Boer or a born Boer could have been where we found these double-faced people, with their Judas-like pretence of friendship. It was self-evident that they must have been siding with our enemies. Had they been for us when our backs were turned, the Boers would have offered them a choice between joining their fighting forces or losing their property and their right to stay in the land. Capetown, Durban, and Port Elizabeth were crowded by the refugees who had taken an open stand for the British side, and been obliged to leave their homes. Nothing of this needed telling; it was indisputable, it was logical, it was common knowledge.
At last we came to fighting battles that were surprises—to meeting Boer forces where we were told there were no Boers. When, at Modder River, Mr. Knox, of Reuter's, and I saw a large force of Boers ahead, and rode back to tell our friends in the army what we had seen, we were informed that what we announced was ridiculous. There were only "three hundred Boers within a dozen miles," and these would be quickly dislodged by our Ninth Lancers. We were to meet the Boers at Spytfontein, miles and miles ahead. Nevertheless, in fifteen minutes we began one of the chief battles of the war,against the largest force that had up to that time opposed our army.
The next day saw us in the village of Modder River, welcomed by the men of the place, whose shops and taverns had been preserved in the very midst of the Boer army by—by what shall we say? It must have been either by the force of comradeship with the Boers or by miraculous and Divine intervention; one or the other, for there is no explanation of the phenomenon outside of these two alternatives. Did a single man from that village manage to cross the drift and warn us that six miles of trenches were ready to be filled by Boers when we should reach there? And why did no single individual among all these "friends" do us that service? Our guides and others rode far forward, and were gone for hours. What did they see or find, and why did they not discover the facts?
We were fooled! fooled!! fooled!!!
Without martial law in force behind us, as it should have been in force from Capetown to Kimberley, at the very beginning of the war, without maps of the country, surrounded by malignant enemies, who were the more dangerous in that they declared themselves friends. Knowing nothing, but betrayed in everything, we stumbled on—into Modder battle, up against Maghersfontein Kopje—fooled and tricked and played with for months on end.
We caught one of two men who fired at us from beneath the white flag at Belmont. The other one our soldiers killed, but the one we caught—what of him? The quicker he was hanged and left hanging on top of a high kopje the sooner would have ended the contempt of the Boers for our methods, and thesooner would have come the end of the war. But I never was able to learn that he was treated otherwise than were the rest of our prisoners.
When we came to a village like Modder River, where the Boers had been entertained and assisted in bridge-destroying and trench-digging, did wereconcentradothe little population? What a lesson to the disloyal, what a strength to our arms that would have been! We did nothing; we left them in their homes; we found them with Boer warrants for pay for forage on their persons; we saw them slipping to and from our camp at night, while by day they loitered around our headquarters and told us how loyal they were. Fooled were we—to the brim, up to our eyes, past all understanding.
Lord Roberts came, and the Boers tried the same old tricks. It is true that he maintained the same mistaken course of leniency—making war as light as possible for the Boers while they heaped its terrors upon us—but this mischievous, war-prolonging policy was so unvarying from Capetown to Bloemfontein that I always suspected it to have been ordered from home—perhaps by whoever it was that "preferred unmounted men" to catch the De Wets of the veldt. I cannot believe that Lord Roberts fought England's enemies in India in that way, or that he is blamable for that policy in South Africa. He was fooled, however, but not as others had been, nor did he evince the same fondness for being victimised as did certain of his subordinates. From the outset he took all ordinary precautions against treachery and double-dealing, and he was the first general to insist that the coloured native (very often a Boer spy) should be kept under supervision andshould be at least as orderly, civil, and well behaved as white men were required to be.
It was while we were at Bloemfontein that the Boers presumed too much upon our credulity and trustfulness at last. They did this by the most barefaced and wholesale act of hoaxing ever practised upon a modern army. We sent out our forces, small and large, over the whole southern half of the Free State, distributing Lord Roberts' promise of protection to all who surrendered their arms and signed an agreement to fight us no more. Gaily and trustingly our troops went here and there, and everywhere the people came out to meet them in apparently the same cordial spirit of goodwill. As they handed in their grandfathers' old elephant rifles and whatever other fire-arm curios had been thrown aside in their garrets, they assured us that they were sick of the war, that they had been tricked by Steyn, that they had only fought to prevent the Transvaalers from confiscating their cattle and perhaps to save themselves from being murdered. It was a beautiful spectacle of erring brotherhood repentant—for those who enjoy being played upon and laughed at.
Even while the old junk was being brought to the railway we began to hear that wherever, in isolated cases, a man had honestly given up his Mauser and signed the British papers he was being plundered and persecuted by his neighbours, most of whom were still either fighting or awaiting orders to resume hostilities. My printers told me of friends whom they believed to have been shot for failing to take part in the hoax, and for seriously giving up the contest.
And at Ladybrand the "friendly" and "repentant"Boers, who had been giving tea and entertainment to General Broadwood to hold his force until the enemy could capture it, fired on him from the very houses in which he had been drinking tea, when he got wind of the trap and slipped away—to Sanna's Post.
The air began to fill with rumours of murder and pillage, the veldt again resounded with the hoof-beats of fighting commandos. We had the affairs at Reddersburg, Wepener, Karree Siding, Sanna's Post. We found that we were brushing our coatsleeves against those of active enemies in Bloemfontein—men who were apprising the enemy of our army movements and plans, who were even said to be slipping out at night, armed sometimes with messages and sometimes with Mausers.
Thus the Boer cunning over-reached itself. It was the biggest hoax, the climax of the long course of hoaxing. It was the first time it had been practised upon Lord Roberts, but I also believe it was the last time as well.
This was the meaning of the notices that now began to appear in different forms inThe Friend: that the Army was to be fooled no longer by mere lies and Iscariot handshakings. This was the purport of Lieutenant Burnett-Hitchcock's command that we should all carry passes; of Town Clerk Koller's order for all the Free Staters to give an account of their horses with proofs of ownership; of General Kelly's command that all troops "when out in positions" (around the town and elsewhere) "should invariably entrench themselves ... being careful that their flanks are secure"; of Lord Roberts's warning that our "friends" and others were to be held responsible in their persons andproperty for all wanton destruction of or damage to public or private property, which meant railway-wrecking principally.
The Army at last was tired of being fooled.
The editorial of the day was conceived in the same spirit of resistance to a farther continuance of the experiences of the Army in the past. It was headed "British Leniency," and was, I am almost certain, written by Mr. Gwynne under "inspiration."
What about British leniency and long-suffering? (the writer asked). Let it be remembered we are still an army on active service fighting a vigorous enemy. There are people to whom British magnanimity has always and will always spell weakness. We cordially welcome and will gladly receive our new fellow-subjects. We shall not make our welcome depend upon whether they fought against us or not. Those who stood in the enemy's trenches and fought bravely for what they considered to be their liberty will soon be convinced that their struggle was prompted by men who knew not liberty, and that Great Britain will extend to them a degree of freedom which they never knew before. But—and let us here emphasise the "but"—we will have no half measures. We do not ask the newly-conquered Free Staters to take up arms against their kinsmen now fighting against us, but we do ask and shall maintain, with sternness, if necessary, a strict and rigid neutrality on the part of those who have promised it by oath. Let all take to heart this decision, that while Great Britain will remorselessly punish all and any who interfere with those who claim her protection, so will she as sternly andseverely bring heavy punishment on those who misuse her tolerance and leniency.The great extent of country through which the British army has to operate has made difficult to afford that adequate protection to those who have laid down their arms, convinced that they were risking their lives uselessly. In some cases these men have been molested and ill-treated by the enemy. Full punishment will be meted out to those who have been guilty of such acts. We have shown an example of leniency and tolerance towards rebels, taken with arms in their hand, which we did expect would have been followed by those who direct the affairs of our enemies, and we shall exact of the two Presidents a full and complete reparation for acts of cruelty and inhumanity committed by those under their control.
What about British leniency and long-suffering? (the writer asked). Let it be remembered we are still an army on active service fighting a vigorous enemy. There are people to whom British magnanimity has always and will always spell weakness. We cordially welcome and will gladly receive our new fellow-subjects. We shall not make our welcome depend upon whether they fought against us or not. Those who stood in the enemy's trenches and fought bravely for what they considered to be their liberty will soon be convinced that their struggle was prompted by men who knew not liberty, and that Great Britain will extend to them a degree of freedom which they never knew before. But—and let us here emphasise the "but"—we will have no half measures. We do not ask the newly-conquered Free Staters to take up arms against their kinsmen now fighting against us, but we do ask and shall maintain, with sternness, if necessary, a strict and rigid neutrality on the part of those who have promised it by oath. Let all take to heart this decision, that while Great Britain will remorselessly punish all and any who interfere with those who claim her protection, so will she as sternly andseverely bring heavy punishment on those who misuse her tolerance and leniency.
The great extent of country through which the British army has to operate has made difficult to afford that adequate protection to those who have laid down their arms, convinced that they were risking their lives uselessly. In some cases these men have been molested and ill-treated by the enemy. Full punishment will be meted out to those who have been guilty of such acts. We have shown an example of leniency and tolerance towards rebels, taken with arms in their hand, which we did expect would have been followed by those who direct the affairs of our enemies, and we shall exact of the two Presidents a full and complete reparation for acts of cruelty and inhumanity committed by those under their control.
THE FRIEND.(Edited by the War Correspondents with Lord Roberts' Force.)
No. 17.]
[Price One Penny
BLOEMFONTEIN, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1900
The following Military Officers are hereby appointed Justices of the Peace for the District of Bloemfontein during pleasure:—
Major-GeneralG. T. Pretyman, C.B., Military Governor.
Lieutenant-ColonelC. V. F. Townshend, C.B., D.S.O., Assistant to Military Governor.
Lieutenant-ColonelB. E. B. Lord Castletown, Special Service Officer.
MajorR. M. Poore, Provost Marshal.
CaptainW. A. J. O'Meara, Chief Intelligence Officer.
CaptainP. Holland-Pryor, D.A.A., General.
Given under my hand at Bloemfontein, this Fourth Day of April, 1900.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
Roberts, Field Marshal,Commanding-in-Chief British Forces in South Africa.
Far in a land so distant,Out on the battle-field,Raising the lance or carbine,Or a sharp-edged sword they wield.There lie the British Soldiers,Fighting for home and Queen,Marching by day, and by night as well,Hard times are often seen.Weary they tramp for their Country,Marching when only half fed;He'll rest where he can when they're halted,Without sheet or blanket or bed.Dreams of sweet home and of childhoodWill pass through his weary brain,Restless he'll lie till morning,Then he'll move on the march again.But what of his wife and baby,That he's left far behind at home?Where is their love's protection?Where is his heart to roam?Urged on by a stern Commander,Pushed by a Sergeant there,Bullied by bits of Lance Corporals,No wonder the poor soldiers swear.Now then he's fighting like blazes,The artillery guns loudly boom,His rifle comes up to his shoulder,And another brave Boer meets his doom.Crack! crack! 'tis the brave soldier's music,His spirits rise up—he can feel,It's this music that raises his spirits,And makes them as fearless as steel.He is fighting for Queen and for country,For his dear little baby and wife,He knows that the foe must be beatenAnd for this end he'll risk his dear life.At last the day's fighting is over,The wounded and dead lie around,All now is quiet and peaceful,From the guns we can hear not a sound.But his poor wounded comrades lie moaning,And gasping for life's loving breath,But the great God of Love calls their spirits,And they're clasped in the cold arms of death.All things seem so strange and so dreary,As sadly he gazes around,He heaves a deep sigh and a tear dims his eye,As he lies on the cold sodden ground.
Far in a land so distant,Out on the battle-field,Raising the lance or carbine,Or a sharp-edged sword they wield.There lie the British Soldiers,Fighting for home and Queen,Marching by day, and by night as well,Hard times are often seen.
Weary they tramp for their Country,Marching when only half fed;He'll rest where he can when they're halted,Without sheet or blanket or bed.Dreams of sweet home and of childhoodWill pass through his weary brain,Restless he'll lie till morning,Then he'll move on the march again.
But what of his wife and baby,That he's left far behind at home?Where is their love's protection?Where is his heart to roam?Urged on by a stern Commander,Pushed by a Sergeant there,Bullied by bits of Lance Corporals,No wonder the poor soldiers swear.
Now then he's fighting like blazes,The artillery guns loudly boom,His rifle comes up to his shoulder,And another brave Boer meets his doom.Crack! crack! 'tis the brave soldier's music,His spirits rise up—he can feel,It's this music that raises his spirits,And makes them as fearless as steel.
He is fighting for Queen and for country,For his dear little baby and wife,He knows that the foe must be beatenAnd for this end he'll risk his dear life.At last the day's fighting is over,The wounded and dead lie around,All now is quiet and peaceful,From the guns we can hear not a sound.
But his poor wounded comrades lie moaning,And gasping for life's loving breath,But the great God of Love calls their spirits,And they're clasped in the cold arms of death.All things seem so strange and so dreary,As sadly he gazes around,He heaves a deep sigh and a tear dims his eye,As he lies on the cold sodden ground.
But still we are here, what is left of us,Noble and brave to be seen,We've proved ourselves brave British soldiers,And willing to die for our Queen.
To the Editors ofThe Friend.—Sirs,—Is it true that a certain cavalry general, on finding good grass for his horses for the first time at Koodoesrand, exclaimed, "By Jove, this will supply a long-veldt want"?
That, to remind the burghers of the disgrace of Bloemfontein's fall into British hands, President Kruger has changed the name of the Transvaal capital to "Oomfontein"?
That the landdrost has caused to be written on the gates of Kroonstad, "Nil sine Laboere"?
That the Welshman called Mr. Kruger's son "ap-Paul" and the son's father "appalling"?
That the man who said that President Steyn "showed no signs of stayin'" when we got near Bloemfontein was shot on the spot by his rear-rank man?
That "The Gay Lord Treks" and the "Manœuvres of Steyn" will be acted in London in the winter?
That, in view of the late change of political opinion of the chief Bloemfontein newspaper, its name is to be changed to "Our Mutual Friend"?
An early answer to some of these important questions will oblige,
Yours truly,
H. Atter.
Glen Siding, O.F.S., March 30th.
A most interesting meeting was held at the Town Hall on Monday evening in connection with the "Army Temperance Association," an organisation which owes its existence to the efforts and personal interest of Field-Marshal Lord Roberts which, as one of the speakers on the platform so rightly said, are always exercised in everything which is to the benefit of the British soldier. As, therefore, there are at present with our troops at Bloemfontein the President and Founder of the Association, two members of the Executive Committee, and many hundreds of members, it was a happy conception to call a meeting of those interested in Temperance work under the auspices of the Association, and one which commended itself to the approval of the Commander-in-Chief, who, in spite of many things which daily press upon him, readily consented to preside and speak at the meeting.
Much is due to the energy of the Rev. Canon Orford for arrangements made, and the kindness of residents in the city, all of which tended greatly to the success of the meeting. Disappointments were inevitable. Sudden movements and the exigencies of the service robbed us of the company of many who would otherwise have been present, and we missed the promised help of the band of "The Buffs."
On the platform were, besides the Commander-in-Chief and his personal staff, the Very Rev. the Dean; the Venerable the Archdeacon; Mr. Meiring, of the Customs, Mr. Falck, of the Post-Office; the Revs.T. F. Faulkner, F. B. N. Norman-Lee, and H. T. Coney, Chaplains to the Forces; Captain A. H. Webb, R.A.; Mr. Goddard, and R. Grindel, Esq., 2nd Coldstream Guards.
Lord Roberts in his address expressed his great pleasure in being able to preside, and sketched clearly and briefly the history of the beginning of the Association in India, its rapid growth in spite of antagonism, its ultimate and acknowledged success, and eventually its introduction into England, where now it can boast of a branch in almost every regiment and depôt in the kingdom. He particularly emphasised its being atemperanceand not only a "total abstainer" society, and lastly pointed to the work done by the troops under his command during the past few weeks as an evidence of what can be done by temperate, or in this case almost entire non-abstaining, men, than whom (he said) he had never seen any to march better, endure privations more contentedly, or to be better behaved.
Mr. Lodge followed with an excellent song, admirably sung, which promptly elicited an "encore," which he kindly granted.
Rev. T. F. Faulkner then gave a short address about the principles of the Association and how they might affect and be affected by the exigencies of the march, and expressed the feeling of gratitude and pleasure which all A.T.A. members must share at the interest shown in their undertaking by the clergy and citizens of Bloemfontein.
A treat was then accorded to the audience in two songs sung by Miss Fraser, who most willingly responded to the vigorous appeal of our soldiers.Such singing by a lady we had not heard for a long time, and the men were not slow to detect the high order of Miss Fraser's powers. The Very Rev. the Dean gave a warm welcome as temperance workers in the name of those in Bloemfontein who had the work at heart, and spoke of the encouragement to them which such a meeting afforded.
An amusing song by Capt. Webb, R.A., also loudly encored, formed a pleasing contrast in the programme. Mr. Lodge and Miss Fraser were so good as to sing yet another song each, much to the delight of our members. Two short speeches by Mr. Grindel and Capt. Webb on the subject of the Association's worth and object and the members' duties in connection with it, brought the programme to a close save for the few graceful words spoken by Rev. F. B. N. Norman-Lee, in expressing the thanks of the meeting to Lord Roberts for his presence, and to those who had, by their kind help, conduced towards the success of the meeting and the pleasure of those who had attended it. The Rev. H. T. Coney, who had taken an active part in getting up the meeting, proved himself an excellent accompanist. The National Anthem closed the proceedings.
The same by Another Contributor.
The presence of the Field Marshal, who may be called the father of the Association, attracted many who, perhaps, have not been identified with the movement. All who attended were repaid by getting a sight of the man of the hour in South Africa, and listening to his speech of introduction. In well-chosenwords he gave a brief outline of the founding of the Association, its growth from the Total Abstinence Association first founded in India, and the gradual broadening of its scope and purposes. He told of the influence of the A.T.A. in the army, how it was free from prejudice and sectarianism, and he pointed out to the soldiers the advantages of joining. Every member was known to his commanding officer, and for important posts men were often chosen because of this membership.
The soldiers who filled the body of the hall dwelt on every word that fell from the lips of the man they loved. When he spoke of the "Army it was now his great honour to command," the Field Marshal showed his depth of feeling in his voice. He was proud to be the leader of "the best-behaved army in the world"; he spoke of the splendid way in which the troops had marched, of how uncomplainingly they had endured the hardships of the campaign and how well they had fought. In a half-joking manner he spoke of them as having all been members of the A.T.A. Modder River water was all they had to drink, and sometimes little of that. In a graceful way the Field Marshal thanked the people of Bloemfontein for the interest shown by their attendance, and he expressed his gratitude to Miss Fraser and Mr. Lodge for voluntarily helping the success of the meeting with their songs. Constantly the soldiers interrupted the speech with applause, and when Lord Roberts had concluded, it was some time before it died away.