BOER MARKSMEN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4255, 10 December 1881, Page 3

BOER MARKSMEN.

A Buffalo River correspondent in a letter to London says: —l had a long conversation to-day with a very intelligent spoeimen of a Boor, who forms in Newcastle one of the guard that accompanies the Boor leaders attending on tbe Commission. He spent the aftornoon in my camp, and gave me a rehearsal of the different modes of fighting among the Boers. First of all he began by tryiug his band by shooting at bottles, distant one hundred yardß, with a fiftoeu Winchester repeater whioh I lent hina for the purpose. With this weapon, however, ho failed to accomplish any decided sncoeßS, the bullets falling clobo all rouud, but tho bottles remained untouched. "I cannot shoot with your rifle," he ob«. served, " but give me a Martini-Henry and I will pick off two bottles at two hundred yard?." 1 sent up to the camp for a MartiniHenry carbine, which the Boer kid hold of witli a groat deal more apparent confidence, and in the first two shots verified bis boast, for the bottles were immediately shivered to atoms. He noxt proceeded to show me the Boer mode of shooting from hehind rooks and stonos. " The great mistake your soldiere made," he observed, "was to aim over the stone at the enemy, but we always fire round tbo corner." Throwing himself flat on the ground, he proceeded to put this remark into practice, and dragging himself litholy along, peered cautiously round the right-hand corner of a low stone tbat only juet concealed hi» form from sight of the supposed enemy. Removing his bat, he raised it 6lowly aloft on tbe top of his ramrod and manoeuvred it bo as to cause it to have the appearance of a man's head, cautiously taking note of the enemy. At thiß hat an English soldier ia supposed to have taken a pot shot, when the Boer suddenly let it fall, and bringing bifl body round the corner, took stoady aim and fired at a blaok bottle some 150 yards distant, which in another moment was smashed to atoms. Another method of shooting on horseback ho showed me in a brilliant and effeotive manner. Mounting his horse aod uttering a loud cry, he sent it galloping up a hill as hard as it could go. Suddenly, without a word of warning, the left foot was pressed to the stirrup, the right leg was thrown backward over the saddle, the man was on his feet, and the horse stopped instantaneously as if spell-bound. Standing erect, the Boor aimed coolly at a distant bottle and knocked it over, then springing into the caddie he executed the same mano»u*re in two opposite directions, with signal and unerring aim and effect. This man was one of 180 who stormed and took tho Majuba heights. Ho saye that Joubert's only words wero: "Fellows, take tbat hill!" ai-fl they hastened to obey. Tbe reason why so few men cdvano9d to tho attack was because Joubert anticipated and made sure that the English would endeavour simultaneously to take the Nek, aB woll as surprise them on their left, and ho retained men to defend the positions mentioned. Finding, however, his fears wero groundless, bo despatched freßh men to the assistance of their comrades, but by the time they arrived tbe Majuba bill had ' been taken. Tbe 9-nd, he informed me, were tbe first they encountered, and this regiment fought stoutly, but were driven back on to the plateau toward the 58th. Both bravely defended the position until Oolloy fell, w'hen panio, he affirmß, seized our men. The whole scene, however, was so enveloped in smoke that he could make no aoourate note of anything, and confusion prevailed everywhere. Sir George Oolley he declares to have been shot while in the aot of tying a whito handkerchief to a ramrod. The Boers did not know Mb the time tbat this personage was Sir G 'orge. Thiß was one of the few Boer versions -i tho Majuba fight that I have heard from )■ <»n who aotually took part in tho first advai ce to storm the plateau. Eaoh tale tallies similarly with the other, and I am inolined to otunk it is truthfully told. A correspondent writing to the Field givoß other instances of the unerring accuracy of the Boers with the rifle. He says : —On my first shooting expedition to the Bontobok Flats, I was accompanied by a soldier servant who had gone through bis course of musketry instruction at Maidstone with credit, baa passed all drills, and was fit to fig s.<; the foe. He carried my spare rifle. I loft him in charge of tbe horscf, and trie:! to stalk a herd of springbok. Thoy took alarm and ran round to within 500 yards of where I had loft him. Instead of waiting till I could get back, he fired without result. On my blaming him, he said; "It was not a bad shot, sir; I saw the bullet strike. It was only a hundred yards short and a tittle to the right!" Sow thoro wero Bt leaßt 200 deer in that herd. I bagged nothing that day, and toward evening met a Dutch farmef. followed by his after-rider, returning to c' p. They had threo springbok and ono rehb a on their saddles, and theso animals are not very much larger than goats. I found him very frit>adly, and told him I had not been u'.le to get within 400 yardß of game all day, i vough I had had considerable experience in India. He said: "That is quite near enough. I shot one buck at 500 yards, two at over 400 yards ; tho other was very near, only 200 yardß." He asked me to come to his camp, and told mo tlwt judging dietunce was the groat difficulty and hi.ving rifles properly sighted. Ho pointed (o an anthill ou tbe opposite side of several ravines, and said .- " That is 500 yards off," set his sights, firod, and the white dust flew in tho air. He pointed to another in an opposite direction, and (aid : " That is 400 yards," altered hie sights, and the dust lew again. This rifle was sighted for 1000 yards, at which distance he told mo bad frequontly killed singlo deer. I bought it of him. Thero aro several reasons why the Boers should he what they are as a nation - without exception tho finest *hots in tho world. They carry rifles from boyhood all tho year round, having no cloeo boieon for game, tho countless herds from tho interior of Africa constantly invading tbeir farms. The cloarneis of the atmosphere enables thom to see to groat distancce, and the almost connttmt dryness of tho soil enables thom to see whoro tho bullete strike, and know if they have judged the distance accurately. This is an inealulablo advantage, as in Scotland it is almost always impossible to boo where the missing bullet strikos, and fow sportsmen pretend to kill ovon tho great rod deer at much over 200 yards. I knew a Capo farmor constantly kill buehbok no bigger than fallow deer from hie dressing-room window, ou a sunny gross field, at a measured distanco of 400 yards, where they would come to feed at dawn.