A FAMOUS SCOUT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 229, 24 September 1904, Page 13

A FAMOUS SCOUT.

MAJOR .DEXNISON'S EXPERIENCES.

Major Dennison, D.5.0., who nas Just published some of his uia,ny strange experiences, was the leader of a well known band of scouts which bore their captain's name, and did It and themselves honour in South Africa. Dennison fought in the war of 1881, and even was a veteran, for he first burnt powder with the Free Staters against the Basntos in 1865, and his father before him ha*d fought in the Kaffir war of 1850-1. The outbreak of the war in 1599 found him with his family in Vryburg; two years and a-half later, when he counted up his experiences, they Included capture twice, a couple of wounds, countless sKlrmishes and hot corners, and the loss of two gallant sons. People have forgotten the siege of Kuraman at the beginning of the war, but with 63 men Dennison and his comrades occupied 1300 Boers for eeven weeks, and could have held out another month had not the enemy brought up a cannon, to which no reply was possible. The result was Inevitable surrender and MANY WEARY MONTHS IN PRISON at Pretoria and WatervaL When he found that "the war was not over" in the middle of 1900 Dennison became attached to several columns operating in the West Transvaal, the area with which are associated | the names of Lord Methuen, Major Paris, J and General Deiarey. He raised a body of scouts about two hundred strong, who acted as eyes to the Kimberley columns. Dennison did not approve of the policy of fartaburnlng and the ruthless destruction of stock, and his little hook is valuable because he does not spare his criticisms. .TEALOCSY OF THE COMMANDERS. Here, for example, is a pungent passage in which he stigmatises the notorious jealousy between certain column commanders: —From all sources we heard of trainwrecking, capture of convoys and men by the Boers. De SVet. the will-o"-tbe-wlsp, the man who might have been caught again and again were it not for that curse of the British army, jealousy. Why was he allowed to escape at Oliphant's Nek, when the patient, untiring Lord Methuen drove him on to that neck? Where was the much-feted General? Certainly not at that nek, where he should hare been. Why did De Wet escape so often? Because of jealously and incapacity. Why were the Colonials never given a chance of attempting the capture independently? Becausethe military authorities knew too well that the Colonials might catch De Wet, and the Imperial regular troops would get no kudos. Had a few columns of combined Colonial forces, Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, anrl South Africans, under their own onlccrs,-been given the work to do, De Wet would have been caught, I am confident, without much trouble. Why was he not caught at Orange River below Hopetown? Because the commanding officer of'oue column wanted the credit of doing it with his column alone, while one of the best columns, one which consisted of good, tried Colonials principally (the Kimberley column), was left to keep communication open with Plumer, and took no part in the surrounding.

ESCAPE OF DE WET. De Wet was in a trap in the bend of the Orange River, swollen, impassable, yet he ' got out and did not go through the river, and that with all his force, tho,ugh our troops were round him! Anyone can thus judge that there must have been something most glaringly wrong—and that something was jealousy, deplorable jealousy. • A nation's cause, the honour of the flag, everything, counted as naught, everything endangered for the aggrandisement of self, in so many instances. Major Dennison tells —we believe for the first time in print, though it is no secret—the story of the abortive attempt to relieve from the side of Zeeruet the gallant little force under Colonel Hoare, at Eland's River, which held out for many days against big odds. The column consisted of "about 1700. men of a thorough good stamp, chiefly Australians, Rhodesians, and Cape Colonials," and were commanded by General Sir Frederick Carrington. The Major says: I stood alongside of Carrington as his force marched through to the relief of Hoare, and certainly I never saw a force I liked better. Horses and men were fully fit, besides which the artillery was all that one could wish. I remarked to General Carrington with such a force he could go anywhere; but he didn't. He came back without relieving Hoare at Eland's River, who was besieged by a force consisting of about 4<>o Boers under Lommer. '•DISGUSTKD—MAD."

The evening after Carringtou's return I was in the hotel, and was informed that there was talk of evacuating Zeerust. I asked Lord Cecil, who said he was not aware of any such intention. We all went to hed late that night. The next morning |>.ptain Blum, who had been acting as

magistrate of Lichtenburg, cmc into my , room about 7 o'clock and said, "What! in bed yet? Why, the column is moving, and j they have already set a light to the stores." "What!" I said, "clearing out and evacuating? Why? What for?" "1 do not know," he replied; "they are the Ueneral's orders." Both my son and myself hurriedly dressed and went out. Sure ' enough, there were the stores burning on '' the hills, while the village was all bustle : and confusion, men galloping madly hither ' and thither: aaxious loyalists on foot seek- ' ing means of conveyance for their families. : Everybody seemed in a hurry, and no one ' seemed to know why. I found Lord Cecil ' at last, at our offices, and saluting, said: ! "Why are we evacuating this place, sir? ' Do not go; let us remain here. I am sure ' with a force of 3UO me/h we can hold it." ' "Dennison," he said, "I have to obey or- ' ders. and so must you." "Very good, sir; ,, ' I replied, and walked away disgusted— mad. "WILD AND DIBGRACEFBL FLIGHT." The second time Major Dennison was captured was near Paardeberg, when he and a number of ether officers of the Kimberley column were Eight-seeing. They took a strongifth escort, and wett fired on | near Kitchener's Kop. DennisoM's orders j were not carried ent; there was 'wild and disgraceful flight" on the part of some, , and the upshot was that the mejor was captured and roughly handled by his cv»ptors until he was protected by I le oldest member of the p»rty. He was taken to Bultfonteln, wben Command*? '-ueoeral Badenbwst refused him soelter I id bltn- .

kets, and kept htm In the open outside his door." Dennison's Scouts subsequently burnt Badenhorst's house down for his inhumanity to their chief. From the Landrost, however, Mr Hugo, he received the greatest kindness. While he and another captive were being taken to near Smaldeel, where they were to be released, he conversed in Dutch with his guard. Amongst other questions he pnt mc was "Whether I knew Dennison, of Dennjsons Scouts?" "Yes," I replied, "1 know him very well; he belongs to the Kimberley column." "And where was he when you saw him last?" he queried. 1 hesitated to remember when I last saw a mirror, and replied, "With the Kimberley column on April 3J." "Well," he said, "if we can only catch him, we shall be very glad, for we never get a chance when his scouts are with the English, and we know he is an Afrikander lifce oureelves." "And what would your people do with him?" I asked. "Some might shoot him at once, but not it any of the leaders were present. They would send him away to some safe place until the war is over."