MANAWATU EVENING STANDARD. POHANGINA GAZETTE. Circulation, 3,000 Copies Daily. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16th, 1904. GERMANY'S GUERILLA WAR.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7791, 16 March 1904, Page 4

MANAWATU EVENING STANDARD. POHANGINA GAZETTE. Circulation, 3,000 Copies Daily. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16th, 1904. GERMANY'S GUERILLA WAR.

The little war in German "West Africa must be giving the Germans a fair idea of what British troops have had to cope with in the Somalilaad and similar campaigns. The territory affected is about 800 miles long, tha width varying from 650 to 250 miles, and the area is about 300,000 square miles. In iho north is Ovampo Land, occupied by the Oyanipos; in .tbe centra is Damaraland, the homo of the Damaras or Hereros ; and south of them are the Hottentots of Great Namaqualand. Acoording to a gentleman who knows the country well, the trouble began with the Hottentots] who are the most intelligent and by far the be3t fighter 3. Their country is most difficult to fight over, and when it bad absorbed the available troops the Hereros rose also. They are capable of putting about 15,000 men m the field, and are accordingly rather a formidable foe. Strangely enough, both the Hereros and the Hottentots are well supplied with Mauser rifles, sold to them by the German authorities, and they have amassed a large store of ammunition from the small supplies periodically granted to Uieni. Even the Ovampos have a good snpply of Mausers and Lee-Metfords, and plenty of ammunition procured from the Portuguese. All the Damara chiefs of any importance had already joined the rebellion at the beginning of February, when there were about 6000 Hereros in the field, of whom SCO were mounted. As for the tacticj of the natives, they are more difficult than scientific. " They will never come out and attack en masse, and there will be no opportunity of mowing them down with machine guns. The Germans will have to wear them down, as the British had to wear down the Boers in the late war." And the climstio conditions aod configuration of the country will conspire to

mako the German task no less arduous than that of the British. The heat is intense, water is scarce, and.both fever and horse sickness are prevalent. Tho Germans have also much loou ay to mako up in tbo way of preparing for a campaign. At ono time, for instance, tho authorities had not n single riflo on hand to give out to the Europeans. All those conditions which operated to make the British pursuit of the Boera difficult aro present in the German territory in aggravated form, and there are the groatest facilities for the natives to eseapti pursuit by trekking into Portuguese territory or in Ngamiland. As to the atrocities which have been laid at tho door of the natives, tha gentleman referred to <5003 not baiieva they occurred. The Gorman treatment of the natives is often taotlosa and grossly brutal, and tho natives confine their reprisals to tho German Bettlera English and Boer farmers are perfectly safe, coming and going with complete freedom.