OTHER DE WETS.

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 62

OTHER DE WETS.

“•‘T CEP ILL A ' CHIEFS WHOSE DEEDS HAVE WON RENOWN. As nearly every war has produced’ a guerilla chief or two, parallels are not Lard tc find of the indomitable De Wet. , Mneeo, the Cuban.' guerilla chief, waAkilied so often in Spanish- despatches that when his end did come nobody would believe if. He baffled the best-generals and the hardiest troops.of Spain. He always devastated the country in front of an Spanish advance, thus rendering it unfit 'for military occupation. Many times Ala eeo and his men slipped through the Spanish cordon after a stout fight, and after wandering through pathless-forests and living on roots and fruits, would reappear in force in quite an unexpected auarter On one occasion lie- attacked the army of Mortinez Campos near..Bayamo and gave it such a drubbingrthat the Spanish general was glad to escape, ; by_ throwing himself into a litter and pretendin" to be a wounded Spanish soldier-. Hq, inflicted defeat, after defeat .on the bpaniards none, of course, m regular engagements but in ambushes and surprises in - which’the terrible maeliette proved mere than a match for the bayonet. Maoeo, -a. - last, fell in a mere skirmish, shot by a - stray bullet. •• • •• * L

General Morgan, during the American civil war, gained for himself a reputa .ion t v. e garing and romance-of which has oeen. remembered when many other and heroic incidents of that war. have been'forgotten. Morgan, with .little more than 2000 men, defied capture by a force of over H°,ooo Federal® for months, carried file aw. sword through the Northern States, and, unlike De Wet, in a country where every one was his bitterest me. He crossed the Cumberland River with three brigaae! of cavalry after him. wespite this a.act the townships of Bardstown, Lebanon, am Springfield surrendered to him. J±e tapped telegraph wires, forwarding the. enemy misleading orders and messages, ancl frequently in this way sent them on wild, goose chases. At Brandenberg, Morgan seized two steamers and ferried liis men across the Ohio under fire from a Federal gunboat. Even at Ciimberland River, when all seemed hopeless. Morgan anc. nn men broke through tne Federal lilies o the open country. A week afterwards, however. he was surrounded at Salinvill, anc after a desperate fight, surrendered. H i® on record, that Morgan marched -.1 homeout of 24 every day, find that he never n&< less than a dozen skirmishes in any one week.

Garibaldi, with his Cacciatori delle Am, was able to realise the true mission of liriit troops to perfection. To his mobility he owed his escape from immensely superior forces sent against him times without number. First on the flank of the enemy, then in - the rear,, appearing at the point where he was lea-st expected, Garibaldi was an ideal raider. On one occasion he seemed hopelessly hemmed :n. the Lavino fort being in # front, a % strong force of the enemy on either flanK, and gunboats on the L-ago Maggiore in .sb£ rear.

Bold as usual, Garibaldi, although without a single gun, conceived the idea of attacking Lavino, despite the fact that ... was occupied by nearly 600 Austrians, with five guns. xhe ulan succeede*, through very audacity, and from that moment the Austrian® never had a moment s peace. Before the Allies entered. Milan he was in Leceo, before they had crossed the Adda he was at Bergamo, and while thev Avere crossing tne Addq._ by taring a, short cat he was, ahead of them at Breor cia. .. . .-: ’

Marolo, the Gariist chief, was, not pnl\ an astiite and "'slim'’ leader, bxft aiso a very bloodthirsty one."On one' occasion he captured 'six of the opposing generals. He "tried” them immediately by courtmartial. They were condemned to aeatn and summarily shot, and all explanation as to what- crime they had committed refused them.

Scottish history deals largely with raiding and guerilla exploits; The_ first Gowrie conspiracy to seize James YL and separate him "from his favourite Lennox, produced an outlaw who defied capture mr 18 months. Five different clans Avere engaged hunting him " doivn, employing dozens of bloodhounds, but were unsuccessful Gowrie was at last captured through the treachery of a lassie' Avhom; he had wooed and won, and then turned from in favour of a more beautiful charmer. His flirting propensities-cost-him his head. -. :