SCENES AT PRETORIA

Taranaki Daily News, 28 December 1929, Page 16

SCENES AT PRETORIA

CAMPAIGN AGAINST BOERS

SOME DESPERATE FIGHTING

HOW SERGT. HARDMAN WON V.C.

DEADLY STRUGGLES IN THE DARK

(By J. A. Shad'd,'New Zealand War Correspondent, Boer Campaign).;

Covpright.—All rights ; Reserved.— ,» ■ No. III.; ■ .

"The prisoner is found guilty, and sentenced tq be'.shot.” . ; Such ~was the, verdict of two court--martials held at Pretoria. . ' The first to pay the,supreme penalty ' was Lieut. Cordus, a young officer of the Steats (Boer) Artillery, who, it was proved, had not only'broken his parole, Unit was the “ringleader' in a sensational plot to abduct none other than the 68- * year-old Field Marshal of the British Army* Lord Roberts. That Cordus had accomplices—-both military and civilian —in. arranging the details of this ’mad-’ - brained plot was therflrm belief of cvery- '' one present at the court-martial, but the evuleiice available vtas hot considered sufficient to to trial, and - the' - accused"'•man stoutly maintained that he '"alone ■ - ■, \ In a lonely hut 4 situated in an unfre- ? quented. kopje east of Pretoria, Cordus ■. was alleged to have completed the, pre- ■ parations for the abduction of Lord

Roberts, one pf“ the most humane men wild ever wore a Field-Marshal’s uniform. The • war had robbed him of his gallant son, wild was killed at Colcnso, on the Natal side, and his burden was indeed a heavy one. His treatment of the Boers, officers, burghers, and civilians, had been

most humane. To . the vanquished he was ever considerate, to the. suffering , sympathetic, to the wrong-doer merciful. It was said that one day, shortly after, the occupation of Pretoria, the great leader was passing the Dutch church that , stood in the square in the centre of the city, when he saw a small boy, with' a band of crepe - on his arm, emerge from , the building. “You have lost a dear one?” he asked, laying a fatherly hand on the lad’s shoulder, and the boy.replied: “My father—at Paordeberg.” “My poor lad,” said Lord Roberts cominisseratingly, and then, patting the wondering boy on the head, he continued: “I, too, have suffered the loss of j a dear one, but we must both carry our crosses bravely.” And this was-the man-against, whom, the fanatical Cordus had plotted. The evidence against hini was'overwhelming; indeed, Cordus did not seek to.palliate his offence. He received his sentence with characteristic stoicism, and faced the firing squad, defiant to the end.

THE SHOOTING OF HARRY MORANT

The other case was an extraordinary one, and was of special interest to myself and other New Zealanders, .because we. krfew—and, knowing, had grown to like, —the senior officer against whom the charge, that of murder, was laid. Harry Morant—daring horseman, clever writer, brilliant poet —was the son of an English Admiral; his relations members of •the ■ aristocracy. Always a “dare-devil,” his early peccadilloes had probably caused his staid family some perturbation, possibly apprehension as to where his adventurous spirit might eventually lead him. Australia, with its growing • cities and vast, open spaces, called to him, and gave him opportunity. Before the South African War he had achieved more than a local reputation as a poetlie contributed many excellent verses to

the Sydney Bulletin under the nom de plume of “The Breaker”—and he arrived in South Africa as a member of one of the Australian contingents. After the occupation of Pretoria he was given a commission in the Bush-veldt Carbineers, one of the many bands of irregular forces • which waged deadly war against the Boers during the guerilla campaign. Morant entertained very strong ideas as to the cunning and duplicity of some of the Boer commandos. He had been previously ambushed by Boer fighters dressed in civilian clothes, and held the belief tljjt some of his comrades had been lured to their death by the adoption of these reprehensible methods. Off to the veldt went Harry Morant and his hard-bitten, hard-fighting comrades. Of their operations in the high veldt little was known until they returned —Morant and some others under arrest on charges of having murdered Boer civilians, including a predikant (minister of the gospel). To this day I cannot think that poor Morant was guilty of murder in the proper sense of the word. It was extremely difficult to distinguish fighters from non-combat-ants, for all the Boers did not wear distinctive uniforms; some were (to all appearances) armed civilians—and Morant, as he often had said, was “taking no chances.” He and another were sentenced to death, and Morant paid the penalty, of his mistake with his life. He faced the firing squad, and met his death with a smile on his lips. . Yes, grim war has its tragedies—off, as well as on, the battlefields.

GUERILLA WAR COMMENCES. Then commenced the most trying period of the campaign—a guerilla warfare which tried the patience, endurance, and bravery of the British forces to the utmost, and sorely taxed the imanoial resources of the British nation. (The total cost of the war was 250 millions.) While cities had capitulated and some rarrison forces had thrown down their inns, the main Boer Army had not sur■ondered, and with astonishing rapidity t was re-mobilised. Comparatively ipoaking, the enemy’s losses had not >eon heavy, though several noted generate had been killed. General Louis Jotha, clever tactician, determined ighter, and highly capable leader, had issumcd the supreme command of the Joer forces after the death of Command-nt-General Joubert, and his disposition f the peripatetic commandos was ineed worthy of the precepts of Aristotle, [is army, properly so called, disappear[l, and in its place appeared with uuxpectcd suddenness a venomous, fight!g “will o’ the wisp,” which lured its pursuers to disaster after waster. One general, Do Wet, achieved ■Ais) an unenviable notoriety for the ■ aordinary manner in which ho apRu'ed and disappeared with his force, |nbushing outposts, intercepting and feting supply-columns, wrecking trains.

harassing the vanguard, making rapierlike thrusts at the rear-guard, destroying bridges and railway lines; billtong (dried meat) and the doer of the veldt his food; a blanket his covering at night; the ground his bed; the starry sky his canopy. And so it was with his men. Let us be sportsmanlike, and give full credit to these fighters of the veldt. Their methods were not as ours, but that they were brave, determined, desperate fighters surely none will deny. As an indication of their daring and audacity, a Boer force under Christian De Wet made a determined attempt to cap’, ire the great Kitchener. Lord Roberts’s Chief of Staff was resting in a sleeping-car, with the railway line well guarded, when De "Wet and his men crept up during the night, aiid, overpowering the guard before the alarm | could be given, came near to making one of the most sensational captures of the campaign. Kitchener got clear, but the Boers shelled and looted the train, and disappeared into the darkness with their plunder. To the British they were as vampires, enveloping their prey, and taking from them all they held most . valuable —even life itself. Such were De Wet and his men—praised by the Boers; cursed .by the British.

NEW ZEALANDERS’ FIGHTING.

N. v Zealand contingents continued to arrive at regular intervals. The Fourth and Fifth (under Colonels Somerville and Francis respectively) were by now well in the thick of the fighting, and so well had they conducted . themselves in the field that they had gained high commendation. In all, ten contingents were sent. . 'Those New - Zealanders who reached Pretoria via Beirs and Marandellas, or via Pietersburg or Nylstrom, in north-: west Transvaal, suffered many and •varied privations hot experienced by some of the earlier' contingents, but .to. their credit;.be it said, they merely gritted' their. teeth, smiled through -it. all,, carried on with their jobs, while roundly I cursing their hick in finding their way • into these particular sectors of the campaign. .Those who served under the longmoustached General Carrington, and are to-day alive'to find (I hope) some small pleasure in reading this poor tribute to their many good qualities, may once again feel thrillc' when I recall his welldeserved eulogy of their splendid discipline; cheerfulness under extremely trying conditions, and gallant conduct in tlie field. • The Second New Zealanders, who had managed to bump into a warm corner, suffering some casualties before they fought off the Boers, also came in for some warm praise from General Hutton. Captain Hayhurst (Christchurch), Lieuts. Findlay (Temuka), and Crawshaw (Christchurch), were wounded in this engagement, while Trooper Christie was mentioned in despatches for his bravery under fire, when he carried to safety a wounded Australian.

Later the New Zealanders put up another splendid fight when a strong British position at Reitville (Transvaal) was attacked with great determination by r large .force.of.Boers under several noted leaders. Together with the Royal Irish and West Australians, the New Zealanders fought desperately/for the Boers’ onslaught was such as to thoroughly test the capacity of officers and men. Many wore the heroic deeds performed daring the engagement, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. Among the New Zealanders who received wounds (many severe) were: Captain H. L. Bourne (Tiniaru), Lieuts. J. Findlay (Temuka), J. Cameron (Wanganui), Sergt. A. McDonald (Hastings), Corporals T. Richardson ' (Hawke’s Bay), and L. Davies (Hawke’s Bay), Troopers Cone (Rangiora), Cross (Fairlie), Lloyd (Hawera), J. C. Hughes (Napier), J. Kennington (Marlborough),' E. McCulloch (Waipawa), M. Lennie (Wanganui), A. Peterson (Napier), E. D. Smith (Waimate), JI. T., Whitson (Hawke’s Bay), J. Wright, (Wanganui), and others, seventeen men being reported as missing.

AN EXTRAORDINARY POSITION. The general position now became such as to tax the ingenuity of the British leaders and the courage of their soldiers to the utmost. The Boers, continuing their guerilla mode of fighing, became active, east, west, and south, and it was extremely difficult to ascertain, with any degree of accuracy, where the next attack was coming from. These fighting nomads of the veldt travelled with the speed of antelopes, and apparently concentrated at will. At Rustfontein, 60 miles east of Pretoria, the New Zealanders came into contact with one of these roving bands, and a healthy little scrap resulted, with the honours to the lads from overseas. The surrender of General Prjnsloo with about 5000 men. caused the enemy to halt in his stride, and the main body—if there ever was one—fled to Machadorp, about 150 miles east of Pretoria. And while the British

i leaders were being congratulated by • Press and public for having conquered : the Boers, commandos would appear with I dramatic suddenness, capture guns and ; men, and disappear as mysteriously. Would that I had the space at my disi posal to recount the gallant deeds performed by the splendid fighters from > New Zealand. They would—and I sincerely hope will—form a most interesting volume. That they did their work thoroughly was testified to by the many brilliant leaders under whose respective commands they came. They were highly praised by the great Kitchener himself. "You have shojvn magnificent spirit and great fighting qualities,” he said; “the New Zealand soldiers have proved themselves in every way eqhal to the best troops in the world.” Coming from such a man as Kitchener, who was not disposed to give praise lightly, this was indeed a eulogy. The promotion on the field of Major Robin to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel was deserved recognition of a very capable officer, while all ranks were equally pleased at the promotion of Captain Madocks to similar rank. One particular engagement in which the New Zealanders again distinguished themselves was fought at Ottoshoop. Portion of the Fourth Contingent made a dashing attack on a strongly-fortified Boer position, and in the desperate fighting that followed Captain J. A. Harvey (Balclutha) and Trooper McDougall (who also came from Otago) were killed, while ten others were wounded. Capt. Fulton (Dunedin) and his men were sorely harassing the enemy ’ when he fell, shot in the back. Captain Harvey and others then gallantly charged the ; Boers, and in the struggle this brave officer was fatally wounded, Lieut. R. W. Collins (Wellington), Sergt. D. Hickey ; (Dunedin), Corporal Alexander (Auck- < ■land), and Troopers F. McCauley (Southland), J. J. McCarthy (Balfour), Suthor- i land (Auckland), and three others being i also taken to hospital suffering from ] wounds. (During the Great War the i same Captain Fulton, then holding the 1 rank of Brigadier-General, was killed while in command of the New Zealand 5 Rifle Brigade, in France.) t f

(To bo Continued).