LORD ROBERTS'S HEADQUARTERS
_Like a beehive for industry when Rudyard Kipling went to
lunch with the Field-Marshal._
Rudyard Kipling was paying visits and getting acquainted with the
local situation. He had left his wife and family at the far-famed
Mount Nelson Hotel--the "Helot's Rest," as a statesman had called
it--with its strange assembly of Rand and Kimberley millionaires, and
other refugees from the two republics, its army officers, both of the
invalid and the idle class, its censors, war correspondents,
sight-seers, and ladies longing to get to the more exciting front.
I first saw Mr. Kipling there, and now found him tenanting a bedroom
across the passage from my own in the Free State Hotel at
Bloemfontein. When I went to shake his hand he was in the room of W.
B. Wollen, the artist, and one of those men who having nothing good to
say, are never content to stop there, was exclaiming, "Is it possible
that I have the honour to meet the author of 'The Absent-Minded
Beggar'?"
[Illustration: _Field-Marshal Earl Roberts, V.C., K.G., K.P., G.C.B.,
G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., Commander-in-Chief._]
"Yes," said Kipling, "I have heard that piece played on a
barrel-organ, and I would shoot the man who wrote it if it would not
be suicide."
A man of such broad build and short neck that you do not realise him
to be of the average stature, wearing a broad-brimmed, flat brown hat
of Boer pattern, and below that a brown short coat and very full
trousers to match; a vigorous figure, quick in movement as a panther,
quicker still in speech; a swinging and rolling figure with head up
and hat well back out of the way of his sight which is ever thrown
upward as if he searched the sky while he walked. His face is quite a
match for his body, being round and broad as well as wide-eyed and
alert. His eyes are its most notable features, for they are very large
and open, and each one is arched by the bushiest of black eyebrows.
They are habitually reflective and sober eyes, but, like a flash, they
kindle with fun, and can equally quickly turn dull and stony when good
occasion arises. It is not the typical poet's or scholar's face so
much as it is the face of the man among men, the out-of-door man, the
earnest, shrewd observer and the irrepressible hard worker.
It happened that both of us were to pay our respects to the
Field-Marshal at the Residency on the same day, and both were invited
to lunch. Of course, Mr. Kipling knew Lord Roberts very well--had seen
much of him in India, where they had been both friends and mutual
admirers. We went to the Residency together. There we met a very
kindly and hospitable young gentleman who asked us who we were and
offered us a visitors' book in which to record our signatures. To him
we were presently introduced and found him to be none other than the
Duke of Westminster, who, as Lord Belgrave had at an earlier stage,
been with Sir Alfred Milner at the Cape. The Duke proffered us
refreshment of the coveted sort, which, as we have seen, was quoted at
11s. a bottle "on a rising market," and then he conducted us to the
great drawing-room with its strong suggestion of the grandeur of a
ruler's residence, despite its garish wall-paper and its puckered-up
carpet.
The whole Residency was like a beehive for industry. In the
dining-room privates were hammering away upon typewriters, and
officers were supplying them with copy. We peeped into the large
ball-room, and lo! it was appointed with many desks at which members
of the illustrious and aristocratic staff of the Field-Marshal were
hard at work with pens and ink. Even in the drawing-room, the merely
ornamental desks and tables were strewn with documents at which far
from merely ornamental lords were writing.
When lunch was announced we found the dining-hall set with two
tables--a very long one for the staff, and a very small one at its
head for Lord Roberts. Mr. Kipling sat with the Field-Marshal, while I
was placed between Lord Stanley and Lord Herbert Scott at the big
table. I was not impressed by any unlooked-for excellence in the
simple meal with which we were served. I had lived better on the open
veldt whenever I had been able to get at my Cape cart, and the boxes I
had stored in it. But the flow of wit and the hospitality and courtesy
that were shown to me would have rendered worse fare beyond reproach.
After the meal Lord Stanley introduced me to the Field-Marshal, and my
very first words caused those who do not know how great and broad a
man he is, to think that I had offended Lord Roberts.
"I am very proud to know you, General," I said.
We talked for a few moments of trifling things, merely by way of
making acquaintance.
"You called him 'General'; you should have said 'Sir,' or 'Lord
Roberts,'" said those who were concerned about the episode.
"The highest rank and title in the American Army is 'General,'" said
I; "and in that way Washington, Grant, and all our leaders were
saluted. Lord Roberts spoke of my being an American. I am sure he
understands how I came to make a mistake, while, at the same time,
paying him the highest respect."
Our newspaper showed that we were getting on rapidly with the new
forces of administration--the outcome, first, of Lord Roberts's brain,
and, next, of the extraordinary industry at the Residency. That most
skilful of military railway engineers, Colonel E. P. C. Girouard, who,
while head of the Egyptian Railways was also restoring our wrecked
lines and manning them efficiently, announced in our 6th number (March
23rd), that the daily train to the south would leave at 7 a.m., and
the train from the south would arrive at twenty-six minutes after
midnight each day.
The Gordon Club opposite the Cathedral was to be reopened next day.
The Wesleyan Church announced a parade service for the coming Sunday.
The Presbyterian Church announced its meetings for the week. Services
at the English Cathedral were also advertised. The Army Sports began
on this date. Major Lorimer, of the Cape Police, came with a trooper
and some despatch riders and was taken on the strength. C. V. F.
Townshend, A.A.G. to the Military Governor, grappled with the negro
problem in a warning notice that all natives must be indoors by eight
o'clock p.m. unless possessed of a special permit, and that dancing
and drunkenness in the streets would meet with severe punishment.
We published a very informing and authoritative editorial upon martial
law, which one of the editors was at some pains to secure. I have a
strong idea that it was written either by General Pretyman or Major
Poore, but I have no means for making certain.
James Barnes, the distinguished American correspondent, who very
kindly and with able results, took my place as correspondent of the
_Daily Mail_ when I was invalided home, wrote for this number a
comparison between this and some recent American wars.
We led the paper with the full text of Mr. Kipling's poem, only one
verse of which had reached us a week before.
* * * * *
THE FRIEND.
(_Edited by the War Correspondents with Lord Roberts' Force._)
BLOEMFONTEIN, MARCH 23, 1900.
POEM BY RUDYARD KIPLING.
(Owing to the exigencies of war, we were unable at the time
to print more than one stanza of Mr. Kipling's poem, which
we now present in its entirety.)
Oh! Terence dear, and did ye hear
The news that's going round?
The Shamrock's Erin's badge by law
Where'er her sons are found!
From Bobsfontein to Ballyhack
'Tis ordered by the Queen--
We've won our right in open fight,
The Wearin' of the Green!
We sailed upon commando
To vierneuk our Brother Boer--
A landlord and a Protestant,
What could the bhoys want more?
But Redmond cursed and Dillon wept,
And swore 'twas shame and sin;
So we went out and commandeered
The Green they dared not win.
'Twas past the wit of man, they said,
Our North and South to join--
Not all Tugela's blood could flood
The black and bitter Boyne;
But Bobs arranged a miracle
(He does it now and then),
For he'll be Duke of Orange, sure,
So we'll be Orange men!
Take hold! The Green's above the red,
But deep in blood 'tis dyed,
We plucked it under Mauser-fire
Along the trenched hill-side:
Talana's rush, the siege, the drift,
The Fight of Fourteen Days,
Bring back what's more than England's rose
And dearer than her praise!
God heal our women's breaking hearts
In Ireland far away!
An' Mary tell the news to those
That fell before this day--
Dear careless bhoys that laughed and died
By kopje and fontein--
Our dead that won the living prize--
The Wearin' of the Green!
RUDYARD KIPLING.
[_Copyright in England and the U.S.A._]
* * * * *
MILITARY LAW.
(_Editorial._)
In times like the present when military matters are discussed by all
classes of society, both by soldiers and civilians, the question of
the law, by which discipline and law, not only among the troops, but
also the civil population in the country they occupy are maintained,
frequently arises, and the terms "Martial Law" and "Military Law" are
often made use of as if they meant the same thing. It is to explain
this that the following is written.
"Military Law" is the Law which governs the soldier in peace and in
war, at home and abroad. It is administered under the Army Act which
is part of the Statute Law of England, and which, by special
provision, must be brought into, and continue in force, by an annual
Act of Parliament.
With an army in the field, certain persons, not soldiers, are also
subject to the provisions of "Military Law," such as civilians serving
with the force in an official capacity; persons accompanying the
troops with special leave, such as newspaper correspondents and
contractors; persons employed with the troops, such as transport
drivers; other persons known as followers who accompany the troops
either as sutlers or on business or pleasure with the permission of
the commander.
"Martial Law," on the other hand, is only operative in war. It is in
fact no law at all, and has been accurately defined as the "will of
the conqueror." The expression "Customs of War" would perhaps better
define what is meant by "Martial Law," because the word Law conveys
the idea to most people of an enactment containing a fixed and rigid
rule which must be obeyed, and which, if disobeyed, will involve
punishment.
This "Law" or "Custom" is applicable to all persons and inhabitants
not subject to "Military Law" residing within the foreign country or
that portion of it occupied by the troops, and also within districts
under British rule abroad, which, in consequence of riot or rebellion,
are so declared to be subject to "Martial Law" by proclamation.
It will thus be seen that a commander of troops in time of war acts in
two distinct capacities. First, he governs the troops by "Military
Law" only; secondly, in his position of governor of the country he
occupies, he imposes such laws or rules on the inhabitants as in his
opinion are necessary to secure the safety of his army, and also the
good government of the district which, by reason of the war or
rebellion, may for the time have been deprived of its ordinary rulers
and the machinery for maintaining order.
For the purpose of administering "Martial Law" or the "Customs of War"
no rules or regulations are absolutely laid down, but certain customs
exist among civilised nations which are generally recognised.
At the present time the practice in force is that, when practicable,
"Martial Law" should only supplement the civil procedure, but when the
civil Government is absent or, in consequence of war, is paralysed,
"Martial Law" must of necessity replace the civil.
In administrating "Martial Law" by a Military Court the ordinary
procedure recognised by "Military Law" is followed. This is done
because the Military Court would be composed of military officers
whose training would make them conversant with such procedure, and
because some uniformity in administrating justice would thus be
ensured.
* * * * *
FACTS AND OTHERWISE.
We wish to draw the attention of the troops of all ranks to the
benefits which the use of the Public Free Library offers.
A Branch of the Standard Bank is being opened in Colonnade Buildings
under the direction of Mr. M. D. Savory, late Manager of the
Oudtshoorn Branch.
The _Powerful's_ contingent of the Naval Brigade, consisting of
twenty-nine men and four officers, left by yesterday's train for
Capetown. Mr. Midshipman Lewin, who is in command, has the honour of
carrying despatches.
The great want of Bloemfontein just now is some place of light
recreation and refreshment to which weary soldiers and civilians can
repair after the labour of the day is ended. It is premature, of
course, to expect anything so pretentious as the Alhambra or Tivoli of
London fame, but the resources of the capital of the Orange Free State
should be at least equal to the provision and equipment of a hall
where songs and various forms of light entertainment might be
presented nightly. Already there is talk of an enterprising agent
proceeding to Capetown with the object of retaining the necessary
artistes, who may be expected here as soon as the railway
communication is open to the general public; but for present purposes
there is sufficient talent amongst our soldiers and sailors and the
townspeople to tide over the emergency. A committee of amusement with
a good man as chairman is required, and the rest, with the permission
of the military authorities, should be tolerably easy. The drums and
pipes of the Highland regiments continue to do valiant service in the
market square, but the time is surely come when entertainment on a
more ambitious programme might be contemplated.
* * * * *
THE PROMOTION OF BINKS.
"Know Binks? Of course. Everybody does--local major, staff something
at Headquarters of 10th Division--devilish useful chap to know."
Yes, Major Binks; but three short months ago I was only young Binks of
the Buffers, arriving at Blankfontein to take charge of a Transport
Company; I had no experience, and no instructions, except to "lick 'em
into shape," and I felt like the title of a book, "Alone in South
Africa." Not quite alone after all, for I had Wopples with me; Wopples
being the servant my old uncle, Major Stodger, had found for me.
"He'll kill your horses, of course, and lose your kit, but he was our
mess corporal in the Blazers for fourteen years, and he'll pull you
through."
After asking many questions and getting no answers, I found a seething
mass of mules, waggons, and blacks, which turned out to be my company,
and in the midst of it was a person of evidently some importance, who
turned out to be the conductor. His natural perimeter was nearly
doubled by the packets of papers which bulged from every pocket, and
he was addressing the crowd in a variety of bad languages when I
introduced myself, not without trepidation, as his new C."C."O. His
smile was reassuring and patronising. "Oh, that'll be all right, sir;
we're getting along nicely--but the Major's coming round
to-morrow--commands the station, he does--and wastes a lot of time.
Now, if you could offer him a bit of breakfast--"
Next morning the Major rode up; he was a melancholy-looking man with
an absent manner. Before I could introduce the subject he said he
would not interrupt me if I were having breakfast; I begged him to
join me, but he said he never could eat at that hour, but he might as
well come in--perhaps he might manage a cup of tea. He managed one
cup, and then another, after which he brightened up a lot and managed
porridge, fried liver, curried mutton, and half a tin of jam. After
one of my cigars (also selected by uncle) he rode away, remarking that
he was glad to find they'd sent up somebody at last who had a grasp of
things--he felt he could rely on me.
Next day I was appointed his assistant. When I reported myself he said
he wanted somebody whom he could leave in the office in case he had to
go out--there was no other definite job for me just then; meanwhile I
might as well look after the mess. I did so, or rather Wopples did so.
One evening the Major seemed somewhat upset, "Look here, Binks, the
Brigadier is coming round to-morrow to discuss a defence scheme; he's
inclined to fuss a lot; I've got to go out myself on duty, but you'd
better stay in and have a lot of breakfast ready; I think you might
almost run to a tin of sausages." Next morning the Brigadier rode up
all alone at full gallop, scrambled off his horse, and began to shout,
"Come along, come along; mustn't waste time on active service; got
fifty things to settle to-day! Here's my brigade on this side of the
river--now tell me at once where every man on the other side is
posted"--here he fell over Wopples. "Who the deuce!--what, breakfast,
eh? Well, well, must eat, even on service. I can spare five minutes.
Come along." He rushed into my tent and spared five minutes. The five
minutes prolonged themselves to ten minutes, then to an hour and a
quarter, after which the Brigadier slept so sweetly that I had no
heart to waken him. About 3 o'clock he woke with a sort of explosion,
shouted for his horse, and galloped off talking as hard as ever.
Next morning I was appointed his extra A.D.C. with rank of Captain.
"There'll be a lot of work for you later on," the Brigade-Major said,
"but no bustle just now; meanwhile you might look after the mess."
Again we did so. I was left in camp one day when the Brigade had gone
out to do something--"Somebody must be left in charge, and, by the by,
have a bit of something ready in case we come back hungry." I was
reading the advertisement sheets of a paper six weeks old when Wopples
rushed in. "Lord Upington, sir, staff boss at Divisional
Headquarters, just a'comin' up the road! _Wot_ a chance it is! Why, if
he don't know what good living means--well, I'm a Boer!"
Wopples was too much of an artist to overdo things--there was just a
taste of porridge--not enough to spoil one's appetite, a partridge
with full complements of bread-sauce and red pepper, marrow-bones with
hot toast and a nip of whisky, black coffee and cigars; where it had
all sprung from goodness only knows.
When his lordship departed he said he would not forget me; his heart
and other organs were so full that he quite forgot to mention the
pressing business on which he had come.
Next morning I was appointed signalling officer to the Division. I had
never done a signalling class, and pointed this out to the D.A.G., but
he said it didn't matter, what they wanted was a really useful man to
supervise generally the signalling business. Of course, just at
present there was no signalling as we were on a wire; meanwhile I
might take over the mess. Before the words were out of his mouth
Wopples had taken the mess over; he had sacked two black cooks,
discarded the mess pots in favour of his own, taken the measures of
the mess stores, and was getting on with lunch. By that evening my
position as an ornament to the staff was secure.
It was at something drift that we gave our first official dinner; we
had secured a roomy farm-house with some bits of furniture, so,
relying on Wopples, we launched into hospitality. And Wopples had
surpassed himself. There was a haunch of venison which brought tears
of joy to the five eyes of the three generals who partook of it--no
mere common haunch, there were several such in camp that night--this
was a haunch that had been through the hands of Wopples. Then there
was his extra special _entree_--but that is another course.
It was a dinner that might be eaten, but could never be described.
Next day I was gently approached by many red tabs. The Provost-Marshal
said I was just the sort of chap for his department if I'd care to
come; a R.E. enthusiast told me that a balloon was the only place for
a real good view of a show and "he'd work the matter for me"; somebody
on the intelligence said there was a real well-paid billet he'd been
keeping open on purpose for me; and two of the generals declared
piteously that they could not get on without my services. The third
general had not recovered the dinner, but sent a grinning A.D.C. to
represent him.
After that his lordship shut me and Wopples up together in his own
room and kept guard outside himself. "We'll take care of you, Binks;
we'll get you made a local major, and you shall ride the general's
horse as you've lost all your own. I'll find you a Tommy's blanket, by
Jove I will! and demme, I'll give you my own second shirt; but I'll be
shot if you leave our camp, my boy--shot and starved!"
ANONYMOUS.
* * * * *
SOLDIERS' BATTLES AND GENERALS' CAMPAIGNS.
BY JAMES BARNES.
The writer, an American, who served during the Cuban war, has been
asked to compare the present heated argument with the late
unpleasantness in the Antilles.
It is rather difficult to draw any comparisons between this war in
South Africa and the late conflict in Cuba. It is like comparing two
games differing in rules and methods, and resembling one another only
in the fact that they are played with bat and ball.
One of the strange things about the war in the West Indies was
this--when it was over the world waited for the lesson, and there was
none in the proper sense of the word. The God of battles must have
been with America from start to finish; ours was the good fortune; we
had all the luck. It was a series of miracles. Naval men waited to see
the great things torpedo-boats would accomplish, and two of the
much-dreaded machines were sunk by a millionaire's pleasure-craft
transformed into a gun-boat. Vessels with armoured belts and
protective decks were set on fire in the old-fashioned way by
exploding shells igniting their wood-work. Dewey's victory at Manila
was accomplished without loss of life on the American side, and
Sampson's victory at Santiago was almost as wonderful--but one man
killed and a few slightly wounded.
Army experts waited for the results of the use of long-range magazine
rifles, smokeless powder, and high explosives, yet trenches and hills
defended by men with Mausers were stormed and taken by men with
Krag-Jorgensens in their hands in the old-fashioned way--a steady
advance and a rushing charge to clinch it. Caney and San Juan Hill
were old-fashioned fights with the exception of the fact that men were
killed miles in the rear by the straying droves of bullets and never
saw an enemy.
As in this war the losses did not compare to those of some
hand-to-hand conflicts of the Rebellion, and many wounds that in the
old days would have proved fatal, thanks to the merciful Mauser,
amounted to very little. Perhaps to offer explanation of some strange
occurrences of the Cuban war would be disparaging to the Spaniards.
Perhaps the least that can be said is that in the main the Dons were
shocking poor shots, and they had been so weakened by disease and
hunger that they had not much fight left in them when it came to cold
steel and clubbed muskets. The great losses in Cuba were from fevers,
not from bullets. It is in the conditions and environments that the
chief difference lies between the war here and the war over there. And
it is from this present conflict that the world will learn. The
Philippine war, costly as it was in life and money, was nothing but a
series of victories over a half-civilised enemy. The interest in it in
America, strange to say, dwindled to little or nothing after the first
gunshot in South Africa.
Here was a different state of affairs. Cuba (for Puerto Rico was a
"walk over") was a country full of dense forests and tangled
undergrowth, offering a screen as well as a hindrance to the movements
of an army. South Africa is the greatest defensive country in the
world, and the Boer is trained by nature and inheritance to make the
best of it. Yet it took time to teach some of the English military
leaders to adapt themselves to the new conditions--it was hard for
them to break away from the traditions of Waterloo and Badajos. The
Mauser began to correct the old ideas of warfare in a way that it had
failed to do in Cuba. The prophecies in Bloch's remarkable book were
fulfilled almost to the letter. Proper scouting in an open country is
a dead department of military service. How long did we lie at Modder
River without knowing anything of value of the movements of the enemy?
A series of kopjes might conceal a few sharpshooters or an army--at a
mile's distance scouts were under the fire of an invisible foe. A good
shot ensconced between sheltering rocks discounted four men advancing
in the open. In Cuba the American troops were harassed by marksmen
concealed in tree-tops who often fired upon them from the rear, but
the forces opposed to them in front were mostly infantry, and the
problem resolved itself into a contest between individual soldiers as
fighting units. It was a soldiers' conflict.
A war in a country such as we have been fighting over for the last
five months admits of one thing only--the strategic movements of a
military genius. The generalship of a great leader is a necessity.
Bravery is well-nigh wasted and courage almost discounted. Mobility of
force is essential, forces operating at great distances but under one
central head are a _sine qua non_, and in long-range artillery lies
the preponderancy of power. More and more does the great game
approximate the moves in a chess problem. It must be admitted that in
Cuba there were no such scientific movements, and it has taken the
march of Lord Roberts from Enslin to Bloemfontein to prove the fact
beyond question that soldiers' battles, where one side is entrenched
and invisible and the other advancing in attack, are things of the
past, except in a wooded country or where all preliminary movements
are concealed. We had soldiers' battles here, but by fighting them
the lesson has been taught which the world will learn.
* * * * *
AN OFFICIAL DINNER AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE.
On Tuesday, March 20th, Lord Roberts entertained the following
Military Attaches, accredited by the Great Powers to his staff, at
dinner at Government House:
Colonel Stakovitch, Russia; Commandant d'Amadi, France; Major Esteben,
Spain; Captain Baron V. Luttwitz, Germany; Captain Slocum, America;
Captain Hieroka, Japan.
There were also invited the following to meet the distinguished
guests: Lieut. General Sir H. Colvile, Lieut. General Kelly-Kenny,
Major General Sir W. Nicholson, Major General Pretyman, Major General
Wood, Major General Marshall, Major General Pole-Carew, Major General
Gorden, The Very Revd. Dean of Bloemfontein, The Honble. Mr. J. G.
Fraser; the Private Secretary; the Military Secretary; Major General
Kelly, Colonel Richardson, Mr. Justice Hopley, Colonel Stevenson,
Colonel Viscount Downe, Lieut. Colonel Otter, Captain Bearcroft,
Lieut. Colonel Ricardo, Colonel H. C. Cholmondeley, Colonel Lord
Stanley, Reverend H. J. Coney, Lieut. Colonel Byron, A.D.C., Captain
Lord Herbert Scott, A.D.C.
After the Queen's health had been drunk, Lord Roberts, in a happy
little speech in which he proposed the health of the foreign Attaches,
said that he had much regretted while in Capetown not having been able
to entertain the Attaches, but now he felt some satisfaction at not
having been able to do it, as he was able to entertain them as
comrades, while at Capetown they would only have been representatives
of foreign Powers. He had often been distressed at seeing the Attaches
undergoing many discomforts on the march. But it had shown him that
they were officers devoted to their duty, and regardless of all
discomforts. He had not heard complaint or murmur of discontent at
their want of comfort, in fact, the only complaint made was one to
Lord Downe in which Attaches represented to him that he, with a regard
for their personal safety, had not allowed them to go as close as they
could wish to the passing line. It had been a great pleasure to see
them there that night, and he hoped before long to be able to
entertain them again in Pretoria.
Colonel Stakovitch, the Russian Attache, replied, saying how pleasant
it had been for him and his comrades to accompany the British Army on
their great and successful march. He thanked the Field Marshal for his
kindness and courtesy to them, and wound up by proposing the health of
Lord Roberts and his army, to which Lord Roberts made a suitable
reply.
The band of the Buffs played a selection of music during dinner.
The Austrian Attache was unavoidably absent, having left on a short
visit to Capetown.