BACK FROM THE WAR.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 20 May 1901, Page 4

BACK FROM THE WAR.

Some Interasting Stories.

Wellington, May 14

The returned troopers arc the subject of much conversation in various cities, and many stories they tell are passing from mouth to mouth. Regarding the conduct of their officers and about the management of the campaign generally they are properly reticent. Distorted versions of r,he few hints, extracted in the course of conversation, are being somewhat industriously retailed, but these it would be scarcely fair to any of the parties to put into print. One subject uppermost in the retailing, which can be mentioned, is of the horses. There is, I find, a general concensus of opinion among men and officers alike that the New Zealand horses gave the best account of themselves, partly on account of their superior stamp and partly by reason of the great care taken of them by their riders, who set an example in this respect wherever they went. It was part of their discipline to see the horses well rugged at nights'and well fed, and tho men were as keen to do the right thing as the officers were to see it done. Thero were many excellent horsemen among them accustomed to long journeys on horseback under camping-out conditions, and these very sotn indoctrinated their comiades. The worst in this respect appear to have been the "Tommies" who were into mounted infantry. They, of course, knew as much about horses us tho horses knew dibout them, and in consequence their mounts went to pieces pretty fast. Tho useful house was by common consent the well-bred cob of the stamp so common with our contingents, and it is thought that if they can be secured a little lighter thero will be nothing to be desired, but as the men speak of eighteen stone as the weight carried frcm end to end, it is hard to understand the desire for a lighter class of horse.

The relations between tho men and officers form another subject of conversation. The officers of tho regular army were often astonished by the freedom of their intercourse. When, for example, Major Criwshaw was ill in hospital his men used to visit him, shake hands, sit down and tell him all the camp news. He was, as he told.a "Post" interviewer this evening, asked if these were particular friends of his, and he replied that they were not, their behaviour being the same as that of the whole corps. The regulars expressed their astonishment, and said the only class in their service at all like our men were what they called "gentlemen rankers," and our major said that was just what all his men were, and then the other began to understand the secret of their excellent wotk.

Of spies on both sides tboro are many Accounts. Spies were numerous and daring in both armies, and many paid the penalty without beat-of drum or trouble to the military censorship. The Boer spies were, it appears, accustomed to join the lino of march and work their way backwards and forwards some in khaki and others in ordinary dress, outwitting the troops as.spies are accused to do in all wars. Of one of these the fate was dramatic. Biding along as usual, he was suspected, detained, and questioned. Ho was, ho said, looking for a regiment. What regiment e Oh, one of the contingents. Which one ? " The second, " he answered at random. Tho reply he received was decisive. ' There you have just got what you want. This is the Second —\" For obvious reasons I don't give tho name. The silence that ensued was awkward. It was broken with a query, " Who do you want, now that you have found your force ? " No answer, and another pause. It was broken by the military proceedings usual under martial law, and " it was not long before tho man was underground. " Such is war.

A less gruesome story is told of a British spy, who, knowing Pretoria, went in there before the capture to see what he could do. As he walked about tho streets some Boers recognised him as a Britisher who had stayed at another hotel, and there was a hue and cry, whilo men with rifle and bandolier searched for arms, and the spy slipped into a hotel at which a Boer waitress took pity on him, and hid him behind a piano which she drew across a corner of a big dining-room with his help. Hardly was the cache complete when some score of armed Boers came in. Of course the girl had seen the spy, described his dress quite correctly, and explained that he hid cleared out more than an hoar ago. ',W011," cried the Boer captain, "We had better have some dinner,'' and down they sat at the long table, and the brave girl waited on them.