the Boer army was undoubtedly the success of its
system of warfare against that of the British.

[Illustration: BOER COMMANDANTS READING MESSAGE FROM BRITISH OFFICERS
AFTER THE BATTLE OF DUNDEE]

The Boers themselves were not aware that they had a military system; at
least, none of the generals or men acknowledged the existence of such, and
it was not an easy matter to find evidences that battles were fought and
movements made according to certain established rules which suggested a
system. The Boers undoubtedly had a military plan of their own which was
naturally developed in their many wars with natives and with the British
troops. It might not have been a system, according to the correct
definition of the term--it might have been called an instinct for
fighting, or a common-sense way of attempting to defeat an enemy--but it
was a matter which existed in the mind of every single citizen of the two
Republics. It was not to be learned from books or teachers, nor could it
be taught to those who were not born in the country. Whatever that system
was, it was extremely rudimentary, and was never developed to any extent
by the discipline and training which any system necessarily requires in
order to make it effective. There was a natural system or manner used by
the Boers when hunting for lion or buck, and it was identically the same
which they applied against the British army. Every Boer was expert in the
use of his rifle; he had an excellent eye for country and cover; he was
able to tell at a glance whether a hill or an undulation in the ground was
suitable for fighting purposes, whether it could be defended and whether
it offered facilities for attack or retreat. Just as every Boer was a
general, so it was that every burgher had in his mind a certain military
plan fashioned after the needs and opportunities of the country, and this
was their system--a sort of national as well as natural military system.

In the British army, as well as in the other modern armies, the soldier is
supposed to understand nothing, know nothing, and do nothing but give
obedience to the commands of his officers. The trained soldier learns
little, and is supposed to learn little, of anything except the evolutions
he is taught on the drill-grounds. It is presumed that he is stupid, and
the idea appears to be to prevent him from being otherwise in order that
he may the better fulfil his part in the great machine to which a trained
army has been li