The drastic measures taken by the British have reacted against them. One of the principal obstacles in the way of ending the war has been that the homes and farms of the greater number of the burghers in the field were destroyed, and there was nothing left for them to do but to fight. Outside of this wholesale burning, the British policy has, in most instances, been very liberal indeed towards the residents of the territory occupied; they have in most cases paid high prices in cash for everything that was needed for the use of the military, and the people have not been annoyed any more than was absolutely necessary for the good of the operations of the army; but these two orders stagger belief. They were not mere threats, but were actually carried out to the letter, and are still in operation. The one most damaging blow that a force inferior in strength can strike is at the enemy’s line of communication; therefore, so long as the fighting goes on, the railway will be broken as often as possible. More homes will be burned and more men will be forced into the field; few farms will be left undestroyed, and the country is likely to be left desolate of inhabitants. Thus it is that the railroad plays such an important part in the war of to-day. The railroad reconquered the Soudan, and will eventually conquer the entire continent of Africa. It is working down from the north and up from the south, slowly but surely throwing out its network of iron, from which nothing can escape. It has reclaimed the great territory of Siberia as it did our Western plains. It is the mightiest engine of civilization in peace; it is the very vitals of an army in war. CHAPTER VIII. Transportation of Troops by Sea [Illustration: Armament on an American transport.] When rumors of war crowd upon one another until it seems inevitable, the State Departments of the interested nations are not more anxious to anticipate coming events than are the corps of war correspondents who wish to follow the fate and fortunes of the armies. To be on the spot when things happen is the secret of their success; but during the past few years, when wars have been so frequent, it has been hard to decide where to go. It is not always easy to get there after that decision is reached, for in recent years war has been carried on in the most remote and inaccessible places, and many weeks were often lost in anxious travel before the scene of action was reached.