{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3518", "width": "2275", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "Book -3 SS\\nCOPYRIGHT DEPOSIT", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3338", "width": "2182", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "CHARGE OF THE NINTH HUSSARS.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "BOERS HAULING HEAVY ARTILLERY TO THE FRONT.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "RITISH AND BOERS\\nIN\\nSouth Africa\\nCONTAINING A\\nTHRILLING ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT STRUGGLE\\nBETWEEN THE BRITISH AND THE BOERS\\nINCLUDING THE\\nCAUSES OF THE CONFLICT; VIVID DESCRIPTIONS OF FIERCE\\nBATTLES; SUPERB HEROISM AND DARING DEEDS; NAR-\\nRATIVES OF PERSONAL ADVENTURES; LIFE IN CAMP,\\nFIELD AND HOSPITAL, ETC., ETC.\\nTOGETHER WITH\\nTHE WONDERFUL STORY OF THE TRANSVAAL\\nTHE ORANGE FREE STATE; NATAL AND CAPE COLONY; THE\\nKAFFIRS AND ZULUS; RICHEST GOLD AND DIAMOND\\nMINES IN THE WORLD, ETC., ETC.\\nBy JAMES H. BIRCH, JR.\\nWHO HAS RECENTLY RETURNED FROM SOU! H AFRIC/^\\nIN COLLABORATION WITH\\nHenry Davenport Northrop\\nTHE WELL-KNOWN AUTHOR\\nMagnificent Galaxy of Phototype and Wood Engravings\\nNATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY\\nNo. 241 AMERICAN STREET\\nPHILADELPHIA, PA.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "TWO COPIES HECElVfc;^\\nLibrary of Coiigrst%\\nUffiou of tha\\nMA!^ 2 9 1900\\nKeglttsr of Copyrlghtik\\n5b?8i\\nEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1900, by\\nJ. R. JONES,\\nIn the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.\\nAll Rights Reserved.\\n-3 \\\\9\\nSECOND COPY,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "PREFACE.\\nThK Englisli Army and the Boers have met in the shock of\\nbattle in South Africa. All attempts to avert the desperate conflict\\nhave failed and the eyes of the whole world are turned to watch the\\nprogress of the fierce struggle.\\nThe first settlement of the Boers in South Africa another\\nname for Dutch inhabitants dates from the sixteenth century.\\nThey have received accessions from the Huguenots of France, but\\nretain the old Dutch character. After the final cession of the Cape\\nof Good Hope to England in 1814 they disliked the new Govern-\\nment, especially its friendly policy to the natives and the emancipa-\\ntion of the slaves in 1833, the Boers having long been slaveholders.\\nThey moved northward and occupied the Orange Free State and\\nthe Transvaal.\\nThe Boers are the landholders and farmers of South Africa,\\nfamous for their courage and endurance, of strong and well-\\ndeveloped physique, good horsemen and splendid marksmen.\\nThey have proved themselves to be terrible fighters on many\\noccasions. Previous to 1870 the Boers had much trouble with the\\nsurrounding native tribes, which resulted in many sanguinary\\nbattles. Wars were of frequent occurrence and little progress was\\nmade in the development of the country. The selfish policy of the\\nBoers caused constant irritation with England. In 1877, owing to\\nan exhausted public treasury and accumulated debts brought about\\nby conflicts with the Zulus and other tribes, the Transvaal, or South\\nAfrican Republic, was on the eve of dissolution and the country\\nabout to relapse into barbarism. To avert this catastrophe the\\nBritish Government assumed the care of it, subjugated the rebel-\\nlious natives, and put the finances of the State in good condition.\\nAftferward England declared that the promises made by the\\nBoers at this time were not carried out. One of the thrilling inci-\\niii", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "iv PREFACE.\\ndents of the war tliat followed was the slaughter at Majuba Hill,\\nwhere, in 1881, a regiment of British troops was defeated, with the\\nloss of their leader, Sir George Colley, by a greatly superior force\\nof Transvaal Boers. Majuba Hill has become famous in the story\\nof South Africa. It is claimed that the conditions upon which\\npeace was finally secured have been violated.\\nThe contention of the Boers is that the agreement of 1881, by\\nwhich the British had secured certain rights, was set aside by the\\nTreaty of 1884, and the British had no longer any right to regulate\\nthe internal affairs of the Transvaal. On the other hand, England\\ncontends that the convention or treaty of 188 1 has never been abol-\\nished or impaired. The British Government, acting upon this in-\\nterpretation, has insisted upon certain changes in the domestic\\ngovernment of the Transvaal touching the franchise, education and\\nparliamentary representation, which were emphatically refused by\\nthe Boers. The people of the South African Republic refuse to\\ngrant what the British demand, and deny them any say in the\\naffairs of the Transvaal.\\nThis is the issue which diplomacy failed to settle, and which\\nresulted in an appeal to arms and the God of battles.\\nIntense interest in South Africa was awakened by the san-\\nguinary war raging there. Questions have arisen as to the character\\nof the country, its diversified tribes, its fabulous wealth in gold and\\ndiamonds, and the remarkable circumstances under which the\\ncountry has become known to the world.\\nThis comprehensive volume answers all these questions, states\\nthe causes of the war, furnishes thrilling descriptions of the des-\\nperate battles and portrays the great leaders on both sides, Oom\\nPaul Kruger, General Joubert, General Yule, Cecil Rhodes, Dr.\\nJameson, Barney Barnato, General Sir George White, General Sir\\nRedvers Henry Buller, Field Marshal Roberts, and many others.\\nIt abounds in stories of heroic exploits and daring deeds. The\\ngrand panorama of exciting events in South Africa, startling and\\nthrilling, and presenting remarkable exhibitions of courage and\\npatriotism, passes swiftly before the eyes of the reader, and his\\ninterest increases from chapter to chapter.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "CONTENTS.\\nCHAPTER I.\\nPAGE\\nTHE TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE 17\\nCHAPTER II.\\nTHE BOERS AND KAFFIRS 34\\nCHAPTER III.\\nWHITE SETTLERS AND THE ZULUS 62\\nCHAPTER IV.\\nMANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS 65\\nCHAPTER V.\\nTHE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA 86\\nCHAPTER VI.\\nWONDERFUL COUNTRY OF RHODESIA 98\\nCHAPTER VII.\\nVAST STORES OF NATURAL WEALTH 112\\nCHAPTER VIII.\\nTHE CHIEF CITY OF THE TRANSVAAL 123\\nCHAPTER IX.\\nGOLD AND DIAMONDS IN SOUTH AFRICA 134\\nCHAPTER X.\\nCECIL J. RHODES\u00e2\u0080\u0094 THE UNCROWNED KING 148\\nV", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "vi COiYl^EiNTS.\\nPAOB\\nCHAPTER XI.\\nCOM PAUL KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS 155\\nCHAPTER XII.\\nTRAGIC STORY OF MAJUBA HILL AND L.\\\\ING S NEK 175\\nCHAPTER XIII.\\nFAMOUS R.\\\\ID OF DR. JAMESON 193\\nCHAPTER XIV.\\nCAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OLD 210\\nCHAPTER x^^\\nTHE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS IN THE TRANSVAAL 223\\nCHAPTER XVI.\\nGALL.\\\\NT CANADIAN TROOrS OFF FOR THE WAR 238\\nCHAPTER XVII.\\nFIRST CL.\\\\SH OF ARMS BETWEEN THE BRITISH AND BOERS 257\\nCHAPTER XVIII.\\nFIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL 274\\nCHAPTER XIX.\\nTHUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND L-\\\\DYSMITH 290\\nCHAPTER XX.\\nBRITISH VICTORIES IN THE WESTERN CAMPAIGN 315\\nCHAPTER XX:i.\\nCURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS 332\\nCHAPTER XXII.\\nREMARKABLE FEATURES OF THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN 345", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "CONTENTS. VU\\nPAGE\\nCHAPTER XXIII.\\nADDITIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT 86t\\nCHAPTER XXIV.\\nATTEMPTS TO RAISE THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH 381\\nCHAPTER XXV.\\nTHRILLING STORIES OF THE RATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA 396\\nCHAPTER XXVI.\\nSCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE GREAT STRUGGLE 413\\nCHAPTER XXVII\\nTHE BRITISH END THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLY 435\\nCHAPTER XXVIII\\nSURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE AND HIS ENTIRE FORCE 453\\nCHAPTER XXIX\\nBRAVE GARRISON AT LADYSMITH SAVED BY GENERAL BULLER S ARMY 472", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "LORD KITCHENER\\nCHIEF OF STAFF TO FIELD MARSHALL ROBERTS IN SOUTH AFRICA", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "T:SH military OBSERVATION BALLOON USED AT MODDER RIVER\\nTHIS BALLOON CONTAINS 11,000 CUBIC FEET OF GAS AND LIFTS 700 POUNDS", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "QUEEN VICTORIA.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "PAUL KRUGER, PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC,\\nAND HIS WIFE", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA\\nBETWEEN\\nTHE ENGLISH AND THE BOERS.\\nCHAPTER L\\nThe Transvaal and Orange Free State.\\n1^ Y the outbreak of war between tbe Englisli and tbe Boers\\nuniversal interest was at once awakened concerning tlie\\ncountries in Soutb Africa involved in tlie fierce struggle.\\nThe storm of conflict lias been gathering for more tban half a cen-\\ntury. South Africa, being rich in its native products, has long been\\na prize for European nations. Its wild animals have been a strong\\nttmptation to the hunter. Its diamond and gold fields make it one\\nof the richest parts of the globe. It is not strange, therefore, that\\nit has drawn many immigrants, some of whom were little else than\\nreckless adventurers.\\nThe march of civilization has rapidly transformed the south-\\nem part of the Continent of Africa. In the mining districts\\ntowns have sprung up, imigrants have come from all parts of the\\nworld, and important centres of business have been established,\\nsuch as Kimberley, Mafeking, Johannesburg, Bulawayo, and many\\nothers that might be mentioned. A wide territory once peopled\\nonly by native tribes and famous for its wild animals has been\\nsubdued, and is now one of the wealthiest and most promising\\ncountries of the globe. Among the most enlightened portions\\nof Africa are the republics in the south, some knowledge of\\nwhich will be of great advantage to the reader.\\nThe South African Republic and the Orange Free State, which\\nconstitute the hostile territory, are bounded on the southeast by\\nNatal and Basutoland, on the south and southwest by Cape\\nColony, and on the west by British Bechuanaland and Griqualand", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "18 yhe transvaai. and orange Free statue.\\nWest. Natal runs up into the Boer country in the shape of an acute\\ntriangle, with its apex at Laing s Nek. It is here separated from the\\nOrange Free State by the Drakenberg Mountains, in which there\\nare numerous defensible passes, affording ingress for the Boers\\ninto British territory-.\\nThe boundary on the south of the Orange Free State is the\\nOrange River on the west the boundar} is marked b} no natural\\nfeature. The Vaal River separates the Orange Free State from the\\nSouth African Republic. Natal and Basutoland are in the moun-\\ntains. The boundary on the west runs through rather flat countr}-,\\nwhile the interior of the hostile territory is principall}^ veldt, a pla-\\nteau in the neighborhood of four thousand feet high, broken here\\nand there b} rough ground and aftbrding many strong positions.\\nThe boundaries of the Transvaal, long a subject of dispute\\nwith Great Britain and the conterminous states, were at last pre-\\ncisely defined by the convention of Februar}^ 27, 1SS4.\\nTERRITORY OF THE TRANSVAAL.\\nTransvaal thus forms a compact inland territory nearly as\\nbroad as long, not more than 45 or 50 miles from the Indian Ocean\\nat Delagoa Ba}-, but otherwise Ij ing completety within the outer\\nrim of the vast South African table-land. A line drawn from the\\nsouthwest extremity, where it touches Griqualand West, north-\\neastwards to the Limpopo-Sliasha confluence, gives an extreme\\nlength of 500 miles, the distance from the same confluence south-\\nwards to the Natal frontier being 425, and the greatest length east\\nand west between the Zulu and Bechuana frontiers about 400\\nmiles. In the absence of accurate surveys, the total area has been\\nvariously estimated at from 110,000 to 120,000 square miles.\\nPhysically Transvaal forms a well-marked section of the great\\nSouth African plateau, an elevated shallow basin with a mean alti-\\ntude of over ;^ooo feet, whose confornuition has been compared to\\nthat of a saucer. On the soiith and east this basin is separated\\nfrom the coast by a loft} inner and less elevated outer rim, the\\nformer from 6000 to 10,000, the latter about 2000 feet high, sweep-\\ning round in curves concentric with that of the seaboard, from", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "I^HK TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE) FRKK STAT:^.\\n19\\nCape Colony tlirougli Natal and the east vSide of Transvaal north-\\nwards to tlie equatorial regions.\\nThe inner rim, whose various sections in the extreme south\\nare known as the Roggeveld, Nieuweveld, and Quathlamba ranges,\\ntakes in Natal and Transvaal the general name of the Drakenberg\\nMountains. From the Natal frontier to the Lipalule (Olifant)\\n^j\\nbAMARA LAND\\nGERMAN\\nSOUTH WEST\\nAFRICA\\nCREA7\\nNAMAOUA LAND\\n.Ngoml\\nsiBuIawayo\\n^Beit^\\nfelf SSgPo PORT UCU ES E\\n,^--11-^ EAST\\nf^ Pi.t.r, urc \\\\AfRI CA\\nCaberones/y T a 15 S y A J^ I.\\nBEOHUANALAND yl^ f ^iydcnhur^\\nMarking lA \\\\f -mJd;!bvrqT--.^ Y^^ fi s\\n/mtchefsti-ocsii f^icideJbsri^ iSWA7J\\\\\\n3UR:\\n\\\\liom\\nCniQUALANDf^\\nKitnberljBy v\\nxNoLauwlPoort oV7\\nnf WiHovmore\\nIrorcesCfr\\nTCWN, ~~^Swelkndam\\nCAPE\\n:Mi\\n.^em^-elk;:?;^\\nREFERENCE\\nuui-^rCi Rqilvays\\nBpuodariea\\n5ea Routea\\nDistances In NoMtical Miles\\ne. PHILIP i S0H.3Z netT sT/if gr\\nMAP OF SOUTH AFRICA SHOWING TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE.\\ntributary of the Limpopo, the Drakenberg maintains the aspect of\\na more or less continuous range 5000 to 7000 feet high, culmina-\\nting in the Mauchberg, 8725 feet, the highest point in Transvaal.\\nA little to the east is the Spitskop, 5637 feet, and further south\\nthe Klipstad, 6020 feet, and Holnek, 5600 feet.\\nThis section falls everywhere precipitously eastwards towards\\nthe Libomba range, or outer rim of the plateau, which maintains\\na mean elevation of 2000 feet along the eastern border of Trans-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "20 THE TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE.\\nvaal. Beyond tlie Lipalule, the Drakenberg loses tlie character of\\na well-defined monntain system, broadening out into nplands\\nmoderately elevated above the snrronnding plateau, and breaking\\ninto ridges, such as the Murchison and Zoutpansberg ranges, which\\nrun east and west between the Lipalule and Limpopo. The whole\\nS3^stem slopes gently westwards to the central table-land, which is\\nelf intersected by several broken ranges, all mostlj^ trending in\\n.le direction from east to west. But few of these ridges rise much\\nabove 4000 feet, and, as the plateau has a mean altitude of consid-\\nerably over 3000 feet, they detract little from the aspect of a vast\\nlevel or slightly rolling upland plain, almost everywhere presented\\nby Transvaal west of the Drakenberg Mountains.\\nThe numerous fossil remains of aquatic life, together with\\nextensive sandy tracts and the presence in several places of water-\\nworn shingle, give to the central table-land the appearance of an\\nupheaved lake basin, whose waters escaped at one time through\\nthe Limpopo to the Indian Ocean, at another through the Vaal to\\nthe Orange river, and thence to the Atlantic. The Vaal and Lim-\\npopo are still the two great fissures in the plateau, which carr} off\\nmost of the surface waters to the surrounding marine basins. The\\nwater-parting between these two river systems lies, not in the\\nDrakenberg, itself pierced by the Lipalule and several of its\\naffluents, but in the Witwater Rand towards the southwest of the\\nState.\\nONE OF THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS.\\nFrom this point the Limpopo, or Crocodile, sweeps round first\\nto the west, then to the northeast, describing a semi-circle of about\\n1000 miles to the Linivuba (Pafuri) confluence, where it leaves\\nTransvaal, flowing thence for nearly 340 miles through Portuguese\\nterritory southeast to the Indian Ocean. Captain G. A. Chaddock\\nhas shown that it is navigable for steamers to this confluence, above\\nwhich it is obstructed by the Tolo Azime and other rapids.\\nThrouehout its whole course it receives numerous affluents on\\nboth sides, and others from Transvaal, of which region it drains\\nfully 95,000 square miles.\\nWith the exception of a few tracts watered b} the head streams:", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES\\nTWO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NORTHWEST SQUADRON FULLV ATTIRED IN\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2KHAKI, THE NEW UNIFORM", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "THE TRANSVAAI. AND ORANGE FREE STATE. 21\\nof the Buffalo, flowing in independent channels eastwards to tlie\\nIndian Ocean, all the rest of Transvaal is drained by the Vaal\\nwestwards to the Orange and Atlantic. The Vaal has its eastern-\\nmost sources in the Wakkerstroom district on the west slope of\\nthe Drakenberg, whence it flows for about 450 miles, partly within,\\nbut mainly along, the southern frontier of Transvaal, of which,\\nwith the Hart and other tributaries on its right bank, it drains\\nabout 20,000 square miles altogether.\\nBesides these perennial streams, there are numerous shallow\\nlagoons or salt-pans scattered over the western and northern dis-\\ntricts, as well as thermal and mineral waters, such as the Warmbad\\nin the Nyl valley. But the only lake properly so called is Lake\\nChrissie, a sheet of water nearly 40 miles round, and in parts very\\ndeep, which lies on the west side of the Drakenberg, 5755 feet\\nabove sea level, and filling an immense circular basin.\\nHEALTHY AND PLEASANT CLIMATE.\\nAlthough lying on the border of and partly within the tropics,\\nTransvaal, thanks to its great elevation above the sea, and to the\\nabsence of extensive marshy tracts, enjoys on the whole a healthy\\ninvigorating climate, well suited to the Buropean constitution.\\nOwing to the dryness of the air, due to the proximity of the Kala-\\nhari desert, the western and central districts are specially favorable\\nto persons suffering from consumption and other chest cbmplaints.\\nBut some of the low-lying moist tracts along the Limpopo and\\nother river valleys, close to or within the torrid zone, are extremely\\ninsalubrious, fever of the general African type being here endemic,\\nand its prevalence usually marked by the presence of the destruc-\\ntive tsetse fly.\\nThe route from Delagoa Bay to the interior also traverses a\\nfever-stricken coast district between the sea and the Libomba\\nescarpment, dangerous especially in the rainy summer season.\\nThe rains generally begin about October, sometimes a little before\\nor after, and last intermittently till April. But the rainfall is very\\nunequally distributed, most of the moisture-bearing clouds from the\\nIndian Ocean being arrested by the great barrier of the Draken-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "22 THE TRANSVAAL AND ORANGB FREE STATE.\\nberg, or counteracted by tbe dry west winds from tlie Kalabari\\ndesert. Thus, while there is abundance of rain in the east, the\\ncountry gradually becomes drier as it approaches Bechuanaland.\\nDuring the dry winter season (April to September) keen frosty\\nwinds blow from the south, sweeping freely over the central plains\\nand carrying the moisture to be precipitated as snow along the\\neastern highlands. Nevertheless, according to the careful meteoro-\\nlogical observations made by Mr. Lys at Pretoria between 1877\\nand 1S80, the mean annual temperature is considerably over 68\u00c2\u00b0,\\nfalling to about 40\u00c2\u00b0 in June, and rising to 90\u00c2\u00b0 and occasionally\\neven 95\u00c2\u00b0 in January. The rainfall in the same central district\\nseldom reaches 30 inches, which is probably a fair average for the\\nwhole of Transvaal, falling to 12 towards the western and rising\\nto 60 on the eastern frontier, increasing towards the coast.\\nVAST MINERAL RESOURCES.\\nTransvaal yields to no other African region in the abundance\\nof its mineral resources, while it is altogether imrivalled in their\\nextraordinary variety. These include, besides the precious metals\\nand diamonds, iron, copper, lead, cobalt, sulphur, saltpetre, and\\ncoal, this last with gold, copper, and iron being probably the most\\nabundant and widely distributed. Gold, largely diffused through-\\nout the Drakenberg, and in the northern Zoutpansberg and\\nWaterberg districts, and in the Rustenburg and Marico districts\\nin the extreme west, as well as in the highlands between Transvaal\\nand the Zambesi, has hitherto been worked chiefly in the rich auri-\\nferous region of Lj denburg about Mount Mauchberg and Mount\\nSpitskop in the central parts of the Drakenberg range, and farther\\nsouth in the Johannesburg district.\\nThe Lj^denbiirg deposits, discovered in 1873, lie at an eleva-\\ntion of 4500 to 5000 feet 40 miles south of the Lipalule river and\\n125 northwest of Lorenzo Marques on Delagoa Ba}^, the chief\\ndiggings being at Pilgrim s Rest and Mac Mac close to the Spitskop.\\nIn the Middleburg district the chief centres of mining operations\\nare the recently founded towns of Barberton and Johannesburg.\\nIron ores are also widely distributed, and the Yzarberg Iron", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "23", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "24 THE TRANS\\\\ AAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE.\\nMountain near ^larabastad consists of an enormous mass of rich\\niron ore, wliich tlie natives have worked for ages. Diamonds are\\nchiefly confined to the Bloemhoff district on the Vaal above the\\ngreat diamantiferons region of Kimberle} in Griqnaland West.\\nCoal abounds in the southeasten districts, and also farther north\\nin ]\\\\Iiddelburg (Nazareth) and Lydenburg.\\nIn some places seams 7 or 8 feet thick lie so near the surface\\nthat they are quarried and the coal carted awa} b} the natives.\\nThe prevailing formations where this gxeat mineral wealth is\\nembedded are quartz, porphyr} granites, cla}^ slates, greenstone,\\nLower Devonian strata, conglomerates, and limestones.\\nIn Transvaal, as in most of the continent, an herbaceous flora\\nprevails largeh^ over forest growths, which are here confined\\nchiefl} to the deep kloofs (gorges) of the mountain ranges, and to\\nthe courses of the larger streams. Bush, including mimosas, thorn\\nthickets, and creepers, covers extensive tracts on the northern and\\nsouthern plains, and the districts towards Natal are well wooded.\\nBut elsewhere the characteristic features are grass lands, downs,\\nhill slopes, flats, and even man}- parts of the higher uplands being\\ncovered with savannahs generally afibrding good pasturage and\\nfodder for cattle, which are a large source of wealth.\\nFINEST WHEAT IN THE WORLD.\\nIn the woodlands the prevailing species are three varieties of\\n3 ellow wood, often growing to an enormous size, the Cajpe beech,\\nseveral varieties of the wild pear, and of stinkwood, ironwood, and\\nebon} The Boers and other settlers have hitherto occupied them-\\nselves chiefly vnih stock-breeding (sheep, cattle, and horses), but\\nthere can be no doubt that much of the countr} is eminenth\\nsuited for the cultivation of cereals, pelding two annual crops and\\nproducing some of the finest wheat in the world. Tobacco, the\\n\\\\TLne, and most European fruits and vegetables also thrive well,\\nwhile semi-tropical products, such as cotton, sugar, and coffee,\\nmight be raised in the warmer northern districts.\\nB} the early settlers Transvaal was described as the paradise\\nof hunters, abounding in the characteristic large animals, such as", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "THE TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE. 25\\nthe lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, giraffe, zebra, qiiagga, several\\nvarieties ef antelope, and the ostrich, which roam over the continent\\nfrom Soudan to the Cape. All these animals still exist, but in\\ngreatly reduced numbers, being now largely replaced by the\\ndomestic animals cattle, sheep, and horses introduced by the\\nwhite settlers. All the large rivers are inhabited by the hippopot-\\namus and crocodile, the latter giving an alternative name to the\\nLimpopo; the buffalo, gnu, eland, springbok, wildbeeste, baboon,\\nand several other members of the ape family are also frequently\\nmet with.\\nThe country is occasionally swept by destructive flights of\\nlocusts but the greatest enemy of the stock breeder is the tsetse\\nfly, which infests the coast lands and many of the river tracts, but\\nshows a tendency to disappear with the large game, retreating with\\nthe advance of the plough. A tsetse belt forty miles wide along\\nthe whole course of the Limpopo still bars the spread of European\\nsettlements beyond Transvaal in the direction of the Zambesi.\\nPROPORTION OF WHITES AND NATIVES.\\nOf the population only a fourth part are whites, mostly Boers\\n(descendants of the early Dutch, French and German immigrants\\nto the Cape), with a large and increasing percentage of British\\nsettlers, attracted in recent years especially to the Lydenburg and\\nother mining districts. All the rests are natives, belonging mainly\\nto the Basuto and Bechuana branches of the Bantu family, and con-\\nsequently allied in speech and to a large extent in physique to\\ntheir Zulu-Kaffre neighbors. A considerable number of these\\nnatives have abandoned the tribal state and taken service, either\\nfreely or by compulsion, with the whites as farm laborers in the\\nrural districts, and as domestic servants in the towns, and are also\\nlargely employed in mining operations. The great bulk of the\\nrest, who retain their national usages and recognize the authority\\nof more or less independent tribal chiefs, are concentrated in the\\nnorthern and eastern provinces.\\nThere are also natives in Bloemhoff (extreme southwest), and\\nin the western provinces of Rustenburg and Marico, but only a few", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "2G THE TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE.\\nscattered groups in all tlie rest of the country. These western and\\nsouthwestern tribes are all Bechuanas the others mainly Makatis,\\nas the Basutos are here collectively called. It nia}^ be stated in a\\ngeneral way that the whole country south of the Lipalule is now\\nfree of native claims and open to European colonization, while the\\nnorthern region between that river and the Limpopo is still to a large\\nextent occupied by unreduced or unbroken Basuto communities.\\nIn the southern part of Lydenburg lies the somewhat detached\\ndistrict of New Scotland, conipi*ising some 500,000 acres selected\\nb}^ the late Mr. JMcCorkindale as a Scotch pastoral and agricultural\\nsettlement. It is a healthy prosperous country, lying on the slopes\\nof the Drakenberg, within 310 miles of Durban, Natal. But the\\nmost tliickl}^ settled province is Potchefstroom, a fertile tract, 3500\\nto 5000 feet high, abundantly watered b}; the Mooi, Schoen, aud\\nother streams flowing to the Vaal, and well suited for tillage and\\npasturage. Its capital of like name is one of the largest towns in\\nTransvaal. The only other places deserving the name of town are\\nPretoria, capital of the province of like name and of the state,\\noccup3 ing a somewhat central position 100 miles northeast of\\nPotchefstroom, 980 from Cape Town, 820 from Port Elizabeth, and\\n400 from Durban Barberton, in the Lower Kaap mining district,\\n150 miles by road from Delagoa Bay, and Johannesburg, centre of\\nthe gold fields of the same name, 30 miles southeast of Pretoria,\\nand 72 east of Potchefstroom, founded in 1886.\\nHISTORY OF THE TRANSVAAL.\\nThe historic life of Transvaal begins with the Great Trek,\\nor general exodus of the Cape Colony Boers, who, being dissatis-\\nfied, especially with the liberal policy of the British Government\\ntowards the natives, removed northward in large numbers between\\nthe 3 ears 1833 and 1837. ^3 ^^36 some thousands had already\\ncrossed the Vaal, that is, had reached the Trans- Vaal country,\\nwhich at that time was mostl}^ under the sway of the powerful\\nrefugee Zulu chief IMoselekatze, Avhose principal kraal was at\\nIMosega in the present Alarico district on the west frontier. To\\navenge the massacre of some emigrant bands, the Boers under", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "THE TRANS VAAI, AND ORANGE FREE STATE. 2V\\nMaritz and Potgieter, attacked and utterly defeated Moselekatze at\\nthis place in 1837.\\nNext year tlie Zulu chief withdrew beyond the Limpopo,\\nwhere he founded the present Matebele state between that river and\\nthe Zambesi, thus leaving the region between the Vaal and Limpopo\\nvirtually in the hands of the Trekkers or Boers. But their position\\nwas rendered insecure on the east side by the military despotism\\nof the fierce Zulu chief Dingaan, who, after the murder of his\\nbrother Chaka, had asserted his authority over the whole of Zulu-\\nland and most of the present Natal. The situation was rendered\\nalmost desperate by the complete rout and wholesale massacre, in\\n1838, of the right division of the emigrant Boers, who had ven-\\ntured to cross the Buffalo under Pieter Retief, and who were defeated\\nby Dingaan, when as many as 800 fell before the irresistible\\nonslaught of the disciplined Zulu w^arriors. iVt this critical junc-\\nture the Trekkers were saved from utter extermination by Andries\\nPretorius of Graafif Reinet, by whom Dingaan met with a first\\ncheck before the close of 1838, followed in January, 1840, by a still\\nmore crushing defeat, from which he did not recover.\\nORIGIN OF THE BOER REPUBLIC.\\nDingaan having been soon after murdered, the friendly Panda\\nwas set up in his place, and Natal proclaimed a Boer republic. But\\nthe British occupation of that territory in 1843 induced the Boers\\nto retire in two bands across the Drakenberg, the southern divi-\\nsion settling in the present Orange Free State, the northern again\\npassing into Transvaal. But, owing to internal dissensions, and\\nthe perpetual bickerings of the two most prominent personalities,\\nPretorius and Potgieter, all attempts at establishing an organized\\nsystem of government throughout Transvaal ended in failure, till\\nPretorius induced the British Government to sign the Sand River\\nconvention, January 17, 1852, which virtually established the poli-\\ntical independence of that region\\nThe death of both Pretorius and Potgieter in 1853 prepared\\nthe way for a period of internal peace under Pretorius s eldest son,\\nMarthinus Wessels Pretorius, first president of the Dutch African", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "28 THE TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE.\\nRepublic, wHose title was afterwards altered, 1858, to tliat of the\\nSouth. African Republic. But a fatal element of weakness lay-\\nin the persistent refusal of the Boers to treat the natives on a foot-\\ning of equality, or even with common justice. The murder of Her-\\nmann Potgieter and family, 1854, avenged by Pretorius at Maka-\\npan s Cave, was followed, 1856, by the Apprentice Law, estab-\\nlishing a system of disguised slavery, which was further strength-\\nened b}^ the sanction, 1858, of the Grond ivet^ or Fundamental\\nLaw, declaring that the people will admit of no equality of per-\\nsons of color with the white inhabitants either in State or Church.\\nOwing to this policy opposition was constantly shown both to\\nthe Knglish traders, disposed to deal fairly with all, and to the\\nmissionaries, preachers of universal equality, as illustrated by the\\nplunder of the explorer Livingstone s house by the expedition sent\\nagainst the native chief Secheli in 1852.\\nOrange Free State, an independent republic adjoining the\\nCape Colony, South Africa, is bounded on the north by the Vaal\\nriver, south by the Orange river, east by the Caledon river and\\nDrakenberg mountains, and west by a line dividing it from Kim-\\nberley and the diamond fields of Griqualand West. The area is\\n70,000 square miles, and the population is nearly equally divided\\nbetween the Dutch and native races.\\nPHYSICAL FEATURES OF ORANGE FREE STATE.\\nThe country, which has an average elevation of 4500 feet\\nabove the sea, consists of a series of extensive undulating plains,\\nbounded or diversified b}^ detached rocky hills. These plains slope\\nfrom the central watershed northward and southward, respectively,\\nto the Vaal and Orange rivers, and are intersected at various inter-\\nvals by the Wilge, Rhenoster, Valsch, Vet, Modder and Riet rivers,\\nemptying their waters into the Vaal river, and by the Caledon,\\nwhich joins the Orange river. The southern and eastern districts\\nare covered with luxuriant grasses, affording excellent pasturage\\nfor stock. In the western districts the grasses are gradually being\\nsupplanted by a dwarf bush vegetation. The river-banks are\\nfringed with willow, mimosa, and other indigenous trees, and", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "30 run TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE EREB STATE.\\nshrubs and trees of larger growtli are found on tlie eastern moun-\\ntain ranges but generally the country is woodless, and, to remedy\\ntbis, tbe Government offers premiums for tbe encouragement of\\ntree-planting.\\nTbe geological cbaracteristics are similar to tbose of tbe inland\\ndistricts of Cape Colony. Tbe soutb-western portion is an exten-\\nsion of tbe Karroo or lake formation of Soutb Africa, consisting\\nof sandstone and sbales intersected by intrusive igneous rocks. In\\ntbis formation occurs tbe diamond mine of Jagersfontein, near tbe\\nvillage of Fauresmitb, wbicb bas been worked for years. Tbe\\nnortb-eastern part, again, consists of sandstones, containing hori-\\nzontal coal-seams. Tbe coal outcrops in tbe Kronstad and Heilbron\\ndistricts are being utilized. In tbe Drift deposits along some river\\nbeds, sucb as tbe Sand, Caledon and Vaal rivers, tbere are accumu-\\nlations of pebbles, consisting of agate, jasper, cbalcedony, came-\\nlian, wbite quartz, garnets and occasionally diamonds.\\nTbe climate is salubrious, and specially remarkable for its\\ndryness. Tbousands of ^vild game formerly occupied tbe plains\\nof tbe state, but tbeir numbers and variety bave greatly diminisbed,\\nand some bave been entirely exterminated.\\nSOURCES OF IMMENSE WEALTH.\\nTbe resources of tbe state are agricultural, pastoral and min-\\neral. Tbe principal occupations of tbe inhabitants are tbe breed-\\ning of cattle, borses, goats, merino sbeep and ostriches. Agriculture\\nis attended to on a larger or smaller scale according to the capabil-\\nities of tbe various farms, and vineyards and orchards are planted\\non many properties. Tbe staple articles of export, however, arc\\nwool, skins, ostrich feathers and diamonds, all of which are shipped\\nfrom tbe seaports of tbe Cape Colony and Natal.\\nBloemfontein, tbe capital and seat of government, is situated\\nabout the centre of tbe state. It is an agreeable town, and bas a\\nhandsome range of public offices, where the Volksraad, or assembh\\nof tbe people, meets, a high court (consisting of a chief-justice and\\ntwo judges), a municipal burgher council, banks, newspapers,\\nhotels, clubs, a college, schools, and several churches, including", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "ELEPHANT PROTECTING HER YOUNG FROM HUNTERS SPEARS.\\n31", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "32 THE TRANSVAAI. AND ORANGE FREE STATE.\\nthe Dutcli Reformed cliurcli, the Anglican clinrcli, with a resident\\nbishop, and Wesleyan, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches.\\nAt the commencement of the nineteenth century, the country\\nwas inhabited by sections of aboriginal tribes\u00e2\u0080\u0094Bushmen, Koran-\\nnas, and Bechuanas; and soon afterwards a number of Griquas\\nfrom the north-west of the Cape Colony came in among them. A\\nchronic state of warfare prevailed between these races. In 1824,\\nnomad farmers from the Colony, seeking pastures for their flocks,\\ncrossed the Orange river, and settled in the territory. These were\\nfollowed in 1835-36 by large bodies of Dutch Boer emigrants, who\\nleft the Colony in order to be beyond British control.\\nNO PEACE WITHOUT GOOD GOVERNMENT.\\nThey formed a rude government for themselves, and, in\\nattempting to exercise authority, came into collision with the Gri-\\nquas, who claimed protection from the Colony, with which they\\nwere allied by treaty. The British governor. Sir P. Maitland,\\nintervened in 1845, assisting the Griquas with troops, and defeat-\\ning the Boers at Zwart Koppies; and, to prevent further collisions,\\na resident was appointed. In 1848, Governor Sir H. Smith visited\\nthe territory, and came to the conclusion that peace could not be\\nmaintained among the mixed elements forming the population\\nwithout the establishment of a regular government.\\nHe, therefore, issued a proclamation, afterwards confirmed by\\nthe Crown, annexing the territory to the empire, under the name of\\nthe Orange River British Sovereignty. Thereupon some of the\\nBoers, under their leader Pretorius, took up arms, and expelled the\\nBritish magistrates; but a military force was brought against them\\nby Sir H. Smith in person, and, after a short, but sharp, encounter\\nat Boomplaats, the Boers were defeated, and the Crown s authority\\nre-established and maintained from that time until 1853.\\nBut disturbances again occurred, arising from long-standing\\ndisputes between the native tribes and, in order to chastise the\\nmost powerful of them the Basutos for certain acts of outrage.\\nGovernor Cathcart in 1852 moved a large military expedition\\nagainst their chief, Moshesh, and the battle of the Berea was", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "FIELD MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS\\nCOMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE BRITISH FORCES IN SOUTH AFRICA,\\nSUCCESSOR TO GENERAL BULLER", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "AN\\nBOOY-GU VRO VISITING A C\\\\n", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0052.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "A bRIllSH CORPORAL OF THE 5th LANCERS SPEARING TWO BOERS\\nWITH ONE THRUST AT THE BATTLE OF ELANDSLAA^TE", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0053.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "BRITISH ARMORED TRAIN ATTACKED BY BOERS\\nNEAR LADYSMITH", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0054.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "A TYPICAL HINDOOSTANEE\\nTHROUGHOUT SOUTH AFRICA, ESPECIALLY IN NATAL, ARE MANY INDIANS DISTRIBUTED AMONG\\nTHE FARMERS. THE WOMEN DECORATE THEMSELVES WITH SILVER AND GOLD\\nJEWELRY. THE POORER CLASSES TAKE THIS METHOD OF SAVING MONEY", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0055.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "long TOM the great GANNON USED BY THE BOERS IN\\nBOMBARDING DUNDEE AND CAPTURED BY THE BRITISH", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0056.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0057.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE IN SOUTH AFR.CA-ARR, VA L OF ENGLISH TROOPS AT\\nLADYSMITH, NATAL", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0058.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0059.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0060.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0061.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "t,^^mf\\nUl\\n^I^HSR r\\ntr DC\\n^^f^\\\\\\nu. O\\n^^m- ^t\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0HV\\nu. fr\\n9^~l\\nO O\\no\\nO 1-\\nCO -f\\nCO\\nf\\n_J\\ns\\nr.\\nUJ\\n1-\\ncc\\n1-\\nr\\nUJ z^\\n(0 z\\ncc\\n2 u*\\nQ.\\n1\\nL.\\nH O\\nli.\\n-1 _\u00c2\u00bb.\\nis\\nUJ a\\nt\\nCO o\\nUJ\\nm 1-\\nI- o\\nt\\nO u*", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0062.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0063.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0064.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0065.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0066.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "I HK TRANvSVAAl^ AND ORANGlii FREH STATK. 38\\nfought, after wliicli the chief, on behalf of the tribe, gave in his\\nsubmission. After this expedition the British Government resolved\\nto withdraw from the territory.\\nSir George Clerk was deputed as a special commissioner to\\ncarry out the abandonment of the country and, notwithstanding\\nthe protests of many inhabitants, he formally handed it over to a\\nbody of Boer delegates, in terms of a convention entered into on\\nthe 23d of February, 1854. They were released from their alle-\\ngiance, and permitted to constitute an independent republican com-\\nmunity of their own, under the title of the Orange River Free\\nState. Since that time the government has been in the hands of\\na president, assisted by an executive council, with a volksraad or\\ncongress elected by the people, exercising all legislative functions.\\nThe state is financially in a flourishing condition. In case of\\nnecessity all able-bodied citizens are liable to be called upon for its\\ndefense. Commerce exports wool, diamonds, hides, ostrich-feathers\\nand live animals. Education stands at a fairly high level amongst\\nthe whites the prevailing religion is the Dutch Reformed.\\nPastoral pursuits predominate, and the Orange Free State is a\\nnation of farmers, yet gradually the mineral resources of the coun-\\ntry are being developed, and commerce has already assumed con-\\nsiderable importance.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0067.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "1R\\nCHAPTER II.\\nThe Boers and Kaffirs.\\nHB territory of tlie Transvaal and Orange Free State was once\\nexclnsively occupied by tlie famous Kafars, and, indeed, this\\ntribe is now freely intermingled with the white or foreign\\ninhabitants of those republics. The same may be said of Natal\\nand Cape Colony, which are British possessions, although with the\\nconstant advance northward of civilization the native savages grow\\nless in number as compared with the white settlers and are no\\nlonger the controlling power. Here is witnessed a repetition of\\nthat subjection of the native race which is seen in our own country\\nwith respect to the Indians.\\nThe Kaf rs form one tribe of the great Bechuana family.\\nTheir national character is bold, warlike and independent. From\\nthese qualities,, as well as from the cast of their countenance, some\\nhave conjectured that they are of Arabian origin. The men are\\nextremely tall and well-proportioned, many being six feet and more\\nin height the women are naturally good-tempered, animated and\\ncheerful, with teeth beautifully white and regular, and without the\\nthick lips or flat noses of most of the natives of Africa but they\\nform a strong contrast to the men in the lowness of their stature,\\ntheir figures being short and sturdy.\\nTheir name of Kaffir, or unbeliever, was originally given to\\nthe inhabitants of the southeastern coast of Africa by the Moors,\\nand, being adopted by the Portuguese, it became the common ap-\\npellation of all the tribes occupying that region. The following\\nsketch was from the life:\\nlyO where he crouches by the kloof s* dark side,\\nEyeing the farmer s lowing herds afar;\\nImpatient, watching till the evening star\\nlyead forth the twilight dim, that he may glide\\n*In these lines kloof means gully, a dark ravine,\\n34", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0068.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS AND KAI^FIRS. 35\\nlyike panther to the prey. With freeborn pride\\nHe scorns the herdsman nor regards the scar\\nOf recent wound but burnishes for war\\nHis assagai and targe of bufifalo-hide.\\nHe is a robber True it is a strife\\nBetween the black-skinned bandit and the white.\\nA savage Yes though loth to aim at life,\\nEvil for evil fierce he doth requite.\\nA heathen Teach him, then, thy better creed,\\nChristian, if thou deserv st that name indeed\\nThe manner of life of these people is, in general, extremely\\nsimple. Their diet mostly consists of milk, which is kept in leath-\\nern bottles until it is sufficiently thick and acidulous. They eat\\nalso boiled corn, which is usually served up in small baskets, from\\nwhich each one helps himself with his hands. They sometimes\\nmake of their corn a kind of pottage at other times they form it\\ninto thick cakes, which are baked on the hearth. They lay up\\nprovisions for winter use, either in pits or subterranean granaries.\\nAn occasional feast of animal food, with the articles now mentioned,\\nare sufficient for the support of this hardy race.\\nMODE OP DRESS AMONG THE KAFFIRS.\\nThe native apparel of the Kaffirs consists wholly of the skins\\nof beasts, so prepared as to render them perfectly soft and pliable.\\nSometimes they are long enough to reach to the feet, hang loosely\\nfrom the shoulders in the manner of a cloak, and are, in general,\\nthe only covering adopted by the men. To protect themselves from\\nthe parching effect of the sun s rays, they anoint themselves from\\nhead to foot with some unctuous substance. The same materials\\nare used by the women, but their dress is of a different shape. The\\niress of the white settlers is becoming more and more common\\namong the natives.\\nThe chief wealth of the Kaffir consists in his herds of cattle.\\nNothing affects him more than an injury done to his horned crea-\\ntures, whose increase and prosperity appear to occupy the chief\\nplace in his thoughts, and to be the ruling motive of his actions.\\nThe more laborious occupations of tillage, of felling wood, and of", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0069.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "36\\nTHE BOERS AND KAFFIRS.\\nbuilding dwellings, are performed by the women, whose life, after\\nmarriage, is indeed one of bondage.\\nThe bartering practiced at a fair is worth}- of notice. The\\nKaffir having articles to dispose of, sits down amidst his comrades,\\nwaiting the approach of a colonial dealer, who produces his beads\\nand other species of traffic. Neither party understands the other s\\nlanguage, yet it seldom happens that an interpreter is present.\\nShould the beads or other commodities offisred not be con-\\nEXPLORER DINING WITH A KAFFIR CHIEF.\\nsidered b}- the Kaffir sufficient for the transfer of his own produce,\\na shake of the head adequately denotes his dissatisfaction. ^lore\\nbeads, perhaps, are then added on the one side, dissent being still\\nmanifested on the other, until, as the dealer is not disposed to\\nmake any further advance, the affair terminates, without agree-\\nment, to the vexation of the bead merchant, whose time and patience\\nhave been so unprofitably exhausted but to the utter indifference\\nof the Kaffir, whose imperturbable coolness is an additional source\\nof chagrin to the unsuccessful bidder.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0070.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS AND KAFFIRS. 37\\nA second and a third dealer often display their ornamental\\ntreasures with similar failure, and it not infrequently happens that\\nthe tenacious Kaffir departs without disposing of his commodity,\\nwhich he brings to the next fair, and perhaps exchanges ultimately\\nfor articles of less number and value than had previously been\\noffered.\\nWhen a bargain of any magnitude is concluded, the chief is\\ngenerally at hand to substantiate his claim, considering himself\\nentitled to a certain portion of the profits as his tribute, in con-\\nsequence of his territory having been made the scene of traffic.\\nHis retainers are therefore dispersed throughout the fair, to watch\\nthe various negotiations, and summon their chief at the close of\\nany considerable bargain, no fraction of the payment being touched\\nby the salesman before his arrival. The chief is sometimes extor-\\ntionate.\\nA traveler having expressed to an interpreter his surprise\\nthat on one occasion a Kaffir should have submitted, without\\nremonstrance, to the greedy demands of the chief Gaika, he shook\\nhis head significantly, and, showing his mutilated hand, replied,\\nI once ventured to remonstrate with him myself, when he flew\\ninto a rage, and would have thrust his assagai through m} body,\\nhad I not parried the javelin with my hand, and luckily escaped\\nwith the loss of my thumb. I am not taking any risks.\\nSAMPLE OF SOUTH AFRICAN JUSTICE.\\nA different story is told of the chief Macomo. An English-\\nman, being dissatisfied with the conduct of a slave he had brought\\ninto Kaffraria from the Cape Colony, after some altercation and\\na few strokes from his whip of rhinoceros hide, carried him before\\nMacomo, the chief of a tribe near the river Keissi. Here the\\nmaster and slave filed cross bills against each other. The slave\\nproduced Avitnesses to prove that his master had abused and struck\\nhim without cause; and the master accused the slave of laziness,\\ninsolence, and disobedience, and demanded that he should be\\npunished by a severe flogging.\\nMacomo, having heard both parties, informed them that in", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0071.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "38 THK BOERS AND KAFFIRS.\\nKafFraria there are no slaves, and that he mnst therefore consider\\nthem nierel} as two men who had made a bargain with each other.\\nNow, it appears, said he to the Englishman, that 3 on have\\nstrnck this man, and otherwise ill-treated him bnt you can show no\\nproof that he had injured you by offering 3 ou violence. I therefore\\ndeclare your bargain at an end. He is free to go where he pleases,\\nand you shall pay him an ox for the wrong you have done him.\\nThe decision liiglil}- incensed the Englishman, who refused to\\nsubmit. He deserved punishment, not reward, said he, for his\\ninsolence. You have not proved that, said Maconio but had\\nit been so, j-ou should have brought him to me. Why do I sit\\nhere, if need be, from sunrise to sunset It is to decide between\\nman and man in cases where their anger blinds them, and hinders\\ntheir judgment. If men use their hands in. secret, instead of their\\ntongues before the judge or the old men, whose life would be worth\\na husk of corn There would be no safety then for any one.\\nDIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ELEPHANT AND A DEER.\\nThe traveler replied that he would not argue the matter with\\nAlacomo, as he was ignorant of the usages of civilized life, and\\ndid not understand the rights of property. I will complain of 3 our\\nconduct, he added, to Major Somerset, the commander of the\\nfrontier, who will soon show you the difference between an elephant\\nand a deer. To this taunt IMacomo calmly replied, I know that\\nSomerset is stronger than I am. He is an elephant, but neither I\\nnor ni} father has been called a deer. You say that 3 our people\\nare wiser than ours. You do not show it in appealing from reason\\nto force. ^Vhen 5^ou return to the colon}-, the magistrate will decide\\nbetween you here it can go no further. Give him the ox, he\\nadded it will be better for 3-011. The ox was given.\\nThe tribes of South Africa, like the Indians of North America,\\nthe natives of Ceylon, and man}- other wideh- separated people,\\nhave their rain-makers, who pretend to command the clouds b3\\nmeans of certain magic charms of which the3- have the secret.\\nThese impostors have most power in countries which are sub-\\nject to frequent droughts, and where the people depend for subsist-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0072.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS A^ND KAFFIRS. 39\\nence on corn or cattle. Such is the case with the Kaffirs, among\\nwhom the belief prevails that rain can be withheld or granted at\\nthe will of their rain-doctor.\\nThey therefore seek the aid of one of them with much cere-\\nmony. The chief and his attendant warriors proceed in state to\\nhis dwelling with presents of cattle and after signifying their re-\\nquest, they institute a feast, which often lasts many days, during\\nwhich the impostor pretends that he is using his magic charms.\\nOne of the devices is to collect a few leaves of each kind of\\ntree from a neighboring forest, to be simmered in large pots over a\\nfire, and then to kill a sheep by pricking it in the heart with a long\\nneedle, while the series of superstitious ceremonies is passed through.\\nAs the simmering goes on and steam arises, it is supposed to ascend\\nand render the clouds propitious, so that the needed showers de-\\nscend. Meanwhile the dance is joined in by all the tribe; it is\\ncontinued throughout the day, and when midnight comes it still\\ngoes on it may be accompanied with songs, in which the praises of\\nthe rain-maker are shouted in a long-continued chorus.\\nSTRANGE METHODS OF THE RAIN-MAKERS.\\nThis act, however, is often premature for the rain-maker fails\\nthe young corn often withering for want of the genial and refresh-\\ning showers. Other expedients are then tried. Thus, a large\\ncircle is formed of young men they encompass the side of a moun-\\ntain which the antelopes love to haunt, and, gradually contracting\\ntheir range, they commonly succeed in taking captive several of\\nthese little animals. Their voices are supposed to attract rain.\\nThe cunning practitioner, trusting not to any natural sounds, urges\\nthem round the kraal, and calls forth their screams by pinchings\\nand other tortures. Should all his efforts prove abortive, he seeks\\nsafety, like other impostors, in flight, when, on the continuance of\\ndrought, the aid of some other of his tribe is eagerly coveted.\\nWhen visitors arrive wanting aid, he often amuses them by\\npretending to work his witcheries, and they are, at length, dis-\\nmissed with a variety of instructions, on the due observance of\\nwhich the expected boon is made to depend. These instructions", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0073.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "40 THE BOERS AND KAFFIRS.\\nare generally of the most trivial nature they are not to look back\\non their journey home or they are not to speak or they are to\\ncompel ever} one the}^ meet to return home with them and so on.\\nIf rain occurs, the credit, of course, is assumed by, and conceded\\nto, the rainmaker if disappointment ensues, they blame themselves\\nfor not having adequatel} carried out the instructions they received.\\nThe idle ceremou}^ is again repeated the poor people have\\nagain to make presents, to feast, and to receive instructions thus\\nmuch time is consumed, during which the season of drought fre-\\nquently passes away. One of the most intelligent of the Kaffirs\\nonce visited a missionary, Mr. Shaw, and said he was determined\\nto have the question set at rest, whether or not the rainmaker could\\nproduce rain. We will have our rainmaker summoned to meet\\nyou in an open plain, where all the Kaffirs of the surrounding\\nkraals shall be present to judge between you and him.\\nEASY EXCUSES FOR FAILURE.\\nThis was agreed to, and at the appointed time and place thou-\\nsands of Kaffirs from the neighboring country appeared in their\\nwar-dresses. Mr. Shaw being confronted A^-ith a celebrated rain-\\nmaker, declared openly that God alone gave rain and offered to\\npresent the rainmaker with a team of oxen if he should succeed in\\ncausing any to descend within a certain specified time. This was\\naoreed to the rainmaker commenced his ceremonies, which are\\nsaid to have been well calculated to impose on an ignorant and\\nsuperstitious people. The time ha\\\\ ing expired without anj^ signs\\nof rain, the chief who had convened the meeting inquired of the\\nrainmaker wh}- he had so long imposed upon them The rain-\\nmaker evaded the question, and complained that he had not been\\npaid well enough for the rain, and he appealed to all present to say\\nwhethei rain had not alwa3 s been forthcoming on proper remuner-\\nation.\\nj\\\\Ir. Shaw now pointed out some half-famished cattle belonging\\nto the rainmaker which were to be seen on an adjacent hill starving\\nfor want of pasturage thus clearl}^ proving that had he possessed\\nthe skill to which he pretended, it was not likely he would have", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0074.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "THE BOKRS AND KAFFIRS. 41\\nneglected his own interests. To this the rainmaker adroitly replied,\\naddressing the people I never found any difficulty in making\\nrain till he came among us (pointing to Mr. Shaw) but now,\\nno sooner do I collect the clouds, and the rain is about to fall in\\ncopious showers on the dry and parched soil, than there immediately\\nbegins a sound of ting^ ii ^g-^ ^if^g (alluding to the chapel bell),\\nwhich puts the clouds to flight, and prevents the rain from de-\\nscending on your land. Mr. Shaw could not decide as to the effect\\nof this ingenious plea on the majority of the Kaffirs but he had\\nthe satisfaction of knowing that the intelligent native who consulted\\nhim on the subject never made any more presents for rain.\\nFRIGHTFUL WAR-DANOE.\\nSteedman describes an occasion when Gaika, the Kaffir chief,\\naccompanied by his wives, and a large retinue of attendant warriors,\\nhad been permitted to enter Fort Wiltshire, on the Keiskamma\\nRiver, and were exhibiting to its inmates the peculiar and terrific\\nwar-dance of his tribe.\\nThis, he says, was a performance, indeed, far more adapted\\nto astonish than to please, exciting alarm rather than admiration,\\nand displaying in rapid succession the habits and ferocious passions\\nof a savage community. Let the reader picture to himself a hun-\\ndred or more unclad Africans, besmeared and disfigured with copious\\ndefilements of red clay, and assuming with frantic gestures all the\\ncharacteristic vehemence of a furious engagement. The dance\\ncommenced with a slow movement to a sort of humming noise from\\nthe women in the rear, the men stamping and beating time with\\ntheir feet, until the gradual excitement occasioned a simultaneous\\nspring with corresponding shouts, when the action proceeded to an\\nunnatural frenzy, and was calculated to produce in the mind of a\\nstranger the most appalling sensations.\\nThe dusky glare of the fire blazing in front of these formid-\\nable warriors, during their wild and unearthly evolutions, gave an\\nadditional degree of awful effect to this extraordinary scene and\\nall that I had ever read in poetry or romance of the Court of Pan-\\ndemonium, or the Hall of Bblis, fell infinitely short to my imagi-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0075.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "42\\nTHE BOERS AND KAFFIRS.\\nnation, compared witli tiie realities before me. It was indeed a\\nmost seasonable relief amidst tbe bewildering fancies of tbe\\nmoment, to bear tbe gratifying sound of All s well from tbe sen-\\ntries on tbe outposts of tbe fort, wbicb imparted to tbe mind a feel-\\ning of security and composure tbat, as may well be conceived, was\\ntruly welcome.\\nA traveler, wisbing to survey tbe scenery in tbe vicinity of\\nHERD OF SPRINGBOKS IN Wh h I^LIGHT.\\ntbe Wbite river, started one morning before sunrise, and set out on\\nborseback on an exploratory ramble, accompanied by a Hottentot\\nguide on foot, equipped witb bis gun and bunting gear. Tbe sun\\nbad not yet risen over tbe busby bills as tbey proceeded down tbe\\nvalley, and every tree and flower was brigbt and sparkling witb\\ndew, diffusing a grateful feeling of fresbness in tbis tbirsty land,\\nwbere rain is precarious and often long denied.\\nTbe ricb fragrance of tbe wild African jessamine, clustering", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0076.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS AND KAFFIRS. 43\\nwitli its white flowers around the rocks and aged trees, agreeably\\nattracted attention, and recalled the thoughts of the traveler to far\\ndistant scenes, where he had seen the same beautiful shrub, or a\\nspecies nearly resembling it, naturalized in the rigorous clime of\\nBritain. Blue-bells, too, almost precisely similar to those of the Scot-\\ntish braes, were growing among the tangled brushwood through\\nwhich they wound their way and a small bird now and then chirped\\na few wild notes, which so much resembled the preluding quiver of\\nthe wood-lark, as to be almost startling. But the song died away\\nin a feeble trill, and all again was silent, save the cooing of turtle-\\ndoves, which, even in the autumn of South Africa, is continually\\nto be heard at early morn, in a woodland country, and which pro-\\nduces a soothing, though somewhat monotonous, effect.\\nVAST FOREST OF EVERGREENS.\\nAfter proceeding a mile or two down the river, they struck\\ninto a path on the left hand, which led into the bosom of a jungle,\\nbehind the woody heights which bound the White river on the\\nsouth. The path on which they now entered led them along a sort\\nof valley, or rather avenue, through the forests of evergreens and\\nbrushwood, which covered the undulating country as far as the eye\\ncould reach. This avenue consisted of a succession of grassy\\nsavannahs, often of large extent, opening into each other through\\nthe jungle, and affording a wide range of excellent pasturage for\\nthe herds of the settlement.\\nIt had, however, the disadvantage of being destitute of water,\\nexcepting after heavy rains and another serious drawback was the\\nextreme hazard to which the cattle pastured in it, as well as their\\nkeepers, were exposed during the disturbances with the Kaffirs, in\\nconsequence of the extent of jungle that surrounds it. Of this\\ndanger sufficient demonstration was exhibited to the traveler by\\nhis guide pointing out, as they passed along, the spot where, a few\\nyears before, nine of his comrades were slaughtered, and of which\\nhe gave the following account.\\nDuring the irruption of the Kaffir clans, after the invasion\\nand devastation of their country by the Colonial Government in", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0077.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "44 THE BOERS AND KAFFIRS.\\n1819, tlie mountains and forests of the Zureberg were occupied by\\nnumerous marauding bands of tbese barbarians, who poured them-\\nselves into the colony in a state of great exasperation, resolved\\neither to recapture the cattle of which they had been plundered, or\\nto indemnify themselves by carrying off those of the colonists. They\\nhad already several times menaced the Moravian village of Bnon with\\nnightly attacks and as it was well known that parties of them were\\nlurking in the vicinity, the cattle of the community were constantly\\nguarded by ten or twelve of the most courageous and sturdy Hot-\\ntentots armed with guns.\\nThe Kaf rs had no other arms than kirries and assagais,\\nthat is, clubs and javelins and they knew from experience that\\nthese herdsmen were unerring marksmen, and that their own\\nweapons and mode of warfare were but ill-fitted to compete with\\nthe firelock. They had determined, however, at all hazards, to\\npossess themselves of the fine herd of cattle belonging to the set-\\ntlement, and in their attempt they proved successful.\\nA HORRIBLE MASSACRE.\\nThe Hottentots had one day driven the cattle up this avenue\\ninto one of the open spots, or woodland prairies, already described,\\nand observing no fresh traces of the enemy, seated themselves in\\na group, about a hundred paces from the side of the jungle, and\\nbegan to smoke their pipes, each with his loaded gun lying down\\nbeside him on the grass.\\nThe Kafiirs, who were eagerly watching all their motions\\nfrom the neighboring heights, judged that this was a favorable\\nopportunity to attack them. Creeping through the thickets, with\\nthe stealth}^ pace of the panther, they advanced cautiously to the\\nskirts of the copse-wood nearest to the herdsmen and then\\ncrouching in silence till they observed them eagerly engaged in\\nconversation, and with their faces turned in a different direction,\\nthe}^ burst out upon them suddenly, with their frightful war-whoop.\\nPouring in a shower of javelins as they rushed forward, they almost\\ninstantly closed, club in hand, with the few not already transfixed\\nby their missiles.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0078.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "tnU BOERS AND KAFElRg. 45\\nSo sudden and unexpected was tlie onset, tliat only two of tlie\\nten Hottentots had time to fire. Two of tlie assailants fell but\\ntlieir loss was bloodily avenged by tbe slaughter of nine of the\\nherdsmen, one of their number escaping by flying to the jungle,\\nwith two javelins sticking in his body and the cattle of the settle-\\nment, to the amount of upwards of a thousand head, became a prey i\\nto the enemy.\\nThe men thus slain were among the best and most industrious\\nof the little community, and all of them left wives and families to\\ndeplore their untimely fate. The event overwhelmed the settle-\\nment with lamentation and dismay and as the cattle were the\\nchief support of the inhabitants, and as an attack on the village\\nwas nightly anticipated, the Moravian institution was soon after-\\nwards abandoned, and its inmates took refuge in the district town\\nof Uitenhage, where they were received with much sympathy, and\\ntreated with great kindness both by the inhabitants and the gov-\\nernment functionaries. From this place of refuge they subse-\\nquently returned to further carry on their work.\\nFAMOUS SLAUGHTER TREE.\\nAs a rude wagon track approaches a glep, the path is closed\\nin on either side for a considerable distance by the tall jungle, so\\nluxuriant in its growth that one would suppose even a wolf or a\\nleopard would scarcely be able to find a way through it. The path\\nitself, originally tracked out by the elephants, appears to have been\\nwidened by the axe just sufficiently to allow a single wagon to pass\\nalong, and it now formed the only access on this side to the upper\\npart of the glen. This pass is called the Slagtboom; and it is\\nsaid to have acquired its name from the following occurrence\\nMany years before the Kaffirs were dispossessed of this part\\nof the country, and finally driven over the Great Fish River, the\\nchief Congo and his clan occupied the White River valley and the\\nfastnesses of the adjacent mountains in great force. During one\\nof the struggles that ensued, in consequence of Congo s attempt\\nto maintain himself in possession of this district, a party of seventy\\nor eighty Boers were sent to occupy this glen, while other troops", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0079.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "46\\nTHE BOERS AND KAEl^IRS-\\nenvironed tlie Kaffir camp from the opposite side. The Boers rode\\nin without opposition through this pass but, finding the enemy\\nstronger than they expected, the}^ became alarmed, and attempted\\nto retreat by the same road.\\nThe Kaffirs, however, who on this occasion showed themselves\\nto be not destitute of military skill, had in the meantime blocked\\nSCENE IN A SOUTH AFRICAN VIIvLAGE-\\nup the narrow path by stretching a large tree across it near the\\ncentre, and fastening it with thongs and wattles at either end;\\nand then stationing themselves in strong bands among the copse-\\nwood, they attacked the Boers on all sides, as soon as they had\\nfairly entered the defile, with showers of javelins, and slew a great\\nnumber of them before they were able to force a passage through.\\nFrom this blood}^ catastrophe the spot obtained the name of\\nSlagtboom or Slaughter Tree.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0080.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "ThK BOKRS and KAI^I^IRS. 47\\nIn 1811 a great effort was made by the colonial government\\nto expel the Kaffirs from this quarter of the country, which they\\nclaimed as their own, having occupied it, in fact, for the greater\\npart of a century, and having, as they alleged, and it is believed\\ntruly, twice purchased it first from the Hottentots, and afterwards\\nfrom the Boers. Their claim of possession, however, whether just\\nor otherwise, the colonial government had determined not to re-\\ncognize, and orders were suddenly issued to invite them to\\nevacuate this territory, and, if they refused immediate compliance,\\nto drive them by fire and sword across the Great Fish River.\\nCRUEL TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIRS.\\nAt the time when the colonial troops assembled to carry this\\norder into execution it was in the summer, when the corn and\\nvegetables of the Kaffirs were not fully ripe and the hardship of\\ntheir being obliged to abandon their crops, and, consequently, to\\nsuffer a twelve months scarcity, during which many must perish\\nof absolute famine, was urgently pleaded to obtain a short respite.\\nTheir remonstrances, however, were not listened to the peremptory\\nmandate was given to remove instantly.\\nDuring these transactions, while the Kaffirs were highly ex-\\nasperated by what they considered cruel and oppressive treatment,\\nand were beginning to assume a very hostile attitude, the chief\\nmagistrate of the district, old Landdrost Stockenstrom, sought a\\nconference with some of the principal chiefs, with the benevolent\\npurpose of endeavoring to persuade them to evacuate the country\\npeacefully, in order to avoid the devastation and bloodshed that\\nmust otherwise ensue. Mr. Stockenstrom was much respected by\\nthe Kaffirs, on account of the justice and humanity he had dis-\\nplayed when disputes had occurred between them and the colonists\\nand, trusting to their characteristic good faith, he had repeatedly\\nventured among them with a very slender escort.\\nIt was reported that on the present occasion, for an interview\\nwas not declined, a message was secretly sent him by one of the\\nchiefs warning him not to trust his safety at that time among\\nthem. This warning, however, as well as the earnest dissuasions", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0081.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "48 THE BOERS AND KAEFIRS.\\nof some of his own people, Stockenstrom, thougli a cautious as well\\nas a brave man, disregarded, and met tlie Kaffirs in tlie forest of\\nthe Zureberg with only about a dozen or fifteen attendants.\\nWhether the chiefs who acceded to this meeting were accessory\\nto any premeditated plan of treachery does not appear to have been\\nclearly ascertained, but certain it is that Stockenstrom and his j\\nparty were suddenly attacked in one of the dangerous defiles of the\\nforest, near the spot appointed for the conference, and most of\\nthem massacred. One of the few who escaped saved his life by\\nflying into the forest and creeping through the thickets like a\\njackal, as he expressed it, until he reached a place of safety.\\nMURDERED IN COLD BLOOD.\\nThis perfidious slaughter appears, on satisfactory evidence,\\nto have been perpetrated by a band of the Ammadankee tribe, a\\nbroken clan, who entertained an inveterate, deadly animosity to-\\nwards the colonists, of the origin of which the following account is\\ngiven About the year 1770, the Boers of Bruin tjes-hoogte invited\\nthe Ammadankee clan of Kaffirs, of whom Jalumba was then chief,\\nto meet them on the western bank of the Great Fish River, for\\nthe purpose of holding a consultation on some public matters. The\\nAmmadankee attended the meeting, where a peaceable conference\\nwas held, and they were entertained with brandy and tobacco.\\nAfter which the Boers said they had brought a costly present\\nfor their good friends, the Kaffirs and, having placed some rush\\nmats on the ground, they spread upon them a profusion of beads,\\nand invited their visitors to make a scramble and display their\\nactivity in picking them up on a signal being given. The Boers then\\nretired a little distance to where their guns were lying loaded with\\ntwo or three bullets each. The promised signal being given by the\\nVeld-cornet Botman, the Kaffirs, dreading no guile, rushed upon\\nthe beads, overturning one another in their eagerness to seize a\\nshare of these tempting trinkets. At this instant the Boers, seiz-\\ning their firearms, poured in a volley on their unsuspecting visitors\\nwith so destructive an aim that very few, it is said, escaped the\\nmassacre.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0082.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0083.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "TRANSVAAL ARTILLERY FIRING ON THE ENEMY AT GLENCOE", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0084.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR GEORGE WHITE\\nCOMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES IN NATAL", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0085.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "THE TRANSVAAL CRISIS-BOERS HELIOGRAPHI NG ON THE FRONTIER", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0086.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "BRITISH MOUNTED INFANTRY RECONNOITERI NG IN NATAL", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0087.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0088.jp2"}, "89": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0089.jp2"}, "90": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0090.jp2"}, "91": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0091.jp2"}, "92": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0092.jp2"}, "93": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS AND KAEl^IRS. 49\\n^he residue, having lost their chiefs and their principal men,\\nbecame a broken clan, abandoned the banks of the Fish River,\\nand sought refuge in the Zureberg with their chief Congo and\\ntheir countrymen of the tribe of Tinde; and it was some of the\\ndescendants of this unfortunate family, who, remembering that day\\nof treachery and murder, now seized the opportunity of revenging\\nthe wrongs of their race on the colonists. A son of their old op-\\npressor, Botman, was among the slain.\\nWhen the Cape Colony, by the events of war, passed finally\\ninto British hands, it was occupied by a Dutch population, be-\\nyond the limits of whose somewhat circumscribed settlements\\nresided various tribes of native origin, thinly scattered and curiously\\nmixed. The Bushman was probably the earliest tenant of the soil\\nbut he had receded before the Hottentot, and the Hottentot before\\nthe Kaffir until the actual occupation of the country had come to\\nbe determined by a species of conquest. Then the frontier of the\\ncolony was defined towards the northeast by the course of the\\nOrange River, beyond which the jurisdiction of the British Gov-\\nernment was not presumed to extend.\\nSETTLEMENT OF A NEW COUNTRY.\\nAlthough the European settlers were but thinly planted on the\\nterritory, yet the irresistible exigencies of pastoral life induced a\\nfew of the colonists as early as 1825 struggle across the Orange\\nRiver in quest of fresh fields and more productive pastures but it\\nwas not till eleven years later that the emigration in this direc-\\ntion assumed any serious proportions. Then, however, occurred an\\nexodus which, in relation to the numbers of the colonial population,\\nwas really considerable, and in its character and consequences more\\nimportant still.\\nThe Dutch farmers, or Boers, had become actively hostile to\\nBritish rule. Without speculating on the cause of this enmity, it\\nwill be enough to say that a large body of them crossed the frontier,\\nand fought their way through dangers and difficulties, until they\\nreached Natal, where they proceeded to establish a Batavian Re-\\npublic. Such an event naturally demanded the attention of the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0093.jp2"}, "94": {"fulltext": "50 THE BOERS AND KAFFIRS.\\nBritisli Government, for tlie Boers were Britisii subjects, and tlieir\\nmigration Had been accompanied by alarming disturbances on tbe\\ncolonial border.\\nIt was at tbat time, as it always lias been, tbe professed policy\\nof England to put limits on her territorial progress, to avoid, if pos-\\nsible, the extension of her dominion, and to preclude the risks of\\nwar and its results by cultivating the good will and amity of the\\nchiefs beyond the frontier. But her precautions in this respect\\nwere utterly nullified by the proceedings of the Boers, who, assum-\\ning, as was in fact the case, that the tribes claiming a general\\nownership in the soil had little better title than themselves, showed\\nsmall scruple or consideration in selecting their new settlements\\nand the result appeared accordingly in confusion, discord, blood-\\nshed, and peril.\\nTo extirpate these elements of danger the British followed the\\nBoers to Natal, asserted their sovereignty in that province, and left\\nNatal to become a British settlement, dependent on the Crown\\nColony of the Cape. Upon this, the Boers, animated by an invin-\\ncible fanaticism, wheeled off to the west, crossed the Drakenburg\\nrange of mountains, and established themselves in the spacious\\ndistrict to the north of the British possessions between the Orange\\nand Vaal rivers, and there set up a permanent home.\\nSUPREMACY OF BRITISH AUTHORITY.\\nIn this region they maintained their institutions for some\\ntime, though always under the same conditions of conflict and\\nwith similar liabilities on the part of the colonial government.\\nAt length, in the year 1848, when Sir Harry Smith was Governor\\nof the Cape, another step was taken. In the exercise of his admin-\\nistration he discovered a disposition on the part not only of the\\nnative chiefs, but, as it appeared, on that of the Boers also, to place\\nthemselves immediately and actually under British sovereignty.\\nAt that time the Boers seem to have acquired the ascendancy,\\nand to have alarmed the chiefs for the safety of their possessions,\\nthough the contest was still stubbornly maintained on both sides\\nbut the upshot of the negotiations was that the supremacy of the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0094.jp2"}, "95": {"fulltext": "THE BOKRS AND KAl^I^IRS. 51\\nBritisli Government was definitely and directly proclaimed. Tliese\\nmeasures were but half agreeable to tbe authorities at home, who\\nwere impressed with a laudable horror of extending obligations\\nwhich had already been found to carry with them so heavy a charge.\\nHowever, as it was represented that England s supremacy would\\nbe sincerely welcomed by both parties, and that its exercise would\\ncost nothing, the position was accepted, and the settlements of the\\nBoers became attached to the Cape Colony as the Orange River\\nSovereignty.\\nSix months sufficed to show that the misgivings of the Home\\nGovernment were well founded, for in August, 1848, Sir Harry\\nSmith was suddenly called upon to quell something like an insur-\\nrection in the new sovereignty. In this he succeeded, but when,\\nsome two years later, a fresh Kaffir war broke out, it became pres-\\nently evident that the Orange River Sovereignty would aggravate\\nEngland s troubles. The chiefs quarreled with each other, and all\\nquarreled with the Boers, while both sides, instead of deferring to\\nBritish authority, found their sole ground of agreement in plotting\\nagainst the protectorship they had invited.\\nInto the events of the Kaffir war, commenced by Sir Harry\\nSmith, and concluded by General Cathcart, we do not enter but\\none of the consequences of the contest was, that after a demonstra-\\ntion of power the British retired from the Orange River Sovereignty,\\nevacuated the country, and left the Boers to establish there a Free\\nState, adjacent to which, and beyond the river Vaal, there was\\nalso erected a Trans- Vaal Republic.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0095.jp2"}, "96": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER III.\\nWhite Settlers and the Zulus.\\n(5 I HK history of the Boers in South Africa is largely connected\\n^1 with that of savage tribes, among whom the most powerful\\nare the Kaffirs and Zulus. Strictly speaking, the Kaffirs\\ninclude the Zulus, the latter being a subdi\\\\dsion of the former.\\nThey are a branch of the great Bantu division of the human\\nfamily, among whose sections the aggregate tribes or clans now\\ngenerally known as the Zulus are conspicuous for their physical and\\nintellectual development.\\nBy nature the men are brave, and are given to field sports,\\nand, where opportunity offers, to border forays and intertribal\\nstrife. A noticeable feature in their nature is that when a fight is\\nreally ended, bitterl}^ and bravely as it usuall}^ is fought, no pas-\\nsions appear to remain, nor are feelings of revenge harbored\\nagainst each other. The Zulu government is that of a pure demo-\\ncrac}^, the chiefs being elected, and holding office during the plea-\\nsure of the people.\\nThis pleasure is given expression to through parents to\\nsubheads of districts, through them to the heads of larger dis-\\ntricts, and through them in turn to the chief direct. Legisla-\\ntion occurs in the same way, through an expression of feeling\\nfrom the body of the people to the chief through the heads of the\\ndistricts. A very complete, though unwritten, code of law, civil\\nand criminal, exists, and is well known to every adult Zulu.\\nPolygamy is practiced throughout the country, and has been since\\ntime immemorial. The marriage-tie, however, with the tenth ol\\ntwentieth wife is as sacred as where there is only one. As a race\\nthe Zulus are conspicuous for their freedom from drunkenness and\\ncrime. The pursuits of the people are pastoral.\\nZululand is a territory of South Africa, lying to the north of\\nthe colony of Natal, with a coast line of about 130 miles. It is\\n52", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0096.jp2"}, "97": {"fulltext": "WHITE SETTLERS AND THE ZUIvUS. 63\\noccupied chiefly by Zulu tribes but since its conquest by England\\nin 1 8 79 a Boer republic, known as the New Republic, has been\\ncarved out of it, which extends into the centre of the country from\\nthe Transvaal on its northwest, and comprises an area equal to\\nnearly one-half of the remaining portion of Zululand.\\nThis portion is composed of a strip of country adjacent to\\nNatal, lying to the south of the Umhlatuzi river, and the district\\nextending along the coast to the north of that river for a distance\\ninland var3dng from fifty to seventy miles. The former piece of\\ncountry has been known since 1882 as the Zulu Reserve. It is\\nbounded on the southwest by the Tugela, Buffalo and Blood rivers,\\nthe last named being one of the borders of the Transvaal. Republic.\\nPICTURESQUE AND DIVERSIFIED SCENERY.\\nZululand presents very varied physical features undulating\\ncountry covered with mimosa bush, in some parts very densely,\\nalternates with wild and fantastically broken scenery, and thickly-\\nwooded precipices and ravines, and these again with grass-clad hills.\\nTwo considerable forests exist in the country one, the Ingonie\\nForest, lying in northern Zululand, just within the territory ceded\\nto the Boers, the other upon the Natal border. The wholesale de-\\nstruction of woods for domestic purposes, which has robbed that\\ncolony of much of its beauty, and is believed to have seriously\\naffected its rainfall, has not proceeded very far in Zululand.\\nThe mineral resources of the country have yet to be investi-\\ngated, but gold has been found in the Reserve. The rivers, like\\nthose in Natal, are rapid streams of small volume, running over\\nrocky beds the Tugela river is the most considerable. The cli-\\nmate differs but little from that of Natal. The country is very\\nhealthy for the most part but horse sickness prevails in the val-\\nleys in the hot season, and the swampy neighborhood of San Lucia\\nBay, a lagoon lying at the mouth of the Umfolosi river, is unin-\\nhabitable.\\nLike the Natal natives, the Zulus cultivate the ground very\\nsuperficially, planting maize, gourds of several kinds, and a grain\\nfrom which a light beer is prepared. Cattle, the sole wealth of the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0097.jp2"}, "98": {"fulltext": "64 WHITE SETTLERS AND THE ZULUS.\\npeople, were at oue time very numerous in the country, and also\\ngoats. A few of the chiefs use horses.\\nLong after big game had become scarce in Natal^ Zululand\\noffered excellent opportunities to the sportsman. It still has ante-\\nlopes of various kinds, including a few koodoo, and at the mouths\\nof the more northern rivers, hippopotamuses but the buffalo and\\nrhinoceros are not met with farther south than the densely -wooded\\nhills near the Umfolosi river. The lion is not seen south of the\\nLebombo I^Iountains in the north of Zululand, but the leopard and\\nsmaller carnivores are plentiful enough in the countr}^ Its natural\\nhistory is similar to that of Natal but indications are not wanting\\nin its fauna and flora of its closer proximity to the tropics.\\nA FIERCE ENEMY IN WAR.\\nSince the establishment of the Zulu military ascendanc}^ early\\nin the nineteenth century varous Zulu hordes have successively^\\ninvaded and overrun a great part of southeast Africa, as far as and\\neven beyond the Lake Nyassa district. Such is the terror inspired\\nby these fierce warriors that many of the conquered tribes have\\nadopted the very name of their conquerors or oppressors. Hence\\nthe impression that the true Zulus are far more numerous north of\\nthe Limpopo than has ever been the case. In most places they\\nhave already become extinct or absorbed in the surrounding popu-\\nlations. But they still hold their ground as the ruling element in\\nthe region between the Limpopo and the lower Zambesi, which\\nfrom them takes the name of Matabeleland, and which, like Zulu-\\nland itself, in 1888, became a British protectorate.\\nThe Zulus possess an elaborate s^-stem of laws regulating the\\ninheritance of personal property (which consists chiefly of cattle/,\\nthe complexity arising from the practice of polygamy and the ex-\\nchange of cattle made upon marriage. The giving of cattle in the\\nlatter case is generall}^ referred to as a barter and sale of the bride,\\nfrom which indeed it is not easily distinguishable. But it is regarded\\nin a different light by the natives themselves.\\nThe kraal, or village, is under the immediate rule of its head-\\nman, who is a patriarch responsible for the good beha\\\\4or of all its", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0098.jp2"}, "99": {"fulltext": "M\\nlyw\\n%-x^\\nJffHf.*s^J", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0099.jp2"}, "100": {"fulltext": "56 WHITE SETTLERS AND THE ZULUS.\\nmembers. Over the headman, whose authority may extend to more\\nthan one kraal, is the tribal chief. The exercise by some of the prin-\\ncipal chiefs, during the reign of Pande and his son, of the power of life\\nand death could not alwa3? S be controlled b}^ the central authority.\\nSeveral of the Zulu customs resemble those of the Jews, such\\nas the Feast of the First Fruits, held upon the ripening of the maize,\\nwhen the whole nation gathers at the king s kraal, and the custom\\nof raising up seed to a deceased brother. The employment of\\nwitch doctors for smelling out criminals or abatagati\\n(usually translated mzards, but meaning evildoers of anj^ kind,\\nsuch as poisoners) is still common in Zululand, as in neighboring\\ncountries, although it was discouraged by Cetewayo, who estab-\\nlished kraals of refuge for the reception of persons rescued by\\nhim from condemnation as abatagati.\\nFIGHTING STRENGTH OF THE TRIBE.\\nNo means exist for estimating the present population of Zulu-\\nland. The country was at the time of the war in 1879 regarded as\\nless densel}^ inhabited than the colony of Natal. The Zulu army\\nwas estimated to contain twenty-three regiments, of 40,400 men in\\nall, and, although the enrolment was voluntar3% it maj^ be assumed\\nthat it comprised nearly all the able-bodied men of the nation. In\\naddition to the heavy mortalit}^ sustained by the Zulus in the war\\nman} lives have been lost in subsequent conflicts in which they\\nhave enQ:aQ;-ed amouQfst themselves.\\nThe earliest records of contact between Europeans and the Zulu\\nrace is probabl} the account of the wreck of the Doddington in\\n1756. The survivors met with hospitable treatment at the hands of\\nthe natives of Natal, and afterwards proceeded iip the coast to St-\\nLucia Bav, where they landed. They described the natives as very\\nproud and haught3% and not so accommodating as those latel}^ left.\\nThej^ differ from the other natives in the superior neatness of their\\nmethod of preparing their food, aud were more cleanl}^ in their\\npersons, bathing every morning, apparently as an act of devotion.\\nTheir chief pride seemed to be to keep their hair in order. It is\\nadded that they watched strictly over their women.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0100.jp2"}, "101": {"fulltext": "WHITE SETTlyERS AND THE ZUI^US. 57\\nIn 1780 the Zulu tribe inhabited the valley of the White Unr\\nfolosi river under the chieftainship of Senzangakona. At that time\\nthe Zulus numbered some few thousands only, being subject to the\\nparamount chief Dingiswayo, who ruled over the Tetwa tribe, which\\ninhabited the country to the northeast of the Tugela. Dingiswayo\\nis represented as having been very much in advance of other chiefs\\nin those parts in enlightment and intelligence. He opened up a\\ntrade with the Portuguese, bartering ivory and oxen for beads and\\nbrass. He was also very warlike, and introduced a strict military\\norganization among his people, by means of which he obtained the\\nascendancy over neighboring tribes, including that of the Zulus.\\nA SOUTH AFRICAN NAPOLEON.\\nUpon the death of Senzangakona at tlie beginning of the nine-\\nteenth century he was succeeded by a son named Tshaka, who had\\nserved as an officer in the army of Dingiswayo, whose favor he won\\nthrough his force of character and talents. Dingiswayo having\\nbeen killed in battle, the Tetwa tribe sought the protection of\\nTshaka, who lost no time in further developing the new military\\norganization, and very soon became master of nearly the whole of\\nsoutheastern Africa from the Limpopo to Cape Colony, including\\nthe settlement of Natal, Basutoland, a large part of the Orange\\nFree State, and the Transvaal Republic. The terror of the Zulu\\narms was, moreover, carried far into the interior through the revolt\\nof a Zulu chief, Moselekatse, who conquered a vast territory towards\\nthe northwest.\\nTshaka s strict discipline and mode of attack, in which the\\nlong missile weapon of the- other tribes was replaced by a short\\nstabbing assegai, was such that nothing in the mode of warfare of\\nthose opposed to him could withstand him. He overran the district\\nof Natal with his armies in 1820 but crowds of the northern tribes\\ndriven before his onslaught passed through the country about 181 2.\\nIn 1825 English naval officer, Lieutenant Farewell, visited\\nTshaka with the object of obtaining leave to establish a settlement\\nin what is now the district of Natal. He found the king at his\\ncapital surrounded by a large number of chiefs, and about 8,000", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0101.jp2"}, "102": {"fulltext": "58 WHITE SBTTlvERS AND THE ZULUS.\\nor 9,000 armed men, observing a state and ceremony in our intro-\\nduction that we little expected. The king showed his visitor\\nmuch friendliness, making him a grant of land in that neighbor-\\nhood. Lieutenant Farewell took formal possession of the territory\\nh^ had received, which he described as nearly depopulated and not\\ncontaining more than 300 or 400 inhabitants, on August 27, 1825.\\nThe Zulu monarch, being anxious to open a political connec-\\ntion with the Cape and English Governments, entrusted in 1828\\none of his principal chiefs, Sotobi, and a companion to the care of\\nLieutenant King, to be conducted on an embassage to Cape Town,\\nSotobi being commissioned to proceed to the king of England.\\nFrom causes which are not now certainly known these people were\\nnot allowed to proceed beyond Port Elizabeth, and were soon sent\\nback to Zululand. On September 23, 1828, Tshaka was murdered\\nby his brother, Mhlangana, and a few days afterwards Mhlangana\\nwas killed by another brother, Dingane.\\nAMBITIOUS TO FOUND A GREAT KINGDOM.\\nTshaka s reign had involved an immense sacrifice of human\\nlife, but he had set before himself the aim of establishing a great\\nkingdom, and, having succeeded in that, his home rule had been\\nrelieved by acts of generosity and statesmanship.\\nWhat is recorded of Dingane s reign shows him in the light of\\na bloodthirsty and cruel monster without a redeeming feature. The\\nattempts made by the emigrant Dutch Boers under Piet Retief to\\nestablish friendly relations with him, and obtain a cession of the\\ndistrict of Natal, ended in the massacre of the whole party of\\nseventy of their leading men at the king s kraal February, 1838,\\nand of all members of their families left behind in Natal who\\ncould not be collected into fortified camps. Two unsuccessful\\nattempts were made to avenge the deaths of the emigrant Boers. A\\nDutch command under Pieter Uys invaded the Zulu countrj^, but\\nwas compelled to retreat, leaving their leader behind them, while a\\nconsiderable force, composed of English settlers, Boers and natives,\\nentered Zululand at the mouth of the Tugela, and was completely\\nannihilated, after inflicting very great loss on the Zulus.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0102.jp2"}, "103": {"fulltext": "WHITE SETTI.KRS AND THE ZUI^US. 59\\nA detachment of the Zulu army on this occasion entered Natal\\nand compelled the settlers at the port to take refuge on board a\\nship. After a further attack by Dingane the emigrant Boers and\\nsettlers again invaded Zululand in December, 1838, and after a\\nsevere engagement defeated the Zulu army with great slaughter, on\\nthe banks of the Blood river, which owes its name to the results of\\nthe victory. In 1840 the Boers agreed to support Dingane s brother,\\nPande, in rebellion against him. The movement was completely\\nsuccessful, several of Dingane s regiments going over to Pande.\\nDingane passed into Swaziland in advance of his retreating forces,\\nand was there murdered, while Pande was crowned king of Zulu-\\nland by the Boers, who received in exchange for their services the\\nmuch coveted district of Natal.\\nDuring the next sixteen years of Pande s reign nothing oc-\\ncurred to disturb the peaceful relations between the Zulus and the\\nNatal Government. In 1856 a civil war broke out between two of\\nPande s sons, Cetewayo and Umbulazi, who were rival claimants\\nfor the succession. A bloody battle was fought between them on\\nthe banks of the Tugela in December, 1856, in which Umbulazi\\nand many of his followers were slain.\\nCORONATION OF A NEW KING.\\nThe Zulu country continued, however, excited and disturbed,\\nuntil the Government of Natal in 1861 obtained the formal nomi-\\nnation of a successor to Pande and Cetewayo was appointed.\\nPande died in October, 1872, but practically the government of\\nZululand had been in Cetewayo s hands since the victory of 1856,\\nowing both to political circumstances and the failing health of his\\nfather.\\nIn 1873 the Zulu nation appealed to the Natal Government to\\npreside over the installation of Cetewayo as king and this request\\nwas acceded to. The rule of Pande was in earlier years a severe\\none, the executions ordered by him being so numerous in 1859\\nto evoke remonstrances from Cetewayo, who warned the king that\\nbe would drive all the people over into Natal. In 1856 and for\\nsome years afterwards, a considerable exodus of refugees did take", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0103.jp2"}, "104": {"fulltext": "60 WHITE SETTLERS AND THE ZUIvUS.\\nplace into the colony, but by 1871 the tide appeared to be turning\\ntbe other way.\\nThe encroachments of the Transvaal Boers upon the borders\\nof Zululand having for many years exposed the British Govern-\\nment to urgent appeals on the part of the Zulus for its interven-\\ntion, a second attempt was made by the Government of Natal, and\\nthis time with success, to induce the Boers to submit the boundary\\ndisputes between them and their neighbors to arbitration. A commis-\\nsion was appointed, composed of three British officers, who in June,\\n1878, pronounced a decision substantially in favor of the Zulus.\\nBut the high commissioner, Sir Bartle Frere, had determined upon\\nmeasures for re-modeling the Zulu nation with a view to the con-\\nfederation of the South African colonies and states.\\nANGRY FEUDS AND TERRIBLE BATTLES.\\nThe invasion of Zululand took place in January, 1879, and\\nthe war was ended by the capture of the king at the end of August.\\nCetewayo having been conveyed to Cape Town, the Zulu country\\nwas portioned out among eleven Zulu chiefs^ a white adventurer,\\nand a Basuto chief who had done good service in the war. This\\nArrangement was productive of much bloodshed and disturbance,\\nand in 1882 the British Government determined to restore Cete-\\nwayo again to power. In the meantime, however, the deepest blood\\nfeuds had been engendered between the chiefs Zibebu and Hamu on\\nthe one side and the neighboring tribes who supported the ex-king\\nand his family on the other.\\nThese people suffered severely at the hands of the two chiefs,\\nwho were assisted by a band of white free-booters. Zibebu, having\\ncreated a formidable force of well-armed and trained warriors, was\\nleft in independence on the borders of Cetewayo s territory, while\\nthe latter was restrained by the conditions of his restoration from\\nany military enterprise or defensive measures. A collision very\\nsoon took place but in the conflicts that followed Zibebu s forces\\nwere victorious, and on July 22, 1883, led by a troop of mounted\\nwhites, he made a sudden descent upon Cetewayo s kraal at Ulundi,\\nwhich he destroyed, massacring the inmates of both sexes.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0104.jp2"}, "105": {"fulltext": "WHITE SBTTI.KRS AND THE ZUIvUS. 61\\nTHe king escaped, tliougli wounded, into the Reserve, whicli\\nhad been placed under British rule there he died in 1884. He left\\na son, Dinuzulu, who sought the assistance of some of the Trans-\\nvaal Boers against Zibebu, whom he defeated and drove into the\\nReserve. These Boers, not a large number, claimed as a stipulated\\nreward for their services the cession of the greater part, and the\\nmore valuable part, of central Zululand. The Government of\\nNatal attempted to mediate on behalf of the Zulus and accepted on\\ntheir behalf, in spite of their protests, a line which roughly divides\\ncentral Zululand into two equal portions. Of these the north-\\nwestern has been created into the independent Boer state already\\nmentioned. The rest of central Zululand is administered, with\\nthe Reserve, as a British protectorate and dependency.\\nWHAT IF THE ZULUS RISE?\\nWhen the war of 1899 broke out a careful observer of events\\nin South Africa said Should the Zulus seize the opportunity\\noffered by the Transvaal war to strike for freedom, England would\\nhave her hands full. Should the bold Basutos join arms with their\\nfierce cousins, South Africa would become hot soil for the British\\nfoot for many long months to come. Both of these uprisings are\\nthreatened both are greatly feared. The Zulu situation in par-\\nticular is watched with anxious eye. England for awhile was over-\\nmatched in the last Zulu war, and victory was bought in the end\\nwith rivers of English blood. Scarcely any greater misfortune\\ncould come just now than an uprising such as this.\\nThe Zulu is undoubtedly the best native fighter of South\\nAfrica. He is physically a splendid savage fierce, powerful and\\nenduring. Add to this the memory of a magnificent past, the tra-\\nditions and courage of a race unwhipped except by white men, and\\nby them only at fearful odds, and you have a worthy foeman. The\\nZulus yielded to the sway of England through force indeed, but the\\nfight they made then was one to keep alive the hope of a better\\nending for renewed struggle.\\nThe secret of the Zulu power lies, first in organization, and,\\nsecond, in the tradition of victory. Organization under the great", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0105.jp2"}, "106": {"fulltext": "(V2 WHITE SKTTLERS AND TIIlv ZULUS.\\ncluoUaiii Tsliaka at the bogiiiuing of the niiictoontli coiituiy gave\\nthorn their lust superiority over other savage tribes, and au imeiid-\\ning series o( \\\\ietones for half a eeiitury or more produced a race of\\nrare courage and warlike prowess. The story of it describes the\\nZulu of tcvday.\\nWhat is uow knowu as Zululaud a wild countr3% bouuded on\\nthe uorth by the Trausvaal, ou the south aud west by Natal, and\\non the east by the sea was then divided among several savage\\ntribes, of which the Zulus were one of the weakest. As we have\\nseen, the chief of a neighboring tribe, the Umtetwas, plotted the\\nmurder of his two sons, one of whom, however, escaped, and in his\\nwanderings fell in with the British, the organization of whose forces\\nhe noted with shrewd nnderstanding. After his Other s death he\\nreturned to his tribe, was nuide chief, and proceeded to organize his\\nwarriors into brigades, regiments and companies, British fashion,\\nand had remarkable success in warfare.\\nA CHIEFTAIN OF G-REAT ABILITY.\\nl^Jue of his lieutenants was a youth of fierce and restless energ3\\\\\\nHe was the sou of a conquered chieftain and his name was Tshaka.\\nHe studied the organization of the Umtetwa ami} zealousl3% and\\nsaw in it wonderful things not accomplished by his wise but mild\\nchieftain. He made up his mind that some daj his own chance\\nwould come.\\n\\\\Vinniug cousidemtion, Tshaka w^as finally, as a reward,\\nappointed chief of the weak tribe of Zulus. He organized them\\nperteetlv, and when the chief of the Umtetwas was killed in battle\\nTshaka announced the independence of tlie Zulus and upheld it\\nby force.\\nThis done Tsliaka started in to make the Zulu power supreme.\\nHe attacked his weaker neighbors first, and with every victor}- ab-\\nsorbed the young warriors into his own army and destroyed the\\nold men, women and children. In this waj his own army grew\\nmar\\\\-ellously, and his conquered neighbors lost recuperative power\\nand eventually identity.\\nHe dividcvl his vouui^- w-arriors into regiments, disdngiiishing", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0106.jp2"}, "107": {"fulltext": "WHITE SHTTLKRvS AND Tl-IE ZUI^US. 68\\neach regiment by different colored shields, and established with re-\\nwards a competitive spirit among regiments. He trained them to\\nadvance and attack in solid formation, something new in Sontli\\nAfrican savage warfare, and he developed the close qnarters attack\\nwith the short stabbing assegai or spear, so generally nsed among\\nSonth African tribes.\\nThen he established an inviolate law that any soldier return-\\ning from battle without assegai or shield, or with a wound in the\\nback, should be executed as a coward. By another law young\\nsoldiers were forbidden wives until after long service, unless mean-\\ntime they earned them by distinguished bravery in the field.\\nAbsolute discipline was inculcated. An expedition never knew\\nits destination and purpose until far from home. In attacking the\\nfirst onslaught was always in solid formation, supported on either\\nside by wings of skirmishers. Flank movements were a regular\\nmanoeuvre, and as effective in savage as in civilized warfare.\\nZULUS EVERYWHERE VICTORIOUS.\\nIt can easily be seen how the ^ulus, under such a system,\\nswept all before them. The undisciplined savages of the plains\\nand forests went down like grain before the reaper. And every\\nnew tribe subjugated was ruthlessly amalgamated into the vic-\\ntorious nation. The Zulus swept the coast, subjugated Natal and\\npushed their fierce, bloody sway far inland. The terror of their\\nname passed far north and far south.\\nNor was there limit to their ravages until the Dutch settled\\nin Natal. Then began a series of fierce fights in which the white\\nman and the rifle finally triumphed and the Zulu j^owerwas broken,\\nor at least reduced to the point of non-interference with the move-\\nments of the Dutch and the English, who soon after swarmed over\\nthe land. But while taught to respect the white man, the Zulu\\nnursed his traditions, his pride and his ferocity. It was a disgrace\\nin his eyes to labor except in the prosecution of war. Under Cete-\\nwayo, the great chief whose power England broke in a war in\\nwhich she met several terrible reverses and lost hosts of splendid\\nmen, the Zulu was at heart the Zulu of the great Tshaka s days.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0107.jp2"}, "108": {"fulltext": "64 WILITK SKTTLI :rS AND THK ZULUS.\\nAnd this is tlie people wlio now threaten to avail of England s\\ntronbles to regain their freedom. They are the same in spirit and\\nare rich in resentment. For years tlie}^ have nnrsed their wrongs.\\nWhat the} have lost in savage fierceness by a generation of peace-\\nful snbjectiou, is more than matched b}^ their gains in knowledge.\\nThey still retain their teiTible stabbing assegai, bnt the} have\\nadded the rifle, and are splendid marksmen. The}^ dream of re-\\nstoring the splendors of their past, and if the} rise can be counted\\na terrible foe.\\nThe only occupation is the raising of cattle. There are 8,900\\nsquare miles in the district and the government is a British protec-\\ntorate. The Basutos, while by no means the peers in war of the\\nZulus, occupy a strong position. Basutoland is bounded by Cape\\nColony, the Orange Free State and Natal. They have discouraged\\nthe white man, and there are only 600 Europeans in their entire\\nterritory. The country is a splendid grain producer, and the\\nBasutos are thrifty and rich. There are wild mountain districts\\nto ser\\\\ e in time of need.\\nThey were once a warlike power of some consequence, and in\\n1 879 they stood off England in a war over disarmament to a com-\\npromise by which the Cape Government has since paid them\\n590,000 a year toward the cost of government. They are in large\\nmeasure self-governing of course, under British dictation and\\nenjoy a considerable measure of ci\\\\ ilizatiou. About fifty thousand\\nout of a population of two hundred and twenty thousand have\\nbeen converted to Christianity.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0108.jp2"}, "109": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IV.\\nManners and Customs of the Boers.\\n(SThe\\nHH traveler Burchell met with mucli hospitality from opulent\\nJl Dutch farmers in South Africa, but even among those of the\\nlowest class, there was ever a readiness to open the door to\\nthe hungry and benighted stranger. In the family of a farmer of\\nthe middle class, whose dwelling did not indicate much of either\\nafEuence or comfort, but v/hose members appeared contented and\\nhappy, he spent a short time. The following particulars are taken\\nfrom his observations.\\nThe situation of the house was bleak and exposed, and there\\nwas not much display of art or culture around. It was situated on\\na wide flat, bounded by rocky mountains. One large room, having\\na mud floor, and a single glazed window, whose broken panes\\nbetokened the scarcity of glass, formed the principal part of the\\nhouse. At one end were the bed-rooms, and at the other a very\\ndeep and wide fire-place, exactly resembling that of an English\\nfarm-house.\\nAs the Boers often find it better econom}^ to consume the sheep\\nin their own families, and convert the fat into soap, to be sold at\\ntheir annual visit to Cape Town, than to sell the animals at a low\\nprice, a large cauldron of boiling soap stood over this fire. A door\\nin the back wall of the apartment opened into the kitchen. At the\\ntime of the traveler s visit, a small window near the fire-place was\\nkept constantly closed with a wooden shutter, to exclude the cold\\nwind, as it had neither sash nor glass.\\nNear the glazed window stood a small table, and on it a little\\nold-fashioned coffee-urn, an article in constant use. On each side\\nof the table were two homely-looking chairs, for the use of the\\nmaster and mistress. A few chairs and benches, with a large din-\\ning-table, were duly ranged round the room. A large Bible and a\\nfew books lay on a shelf.\\n5 65", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0109.jp2"}, "110": {"fulltext": "66 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOKRS.\\nThe three daughters of the farmer were under the instruction\\nof an itinerant tutor, who had been, for several months, an inmate\\nof the family. He could make himself understood in English and\\nFrench, and appeared full} able to complete the education of such\\na family as was gathered round him. He was a native of Holland,\\nand had passed the last twenty-nine years of his life in Cape\\nColony. Teachers of this class are scattered everywhere through-\\nout the South African Republics. Their abilities, in many\\ninstances, are too humble to allow of their getting a living in their\\nnative land by the same occupation. They generall}^ traverse a\\ngreat portion of the colonies for their usual stay at each house is\\nonl}^ from six to twelve months, and in this time they must engage\\nto finish their pupils in what the village school-master called\\nthe three js reading, riting, and rithmatic.\\nREADY MARKET FOR CATTLE.\\nThe head of this famil}^ emplo3? ed his farm only in rearing\\ncattle, for the purchase of which he was visited by a slagter s\\nknegt a butcher s man. This person was commissioned by his\\nemployer in Cape Town, to travel into the grazing district, and\\nbuy up the number of sheep or oxen he might require, paying,\\nhowever, not in mone}- but in small notes of hand, previously\\nsigned by his employer, and the validity of which was certified at\\nthe fiscal s office. Such notes were considered as good as cash, into\\nwhich the} were converted b} the grazier on taking them to town,\\nor they were sometimes negotiated in pa3^ment with his neighbors.\\nThe inland traffic connected \\\\vith Cape To\\\\vn was long carried\\non with much risk and difficult3^ on account of its remote position\\nat the extreme comer of the countr} and of the miserable state of\\nthe roads b}^ which it was approached. The barrenness and defi-\\nciency of pasturage in the tract of land lying around the town ex-\\nposed the Boer s or Dutch farmers, trading there to serious incon-\\nvenience.\\nThose residing at a distance of five or six hundred miles,\\ngenerallj made but one journe}^ there in the course of a 5^ear.\\nOn such occasions, the vehicles which conveyed them had much", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0110.jp2"}, "111": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS. 67\\nthe appearance of a traveling menagerie for, in addition to the\\nprincipal members of the family, there were poultry, goats, sheep,\\ndogs, monkeys, and other animals. A musket or two, with ammu-\\nnition, were taken, not only to afford means of protection, but also\\nto procure game for subsistence by the way.\\nThe wagon bearing this motley group, drawn by a team of\\neight, ten, or even sixteen oxen, with the immoderately long whip\\nof the driver, and the paked figure of a little negro leading the\\nforemost pair, presented to a stranger in the country a novel and\\namusing spectacle. The driving seat was considered an honorable\\npost but the office of leading the oxen was looked on as degrading\\nto any but a native.\\nBetween the capital and the cultivated districts lie the exten-\\nsive plains, commonly called the Cape Downs, which were and are\\ntraversed by numberless roads and wheel-tracks in every direction.\\nThe soil is composed of loose white sand on a substratum of clay,\\nsupporting only a few stunted shrubs and rushes. A few solitary\\nhuts are scattered here and there.\\nOX TEAMS FROM UP COUNTRY.\\nFrom the general barrenness of the country, the travelers\\noften stop but a single day at Cape Town. After having come the\\ndistance of perhaps twenty days journey, they cross the barren\\nheath already described, and frequently outspan, as they call it,\\nor unyoke, at Salt River, to be ready to enter the town at day-\\nbreak the next morning. Thus they are often able to sell their\\nproduce, and to make the purchases they require during the day,\\nand immediately set out on their return home.\\nAnother Boer rejoiced in a more extensive domain. The\\nvisitor descended from the ridge of a mountain, by a steep and\\nstony path, tracked out by the hartbeests, elands, and other large\\ngame, and followed the rugged course of a solitary brook, or rather\\ntorrent, for the greater part of its bed was now dry, until, after a\\nride of about three hours, he reached the farm of Blands -drift, in\\nthe valley of the Tarka, and the residence of Winsel Koetzer.\\nOn riding up to the place, consisting of three or four thatched", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0111.jp2"}, "112": {"fulltext": "68 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS.\\nhouses and a few reed-cabins, iuliabited b}- tlie native servants, lie\\nwas encountered by a host of some twenty or thirty dogs, which\\nhad been lying about in the shade of the huts, and now started up\\naround him, open-mouthed, with a prodigious barking and clamor,\\nas is generally the case at ever} farm-house on the approach of\\nstrangers. In daylight these growling guardians usually confine\\nthemselves to a more noisy demonstration but at night it is often\\na matter of no small peril to approach a farm-house, for many of\\nthese animals are both fierce and powerful, and will not hesitate to\\nattack a stranger, if in their eyes, he has the ill-luck to appear in\\nany way suspicious, or is contemplating mischief.\\nA MOTHER AND BASHFUL GIRLS.\\nThe noise of the dogs brought out Arend Koetzer, one of the\\nfarmer s sons, from the principal dwelling-house, a fine, frank\\nyoung fellow. Seeing the visitor thus beset, he came instantly to\\nhis help against the canine rabble, whom he discomfited with great\\nvigor, by hurling at them a few of the half-gnawed bones and bul-\\nlocks horns which were lying in scores about the place. An in-\\ntroduction now took place to the -oung Boer s mother and sisters\\na quiet looking matron, and two bashful girls, who appeared\\nfrom one of the outhouses. Wil IMynheer aff-zadel Will\\nthe gentleman unsaddle was the first inquirj The visitor\\nreadil}^ agreed, intending, indeed, though it was still early in the\\nafternoon, to spend the night at this farm.\\nOn entering the house, he found that the old Boer had not 3 et\\nrisen from his afternoon nap, or siesta, a habit which is generall}\\nprevalent throughout the colony. He was not long, however, in\\nmaking his appearance and, after shaking hands with a sort of\\ngruff heartiness, he took down a bottle of brand}^ from a shelf, and\\nurged his visitor to drink a zoopje (dram) with him, declaring\\nit was good brandiw^yn, distilled by himself from his own\\npeaches. The spirit, which was colorless, had something of the\\nflavor of bad whisk} but the visitor preferring a cup of thee-\\nwater, it was in the meantime prepared and poured out for him by\\nthe respectable and active-looking dame.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0112.jp2"}, "113": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS. 69\\nThis tea-water (properly enough so termed), was made by a\\ndecoction, rather than an infusion, of the Chinese leaf, and which,\\nbeing diluted with a certain proportion of boiling water, without\\nany admixture of milk and sugar, was offered to every visitor who\\nmight chance to arrive during the heat of the day. A small tin\\nbox with sugar-candy is sometimes handed around with the tea-\\nwater, from which each person takes a little bit to keep in his\\nmouth, and thus to sweeten, in frugal fashion, the bitter beverage\\nas he swallows it.\\nDuring this refreshment, the visitor carried on a tolerable fluent\\nconversation, in broken Dutch, with his host and his huis-vrouw,\\nand he gratified them not a little by communicating the most recent\\ninformation he possessed of the state of European politics, respect-\\ning which old Koetzer was very inquisitive,\\nA BARN OP A HOUSE.\\nThe domicile of this family would not, probably, have sug-\\ngested any ideas of peculiar comfort to an American. It was a\\nhouse somewhat of the size and appearance of an old-fashioned\\nScotch barn. The walls were thick, and substantially built of\\nstrong adhesive clay a material which, being well prepared or\\ntempered, in the manner of mortar for brick making, and raised\\nin successive layers, soon acquires, in a dry climate, a great degree\\nof hardness, and is considered scarcely inferior in durability to\\nbrick.\\nThese walls, which were about eight or nine feet high, and\\ntolerably smooth and straight, had been plastered over within and\\nwithout with a composition of sand and cow-dung, and this being\\nwell white-washed with a sort of pipe-clay, or with wood-ashes\\ndiluted with milk, the whole had a very clean and light appearance.\\nThe roof was neatly thatched with a species of hard rushes,\\nwhich are considered much more durable and less apt to catch fire\\nthan straw. There was no ceiling under this roof; but the rafters\\nover-head were hung with a motley assemblage of several sorts of\\nimplements and provisions, such as hunting apparatus, bill-\\ntongue (that is, dried flesh of various kinds of game), sjamboks", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0113.jp2"}, "114": {"fulltext": "70 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS.\\n(large whips of rhinoceros and hippopotamus hide), leopard and\\nlion skins, ostrich eggs and feathers, strings of onions, rolls of\\ntobacco, bamboo for whip handles, calabashes, and a variety of\\nsimilar articles. A large pile of fine home-made soap graced the\\ntop of a partition wall.\\nThe house was divided into three apartments the one in which\\nthey were now seated (called the voor-huis opened immediately\\nfrom the open air, and is the apartment in which the family always\\nsit, eat, and receive visitors. A private room or slaap-kamer is\\nformed at either end of this hall, by partitions of the same height\\nand construction as the outer walls running across, and having\\ndoors opening out of the sitting-room.\\nA PECULIAR FLOOR.\\nThe floor, which, though made only of cla} appeared uncom-\\nnionl} smooth and hard, was formed of ant-heaps, which, being\\npounded into dust, and then watered and well stamped, assume a\\nconsistency of great hardness and tenacitJ^ The floor was care-\\nfully washed over every morning, in order to keep it cool and free\\nfrom vermin especiall} fleas, which are apt to become an intoler-\\nable pest in this countr3^\\nThis house was lighted by four square windows in front, one\\nin each of the bed-rooms, and two in the voor-kamer, and by the\\ndoor, which appeared only to be shut during the night. The door\\nconsisted merel}^ of some reeds, rudel}^ fastened on a wicker frame,\\nand fixed to the door-posts by thongs of bullock s hide. The win-\\ndows also were without glass, and were closed in the night, each\\nwith the untanned skin of the quagga, or Arild ass.\\nThe furniture amounted to little more than a dozen of chairs\\nand stools, bottoms formed of thongs, and a couple of tables, one\\nlarge and roughly constructed of common plank from the geel-\\nhout tree, the other small, and more highly finished of ornamental\\nwood. At the smaller table was the station of the old dame, who\\nhad before her a brass tea-urn and the other apparatus, whence she\\ndispensed the beverage already mentioned. Opposite her sat the\\nbaas (as the Hottentot attendants called their master), with the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0114.jp2"}, "115": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS. 71\\nflask of bfandiwyn at liis elbow, and his long clumsy Dutch tobacco-\\npipe in his mouth.\\nAt the further end of the apartment, a couple of wooden pails\\nbound with bright polished hoops of brass, were suspended from\\ncrooked antelope s horns built into the wall these pails were filled\\nwith spring-water, and had bowls of calabash affixed to them, in\\norder that whoever was athirst might drink with facility. Sour\\nmilk, however, is the favorite beverage in this country; and when\\nthat is to be had, no one drinks water. In another comer stood a\\nhuge churn, into which the milk is poured every night and morn-\\ning until it is filled, when it is churned by two negro women.\\nIn the same end of the hall, part of the carcass of a sheep was\\nsuspended from a beam two sheep, and sometimes more, being\\nslaughtered for daily consumption the native herdsmen and their\\nfamilies, as well as the farmer s own household, being chiefly fed\\non mutton, at least during summer, when beef could not be salted.\\nThe carcasses were hung up in this place, it appeared, chiefly to\\nprevent waste, by being constantly under the eye of the mistress,\\nwho, in this country, instead of the ancient Saxon title of giver\\nof bread levedy, whence our English term of lady), might be\\nappropriately called the giver of mutton.\\nANIMAL AND VEGETABLE POOD.\\nMutton, and not bread, is here the staff of life and they think\\nit no more odd to have a sheep hanging in the voor-huis, than a\\nfarmer s wife in America would to have a ham in the smoke-house.\\nAt this very period a pound of wheaten bread in this quarter of\\nthe colony was six times the value of a pound of animal food.\\nIn regard to dress, there was nothing very peculiar to remark.\\nThat of the females, though in some respects more slovenly, resem-\\nbled a good deal the costume of the lower classes in Europe. The\\nmen wore long loose trowsers of sheep or goat-skin, tanned by the\\nservants, and made in the family; a check shirt, a jacket of coarse\\nfrieze or cotton, according to the weather, and a broad-brimmed\\nwhite hat completed the dress. Shoes and stockings appeared not\\nto be essential to either sex, and were seldom worn,", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0115.jp2"}, "116": {"fulltext": "72 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OK THK BOKRS.\\nSandals, however, of a certain kind, called conntry shoes,\\nare in counnon nsc, the tashion of which appears originally to have\\nbeen borrowed from the Hottentots. They are made of raw bnl-\\nlock s hide, with an npper leather of dressed sheep or goat-skin,\\nninch in the same way as the old brognes of the Scottish high-;\\nlanders. They do not last long, bnt they are light and easy in dry\\nweather: every man can make his own sandals, and the leather\\ncosts little or nothing.\\nThe visitor, having previonsly heard that the indnstrions\\ndame, the Jnftronw Koetzer, sometimes mannfactnred leather\\ndresses for sale, bespoke a traveling jacket of dressed spring-\\nbnck skin, the latter to be faced with leopard-fnr, the price of\\nwhich, altogether, was abont \u00c2\u00a3ve dollars. He also purchased the\\nskin of a leopard, which one of the yonug Koetzers had lately\\nshot, for abont a ponnd of gnnpowder.\\nAN INQUISITIVE HOUSEHOLD.\\nOld Koetzer and his fomily, like the old Dntch colonists gen-\\nerally, were extremely inqnisitive, asking a great variety of ques-\\ntions, some of them on very trifling matters. Americans are apt\\nto feel annoyed at this practice, bnt withont any snflicient cause.\\nThough it betokens a lack of refinement, it is not at all allied to\\nrudeness or impertinence it is simply the result of untutored\\ncuriositv in the manners of people living in a wild and thinlj\\ninhabited conntry, to. whom the sight of a stranger is a rare\\nevent, and by whom news of any description is welcomed M-ith\\navidity. Instead, therefore, of haughtily or sullenly repelling their\\nadvances to mutual confideuee, the visitor answers all their ques-\\ntions with good humor, including those that respected his owm\\nage, the number, names, and ages of his flimily and relations, the\\nobject and extent of his present journey, and such like.\\nIn return, he plied them with similar interrog-ations, to all of\\nwhich they not only replied with the utmost openness, but seemed\\nhighly delighted with his frankness. In this manner he soon\\nlearned that his host had eight or ten brothers, all stout frontier\\ngT-ainers like himself, and all with numerous families. His own", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0116.jp2"}, "117": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS. 78\\nfamily consisted of six sons and as many daughters, several of\\nwhom were married, and settled in the neighborhood. Two of his\\nsons, with their wives and families, were now living at this place\\nin cottages adjoining the house.\\nThe old dame stated that she was herself by birth a Jourdan^\\nand was descended from one of the French Huguenot families\\nwho settled in the colony after the revocation of the Edict of\\nNantes. Her father, she said, could speak French but she her-\\nself knew no language but Dutch. Her manner and address,\\nhowever, retained something of French urbanity and politeness,\\nwhich the Belgian bluntness of her husband rendered the more\\nobvious.\\nHaving exhausted the usual topics of country chat, the visitor\\nsuggested a walk round the premises, and sallied forth, accom-\\npanied by the Boer and his son Arend. They first went to the\\norchard, which was of considerable extent, and contained a variety\\nof fruit trees, all in a thriving state. The peach-trees, which were\\nnow in blossom, were the most numerous but there were also\\nabundance of apricot, almond, walnut, apple, pear and plum trees,\\nand whole hedges of figs and pomegranates.\\nGROVES OF LEMON AND ORANGE TREES.\\nThe outward fence, when there was any, consisted of a hedge\\nof quinces. There was also a fine grove of lemon and a few\\norange trees. The latter required to be sheltered during the\\nwinter, until they had attained considerable size, the frost being\\napt to blight them in this upland valley. All the other fruits\\nwere raised with ease peach trees would bear fruit the third year\\nafter the seeds had been put in the ground. From the want of\\ncare and skill, however, in grafting, few of the fruits in this part\\nof the colony were of superior sorts, or of delicate flavor. The\\npeaches especially, were but indifferent but as they were chiefly\\ngrown for making brandiwyn, or to be used in a dry state, excel-\\nlence of flavor was but little regarded.\\nTwo mulberry trees, which were planted in front of the house,\\nwere large and flourishing, and produced an abundance of fruit.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0117.jp2"}, "118": {"fulltext": "74 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS.\\nThis was not tlie wild or white miilberr}^ raised in Europe for feed-\\ning silk worms but the latter sort thrives also very well in differ-\\nent parts of the country.\\nThe garden, if it deserved the name, was ver}^ deficient in\\nneatness, but contained a variet}^ of useful vegetables a large plot\\nof beet root, some beds of very fine cabbages, and plenty of mint,\\nsage, and garlic, catching the eye. Onions were raised in great\\nabundance, and of a qualit} equal to those of Spain. Pumpkins\\nand melons were cultivated in considerable quantities. The sweet\\npotato is raised here but the common ones, though growing well,\\nappeared not to be in much request in this part of the colony.\\nUntil the arrival of English settlers, indeed, the value of this use-\\nful root was not geueralh^ appreciated by the inhabitants, and the\\nquality of the few they raised was ver}^ inferior.\\nVINEYARDS OF LUSCIOUS GRAPES.\\nSince that period, however, the cultivation of potatoes has\\ngreatly extended itself in the eastern districts, and their quality\\nhas been so much improved by the seed brought out b}^ the settlers,\\nthat they now are scarcely, if at all, inferior to our own; and the\\nprejudices with which the native population, particularly the\\nHottentots, regarded them, rapidly declined. Adjoining to the\\ngarden and orchard was a small, but well-kept vineyard, from which\\na large produce of very fine grapes was obtained, which, as well as\\nthe peaches, are chiefl} distilled into brand}^ for home consumption.\\nThe whole of the orchard, ^-inej^ard, and garden ground\\ntogether Arith about twent}^ acres of com land adjoining, was irri-\\ngated b} the waters of a small mountain rill, collected and led\\ndo\\\\\\\\Ti in front of the house bj- an artificial canal. Without irriga-\\ntion little can be done in this part of the colony and though the\\nriver Tarka passes onl}^ a short distance from the back of the\\norchard, the channel is here too deep to admit of its water being\\nled out upon the banks.\\nThe limited extent, therefore, of from twenty to thirty acres\\nwas the whole that could be cultivated on this farm, comprising at\\nleast 6,000 acres, exclusive of the waste and inappropriated tracts", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0118.jp2"}, "119": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS. 75\\nadjoining. But this is quite sufficient for the wants of a large\\nfamily the real wealth of the farm, so far as respects marketable\\ncommodities, lies in the stocks of herds which are raised on its\\nextensive pastures. This old Winsel himself hinted to his visitor\\nas, shutting up a gap in the garden hedge with a branch of\\nthorny mimosa, they issued out towards the kraals or cattle-folds\\nthe Boer exclaiming in a tone of jocund gratulation, while he\\npointed to a distant cloud of dust moving up the valley Maar\\ndaar koomt myn vee (But there come my cattle.)\\nLARGE FLOCKS AND HERDS.\\nThe appearance of the Boer folding his herds and flocks is\\npatriarchal and picturesque, and may well recall the words of the\\nancient poet\\nOn came the comely sheep,\\nFrom feed returning to their pens and folds,\\nAnd those the kine in multitudes succeed\\nOne on the other rising to the eye,\\nAs watery clouds which in the heavens are seen,\\nDriven by the south or Thracian Boreas\\nAnd numberless along the sky they glide\\nNor cease so many doth the powerful blast\\nSpeed forward and so many, fleece on fleece,\\nSuccessive rise reflecting varied light.\\nSo still the herds of kine successive drive\\nA long extended line and filled the plain\\nAnd all the pathways with the coming troop.\\nAs the Boer and his visitor were now conversing, the clouds of\\ndust which had been observed approaching from three different\\nquarters came nearer, and it was manifest that they were raised by\\ntwo numerous flocks of sheep and one large herd of cattle.\\nFirst came the wethers, which are reared for the market, and\\nare often driven even down to Cape Town, seven hundred miles\\ndistant. These being placed in their proper fold, the flock of ewes,\\newe goats, and lambs, vv^as next driven in, and carefully penned in\\nanother those having young ones of tender age being kept\\nseparate. And finally, the cattle herd came rushing on pell-mell,\\nand spontaneously assumed their station upon the summit of their", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0119.jp2"}, "120": {"fulltext": "76 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS.\\nguarded mound the milch cows only being separated, in order to\\nbe tied up to stakes within a small enclosure nearer the houses,\\nwhere they are milked by the hottentot herdsmen, after their\\ncalves, which are kept at home, had been permitted to suck for a\\ncertain period.\\nNot one of these cows, it was said, would allow herself to be\\nmilked until her calf was first put to her if the calf dies, of course\\nthere is an end to her milk for that season. This appears to be the\\neffect of habit, and might be remedied by proper management.\\nAbout thirty cows were milked but the quantity obtained from\\nthem was very small, not so much as would be got from six or eight\\nAmerican cows.\\nThe Boer and his wife, with all their sons, daughters, daugh-\\nters-in-law, and grandchildren, who were about the place, were\\nassiduously occupied, while the herds and flocks were folding, in\\nexamining them as they passed in, and in walking through among\\nthem afterwards, to see that all was right. The people thus em-\\nployed declared that though they do not very frequently count\\nthem, yet they know at once whether any individual ox is missing,\\nor if any accident has happened among the flocks, by which any\\nare lost, from beasts of prey or otherwise.\\nFLOCKS OWNED BY WHOLE FAMILY.\\nThis faculty, though the result, doubtless, of peculiar habits\\nof attention, is certainly very remarkable for the herd of cattle at\\nthis place amounted altogether to nearly 700 head, and the sheep\\nand goats (which were mingled together) to upwards of 5,000. This\\nis considered a very respectable, but by no means extraordinary,\\nstock for a Tarka grazier.\\nEvery indi\\\\adual of an African Boer s famil}^, including even\\nthe child at the breast, has an interest in the welfare of the flocks\\nand herds. It is their custom, as soon as a child is bom, to set\\napart for it a certain number of the young live stock, which in-\\ncrease as the child grows up and which, having a particular mark\\nregularly affixed to them, form, when the owner arrives at adult\\nage, a stock sufficient to be considered a respectable dowry for a", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0120.jp2"}, "121": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 01^ THE BOERS.\\n77\\nprosperous farmer s daugliter, or to enable a young man, tliougli\\nhe may not possess a single dollar of casli, to begin tbe world re-\\nspectably as a Vee Boer.\\nOn approacbing tbe cattle kraals, tbe visitor was struck by\\ntbe great beigbt of tbe principal fold, wbicb was elevated fifteen\\nor twenty feet above tbe level of tbe adjoining plain, and bis sur-\\nNATIVE OF SOUTH AFRICA CAPTURED BY A FEROCIOUS I^EOPARD.\\nprise was certainly not diminished wben be found tbat tbe mound,\\non tbe top of wbicb tbe kraal was constructed, consisted of a mass\\nof solid manure, acccumulated by tbe cattle of tbe farm being\\nfolded for a succession of years on tbe same spot.\\nTbe sbeep-folds, tbougb not quite so elevated, and under tbe\\nlee, as it were, of tbe bullocks kraal, were also fixed on tbe top of\\nsimilar accumulations. Tbe similar folds (for tbose of tbe sbeep\\nand goats consisted of tbree divisions) were all fenced in with", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0121.jp2"}, "122": {"fulltext": "78 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOKRS.\\nbrancHes of tlie thorny mimosa, wHcli formed a sort of rampart\\naround tlie margin of the mounds, and were carefully placed witli\\ntheir prickly sides outwards, on purpose to render the enclosures\\nmore secure from the nocturnal assaults of the hyenas, tigers, and\\njackals.\\nAgainst all these ravenous animals, the oxen are, indeed, able\\nto defend themselves but the hyenas, tigers, and leopards are\\nvery destructive to calves, sheep, and goats, when they can break\\nin upon them, which they will sometimes do in spite of the watch-\\ndogs kept for their protection; the cunning jackal is not less de-\\nstructive to the lambs and kids.\\nFRIGHTENING OFF LOCUSTS.\\nSome travelers, approaching the residence of a farmer, had\\ntheir attention attracted to a novel sight. Several people were\\nwaving white flags in some cultivated ground near the house. On\\ndrawing nearer they discovered that this was a method adopted by\\nthe farmer and his family to expel an army of locusts that had\\njust alighted on their corn. They had been employed since sun-\\nrise, and it was now towards afternoon, and they described the in-\\nsects as being so numerous, that it would take an hour s ride on\\nhorseback to reach the extremity of the ground that they covered.\\nNo idea can be formed of such countless multitudes, except by\\nthose who have actually witnessed them. Their appearance when\\nalighting somewhat resembles a dense crimson cloud, resting on\\nthe land, and when they rise up to proceed onward, the air is liter-\\nally darkened beneath, Hvery green herb every blade of grass\\nis destroyed in their course, and in their track there remain nothing\\nbut barrenness and desolation. Still they are turned to some use.\\nHottentots have been observed feeding fowls with locusts out of a\\nlarge sack, and it was surprising to see with what voracity they\\nwere devoured. Bushmen are particularly partial to locusts, which\\ncontribute largely to their subsistence.\\nA Boer, of the name of De Clercq, one day riding over his\\nfarm, had alighted in a dif cult pass, and was leading his horse\\nthrough the long grass, when a lion suddenly rose up before him,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0122.jp2"}, "123": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS. 79\\nat a few yards distance. He liad in liis liand only a light fowling\\npiece, loaded witli slugs and hoping that the lion would give way,\\nhe, according to the plan always recommended in such emergencies,\\nstood still and confronted him but the lion, on the contrary, ad-\\nvancing and crouching to spring, he found himself under the neces-\\nsity of firing he took a hurried aim at the forehead, but the slugs\\nlodged in the breast, and did not prove instantly mortal.\\nThe furious animal sprang forward and seized De Clercq on\\neither side with his claws, but at the same time bit his arm almost\\nin two, as he mechanically thrust it forward to save his face. In\\nthis position he held him for a few seconds, till his strength failing\\nfrom loss of blood, the lion tumbled over, dragging the Boer with\\nhim in a dying embrace. De Clercq, however, escaped without any\\nserious injury, and before long entirely recovered.\\nSEIZED BY A BIG LION.\\nGert, a Boer of the Cradock district, was out hunting with a\\nneighbor. Coming to a fountain, surrounded, as is common, with\\nwith tall reeds and rushes, Gert handed his gun to his comrade,\\nand alighted to search for water. But he no sooner approached the\\nfountain, than an enormous lion started up close at his side and\\nseized him by his left arm.\\nThe Boer, though taken by surprise, stood stock still, without\\nstruggling, aware that the least attempt at escape would ensure his\\ninstant destruction. The lion also remained motionless, holding\\nfast the Boer s arm in his fangs, but without biting it severely\\nshutting his eyes at the same time as if he could not withstand the\\ncountenance of the victim. As they stood in this position Gert,\\nmaintaining his presence of mind, began to beckon his comrade to\\nadvance and shoot the lion in the forehead. This might have been\\neasily effected, as the lion still closed his eyes, and Gert s body\\nconcealed from his view any object advancing in front of him.\\nBut the fellow proved a wretch, for instead of complying with\\nGert s directions or making any attempt to save him, he cautiously\\nretreated to the top of a neighboring rock. As the lion continued\\nquiet Gert continued to beckon for aid and lion hunters say that", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0123.jp2"}, "124": {"fulltext": "80 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS.\\nif lie had persevered a little longer, tlie lion would liave relaxed his\\nhold and left him uninjured. But Gert, indignant at his comrade s\\npusillanimity, and losing patience with the lion, drew his knife,\\nwhich he wore sheathed at his side, and with the utmost force of\\nhis right arm, plunged it into the lion s breast.\\nThe thrust was a deadly one, for Gert was a bold and powerful\\nman but it did not prove effectual in time to save his own life\\nfor the enraged lion, held at arm s length b}^ the utmost efforts of\\nGert s strciAgth and desperation, so dreadfully lacerated the breast\\nand arms of the unfortunate man with his claws, that his bare\\nbones were laid open. The lion fell at last from loss of blood, and\\nGert fell along with him.\\nHis rascally companion who had witnessed this fearful struggle\\nfrom the rock, had now sufficient courage to advance, and bore\\npoor Gert to the nearest house where such aid as the neighbors\\ncould give was afforded, but utterly in vain, Gert expired the third\\nday after tliis most courageous but frightful struggle, of lockjaw.\\nA SETTLER S THRXLLING ADVENTURE.\\nKupt, one of the settlers, proceeding with several companions\\non a journe};^ into the country, to obtain some j^oung oxen for the\\nDutch East India Company, met with the following adventures.\\nOn the arrival of the wagons, which were obliged to take a circui-\\ntous route, they pitched their tent a musket-shot from the kraal,\\nand after making the usual arrangements, went to rest. They\\nwere, however, soon disturbed for about midnight, the cattle and\\nhorses, which were standing between the wagons, began to start\\nand run, and one of the drivers to shout, on which every one, with\\nhis gun in his hand, ran out of the tent.\\nAbout thirty paces off there stood a lion, which, on seeing\\nthem, walked ver} deliberately about thirt}^ paces further, behind\\na small thorn-bush, carrying something with him, which Kupt\\nsupposed to be a young ox. The southeast wind blew strong, the\\nsky was clear, and the moon shone very bright, so that they could\\nsee clearl} and firing more than sixt}- shots at that bush, which\\nthey stoutly pierced, they could not perceive any movement.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0124.jp2"}, "125": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUvSTOMvS OK THK BOERS. 81\\nAfter tlie cattle had been quieted again, and tliey had looked\\ncarefully around, they missed Sniit, the sentry, from before the tent.\\nThey called as loudly as possible, but in vain; nobody answered,\\nand it was then concluded that the lion had carried him off. Three\\nor four men then advanced very cautiously to the bush, which\\nstood right opposite the door of the tent, to see if they could dis-\\ncover anything of the man, but returned greatly alarmed, for the\\nlion, who was there still, rose up, and began to roar they saw too,\\nthe musket of the sentry, which was cocked, and also, his cap and\\nshoes.\\nAs the bush was sixty paces from the tent and only thirty\\nfrom the wagon, and they were able to point at it as a target, they\\nfired into it about a hundred shots without perceiving anything of\\nthe lion, from which they concluded that he was killed, or had run\\naway. This induced Stamansz to go and see if he were there or\\nnot, taking with him a firebrand. But no sooner did he approach\\nthe bush, than the lion roared terribly and leaped at him on which\\nhe threw the firebrand at his assailant, and the others having fired\\nabout ten shots, he retired directly to his former place behind the\\nbush.\\nFIRING INTO A BURNING BUSH.\\nThe firebrand had fallen into the midst of the bush, and,\\nfavored by the strong south-east wind, it began to biirn with a great\\nflame, so that they could see very clearly into and through it.\\nThey continued firing into it and as the night passed away and\\nthe day began to break, every one was anxious to aim at the lion,\\nas he could not go from thence without exposing himself entirely\\nto their fire. Seven men, posted on the furthest wagons, watched\\nhim that they might fire, if he should come out.\\nAt last, before it became quite light, he walked up the hill\\nwith poor Smit in his mouth, when about forty shots were fired at\\nhim, but, although some were very near, he escaped unhurt.\\nEvery time a ball approached him, he turned round towards the\\ntent, and roared at his enemies and Kupt was of the opinion that\\nif he had been hit, he would have rushed on the people and the\\ntent.\\n6", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0125.jp2"}, "126": {"fulltext": "MANNKRv^ AXn CUSTOMS 01 TUV. BOKRS.\\nOn the arrival ofbnxxd daylig lit, they saw by the hhxxl, and a\\npiece of the ch thes ot* the man, that the lion had carried away his\\nvictim. They also tbiind behind the bush the place where the\\nlion had kept him, and it appeared excee\u00c2\u00ab.lingly strange that no\\nlx\\\\ll should have struck the lion, as several of them were beaten\\ntlat. As it w:\\\\s hoped he might have been wounded and not far\\notV, the people asked Kupt to be allowed to go in search o{ Smit s\\ncorpse, in order to bury it, supposing that by the tire that had been\\nconstantly kept up, the lion would not have had time to devour\\nmuch of it.\\nKupt giive permission to some, on condition that they should\\ntake a gvod party of armed Hottentots with them, and made them\\npromise that they would kcvp a go^xl Ux^kout, and avoid all un-\\nnecessary danger. Seven of the party, assisted by forty-three armed\\nHottentots, foUowxxi tlie track, and found the lion about half a\\nleague further on, lying behind a little bush.\\nA TERJRIBLE ENCOUNTER.\\nOn the shout of the Hottentots, he sprang- up and ran a^*ay,\\non which they all followed in pursuit. At length, the lion turned\\nn mnd and rushes.!, roaring terribly among^st the crowd. The peo-\\nple, fatigneii and out of breath with running tired, but missed him,\\non which he made directly toxAivrds theiu. Two of the people \\\\\\\\*ere\\nnow attackcii by the lion, when the captain, or chief man of the\\nkn\\\\al, threw himself lxH\\\\veen them and the lion, and that so closely\\nthat the claws of the lion ^\\\\x re struck into his sheej-v-skin g-annent.\\nInstantly the lion hunter dofRxl his mantle and stabbed the\\nlion with his spear and the other Hottentots striking into tlie lion\\ntheir s^x ^ars, Kupt says he looked like a porcupine. Still he did\\nnot leave otY rvwring and leaping but bit off some of the spears,\\nuntil Stamans.- tired a ball into his eye, which made him turn o\\\\ er\\nand the others shot him dead. This A\\\\n\\\\s a A^r large lion, and had\\nbut a short time Wfbre de\\\\x ured a Hottentot whom he had carried\\notT f:vm the kriiah\\nOn another occasion, the grass M-as exceedingly tall, and the\\ncountry ab^^uuded in spring-bucks. A Hottentot thought he per-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0126.jp2"}, "127": {"fulltext": "MANNKRvS AND CUvSTOMS OI I TlK BOIvRvS. 83\\nceived one amidst the grass, and crept closely up to it in order to\\nmake sure of his shot, when, on rising to discharge his piece, he\\nfound himself close on a large, male lion, which instantly set up a\\nloud roar.\\nHis own tale, however, was not a little amusing. I saw,\\nsaid he, a spring-buck, which I made sure of having in the pot\\nto-night but when T got close to it, I found it to be the Governor.\\nI was just going to fire, when he asked me in a loud tone, What\\nare you going to do? Oh, said T, I beg your pardon, I did not\\nknow it was your honor, or I sliould not have presumed to draw so\\nnear you I hope your honor will not consider it an insult, and I\\nshall instantly retire. So I scampered away a great deal quicker\\nthan I went to him, and made the best of the situation.\\nA NARROW ESCAPE.\\nDiederik Muller and his brother Christian were accustomed to\\nhunt in company, and between them killed a large number of lions.\\nThe} did not achieve this, however, without many hair-breadth\\nescapes, and have more than once saved each other s lives. On one\\noccasion, a lion sprang suddenly on Diederik, from behind a stone\\nwall bore man and horse to the ground, and was proceeding to finish\\nhis career, when Christian galloped up and shot the savage brute\\nthrough the heart. In this encounter Diederik was so roughly\\nhandled that he lost his hearing in one ear the lion having dug\\nhis claws deeply into it.\\nWhen the nightly depredations of a tiger have roused the\\nfarmers, the following is the course pursued The animal is tracked\\nto its lair in the thick underwood, and, when found, attacked by\\nlarge dogs. If possible, it flies but, when unable to escape, makes\\na desperate defence, raising itself above the assailants by leaping\\non a bush, and from thence striking them down with its paws as\\nthey rush in, and from its great strength and activity, frequently\\ndestroying them. But the tiger seems to know its master foe, and\\nshould a man approach within the range of its tremendous spring,\\nit at once leaves the dogs and darts upon him, and the struggle is\\nthen for life.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0127.jp2"}, "128": {"fulltext": "84 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS.\\nA native, going out early one morning, to look after cattle,\\nheard liis dogs baying at a distance in tlie jungle, and, on coming\\nup to ascertain the cause, was met b}- a tiger s spring. The tiger\\nclung, and, seizing him b} the nape of his neck, tore the skin off,\\nuntil the scalp hung over his eyes but, even in this state of tor-\\nture, the native drew his wood-knife from his belt and stabbed him\\nto the heart. In general, the man stands at a distance, waiting his\\nopportunit}^ till he can fire without injuring the dogs.\\nFIERCE COMBAT WITH A TIGER.\\nMr. Shaw, the missionary, says News was brought one\\nevening, that a horse had been laid hold of b}; a tiger and partly\\ndevoured. The chief gave orders that the hunters should be on the\\nspot at sunrise the next morning. I engaged to accompau}^ them,\\nand took my dog and gun, the Namaquas had their clubs, and all\\nthe dogs which they were able to procure. A little terrier having\\nobtained the scent, ran forward till it came to the cavern where the\\ntiger had taken up his abode. It stood at the entrance and barked,\\nnot knowing the kind of game it had been pursuing. The tiger\\nrose, and fixing its eyes on the terrier, it scampered away at its\\nutmost speed.\\nThe tiger now stood on the surface of a large sloping rock,\\nand, on seeing the other dogs, he looked angrily at them, and\\nbegan to grumble, as though he would challenge them to an attack.\\nMy own dog and two others instantly accepted the challenge, and\\na furious contest ensued. It was impossible for me to make use of\\nmy gun but at this crisis, a native, on seeing that the dogs were\\nfliithful to each other, ran and seized the tiger s tail, which he held\\nwith all his might. The tiger roared, the dogs became more\\nfurious, the men with their clubs approached and beat him on the\\nhead and thus assailed, he soon groaned his last.\\nA resident in the colonj named Bournan, was suddenh\\nattacked by a tiger, who stuck its claws into his head, aiming at\\nhis throat, that he might suck out the blood of the victim. Bour-\\nnan, an athletic and powerful man, wrestling eamestlj^ wdth his\\nfoe, succeeded in throwing: the tiser on the ground, where, for a", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0128.jp2"}, "129": {"fulltext": "MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOERS. 85\\ntime, lie held it down. He soon found, however, that the animal\\nwas too strong for him, but when about to give himself up as lost,\\nrecollected that he had a knife in his pocket. Instantly taking it\\nout, he pressed with all his might the tiger to the ground, and\\nsucceeded in cutting its throat. Bouman was covered with wounds\\nfrom which the blood during the fearful struggle copiously flowed;\\nbut though his life was preserved, it was long before his previous\\nstrength was restored.\\nThe testimony of old Teysho to a traveler entirely corresponded\\nwith what he had heard on the same subject from the Boers and\\nHottentots. The lion, he said, very seldom attacks man if unpro-\\nvoked but he will frequently approach within a few paces and\\nsurvey him steadily and sometimes he will attempt to get behind\\nhim as if he could not stand his look, but was yet desirous of\\nspringing upon him unawares. If a person in such circumstances\\nattempts either to fight or fly he incurs the most imminent peril\\nbut if he has sufficient presence of mind coolly to confront him,\\nthe animal will, in almost every instance, retire.\\nThe power of the human eye is felt by other animals. A\\nBritish officer in India, having chanced to ramble into a jungle\\nadjoining the encampment, suddenly encountered a royal tiger.\\nThe rencounter appeared equally unexpected on both sides, and\\nboth parties made a dead halt earnestly gazing on each other.\\nThe officer had no firearms, and was aware that a sword would be\\nno effective defence in a struggle for life with such an antagonist.\\nBut he had heard that even the Bengal tiger might be some-\\ntimes checked by looking him firmly in the face. He did so. In\\na few minutes the tiger, which appeared preparing to make his\\nfatal spring, grew disturbed slunk aside and attempted to creep\\nround upon him behind. The officer turned constantly on the tiger\\nwhich still continued to shrink from his glance but darting\\ninto the thicket and again issuing forth at a diiierent quarter, it\\npersevered for about an hour in this attempt to catch him by sur-\\nprise till at last it fairly yielded the contest and left the officer to\\npursue his walk. The direction he now took, it may easily be\\nbelieved, was straight to the tents, at double-quick time.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0129.jp2"}, "130": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER V.\\nThe Great Powers Dividing Africa.\\n(5 I HK scramble for Africa among the great nations might well\\nojl be called a modem movement. It was not, indeed, until\\n1884 that Europe turned anything like covetous eyes toward\\nthe Dark Continent. Up to that time the controlling powers in\\nAfrica were England and France, and even these two great colo-\\nnizers pursued their annexations in a most leisurely fashion. Por-\\ntugal, it is true, possessed some 800,000 square miles in East and\\nWest Africa, but her corrupt and feeble administrative policy in all\\ncolonial affairs made her practically a dead letter.\\nA year previously, too, the German flag had been raised by a\\nGerman private trader on the coast of Namaqualand, in South-west\\nAfrica. It was a small and apparently unpretentious incident at\\nfirst sight, but it was the thin edge of the wedge. It was the begin-\\nning of the scramble.\\nTo go back to the beginning, Africa, when the Roman empire\\nfell into decay, suffered a corresponding relapse. Her fringe of\\nseashore civilization melted away like snow, and the Roman was fol-\\nlowed by the Islamic occupation, which, by the twelfth century, had\\nfirmly established itself in the very heart of Northern Africa.\\nThen came the maritime rise of Portugal, and the first visits of her\\nadventurous seamen to the shores of the mysterious Dark Conti-\\nnent. At the end of the eighteenth century, Turkey had invaded\\nthe north, the Dutch had landed quietly at the Cape, the French\\nclaimed Senegal, and the English owned Gambia and the Guinea\\ncoast.\\nEarly in the nineteenth century, however, Europe found her-\\nself so busy at home, that Africa was for the time being forgotten,\\nand only isolated explorers carried on operations within her\\nborders. Up to 1857, when the heroic Livingstone first appeared\\non the scene, African exploration had been mainly confined to the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0130.jp2"}, "131": {"fulltext": "THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA. 87\\nNiger basin. But when Livingstone Had. once opened tlie way,\\nBaker, Stanley, Speke, Grant and Burton were not slow to follow.\\nBetween 1879 and 1883, Stanley Had founded what eventually\\nbecame the Congo Free State, and in so doing awakened the inter-\\nest and the latent animosity of both France and Portugal. Europe\\nwoke up with a start, and from that day it was destined that Africa\\nshould know no longer what was meant by the word peace.\\nIn 1884-5, t^^ Berlin congress came together, and practically\\nlaid down what might be called the rules of the game. And a\\nmerry game it was that of slicing up a continent. The spheres\\nof England, France and Germany were nonchalantly decided upon,\\nand the whole continent was roughly blocked out. It was all come\\nby so easily, it was so tremendous in extent, and its possession\\nwas so intoxicatingly novel that the different powers said among\\nthemselves, with a great deal of magnanimity, that there was\\nplenty of elbow room, and no need for crowding, and so it was not\\nhard to arrive at an understanding. But later, when the actual\\npartition of the continent took place, and the various spheres were\\ndelimited and looked into, dissatisfaction began to manifest itself.\\nIMMENSE BRITISH POSSESSIONS.\\nThere was some reason for dissatisfaction. A glance at the\\nmap of Africa will show this. British South Africa, in the first\\nplace, extends from the Cape to Lake Tanganyika, a distance of\\n1,800 miles. In fact, the whole south coast is British, and with\\nAfrica, it must be remembered, the farther you get away from the\\nequator the more valuable the possession. This immense British\\nsphere is bordered on the west by German Southwest Africa, Por-\\ntuguese Guinea and the Congo Free State, while the two Boer\\nrepublics are shut into the British spheres as enclosures, and will,\\nit now seems apparent, be finally absorbed by the greater power,\\nagainst whom they have seen fit to take up the sword. The only\\ndisputed boundary in this part of Africa is that between the pos-\\nsessions of Great Britain and Portugal.\\nAll this immense South African British area, covering about\\n1,000,000 square miles of territory, is in varying degrees of incor-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0131.jp2"}, "132": {"fulltext": "88 THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA.\\nporation and assimilation by tliat ever-expanding empire wliose\\ncenter is London. Wliat is not nominally nnder the protectorate\\nof the Britisli government is practically under the wing of the\\nBritish South Africa company, that wonderful business concern\\nwhich was first organized by two hard-headed old Scotsmen, who\\nsaw that an African company might exploit the Dark Continent as\\nthe Bast India company had done with Asia, and as the Hudson\\nBay Company had done in America. The territories of this\\nAfrican company extend up into the very heart of the continent\\nto-day, and their frontier posts are steadily percolating deeper and\\ndeeper into the interior.\\nRoughly estimated, the British Bmpire in Africa embraces\\n2,300,000 square miles, a region equal in extent to all that portion\\nof the United States east of the Rockies. This includes the white\\nman s country of South Africa, with its high table-lands, its\\ndiamonds and its gold British Central Africa, or Rhodesia British\\nEast Africa, stretching from the Indian Ocean to Lake Victoria,\\nand having within its borders Uganda, the pearl of Africa, dis-\\ncovered by Henry M. Stanley, and now fast developing into a pros-\\nperous and modern community, with merchant and war ships aiding\\nits commerce on the lake and railroads connecting it with the ocean\\nand the interior, all of which promises a bright future.\\nMAKES WAR AND PEACE.\\nOn the west coast is the Niger Territory, holding the mouth\\nof the great water-way of Western Africa, under the control of the\\nBritish Royal Niger Company, having such absolute sway that it\\nmakes war and peace, concludes treaties with the natives and\\nexercises all the attributes of sovereignty under the protecting care\\nof Great Britain. Then there are the minor colonies, the Gold\\nCoast, Sierra Leone, scarcely worth speaking of, as they are relics\\nof past greatness during the slave trade days.\\nIt is in Bast Africa, however, from the Cape up to the Medi-\\nterranean, that one sees the present imperial sway of the Briton,\\nas well as the potential importance of this new empire. It extends\\npractically in an unbroken sweep from the northernmost to the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0132.jp2"}, "133": {"fulltext": "THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA. 89\\nsoutliernmost points of tHe continent. Bgypt continues to be\\nnominally independent, althougli under the protection of tlie Britisli\\nflag, with. British officials directing Egyptian finances and British\\nofficers leading Egyptian armies.\\nEssentially, therefore, Egypt is to be regarded as a British\\nsphere of influence, destined to regain her lost colonies. The area\\nof Egypt and the Soudan was not included in the 2,300,000 square\\nmiles given as the British Empire in Africa, and if these depend-\\nencies are added the total is brought up to almost 3,000,000 square\\nmiles, equal to the area of the United States, not including Alaska.\\nVAST AFRICAN EMPIRE.\\nA glance at the British possessions in Africa shows how strong\\nthe impulse of British statesmen has been to knit together this\\nAfrican empire into one homogeneous whole instead of detached\\nparts. Each part is reaching out to its neighbors. This has been\\ngoing on until the chance of a Cairo to the Cape route, entirely\\nunder British control, is no longer a dream. Already the railroad\\nis up to Buluwayo, more than thirteen hundred miles from the\\nCape, while from the north Kitchener has pushed the railroad even\\nfurther.\\nThe Nile and the lakes give added means of transportation.\\nAt present there is a gap of less than three hundred miles in the\\nconnection of British Central Africa and British East Africa, and\\nwith this gap filled the rule of the British Empire will in fact\\nreach from Cairo to the Cape. It will be from Germany or from\\nthe Congo Free State that this gap will be made up, either by\\ncession or lease.\\nConsidering the steady development of this new empire in\\nAfrica and the manifold benefits springing from it, it would seem\\nto be a part of this general plan that the Transvaal and the Orange\\nFree State should be absorbed by the larger power. But it may be\\nthat these small communities will show a Spartan fortitude and\\ncourage which will resist this hitherto irresistible tide of empire.\\nSuch a result would be of doubtful value to the world at large, for\\nthus far with empire have come development and progress.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0133.jp2"}, "134": {"fulltext": "90 THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA.\\nThe limits of Britisli East Africa were arranged by agreement\\nwitli Germany and Italy, the two contiguons powers. Bnt it is\\nhere that France steps in. France has shown a Gallic impetuosity\\nin her annexations. Of England she has always been jealous in\\nAfrica, and thereby hangs a tale.\\nThe territory claimed by France in the Dark Continant covers\\nsomething like 3,000,000 square miles, or perhaps a little more.\\nBy the Anglo-French arrangement of 1890 England very magnani-\\nmously ceded to her European rival all the Sahara desert. Now, the\\nSahara desert, as Lord Salisbury rather wittily termed it, is very light\\nsoil. The extreme lightness of this soil did not dawn on the French\\nmind until after the agreement had been dra^Ti up and settled.\\nThen France saw she had been gold-bricked. Algeria and Tunis,\\nof course, she held by right of conquest, but on the northwest she\\nfound herself shut off from the coast by Morocco, and also those\\nSpanish possessions known as Rio d Oro. Deserts under such\\ncircumstances are not such desirable possessions, so France realized\\nthat, while she was apparently the largest land-owner in all Africa,\\nshe was actually possessor of the biggest territorial white elephant\\never palmed off on an unsuspecting power.\\nFRANCE PUSHING HER CLAIMS.\\nIt was to make amends for this error that France, misinter-\\npreting the Berlin agreement, slipped in and occupied Busa, and\\nalso dispatched Major Marchand and his expedition to pick up any\\nterritorial w^aifs that might be left l3dng about bej^ond Fashoda.\\nThe one aim of France has been to have direct access to the lower\\nNiger. In this matter Great Britain seems to have cleverl}^ check-\\nmated her rival and appears to have made up her mind on no\\naccount to yield any part of the west bank of the lower Niger to\\nFrance, notwithstanding the latter s claim, though a disputed one,\\nto certain spots in that vicinit}^ by right of previous occupation.\\nFrance, however, has seized on her share elsewhere. She has\\nMadagascar. It cost her dear, and she is still pa3dng for it, but\\nshe has it. From a little to the north of Cape Blanco round to\\nthe British Gold Coast Colony she possesses a long line of coast,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0134.jp2"}, "135": {"fulltext": "THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA. 91\\ntBougli tlie same is somewhat interrupted by such foreign patches\\nas British Gambia, Liberia, Portuguese Guinea and Sierra Leone.\\nThe whole of the upper Niger above Say is French, and nearly all\\nthe country that nestles in the great bend of that river is claimed\\nby her.\\nThe most threatening bone of contention in this quarter is a\\npatch of land behind the British Gold Coast and German Togoland,\\nmade up chiefly of the kingdom of Mossi. Over it flutter both\\nthe tricolor and the union jack, though one must give way. Behind\\nAshanti Great Britain also claims certain territory, and is doing her\\nbest to strengthen that claim by as effective an occupation as possible.\\nSHARP PRAOTICE AGAINST THE NATIVES.\\nBelgium occupies a goodly strip of the basin of the Congo.\\nBy a convention with Great Britain in 1894 a slice of the west\\nAlbert Nyanza shore and a portion of the upper Nile was leased to\\nthe Belgians. Since that time, however, pressure from France has\\ncut down the original Belgian claim. It might not be out of place\\nhere to add that the rule of both France and Belgium has shown\\nnone of that liberality and general idea of fair play toward the\\nnative which is associated with Bnglish domination.\\nIn 1895, when France seemed to be menacing the country of\\nthe Kalifa, it was declared in the British parliament that any\\nattempt on the part of France to establish herself on the Nile\\nwould be regarded as an unfriendly act. The French Soudan is\\ndefined as that country included in the basins of the Niger and the\\nSenegal west of Togoland, together with that embraced in the\\nnorthern bend of the river. Like the Niger region, this territory\\nis densely populated and capable of great commercial development.\\nBut France, as has already been said, is not satisfied. She declares\\nthat the agreements reached between England, Germany and Italy\\nrelative to the delimitations of the Egyptian Soudan are not bind-\\ning upon her, and declines to accept what Great Britain has pointed\\nout as the limit of the French claim on the Soudan s western border.\\nThis eagerness on the part of France to find a footing on the\\nupper Nile is intimately associated with the presence and the activi-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0135.jp2"}, "136": {"fulltext": "92 THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA.\\nties of tHe Englisli in that district. xAs all the world knows, this\\nAnglican acti\\\\dt3 is bitted}^ resented bj^ France, who realizes that\\nwhile Egypt is nominall}^ under the suzerainty of Turkey, it is\\nreall} an English dependenc3\\\\ And since the defeat of the kalifa\\nat Omdurniau once more gave England control of the lost Egj ptian\\nSoudan, France s uneasiness has been in no way allayed. It is for\\nthis reason that England, in her war with the South African Repub-\\nlic, finds no S3 ^mpathizers on the European continent. She has\\nlived by the sword, sa}^ the continental powers, so let her suflfer\\nby the sword.\\nThus it ^\\\\dll be seen that the French explorers and statesmen\\nseem to have chosen Western Africa as their field of influence, as\\nBritain has chosen Eastern Africa. The total French possessions,\\nfree from controvers}^ and dispute -uith other Powers, now reach\\nthe enormous total area of more than 3,000,000 square miles. This\\nincludes the flourishing colon} of Algeria, on the north, which,\\nlike Cape Colony at the other extremit}^ of the continent, is na-\\nturall} adapted as a home for the white man. South of this is that\\nvast sweep of countr}^ once kno^\\\\ n as the Desert of Sahara.\\nRICHES IN THE DESERT.\\nBut France has found unkno\\\\\\\\Ti wealth in these sands. Al-\\nread} a railroad has crossed Algeria and is pushing into this\\nformer desert for the purpose of opening up the whole western sec-\\ntion and bringing forth its latent riches. South of the desert\\nFrance controls the headwaters of the Niger, with its fertile val-\\nleys. Further south is the French Congo, with the Congo River\\nand its valley along the southern border.\\nIt was from these western possessions that Marchand pushed\\nforward to Fashoda, while another French expedition, starting\\nfrom Obok, on the east coast, sought to join hands ^rith him, thus\\ndemonstrating to the world that England s dream of a British\\nAfrica, inseparable from Cairo to the Cape, was not to be realized.\\nBut while these plans were not fully carried out, France has de-\\nveloped her possessions in other directions, until she rightl}^ makes\\nclaim of holding first place in the extent of possessions in Africa.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0136.jp2"}, "137": {"fulltext": "THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA. 93\\nGermany, wlio may be said to liave begun tbe scramble for\\nAfrica, Has come off witb far less territory than ber rivals. It\\nmust be remembered, bowever, tbat altbougb sbe began witb a\\nrusb, tbat rusb started as late as 1883. Previous to tbat time sbe\\nbad notbing now sbe bas undisputed possession of almost 1,000,000\\nsquare miles. Sbe began ber acquisitions in soutb-west Africa,\\nwbere, by arrangement witb Bngland, sbe came into possession of\\nDamaraland and Namaqualand. But it is doubtful if tbis balf\\ndesert country can ever be of any practical value. In fact, it would\\nnever bave been allowed to slip tbrougb Jobn Bull s bands were\\nit otberwise.\\nGermany s greatest African possession, bowever, lies in tbe\\neastern part of tbe continent, witb Britisb Bast Africa on its nortb\\nand Portuguese Bast Africa on its soutb. Tbis territory of tbe\\nGermans includes tbe soutbern balf of tbe Victoria Nyanza and a\\nportion of tbe sbore of Lake Tanganyika, witb about 400 miles of\\ncoast line. Altbougb several efforts bave been made to open up\\ntbis country, Germany does not seem to bave tbe remarkable suc-\\ncess of tbe Britisb in ber colonizing attempts. Tbe vast bulk of\\ntbe country is little more tban an unknown desert. Wbile Ger-\\nmany still clings stubbornly to an indefinite claim to territory\\nlying nortb of Asbanti, it is extremely doubtful tbat ber African\\npossessions will ever materially increase.\\nGERMAN EMPIRE IN AFRICA.\\nGermany, coming late, took tbe least desirable desert country,\\nand even tbe scant possibilities of tbis bave been furtber weigbed\\ndown by officialism and militarism, wbicb are tbe main cbaracter-\\nistics of German colonizing, as against tbe local civil administra-\\ntions wbicb tbe Britisb and Frencb put into force. In West Africa\\nGermany bas also set ber foot in tbe Kameruns, not far from\\ntbe Niger country, and at Togoland, running from tbe Gulf of\\nGuinea back to a ricb interior. Witb Germany s industrial awak-\\nening and ber need for new markets tbis German Bmpire in Africa\\nis viewed at Berlin as a seat of future greatness.\\nAt tbe beginning of tbe scramble for Africa, Portugal put", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0137.jp2"}, "138": {"fulltext": "94 THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA.\\nfortH tremendous claims for a colonial empire stretching across tiie\\ncontinent from Angola to Mozambique. England soon stepped\\nforward and shattered that dream, and to-day the actual jurisdiction\\nof the Portuguese seldom extends beyond a fringe of coast terri-\\ntory. One of her richest possessions, Delagoa Bay, has passed\\ninto the hands of the English by purchase, and on the Guinea\\ncoast all that remains of her old possessions is a small strip of\\n14,000 square miles south of the Gambia.\\nItaly has had much the same luck as Portugal. For many a\\nyear she had cast a covetous eye toward Tripoli. France spoiled\\nthat scheme b}^ curtly telling her to keep hands off, or there would\\nbe trouble. So it was uot until 1882 that she took any step toward\\ngetting a slice of the continental pie that was going around.\\nTwelve years previously an Italian trading house had obtained the\\ncession of a little spot of land on Assab bay, and here Italy saw\\nthe chance for forcing in the usual thin edge of the usual wedge.\\nIn a little less than six years she had reached Cape Kasar and had\\nprepared to absorb Ab^^ssinia. It w^as a sad mistake. She at-\\ntempted more than she could perform, and, after a series of humil-\\niating disasters, was forced back to her little strip along the Red\\nSea. She still adheres to a vague claim on Somaliland, but it is\\ndoubtful if she will ever be able to establish this claim.\\nTHE NEGRO AND AMERICAN INDIAN.\\nDuring all these struggles life has gone darkly with the Afri-\\ncan. While his eventual fate may be, as scholars and statesmen\\nbelieve, that of the red Indian in America, it mil be a much greater\\nlength of time before he will pass away from the continent which\\nthe more virile white has wrung and is still wringing from him.\\nBut it is onl}^ a matter of time, and a very short time, when everj^\\nmile of Africa will be opened up and ever} obscure tribe introduced\\nto the railway engine and the advanced ideas and the whisky bottle\\nof the European civilizer.\\nWhen once Cecil Rhodes dream of a Cape to Cairo rail-\\nway is realized and the heart of the Dark Continent is pierced by\\na lin of steel rails, the greatest work in the transformation of", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0138.jp2"}, "139": {"fulltext": "THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA.\\n95\\nAfrica will liave been accomplislied. Chnstianization, once tlie\\nwatcliword of every power that intruded so sanctimoniously into\\nthe jungle of the black, seems to have been quite forgotten in the\\nmad rush for land.\\nJust bow industrious the different great nations Have been in\\nthis respect may be gleaned from the following table, in wbicb is\\ngiven an approximate estimate of the area claimed by the different\\npowers. France, it will be seen, comes first but if the Bgyptian\\nSoudan and the other claimed territories of Great Britain be consid-\\nered as absolutely belonging to that empire, France would be\\nsecond in the list of African landlords\\nFrance\\nGreat Britain\\nGermany\\nCongo Free State\\nPortugal\\nItaly (including Somali-\\nland)\\nSpain\\nBoer Republics\\nSquare miles.\\n3,300,000\\n2,300,000\\n925,000\\n900,000\\n750,000\\n420,000\\n214,000\\n168,000\\nAbyssinia\\nMorocco\\nlyiberia\\nTurkey (Egypt and Tripoli)\\nMahdi s Territories\\nWadai\\nUnannexed Sahara\\nLakes\\nSquare miles.\\n195,000\\n220,000\\n14,600\\n800,000\\n650,000\\n150,000\\n800,000\\n68,000\\nTotal Africa 11,874,600\\nTABLE OF DISTANCES.\\nSuch figures may serve to demonstrate the magnitude of the\\nDark Continent. To Americans who are in the habit of thinking\\nof South Africa as an out-of-the-way comer of the world the fol-\\nlowing railway distances will be interesting, if not surprising\\nCape Town to Miles.\\nKimberley 647\\nVryburg 774\\nMafeking 870\\nBulawayo 1,360\\nSalisbury 1,553\\nBloemfontein 730\\nJohannesburg 1,014\\nPretoria 1,040\\nPort Elizabeth to\u00e2\u0080\u0094\\nRosemead Junction 243\\nNorval s Pont 329\\nBloemfontein 450\\nViljoen s Drift 628\\nJohannesburg 714\\nPretoria 740\\nDurban to Miles.\\nPietermaritzburg 70\\nLadysmith 189\\nHarrismith 245\\nNewcastle 268\\nLaingsnek 300\\nCharlestown 304\\nVolksrust 323\\nStanderton 330\\nHeidelburg 440\\nJohannesburg 483\\nPretoria 511\\nDelagoa Bay to\\nKometi Paart 58\\nPretoria 310\\nJohannesburg 336", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0139.jp2"}, "140": {"fulltext": "96 THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA.\\nAll of this goes to show that time brings its changes. In the\\neighteenth centnr}^ the world was busy stealing Africans from\\nAfrica. In the nineteenth centur}^ the world is busy stealing\\nAfrica from Africans.\\nThe United States has thus far given no attention to territory\\nin Africa, and has permitted the other powers to apportion Africa\\namong themselves as best suited them. Liberia has at times\\nreached out to this corntr}^ for help, and an American protectorate\\nhas been proposed. But Liberia is little more than a dot on Africa,\\nhaving an area of only 12,000 square miles. Moreover, it is not\\na white man s country, for Sierra Leone, alongside, is known as the\\nwhite man s grave. As a charit\\\\^, protection might be given to\\nLiberia, but for practical considerations it would be a travesty for\\nthe United States to look to that spot as the seat of future Ameri-\\ncan effort in Africa.\\nPROPORTION OF WHITES AND NATIVES.\\nThe territory claimed b}^ each of the great powers in Africa\\naffords no estimate of the foreign or native population. For\\nexample, the British and Dutch in South Africa, both combined,\\nare everj where outnumbered b} the native element, chiefl}^ Kaffirs\\nand Hottentots, but for the purpose of comparison the savage races\\nma}^ be ignored.\\nTaking the various political di\\\\4sions in detail, in Cape Colony\\nthe western, that is, the older settled part, is predominant^ Dutch.\\nThe British form the majorit}^ onl}- in the south-east, from Algoa\\nBay eastwards, the diamond mining country about Kimberley, the\\ncopper-producing part of Little Namaqua Land, and in Cape\\nTown itself. The south-eastern pro-British portion of the colon}^\\nis much more progressive and gTOwing in population than the older\\nwestern portion. The former derives a great deal of trade from\\nthe rapidly developing countries lying to the north the latter has\\nonh deserts on its northern side, and is, therefore, almost entirely\\ndependent on its trade.\\nTaking Cape Colonv as a whole, the British and Dutch sec-\\ntions are probably- in about the ratio of seven to ten. In Natal\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0140.jp2"}, "141": {"fulltext": "THE GREAT POWERS DIVIDING AFRICA. 97\\nabout five-sixtHs of the 50,000 wHites are estimated to be Britisli.\\nlu the extreme northwest, however, there is a small Boer majority,\\na survival of the Great Trek, or emigration of 1836.\\nThe Orange River Free State and Transvaal republics are,\\nof course, pre-eminently Boer. The small, but relatively densely\\npeopled patch about Johannesburg is the glaring exception, from\\nthe existence of which has sprung the whole vexed question.\\nThe as yet sparsely peopled Rhodesia and Bechuanaland are with\\nequal obviousness British, but their white population is too insig-\\nnificant to play any great part in the solution of the difficulty.\\nA COUNTRY FOR THE ANGLO-SAXON.\\nAlthough the whole of South Africa is not under the rule of\\nGreat Britain, the Bnglish or American emigrant is able to make\\nhis home in any part of it, and the Knglish language is commonly\\nused in every town or village, whether in Cape Colony or in Natal,\\nin the Dutch republics or in the Portuguese possessions.\\nIt appears that the shape and construction of South Africa are\\nof particular, almost of providential, advantage to the Anglo-Saxon\\nof to-day. Had the harbors been more .accessible, the roads into\\nthe interior easier and more general, the land itself better watered\\nand more readily cultivated, a country with so genial a climate\\nmust, centuries ago, have passed into the hands of other nations,\\nwhich were at that time much further advanced than ourselves or,\\nfailing this, must have been so thickly peopled by races native to\\nthe soil as to leave no room for colonists from abroad. It needed\\nAnglo-Saxon enterprise to open up this wild country.\\n7", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0141.jp2"}, "142": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VI.\\nWonderful Country of Rhodesia.\\nIN 1S97 tlie celebrated explorer, Heiirj^ M. Staule} to wliom\\ncredit must be given for man} of tlie most important discov-\\neries ever made in Africa, visited the southern part of the\\ncontinent and gathered most valuable information concerning the\\nTransvaal, Orange Free State and other localities that have become\\nwell knoAvn in the war between the English and Boers.\\n]\\\\Ir. Stanley first visited Rhodesia, a vast territor^^, under the\\ndominion of Great Britain, and h ing north of the Transvaal.\\nNamed after Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the most prominent English capi-\\ntalist and government official in South Africa. This tenitory has\\ncome prominenth into vieM on account of its vast agTicultural and\\nmineral wealth, and the splendid future believed by ever^ bod} to\\nawait it. We cannot do the reader a gxeater favor than to peiTuit\\nMr. Stanle} to give, in his o^Yll language, his most interesting ac-\\ncount of his latest visit to the southern part of the great continent\\nthat ill hereafter ever be associated ^^ith his name. Writing from\\nBulawaj o, the principal town in Rhodesia, he says\\nThe exploration and the development of Rhodesia have alwa3 S\\nbeen regarded bv me \\\\vith sentimental interest. Ever} new advance\\nin this region has been hailed b}- me with infinite satisfaction, and\\nno man regretted more than m^-self the lapses of the founder and\\nx\\\\dministrator in December, 1S95, which threatened to involve the\\nwhole of South Africa in trouble, and to arrest the progress which\\nhad begun. It appeared for a moment as if Rhodes and Jameson\\nhad relinquished golden substance for a shadow.\\nIt is not in human capacit} to realize from a far distance the\\ntmtk of the rumors which came from here respecting the intrinsic\\nvalue of the land, and so I came here at a great inconvenience to\\nmvself to verify by actual observation what had been repeatedly\\nstated. I have been rewarded for so doing b}- clear con^ ictions,\\n98", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0142.jp2"}, "143": {"fulltext": "WONDERFUIv COUNTRY OF RHODESIA. 99\\nwliicli, tliougii tliey may be of no great value to others, are very\\nsatisfactory to myself, and will forever remain fixed in my mind,\\ndespite all contrary assertions. There was a little speech recently\\ndelivered by Commandant Van Rensburg, which, perhaps, will be\\nthought by London editors of no importance, but it was most gratify-\\ning to me, inasmuch as I had become possessed with the same ideas.\\nHe said that it was generally supposed that without gold Rhodesia\\ncould not exist, but he differed from that view, as, he was certain\\nin his own mind, it would remain an important country because\\nof its many agricultural products, its native wood, coal, cement,\\netc., etc.\\nHe had come to the conclusion that Rhodesia was as fit for\\nagriculture as any part of South Africa, though he had been rather\\ndoubtful of it before he had seen the land with his own eyes. That\\nis precisely my view. It is natural that the large majority of vis-\\nitors who have come here to satisfy themselves about the existence\\nof gold in Rhodesia should pay but little attention to what may be\\nseen on the surface but those who have done so now know that\\nRhodesia has a great agricultural future before it.\\nGREAT RAILWAY ACHIEVEMENT.\\nSeveral hundreds of men, eminent in divers professions, have\\ncome from England, America, the Cape, Orange Free State, Natal,\\nBasuto and Zulu Lands, the Transvaal, Bechuanaland and Northern\\nRhodesia, to celebrate the railway achievement by which this young\\ncolony has become connected with the oldest colony in South Africa.\\nIn any other continent the opening of five hundred miles of new\\nrailway would be fittingly celebrated by the usual banquet and the\\nafter-dinner felicitations of those directly concerned with it but in\\nthis instance there are six members of the Imperial Parliament, the\\nHigh Commissioner of the Cape, the Governor of Natal, scores of\\nmembers of the Colonial Legislatures, and scores of notabilities,\\nleaders of thought and action, bankers, merchants, and clergy from\\nevery colony and state in the southern part of tliis continent. They\\nall felt it to be a great event.\\nFew events of the century surpass it in interest and import-\\nuofa", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0143.jp2"}, "144": {"fulltext": "100 WONDERFUI. COUNTRY OF RHODESIA.\\nance. It marks the conclusion of an audacious enterprise, which\\nat one time would have been deemed impossible, and later as most\\nunlikely. It furnishes a lesson to all colonizing nations. It\\nteaches methods of operation never practiced before. It suggests\\nlarge and grand possibilities, completely reforms and alters our\\njudgment with regard to Africa, effaces difficulties that impeded\\nright views, and infuses a belief that, once the political and capi-\\ntalist public realizes what the occasion really signifies, this railway\\nis but the precursor of many more in this continent. In fact, we\\nhave been publicl}^ told that we are to expect others, and that the\\nrailway to the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi is the next on the\\nprogramme, and will soon become a palpable fact.\\nRAPID ADVANCE EVERYWHERE.\\nThe Rudd-Rhodes Concession was granted by Lo Bengula in\\n1888. The Charter to the South Africa Compau}^ was given in\\n1889 possession of IMashonaland was taken by Jameson and his\\npioneers on September 12, 1890; Bulawa}^\u00c2\u00a9 was entered in 1893,\\nand thus the Lo Bengula Concession grew to be Rhodesia. But\\nduring this brief interval the advance has been so rapid that,\\nthough at home people ma}^ vaguely believe in it, one has to see\\nthe town of Bulawayo and to come in personal contact with its peo-\\nple to fully comprehend what has been done, and to rightly under-\\nstand the situation.\\nWith the clearer view gained by a personal ^dsit the huge\\nmap in the Stock Exchange, which shows the estates, farms, to^vn-\\nships, and mines of Rhodesia, becomes an encyclopaedia of informa-\\ntion the plans of Bulawayo and Salisbury, and other towns which\\nhave arisen in Rhodesia, valuable directories. If fresh from an\\ninspection and ^tud}- of these you step out and look at the to^\\\\m of\\nBulawayo, and glance at the countr}^, 3^ou begin to share the local\\nknowledge of the inhabitants, see with their eyes, understand on\\nwhat they base their hopes, and grasp the real meaning of pushing\\na railway 500 miles to reach a tovm of 3000 people.\\nSo that, while at home men were arguing that the Rudd-\\nRhodes Concession was valueless, and Rhodesia a fraud, th\u00c2\u00ab land", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0144.jp2"}, "145": {"fulltext": "WONDERFUL COUNTRY OF RHODESIA. 101\\nwas being bought witb avidity, prospectors liad discovered gold\\nreefs, shafts had been sunk, tunnels had been made to get a fair\\nidea of the value of the reefs, a nominal capital of many millions\\nsome say twenty millions, some say double that sum had been\\nassured for operations, towns had been created with all the com-\\nforts suited to new colonists, and the embryo State was fairly started\\ninto existence.\\nWhile being instructed in the hopes and ambitions of several\\nof the local people, my knowledge of how other young countries,\\nsuch as the States, Canada, Australia, had been affected by the ex-\\ntension of the railway into parts as thinly inhabited as Rhodesia,\\ninduced me to cast my glance far beyond Rhodesia, that I might\\nsee what was likely to be its destiny, whether it was to be a Free\\nState like Orange, self-suf cient and complacent within its own\\nlimits, or broadly ambitious like Illinois State, of which Chicago is\\nthe heart. Assuming that the energy which has already astonished\\nus be continued, there are enormous possibilities in view.\\nA COMMERCIAL CENTRE.\\nBulawayo is 1360 miles from Cape Town, but it is only 1300\\nmiles of land travel from Cairo, for the rest of the distance may be\\nmade over deep lakes and navigable rivers it is but 1300 miles to\\nMossamedes, in Angola, which would bring the town within fifteen\\ndays from London it is only 450 miles from Beira, on the East\\nCoast, which would give it another port of entry open to commerce\\nfrom the Suez Canal, India, Australia, and New Zealand it is but\\n350 miles from N gami it must tap British Central Africa and the\\nsouthern parts of the Congo State. That is the position acquired\\nby Bulawayo by the railway from Cape Town.\\nChicago, less than 60 years ago, had far less pretensions\\nthan this town, and yet its population now runs into the millions.\\nSomething of what Chicago has become Bulawayo may aspire to.\\nThe vast coal fields to which the new railway is to run, the stone,\\ngranite, sandstone, trachyte, the woods, minerals, gold, copper,\\nlead and iron, the enormous agricultural area, are valuable assets\\nwhich must nourish it to an equal destiny.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0145.jp2"}, "146": {"fulltext": "102 WONDERFUL COUNTRY OF RHODESIA.\\nTlien the Victoria Falls, larger tlian Niagara, what miglity\\nelectrical power lies stored there I merely mention these things\\nhap-hazard with the view of assisting my readers to understand\\nthe significance of these festivities. Many men will think and\\nmeditate on them, and new confidence, courage and energy will be\\nbegotten to stimulate them to greater designs and larger effort.\\nBut how does the scene at Bulawayo affect the political world\\nIt seems to me to have great importance for all South African and\\nBritish politicians for the way it affects Germany, Portugal, the\\nCongo Free State and Cape Colony. It will cause people to revise\\ntheir opinions, and to clear their minds of all previous policies.\\nAny influence that Germany may have hoped to exercise on South\\nAfrican politics has received a check by the insuperable barrier\\nthat has been created by those slender lines of steel between its\\nSouth- West African Colony and the Dutch Republics. The Bech-\\nuana Crown Colony and Protectorate, through which they run,\\nmust receive a percentage of all immigrants to Rhodesia.\\nRIVALS OP THE GERMAN COLONY.\\nThese last two are far in advance of the German Colony, and\\neach day must see them strengthened, so that they will become\\nformidable obstacles in the way of German aspirations. These\\ncolonies, lying along the length of the western frontier of the\\nTransvaal State, are four times larger than the Transvaal, and\\ntheir grand stock-raising areas and agricultural plains having now\\nbecome easily accessible, cannot remain long unoccupied. I fancy,\\ntherefore, that the ambition of Germany to rival England s claims\\nto the paramountcy will become wholly extinguished now, and that\\nher thinkers, like wise men, will prepare their minds for the new\\nproblems which must be met in a not remote future.\\nThe populating of Rhodesia by mixed races of whites of a\\nsuperior order to any near it must exercise the Portuguese, whose\\nterritory lies between Rhodesia and the Indian Ocean. The iron\\nroad leading to it cannot be closed. The future of the country is\\nno longer doubtful. We have tested its climate ourselves we have\\nheard the general conviction that these lofty plains, 4500 feet above", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0146.jp2"}, "147": {"fulltext": "WONDERFUL COUNTRY OF RHODESIA. 103\\nthe sea, suit the constitution of the white race; we have seen a\\nhundred English children going from Bulawayo to a picnic to cele-\\nbrate the arrival of the railway, and assuredly that would have\\nbeen impossible on a tropical day in any other tropical country I\\nknow of. We have seen scores of infants on the streets, in the\\nsuburbs, on the plains outside, in arms and in perambulators, and\\nthey all looked thriving, pink and happy.\\nThe market of Bulawayo each day shows us Knglish vege-\\ntables fresh from the garden. We have seen specimens of the\\ncereals. Well, then, it appears to me certain that there will be a\\nmasterful population in this country before long, which it would\\nbe the height of unwisdom to vex overmuch with obsolete ordi-\\nnances and by-laws such as obtain in Portuguese Africa, and bur-\\ndensome taxes and rates on the tra\u00c2\u00a36.c that must arise as this\\ncountry grows in wealth and population.\\nPOSSESSIONS OF PORTUGAL.\\nIt may be hoped that intelligent Portuguese will do all in their\\npower to promote concord and good feeling with their neighbor, to\\ncheck refractory chiefs from doing anything to disturb the peace,\\nfor nothing could make the people of Rhodesia more restless than\\ninterruption to traffic, and a sense of insecurity. If they do that\\nthe Portuguese territory must become enriched by the neighbor-\\nhood of Rhodesia.\\nThe Congo State will doubtless recognize its profit by the\\nadvent of the railway to Bulawayo and the extension of the line\\ntowards its southern borders, and the arrangements of the govern-\\nment will be such as to ensure respect for boundaries and to teach\\nthe native tribes that transgression of such will be dangerous.\\nThe British Government have a valuable object lesson for the\\ndevelopment of African colonies. For over two hundred years the\\nWest African colonies have been stagnating for lack of such means\\nof communication. They have been unable to utilize their re-\\nsources. Their natural pretensions to the hinterlands have been\\ngreviously curtailed, and what ought to have been British is now\\nFrench. Nyasaland has also too long suffered from Imperial par-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0147.jp2"}, "148": {"fulltext": "104 WONDERFUIv COUNTRY OF RHODESIA.\\nsimony. Tlie function of government should comprise sometHng\\nmore than police duty or the collection of taxes.\\nThe removal of causes injurious to health and life, and the\\nestablishment of communication as required by circumstances of\\nclimate, and needful to augment commerce, are just as urgent as\\nthe prevention of lawlessness and the collection of imposts. The\\nclimate of Nyasaland has slain more valuable men than the assegais\\nof the Angoni. Against the latter the government sent their Sikhs;\\nagainst the former they have done nothing. Many of the sick\\ncolonists might have been saved, if, when weakened by ansemia, a\\nlittle railway past the Shire Rapids had taken them quickly through\\nthe malarious land to a more healthful locality.\\nADVANTAGES OF RAPID TRANSIT.\\nIf it be worth while to retain and administer Nyasaland, it is\\nsurely worth while to supply the population with certain means to\\nsend the fruits of their industry to the world s markets, and to\\nenable them to receive the necessaries of existence without endan-\\ngering their lives in the effort of risking the loss of their goods.\\nTherefore, to a government that has shown such dread of constructing\\nan insignificant railway a hundred miles in length, the enterprise\\nof the Chartered Company in constructing one five hundred miles\\nlong and starting immediately upon an extension two hundred\\nand twenty miles at the cost of one and three-quarter millions,\\nmust be exceedingly stimulative. The antique and barbarous\\nmethod of porterage should be abolished in every British colony,\\nmore especially in tropical colonies, where exposure to sun and\\nrain means death to white and black.\\nTo the South African Republic it is vitally important to weigh\\nwell in what manner the Bulawayo railway will affect her future.\\nThe republic will soon be surrounded by a rampart of steel on\\nthree sides and alien land and ocean on the other. From Beira,\\nnorth of the republic, a railway will run west to Salisbury, and\\nthence south to Bulawayo and the Cape\\nWith two ways of ingress from the sea a country like Rhode-\\nsia with as good a climate as the Transvaal State, with resources", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0148.jp2"}, "149": {"fulltext": "WONDBRFUI. COUNTRY OF RHODESIA. 105\\nwliicli tend to rapid prosperity, enjoying impartial and liberal laws,\\njust and pure administration, opening its arms widely to tlie whole\\nworld without regard to race, blessed with ample domains and\\nsuited to the needs of all classes must necessarily prove more at-\\ntractive to all people in search of homes, than a country which\\nonly favors Dutch burghers and Rhodesia therefore bids fair in\\na few years to overtake the Republic in population, and even to\\nsurpass it. The Boers do not avail themselves of the advantages\\nof their position to that fulness which would make it doubtful\\nwhether Rhodesia or the Transvaal offered the most inducements\\nto intending settlers for making a permanent home.\\nTRYING TO MONOPOLIZE THE COUNTRY.\\nOn the contrary, the common report is that the object of the\\nBoers is to restrict population and reserve the State for Boer\\nprogeny. If true, the attempt to suppress population and growth\\nby restrictions, monopolies, and vexatious ordinances is simple\\nimbecility, as compared to the Chartered Company s polic}^ of\\nstimulating commerce by giving free rein to enterprise, and keep-\\ning the paths and gates to its territory freely open to all comers.\\nIf there is an intelligent man in the Transvaal, it must be clear to\\nhim that the Republic must soon lose the rank among South\\nAfrican States to which she was entitled by her wonderful re-\\nsources and undoubted advantages and the only thing that can\\nsave her from degradation, neglect, and financial difficulties, is the\\nabsorption of that alien population which crowds her cities and\\nclamors for political rights.\\nCape Colony, though much is due to it for its support of the\\nBechuana railway, is not wholly free from the blame of inertness\\nin the past. One cannot look at the map of Africa and miss see-\\ning that extraordinary territory labeled German close to Cape\\nColony, without being reminded of the obtuseness shown by the\\nCape democracy. But the Germans are a great nation, rich, com-\\nmerce-loving, and enterprising, and the Cape people need to be\\nVv^arned, considering that they are largely mixed up with Dutch\\nBoers, who are slow to move and sadly behind the times. If the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0149.jp2"}, "150": {"fulltext": "106 WONDERFUIv COUNTRY OF RHODESIA.\\nGermans chose to invest $20,000,000 in railways from tlie month,\\nof the Swakop to the banks of the Orange, they would be formida-\\nble competitors for the trade of Bechuanaland and the north of the\\ncolony, and Swakop is three days nearer Bnrope than Table Bay.\\nThe railways in America created cities and filled the wastes\\nwith settlers, and every new settler was supposed to be worth\\n^1,000 to the nation and in this country there is a mile of railway\\nto every twenty square miles of country. The Cape has but a mile\\nof railway to every 112 square miles. The railways should spread\\nout like a fan from Cape Town. The existing lines require straight-\\nening greatly.\\nIt is not good policy that the line to Natal should run through\\nalien States, nor is it conducive to the development of the Colony.\\nSome railways may not show large dividends, but they are indis-\\npensable to development and communication: they give value to\\nacres which otherwise would be worthless, and indirectly contribute\\nto revenue in other ways than by dividends. Hence Cape Colony\\nmay learn a good deal from this new railway.\\nAPPEARANCE OF THE TOWN.\\nI think I have said enough to illustrate the position in which\\nBulawayo has been placed by the arrival of the railway. At pres-\\nent its broad avenues and streets give one an idea that it has made\\ntoo much of itself. When the avenues are about 90 feet wide and\\nthe streets 130 feet wide, naturally the corrugated iron one-storied\\ncottages and the one-storied brick buildings appear very diminu-\\ntive and the truth is that, were the streets of proportionate width\\nto the height of the buildings, the town would appear very small.\\nThe plain upon which it stands gives an idea of infinity that ren-\\nders poor one-storied Bulawayo very finite-looking indeed.\\nThe town, however, has laid itself out for future greatness, and\\nthe designers of it have been wise. Winnipeg, in Manitoba, which\\nBulawayo reminds me of by the surrounding plain, was laid out on\\njust such a spacious plan but ten years later six-storied buildings\\nusurped the place of the isolated iron hut and cottage, and the\\nstreets were seen to be no whit too wide. Ten years hence Bula-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0150.jp2"}, "151": {"fulltext": "WONDERFUL COUNTRY OF RHODESIA. 107\\nwayo will aspire liiglier towards tlie sky, and when the electric\\ntrams run in double lines, between rows of sbade trees, tbere will\\nbe no sense of disproportion between buildings and streets.\\nOn tbe walls of the Stock Exchange I found hanging plans\\nand elevations of the brick and stone buildings already contracted\\nfor. They are not to be very lofty, none over two stories, but\\narchitecturally they are most attractive. These new buildings will,\\nperhaps, stand for about five years, for, according to my experience,\\nit is not until the tenth year that the double story becomes the\\nfashion. At the twentieth year begins the triple story at thirty\\nyears the fourth story begins to appear.\\nORANGE TREES AND FLOWERS.\\nHast of the town area devoted to commerce is a broad strip of\\npark. It occupies a gentle hollow in the plain, watered by a\\ncrooked ditch, called spruit here, running through a rich, dark, and\\nvery thirsty earth. It contains a few puddles here and there along\\nits course. Only a portion of the park is laid out as yet, and that\\nhas been well and carefully done. Its plots contain a few hundreds\\nof grape vines, which look like currant bushes. There are also\\nabout a hundred very young orange trees, a few flowers, shrubs,\\netc. A stone column to the memory of Captain Lendy occupies\\nan eminence in it.\\nThe whole park has a sombre appearance, owing to the dark\\nsoil and ironstone freely sprinkling it. But as the bushes, shrubs,\\nand flowers have only been lately planted, and as around the forcing\\nhouses there is a large number of young plants in tins and pots,\\nsoon to be transplanted, a couple of years will make an immense\\ndifference in the appearance of the place.\\nFrom various people I have learned that the average estimate\\nof the population of Bulawayo is 3000 whites, one-fifth of whom\\nare women and children. There are several hotels, but none of\\nthem are fit for ladies, and scarcely for gentlemen. The noise and\\nclatter at these forbid sleep, except between midnight and 5 A. m. The\\nfood is somewhat coarse, but plentiful the tea and coffee such as\\none may obtain on a Cape liner that is, too strong an infusion of", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0151.jp2"}, "152": {"fulltext": "108 WONDERFUL COUNTRY OF RHODESIA.\\noue, aud a watery decoction of the otlier. The cooks evidently are\\ncommon ship-cooks, as one ma^- gather b}- the wsty the}^ boil pota-\\ntoes and cabbages. The bread is good, the butter is tolerable, the\\nmeat is like leather. The waiters, though ci\\\\ il and willing enough,\\nare awkward and new to their work.\\nThere are seven churches the Wesley an, Congi egational,\\nChurch of England, Dutch Reformed, Presb3rterian and Roman\\nCatholic, and one Temperance Hall. There is, of course, a jail, a\\nfire brigade and police station. In the jail are several prisoners,\\nwhite and black. The crimes of the whites have been burglar}\\ntheft aud drunkenness. Among the blacks are fourteen prisoners\\nunder sentence of death for various crimes.\\nPOOR WATER SUPPLY.\\nThe railway station is fairly adapted for its purpose, though\\nits construction was necessaril}- rapid. The settling reservoirs, fed\\nb} pipes from the dams, are not far from it but I fear that they\\nwill be of little use, as the soil is too porous. A coating of cement\\nwould make them effective, but the general opinion is that cement\\nwould be too costly.\\nThe ereat defect of Bulawavo is the smallness of the water\\nsupply aud the badness of it. At present the inhabitants depend\\non wells, and water is easily obtainable at 30 and 40 feet, but the\\nwater is of a hard and indifferent qualit} Up on one stream,\\nabout two and a half miles from the town, there have been con-\\nstructed three dams of different lengths and var34ng heights. No.\\nI dam is the nearest to Bulawa3 o, and has a solid stone and cement\\ncore starting from the bedrock 10 feet wide, and decreasing b}- set-\\nbacks of 6 inches to a width of 2 feet at the top. No. 2 dam has\\na puddled core of cla^^ faced \\\\\\\\-ith stone, and No. 3 is of similar\\nconstruction. In April these dams were full and overflowing, but,\\nunfortuuaLeh^ through bad construction and want of care, there\\nwere several leaks, and it is now decided to demolish two of the\\ndams and rebuild them. Nos. 2 and 3 are quite fit to retain the\\nwater catchment. The estimated storage of water b}- the three\\ndams is calculated to be between 40 and 45 million gallons. A", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0152.jp2"}, "153": {"fulltext": "WONDERFUL COUNTRY OF RHODESIA. 109\\nfourth dam, about to be erected, will, it is tbougbt, considerably\\nincrease tbe storage.\\nWe have bad four copious showers of rain since our arrival,\\nbut a few Hours later tbe spruits, gullies and water-courses were\\nalmost waterless, tbe streets showing scarcely a trace of the rain,\\nso porous and thirsty is the soil. Daily it becomes apparent to me\\nthat the inhabitants of Bulawayo should lose no time in stud3dng\\nthe art of water conservation. In a country just within the tropics\\nan abundant supply of water is essential, and thirty gallons per\\nhead per day would not be excessive.\\nTen thousand inhabitants should be able to command 300,000\\ngallons daily, but Bulawayo within twenty years will have probably\\n20,000, and there is no river between here and Khama s country\\nthat could supply 600,000 gallons daily. Numbers of little water-\\nsheds may be drained into reservoirs, but if I were a citizen of\\nBulawayo my anxiety would be mainly on the subject of water.\\nThe water question is not at all an insoluble one, because, for the\\nmatter of that, Bulawayo will have always the Zambesi tributaries\\nto fall back upon, especially the Guay River.\\nA FINE AVENUE.\\nAt the north end of the town we came to a gate leading to an\\navenue which ran perfectly straight for two miles and a half The\\ncarriage road, which it is intended to macadamize, is about 30 feet\\nwide, and running parallel with it on either side is an inclosure 50\\nfeet wide, to be planted with shade trees. Thus the avenue em-\\nbraces a width of about 130 feet. At the extremity of it is the\\nGovernment House, standing in grounds which four years before\\nwere occupied by Lo Bengula s kraal. We were all curious to see\\nthe place, and one of the first objects shown to us was the small tree\\nunder which the Matabele king dispensed his bloodj^ judgments.\\nHere is a description of the place from Zambesia The\\nKing s capital stands upon a ridge on the northern side of the\\nBulawayo River, in a most commanding position, overlooking as it\\ndoes the entire country round. Every yard of the ground was\\ncovered with manure, layer after la3^er the whole place was filthily", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0153.jp2"}, "154": {"fulltext": "110 WONDBRFUI. COUNTRY OF RHODESIA.\\ndirty. Tlie King used to sit on a block of wood in tlie middle of\\na great pole stockade, surrounded by sbeep and goats.\\nThe first sentence is most misleading, tbougb not inaccurate.\\nThe kraal stood upon the same level as the plain of New Bulawayo\\nbut the Bulawayo River a dry watercourse most of the year\\nhas scoured out a broad hollow to a depth of about 20 feet in the\\nplain, and, as the kraal was seated on the brow above it, it enables\\none to have a view of a circle of about fifteen miles in diameter,\\nwithin which are probably three or four of these long, broad swells\\nof plain land.\\nGovernment House is a long, low, white-washed house,\\nin Dutch Colonial style, with a pillared verandah outside.\\nIt is the property of Mr. Rhodes, as well as the avenue just\\nmentioned. I am told he possesses about eighty square miles\\naltogether hereabouts, and by the way he is developing his estates,\\nit will some day be a beautiful as well as valuable property.\\nFOREMOST MAN IN SOUTH AFRICA\\nThis reminds me that I have not once mentioned Rhodes,\\nthough when describing Rhodesia one ought not to omit his name;\\nbut the fact is he has preferred to remain in the country rather than\\nundergo the fatigue of the banquets and ceremonies. From Cape\\nTown here many men have spoken of him to me, and always with\\nunqualified admiration. I know no man who occupies such a place\\nin men s thoughts. His absence has given rise to all kinds of con-\\njectures as to the cause of it. Some say it is due to the fact that\\nthe Cape elections are approaching, and he did not wish^ to be forced\\nto a pronouncement of policy others that it is due to Dr. Jameson s\\nzealous care of his health, as he suffers from heart complaint; others\\nagain say it is due to a wounded spirit, which too long grieving\\nmight easily end in a Timonian moroseness.\\nWhatever the true cause may be, he has so planted himself in\\nthe affections of the people that no eccentricity of his can detract\\nfrom his merits. When a man scatters ^1,000,000 a year on the\\ncountry out of which he made his wealth, it covers a multitude of\\nsins in the minds of the recipients of his gratuitous favors.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0154.jp2"}, "155": {"fulltext": "WONDKRFUIv COUNTRY OF RHODESIA. Ill\\nHe does mad and fantastic execution\\nEngaging and redeeming of himself,\\nWith such a careless face and forceless care,\\nAs if that luck, in very spite of cunning,\\nBade him win all.\\nWe liave seen wiiat Bulawayo is as it terminated tlie employ-\\nment of the ox-wagon, and liad just emerged out of ttie sore troubles\\ncaused by war, famine and rinderpest. The next train that arrives\\nafter our departure will be the beginning of a new era. The ma-\\nchinery that litters the road will be brought up, and the ox-wagons\\ndrawn by fourteen oxen, and the wagons drawn by twelve mules,\\nand those drawn by twenty donkeys, will haul it to the mines, and\\nhence we may hope at the end of a year or so that Rhodesia will\\nhave proved by its gold output its intrinsic value as a gold field.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0155.jp2"}, "156": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VII.\\nVast Stores of Natural Wealth.\\n|R. STANLEY furnislies tlie following graphic description\\nof Rhodesia and its timbers and mines It is fitting to\\nask, What is Rhodesia, about which so much has been\\nsaid and written What are its prospects I cannot help but\\nwish I were more qualified by local and technical knowledge to\\ndescribe the country but as I have been at some trouble in solicit-\\ning the judgment of experienced men, conscientiously weighing\\nthe merits of what was told me, and carefully considering what I\\nhave personally seen, I can only hope the following summary may\\nhave some value to those interested in Rhodesia.\\nI have been asked by my fellow-guests at Bulawayo how the\\nface of the countrj appeared as compared with the tropical regions\\nfurther north with which I am more familiar. With reg^ard to the\\nsuperficial aspect of Rhodesia, I see but little difference between it\\nand Bast Central Africa, and the southern portion of the Congo\\nbasin. Indeed, I am much struck with the uniformity of inner\\nAfrica on the whole. Except in the neighborhood of the great\\nlakes, which mark the results of volcanic action, where great sub-\\nsidences have occurred, and the great plains have been wrinkled\\nup or heaved into mountains of great height, the body of Inner\\nAfrica away from the coasts is very much alike.\\nThe main difference is due to latitude. From the Cape Penin-\\nsula to north of Salisbury, or the Victoria Falls, the whole country\\nis one continuous plain country. Between the tops of the highest\\nhills and the highest grassy ridge in the Transvaal the difference\\nof altitude seems solely due to the action of the rain. In the Zam-\\nbesi basin you have a great shallow basin, and directly you cross\\nthe river and travel northward the ascent is being made to reach\\nthe crest of the watershed between the Zambesi and the Congo,\\nwhich is but little higher than the highest ridge of Salisbury.\\n112\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0156.jp2"}, "157": {"fulltext": "DUNCAN STUART\\nCAPTAIN B COMPANY, CANADIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE TRANSVAAL", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0157.jp2"}, "158": {"fulltext": "STEVNSOOHH\\nMjanoerton\\n/plETRETIEr\\nN-., /W\\n\u00c2\u00ab*v\\nAl^^\\n,J\u00c2\u00bbOf^\\nv -^KKfRSTROOM-\\nV\\nT\\nH ififiis-\\n-^-z\\nl-\\nVladysmith\\ns-oprtcts\\nl \\\\OUNOE\u00c2\u00a3 ,^3\\nV\\n\u00e2\u0080\u009e,tS1 COURT\\n1 fWfe\u00c2\u00ab\\nV ~^MEflUT-f J\\n.J ..V. i\\nMAP SHOWING POSITION OF NATAL WITH RELATION TO\\nTHE TRANSVAAL AND ORANGE FREE STATE", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0158.jp2"}, "159": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0159.jp2"}, "160": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0160.jp2"}, "161": {"fulltext": "O N\\nUJ CO\\n1\\nI- O\\nm\\nI\\nffl 5\\nSi\\nCO\\n3 UJ\\nCO I\\nI-\\n-I H\\nO UJ\\nw UJ\\nm X\\nI\\nI\\nt\\nUJ\\nO cr\\nu-\\nO\\nI- s\\nO K\\nT", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0161.jp2"}, "162": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0162.jp2"}, "163": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0163.jp2"}, "164": {"fulltext": "cc\\nHi\\no\\nCO\\nUJ\\nI\\nI-\\nCD\\nz\\ncc\\no\\ncr\\nO\\nu.\\nz\\nu.\\no\\nCO\\nUJ\\nQ.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0164.jp2"}, "165": {"fulltext": "cc\\nO\\nH\\nLXJ\\nCC\\nQ.\\nCC\\nHi\\nz.\\nUl\\n~fe- J", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0165.jp2"}, "166": {"fulltext": "SUPPLYING THE BOERS IN THE TRANSVAAL WITH AMMUNITION", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0166.jp2"}, "167": {"fulltext": "THE NATIVE POLICE OF NATAL\\nTHEY ARE THE MOST INTERESTING CHARACTERS IN SOUTH AFRICA. THE WORK THEY HAVE\\nTO PERFORM IS TO KEEP THE NATIVES STRAIGHT AND THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED\\nTO ARREST THE WHITES. THEY TAKE MUCH PRIDE IN THEIR UNIFORMS", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0167.jp2"}, "168": {"fulltext": "PRESIDENT KRUGER PREACHING AT PRETORIA", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0168.jp2"}, "169": {"fulltext": "VAST STORES OF NATURAL WEALTH. 113\\nFrom thence a gradual descent is made to reach the central\\ndepression of the Congo basin. Northward of the Congo water-\\nshed, 3^011 gain the average altitudes of the grassy ridges of South\\nAfrica, and then begin a descent into the basin of the Tchad lake,\\nand from thence to the Mediterranean the same system of great\\nland waves rolling and subsiding continues.\\nLatitude and I might say altitude however, changes the\\nappearance of the land. Rarely on the tableland of Equatorial\\nAfrica do we see the scrub and thorn trees of South Africa. The\\nvegetation there is more robust, the trees taller, the leafage thicker\\nand of a darker green the mere grasses of the tropics are taller\\nthan the trees growing on the plains of Cape Colony, Bechuana-\\nland and Rhodesia, though in the latter country there are oases\\nfavorable to the growth of noble timber. In nitrous belts fortu-\\nnately of no great width in Ugogo, Nyasaland, Bast Africa, we\\nshould be reminded of the thorny productions of Bechuanaland,\\nand ten degrees north of the equator we should again see a recur-\\nrence of them, but this happens only in detached portions.\\nGROWING THRIFT AND LUXURIANCE.\\nIt must have struck even the most unobservant of our guests\\nhow the land improA^ed as we traveled northward. How the\\nungrateful looking Karroo of Cape Colony was presently followed\\nby expansive plains covered with dwarf shrubs how the plains\\nbecame more promising after we passed the Hart river how the\\nrolling grassy prairie-like country of Southern Bechuana was fol-\\nlowed by the acacias and mimosas of Northern Bechuana; and how\\nas we neared Rhodesia these trees in a few hours of travel rose\\nfrom ten feet to twenty feet in height how the land became more\\ncompact, and lost much of its loose porous texture, and conse-\\nquently the grasses were higher, and water might be found at a\\nlesser depth.\\nThat improvement, I am told, continues as we go northward\\ntowards Salisbury, even though we may keep on a somewhat uni-\\nform level, that is on the tableland separating the river flowing\\neastward, south to the Limpopo and north-west to the Zambesi.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0169.jp2"}, "170": {"fulltext": "114 VAST STORES OF NATURAL WEAI^TH.\\nSo rapid is the effect of a lower altitude, and consequent greater\\nheat and moisture, that about eight}- miles from Bulawa3 o to the\\nnorth-west, a magnificent forest of teak has been found, from\\nwhose grand timber we saw several specimens of furniture, such as\\ntables, desks and bureaus, a log of twent} feet length and a foot\\nsquare, besides a quantity of planks.\\nNow, this Rhodesia consists of Matabeleland and Mashona-\\nland, and covers about a quarter of a million square miles. It is the\\nnorthern portion of the Great South African tableland, and its high-\\nest elevations run northeast and southwest, var3dng from 4000 to\\nnearly 6000 feet above the sea. This height declines on the east-\\nern, southern, and northwestern sides, as it slopes along with the\\nrivers flowing from them. This high land, which is eminently\\nsuitable for European families, is about 70,000 square miles in ex-\\ntent, of solid, unbroken agricultural country as compared with\\nIreland, Scotland, and Wales. Those who remember what coun-\\ntries of similar superficial area in Europe can contain in population\\nmay be able to gauge what numbers of the white race may exist\\nin Rhodesia. Here is room for an empire.\\nMALARIOUS DISTRICTS MADE HEALTHY.\\nOutside the limit I have mentioned the resident must expect\\nto be afflicted with malarial fevers, and the lower one descends\\ntowards the sea, the more frequent and severe will the}^ become.\\nThere is this comfort, however, that long before the upper plateau\\nis over-populated, population will have made a large portion of the\\nmalarious districts health}- and inhabitable at least, it has been so\\nfound in ever} land that I have visited.\\nOn the upper lands, the resident who has come by way of the\\nCape and Bechuanaland need have no fear of malaria. I regard\\nmy o^\\\\^l oft -tried system as a pretty sure indicator of the existence\\nof malaria, for a very few hours residence in a country subjected\\nto this scourge would soon remind me of my predisposition to it\\nbut during the whole of the time I have spent in Rhodesia I have\\nnot felt the slightest svmptom. I have seen white women driving\\ntheir babies in perambulators on the plain outside Bulawayo in a", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0170.jp2"}, "171": {"fulltext": "VAST STORES OF NATURAI, WEAI^TH. liO\\nsun as hot as any in the Egyptian or Moroccan desert, and, though\\nI felt they were unwise, it was clear to me that in such a climate a\\nsufficient head protection was the only thing necessary to guard\\nagainst a sunstroke or the feverish feeling which naturally follows\\na rash exposure to heat.\\nRhodesia has been visited by us during what is generally said\\nto be its worst period. The rainy season begins in November and\\nends in March. We arrived November 4th, and, though we have\\nbeen here only a week, we have had four showers and one all-night\\ndownpour. The rainfall during the season amounts to as much as\\n45 inches. I fancy few men have had larger experience of the per-\\nnicious effects of cold rains alternating with hot suns than I, and\\nthe composure of the Bulawayo population under what seems to\\npromise four months of such weather strikes my imagination, and\\nis to me a strong testimony of the healthfulness of the climate.\\nFINE MARKET GA.RDEN.\\nThe park of Bulawayo, the grounds of Government House,\\nana especially the advanced state of the charming gardens, afforded\\nto me valuable proofs that the soil responded very readily to civil-\\nized treatment but the most conclusive proof to me of the capacity\\nof the soil was furnished by a large market garden laid out in a\\ndepression just outside the town. From end to end the garden,\\nsupplied with water by a wind-pump from a well, was a mass of\\nrobust European vegetables, whence cabbages weighing 30 pounds\\neach, and tomatoes of extraordinary size, have been sent to market.\\nAt the Palace Hotel the hundreds of guests made large demands\\nfor vegetables, and there was no stint of them.\\nFurther on towards old Gubulawayo we were attracted by na-\\ntive women hoeing in a field, and our attention was drawn to the\\nnative fields, which showed by the old corn-stalks that the Mata-\\nbele must have found the black earth of the plains gracious to their\\ntoils. Here and there in these villa gardens, market gardens, pub-\\nlic pleasances, and ornamental grounds, we found sufficient evi-\\ndences that, given water, the soil of Rhodesia was equal to supply-\\ning anything that civilized man could possibly demand.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0171.jp2"}, "172": {"fulltext": "116 VAST STORES OF NATURAL, WBAI^TH.\\nTlie next thing to do was to find out something relating to\\nthe precious metal, whose presence in Rhodesia was the immediate\\ncause of the railway. I remember last session having heard in the\\nSmoking Room of the House of Commons the most disparaging\\nviews regarding the prospects of Rhodesia and the quality of the\\nreefs. The gold of Rhodesia was said to be pocket gold, and\\nthat the ancients, whose presence long ago in this land is proved\\nby the multitude of old workings and disused shafts, were too clever\\nto have left any for us moderns. Not knowing how to controvert\\nsuch statements, I had left them unanswered, half believing that\\nthey were true.\\nSir James Sivewright, in his speech on the first festal night,\\nsaid that Bulawayo was built upon faith, and the majority of the\\nguests I discovered held the most doubtful views, and I must con-\\nfess little was needed to confirm the skepticism which had been\\nplanted in me in Bn gland. But when I heard that there was an\\nexhibition of ores to be seen in the Hall of the Stock Exchange, I\\nfelt that the Reception Committee had provided for us something\\nmore valuable than banquets something which should satisfy an\\nanxious mind and furnish much needed information.\\nSPECIMENS OF NATIVE ORES.\\nWithin a well-lighted, decent-sized hall, on an ample shelf\\nranged around it, a few of the mining companies of Rhodesia had\\nsent various specimens of the ores. Above these shelves hung\\nadmirably-drawn maps to illustrate the reefs whence they were\\ntaken. I had noticed, as I went in, other specimens of Rhode-\\nsian products ranged along the passages bulky lumps of coal from\\nthe Zambesian coal district, a coal that is said to give only from\\neight per cent, to twelve per cent, of ash fine red sandstone blocks,\\na stone closely resembling that of which most of the houses on Fifth\\navenue. New York, are built blocks of grey sandstone, to which\\nsubstance I had already been attracted, it being so much used for\\nlintels and doorways of Bulawayan houses and rough and polished\\ngranite blocks, which reminded me of the famous Aberdeen stone,\\nbesides several limestone briquettes.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0172.jp2"}, "173": {"fulltext": "VAST STORES OF NATURAI, WEALTH. 117\\nThe first exhibits of ores I happened to inspect were from the\\nCamperdown Reef, in which the virgin gold was conspicuous enough\\nto satisfy the most unbelieving. The next exhibit consisted of a\\nnumber of briquettes of cement manufactured in Bulawayo. The\\nthird was a glass case which contained old gold beads, discovered\\nat Zimbabwe, and attracted a great deal of attention from the dusky\\nappearance of the metal which centuries had given it, the rude\\nworkmanship, evidently African, and the puerility of the orna-\\nments. Beyond this the Rhodesia Company had specimens from\\nthe Criterion Reef, situated eight miles from Bulawayo.\\nGOLD IN DISGUISE.\\nThe rock contained no visible gold, and the Curator who\\nguided me round had the assurance to say that the quartz where\\ngold was not visible was more appreciated than that which showed\\nnuggets. This made me think of the mountains of white quartz\\nI had seen on the Congo, and to wonder whether the Curator was\\nindulging in unseemly levity. However, perceiving some doubt in\\nmy glance, he said it would be demonstrated shortly. Adjoining\\nthe Criterion ores was a heap from the Nellie Reef in the Insiza\\ndistrict, fifty miles from Bulawayo. The Curator said these were\\nvery rich, and taken from old workings but despite the Curator\\nand the old workings, I could not see a trace of gold in the rock,\\neven with a magnifier. Next to the Nellie exhibit was a pile of\\nrock from the Unit and Unicom Reef in the Selukwe district,\\neastern Rhodesia ^but I saw no gold in any one of these rocks.\\nJust at this juncture the Curator told me that one of these\\napparently valueless rocks was about to be crushed and panned\\nfor our instruction. We went out into a yard, where there was\\nquite a crowd of curious people assembled. The lump of rock\\nwas put into a small iron mortar, and in a few minutes it was\\npounded into a dusty-looking mass. It was then passed through\\na fine sieve, and the large fragments were returned into the\\nmortar to be again pounded.\\nA suflSicient quantity of the gra5dsh dust having been obtained,\\nthe mortar was emptied into a broad iron pan. The pan vras", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0173.jp2"}, "174": {"fulltext": "118 VAST STORKS OF NATURAL WKALTH.\\ndipped into a tub full of muddied water, a dexterous turn or\\ntwist of the wrist, and tlie coarser material was emptied into tlie\\ntub. Frequent drippings and twists reduced the quantity of mate-\\nrial in the pan, until at last there was barely a tablespoonful of\\nit left, and still I saw no glitter. Again the dipping and twist-\\ning and rinsing were repeated, until at last there was only a tea-\\nspoonful of the dirt left but all around the bottom of the pan\\nwas a thin thread of unmistakable gold dust. It was beyond\\nbelief that such a barren-looking piece of quartz rock should\\ncontain gold but then these experts are wonderful fellows. I\\npay them my most respectful homage.\\nReturning to the hall under the influence of this very need-\\nful lesson, I resumed my examination of the exhibits. Beyond\\nthe Unit and Unicorn exhibit stood some planks of a teaky qual-\\nity, beautifully polished, and showing numbers of small dark knots,\\nand wavy patterns, which gave a walnutty appearance to the wood.\\nThe next exhibit was from the Gwanda district by the Geelong\\nGold Mining Company, taken from a ninety-feet level. In this\\ndistrict the ancient workings are found deepest. The prehistoric\\nminers were accustomed to build charcoal fires on the quartz, and,\\nwhen the rock was suf ciently heated, threw v/ater on it, which\\nsoon disintegrated it, and enabled the picks and gads to be used.\\nQUARTZ CRUSHED TO DUST.\\nThis reminded me how often I had done the same to huge\\nrocks which blocked the way for my wagons on the Congo. The\\nbroken quartz, being brought to the surface, was then handed to\\nnatives, who crushed it to dust on blocks of granite with diorite\\nhammers, or ground it as the modern natives do mealies. The\\ndust was then panned in much the same way as is done by pros-\\npectors of to-day. In one of the old shafts, over sixt} feet deep,\\nwas found the dome of a human skull and some pieces of human\\nbone. The relics lay side by side with the quartz exhibits. One\\ncould moralize here if one had time.\\nThe exhibit of the Ellen Reef of the United Matabele Claims\\nDevelopment Company showed distinct gold. Just near it were", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0174.jp2"}, "175": {"fulltext": "VAST STORES OF NATURAL WEALTH. 119\\nblocks of fine-looking coal from tke Matabele Gold Reefs and\\nEstates Company. The coal-field is situated 120 miles nortk of\\nBulawayo. The coal has been already tested, and is found to be\\nadmirable for all uses.\\nThe Nicholson Olympus Block, Gwanda district, showed speci-\\nmens which panned 120 ounces to the ton. The Mary reef speci-\\nmens assayed six ounces to the ton. Next to these was a clock\\nframe made out of trachyte in the form of a Greek temple. This\\ntrachyte is grayish-white in color and easily workable, but hardens\\nby exposure. As there is plenty of this material it is probable\\nBulawayo will make free use of it in future. Mansions and villas\\nof this stone would look extremely chaste and beautiful.\\nOLD MINES ABANDONED.\\nThen we came to the exhibits from the Tebekwe Mine, Selukwe\\ndistrict, seventy miles from Bulawayo on the Salisbury Road. The\\nlarge map above was worth studying. It illustrated a reef about\\n1 100 yards in length, and eight oval-form excavations made by the\\nancients, resembling the pits Kimberley diamond diggers formerly\\nmade in the blue clay. The base lines of these excavations were\\nnot much over 60 feet from the surface. On the appearance of\\nwater in each shaft the ancients were unable to make their fire on\\nthe exposed quartz reef, and consequently had to abandon it, and\\nthey probably made another excavation along the reef until the\\nappearance of water compelled them to relinquish that also.\\nI next came to the Gaikwa and Chicago Reef, whose old work-\\nings had a shaft 70 feet deep. Its present owners sunk this to 100\\nfeet when they came to the abandoned reef. I think the assay\\nshowed nearly twelve ounces to the ton.\\nClose to it were specimens from the Adventurers Reef in the\\nInsiza district, which assay i ounce to the ton. Beyond was the\\nWilloughby s Consolidated Company, Limited, which had exhibits\\nfrom the favorite mines, called Bonsor, Dunraven and Queen s.\\nPeople v/ho have no pecuniary interest in mines have told me that\\nthe best mines in Rhodesia, and of which there is not the least\\ndoubt, are the Globe and Phoenix, Bonsor, Dunraven, Tebekwe", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0175.jp2"}, "176": {"fulltext": "120 VAST STORES OF NATURAL WEAI.TH.\\nand Geeloiig, all of wliicli are in the Selukwe district, excepting\\nthe last, which is in Gwanda.\\nAfter this exhaustive inspection of the ores on exhibition, it\\nremained for us to see one of these Rhodesian mines in operation\\nto dispel the last remnant of doubt which eloquent skeptics had\\ninspired me with. We chose the Criterion ]\\\\Iine, which is b}^ no\\nmeans the nearest to the town. It belongs to the Rhodesia Com-\\npany, and is situated eight miles south from Bulawaj^o, and as Mr.\\nHirschler, the engineer of the mine, was willing to take upon him-\\nself the trouble of being our guide, we flung ourselves gladl}^ upon\\nhis generosity. In one hour and a half ^Ye made the distance in a\\nspring cart drawn bj four spirited little mules.\\nBIG HOLE WORTH LOOKING INTO.\\nWe halted at the engineer s station on a commanding grassy\\nridge, which neighbors that once occupied b}- Alosilikatse s old\\nkraal of Gubulawa3^o during the forties, fifties and sixties of this\\ncentur} A few spaces from the spot where we outspanned we\\ncame to a series of old workings which ran along the crest of\\nthe ridge for about 2000 feet. Where one of these old workings\\nwas untouched by the engineer, it reminded me of just such a big\\nhole as mio^ht have been made to unearth a boulder, or to root out\\na large tree. One of these hollows was chosen by the engineer to\\nsink his first shaft. After penetrating through fifty feet of debris,\\nhe came upon the reef which the ancients had abandoned because\\nof flooding, and time, aided by rain, had filled up. He continued\\nfor about 10 feet more, sampling ever^^ 3 feet as he went, to dis-\\ncover the grade of the ore.\\nSince then he has sunk eight other shafts. The mine consists\\nof 170 claims, but the development is concentrated on about twenty-\\nfive claims, ten of which are in the centre of the propertj^ and\\nfifteen towards the eastern boundar3\\\\ In the centre two shafts are\\nbeing sunk to the 150 feet level, and are at present connected by a\\ndrive 300 feet long. On this level the reef is throughout payable,\\nwhile a chute 100 feet long is of high-grade ore. Trenches on the\\nline of the reef indicate its occurrence towards the eastern portion", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0176.jp2"}, "177": {"fulltext": "VAST STORES OF NATURAL WEALTH. 121\\nof the mine, where five shafts varying from loo feet to 150 feet\\ndeep liave been sunk. On examining the material at the mouths\\nof the shafts, those among us who knew of what they were speak-\\ning declared that much of it was of high grade. High pyritic\\nquartz abounded, and this was rich in fine gold. Sulphide galena\\nwas found in some of the quartz.\\nAt the mouth of one shaft visible gold was very frequent, and\\nabout forty of the visitors obtained specimens wherein miniature\\nnuggets were plainly visible. Where the reef was being worl^d\\nat the deepest shaft it showed a breadth of 24 inches in soibie\\nplaces it is only 18 inches wide at others it is 48 inches broad.\\nLAND RICH IN GOLD.\\nMy readers need scarcely be told that the exhibits of ores are\\nonly such as a few companies of Rhodesia were induced to send\\nafter urgent appeals from the public-spirited citizens of Bulawayo.\\nI saw none from Salisbury, Mazoe, or any part of Mashonaland,\\nand only a few mines in Matabeleland were represented. There\\nwas no time for a proper exhibition. Many more were en route^\\nbut the distances are great and the ox-wagon is slow. At any\\nrate we have seen sufficient to prove that Rhodesia is an auriferous\\ncountry, though as yet no one knows what rank it will take among\\ngold-producing lands.\\nMy own conviction a conviction that is, I suppose, made up\\nfrom what I have seen and heard from qualified men is that Rho-\\ndesia will not be much inferior to the Transvaal. True, it has no\\nWitwatersrand forty miles of reefs but the superficial area is\\ntu ice the size of the Transvaal State, and the prospectors have\\nonly succeeded in discovering a few plums. Then, though the\\nrailway has been brought to Bulawayo, it is still far from the\\nBelingwe and Selukwe districts, and within a radius of 100 miles\\nfrom the town there are many gold fields richer than those in the\\nimmediate neighborhood of the railway terminus. It is necessary\\nto state this in the clearest manner, for many will be carried away\\nby the idea that now the railway is at Bulawayo the output of gold\\nshould follow immediately.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0177.jp2"}, "178": {"fulltext": "122 VAST STORES OF NATURAL WEALTH.\\nTliere is no doubt in my mind tliat gold \\\\vill be produced in\\npayable quantities from tbese Rbodesian mines but the extent of\\nprofit depends upon circumstances. It is also as certain that Rho-\\ndesia cannot hope to compete with the Transvaal under present\\nconditions. Bulawayo is 1360 miles from the sea, and at least 40\\nmiles from the richest mines. Johannesburg is 390 miles from the\\nsea, and is in the centre of its forty mile long gold field. That\\nsimple fact means a great deal, and shows an enormous disadvan-\\ntage to Rhodesia.\\nThe latter country will have to pay four times more for freight\\nthan the Transvaal gold fields. Against this must be set the small\\nduties that will have to be paid. After paying five per cent, to\\nCape Colony, goods will be admitted free to Rhodesia. Then the\\nheavy taxes paid to the Boers will still further diminish the disad-\\nvantages of Rhodesia yet when we consider the time wasted in\\nthe long railway journey, and the haulage by ox-wagon to the\\nmines, we shall find a much heavier bill of costs against the gold\\noutput of Rhodesia, than on that of the Transvaal.\\nA good substantial railway from Beira or Sofala to Bulawayo,\\nvia Victoria, would completely reverse things. Bulawayo would\\nthen be about the same rail distance from the sea as Johannesburg\\nis the poor ores could then be worked profitably, and the aggre-\\ngate of gold product would in a few years rival that of the Rand.\\nIf I were a Chartered Director, my first object should be to get the\\nshortest and most direct route to the sea from Bulawayo, and a\\nsubstantial railway along it, and having obtained that, and a liberal\\nmining law, I should feel that the prosperity of Rhodesia was as-\\nsured.\\nJ", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0178.jp2"}, "179": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VIII.\\nThe Chief City of the Transvaal.\\nTT^ONTINUING his observations on the Transvaal and its tur\\nI jp bulent political condition, tlie writer states some plain\\ntruths, and points clearly to the impending struggle\\nbetween the English and Boers. He says\\nBetween Bulawayo and Johannesburg there is a great differ-\\nence. In common with some 400 guests of the Festivities Com-\\nmittee, I looked in admiring wonderment at the exuberant vitality,\\nthe concentrated joyous energy, and the abounding hopefulness of\\nthe young sons of British fathers who, in the centre of Rhodesian\\nlife, were proud of showing us a portion of their big country, and\\nwhat they had done towards beginning their new State. We shared\\nwith them their pride in their young city, their magnificently broad\\navenues, the exhibits of their resources, their park, their prize cab-\\nbages, and the fine, bold, go-ahead-ive-ness which distinguished\\ntheir fellow-citizens.\\nWe felt they had every reason to be proud of their victories\\nover the rebel Matabele, the endurance they had shown imder\\nvarious calamities, and the courageous confidence with which they\\nintended to face the future. From our hearts we wish them all\\nprosperity.\\nAt Johannesburg, however, different feelings possessed us.\\nWithout knowing exactly why, we felt that this population, once\\nso favored by fortune, so exultant and energetic, was in a subdued\\nand despondent mood, and wore a defeated and cowed air. When\\nwe timidly inquired as to the cause, we found them laboring under\\na sense of wrong, and disposed to be querulous and recriminatory.\\nThey blamed both Boers and British the whole civilized world\\nand all but themselves seemed to have been unwise and unjust.\\nThey recapitulate without an error of fact the many failures and\\nshames of British Colonial policy in the past, gave valid instances\\n123", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0179.jp2"}, "180": {"fulltext": "124 THE CHIEF CITY OF THE TRANSVAAI,.\\nof their distrust of tlie present policy, pointed to the breaches of\\nthe Convention of 1884, and the manifest disregard of them by the\\nColonial Secretary, described at large the conditions under which\\nthey lived, and demanded to know if the manner in which the\\ncharter of their liberties was treated was at all compatible with\\nwhat they had a right to expect under the express stipulations of\\nthe Convention.\\nWhy, said they, between Boer arrogance and British indif-\\nference, every condition of that Power of Attorney granted to Paul\\nKruger has been disregarded by the Boer, and neglected by the\\nBritish. They then proceeded to dilate upon Boer oppression,\\nBoer corruption, the cant and hypocrisy of President Kruger, the\\nbakshish-begging Raad, the bribe-taking Ministry, the specious way\\nin which promises were made, and, when their trust was won, the\\nheartless way in which these same promises were broken.\\nALMOST UNBEARABLE OPPRESSION.\\nFrom these eloquent themes they proceeded to detail their\\nworries from taxation, high wages, extortionate freight charges,\\nthe exactions levied upon every necessity of their industry, the ex-\\norbitant price for coal, and imposts on food designed expressly to\\npamper the burgher at the expense of the miner. Then in a more\\nmelancholy tone they discussed the mistakes of their friends\\nJameson s tactless raid the povert}^ of the country, the decline of\\nbusiness in the city, the exodus of the Australians, and the pros-\\npects of a deficit in the Treasur}^ etc.\\nI -^nsli that I could have taken down verbatim all that was said\\nto me, for the spokesmen were of undoubted ability, fluent in\\nspeech and full of facts, not a tithe of which I can remember. As\\nI fear I cannot do justice to what was urged with such vehemence\\nand detail, you must be content with the broad sense of their re-\\nmarks only. These men have stories to say which should be said\\nto shorthand writers. I have read many books and articles on\\nSouth African politics, but I was never so interested or convinced\\nas when these men told their stories straight from the heart.\\nI then turned an inquiring attention to the Johannesburg", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0180.jp2"}, "181": {"fulltext": "THE CHIEF CITY OF THE TRANSVAAI,. 125\\nnewspapers, and from a heap of them obtained their opinions on\\nthe gloom prevailing in the Golden City. There were columns\\nof allusions to the general distress, of the unemployed becoming\\nnumerous, of tradespeople unable to find custom. Clergymen had\\nbeen interviewed, who said that poverty was rampant, that shop-\\nkeepers were almost distracted through fear of insolvency, that\\nthe country s credit was going and almost gone, that Australians\\nwere leaving in such numbers that sufficient berths on steamers\\ncould not be found, and that the inaction of the government was\\ndriving skilled and willing workmen away.\\nGREAT BUSINESS DEPRESSION.\\nMy hotel-keeper, a bright sociable man, was induced to give me\\nhis own opinions on the depression. He acknowledged that his own\\nhotel was doing fairly well, but the other hotels were mostly empty.\\nTradesmen he knew were bitterly lamenting the want of custom,\\nbuildings in course of erection were stopped because the owners\\ndid not think themselves justified in proceeding with the structures,\\nrents were hard to collect from tenants, the upper stories were\\nalready empty, reductions had been made on the lower floors, and\\nstill there were no permanent tenants goods stored in bonded ware-\\nhouses had to be auctioned, as the proprietors had not the means\\nto take them away, etc.\\nEncountering a gentleman whom I knew in Sydney, Australia,\\nand who is now on the Stock Exchange here, I inquired of him\\nwhat he thought of the condition of things. He said: Mostly\\neverything is at a standstill, I think. To-day stocks and real estate\\nare a trifle firmer, but I cannot conceive any reason for it. There\\nis nothing within my knowledge to justify confidence. Old Kruger\\nis relentless and implacable. He will never yield, whatever people\\nmay say. And unless the reforms are granted, so that the mines\\ncan be worked at a profit, Johannesburg must decline, and things\\nwill become as bad for the State as for ourselves. The old man\\npositively hates us, and would be glad to see the town abandoned.\\nOn the strength of the Industrial Commission report many\\nof us bought largely, but when we found that there was a majority", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0181.jp2"}, "182": {"fulltext": "126 THE CHIEI^ CITY 01^ THE TRANSVAAI..\\nagainst us, we sold out in such haste that for a while it looked like\\na panic. The majority of the Raad had been bought out by the\\nDynamite Company, and, of course, we were helpless. You people\\nat home have no idea of the corruption of our Government. Kruger\\nappears not to know that when he calls the Dynamite Company a\\ncorner-stone of the State, he is giving himself away. We know\\nthat the Company and its twin brother, the Netherlands Railway\\nCompany, support the twenty-four members of the Raad, and as\\nthey, with Kruger, are the State, these companies may well be\\ncalled corner-stones.\\nAt the club I met a gentleman whose moderate way of express-\\ning himself made me regard him as being inclined to be impartial, and\\nwhen urged to give his views, he said that undoubtedly there were\\ngreat grievances which every well-wisher of the State would desire\\nto see removed. The administration was so corrupt that it was\\ndif cult to get a Boer of cial to attend to any business, unless his\\npalm was oiled beforehand. The officials had got into the habit of\\nexcusing themselves from doing their duty because they were over-\\nwhelmed with work, or that they had no time. It is a way they\\nhave of hinting that unless it is made worth their while, they will\\nnot put themselves out to do what they are paid to do by the Gov-\\nernment. Many companies understand this so well that they set\\napart a fund from the profits to meet this necessity.\\nFLAGRANT POLITICAL CORRUPTION.\\nYou know, perhaps, that the Dynamite Concession is one of\\nthe most corrupt things in the State. One member of the Raad\\ngets $1.20 a case, and the Government pocket $2.50 for every case\\nof dynamite sold in the Republic. When we know that $12.00\\nwould be a sufficient price for a case of dynamite, to invoice a case\\nat $10.00 higher shows that some people must have grand pickings.\\nWere the mines in full operation they would consume about 250,-\\n000 cases, and this extortion of $10.00 a case means $2,500,000\\nblackmail on the mining industry.\\nThen the railway administration is just as bad. The tariffj\\nis abnormally heavy. The first-class fares are greatly in excess,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0182.jp2"}, "183": {"fulltext": "THE CHIEF CITY OE THE TRANSVAAI,. 127\\nand as for freight cliarges, you can imagine how higli they were\\nwhen it was proved during the drift closure that ox-wagons could\\nmake the transport as cheaply as the railway.\\nThen you appear to justify Rhodes in his attempt to rectify\\nthis I said.\\nNo, I do not but all that he stated before the Parliamentary\\nCommittee about the abuses is perfectly true. I cannot, however,\\nabsolve him for attempting to promote a revolution to effect a\\nchange. But about this corruption at Pretoria. I do not blame\\nthe Boers so much as I blame the Hollanders and our Jews here.\\nThey are the real causes of the disorders in the State. The cor-\\nruption was started by the Hollanders, and the Jews have been only\\ntoo willing to resort to bribery, until the share market has become\\ndemoralized. These fellows unite together to discredit a mine, until\\nthere is no option but to close it. Many of the mines have been\\nclosed through their intrigues. Mine is one of them, for instance.\\nCUSTOM HOUSE OFFICERS.\\nThis was my first day s introduction to the moral condition of\\nJohannesburg. But to begin at the beginning. On arriving at\\nmidnight at the frontier of the Transvaal, near the Vaal River,\\nthe train was stopped in the open veld until daylight, for Boer offi-\\ncials require daylight to make their conscientious examination of\\npassengers and their luggage. Half an hour after dawn the train\\nmoved over the Vaal Bridge, and we were soon within the grip of\\nthe Boer Custom House. I was told later that the officials were\\ninsolent but I saw nothing uncommon, except a methodical pro-\\ncedure such as might belong to a people resolved to make a more\\nthan usually thorough search.\\nThe officials came in at the rear end of the carriage, locked\\nthe door behind them, and informed us we were to go out before\\nthem. The male passengers were ushered into one corrugated-iron\\nhouse, the females, with their respective searchers behind them,\\ninto another. One burly passenger had diamonds concealed on his\\nperson, but his clothes were only slightly felt. A small, pale\\nclergyman just behind him, however, received marked attention,", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0183.jp2"}, "184": {"fulltext": "128 THE CHIEF CITY OE THE TRANSVAAL-\\nand was obliged to take off Ms boots, and every article of bis bag-\\ngage was minutely scrutinized. Probably some of tbe women\\nsearcbers performed tbeir duties just as tborougbly. My servant\\nwas asked to pay duty on some of my sbirts, but be refused to pay\\nanytbing, on tbe ground tbat tbe sbirts bad been repeatedly worn\\nand wasbed.\\nTbe distance to Jobannesburg from tbe frontier was but an\\nbour and a balf of ordinary running, but from tbe time we neared\\ntbe Vaal River it occupied us eleven bours. A reporter from tbe\\nStar bad come aboard at tbe frontier station, and from bim we\\nlearned a few facts regarding Jobannesburg, sucb as tbat tbe Out-\\nlander miners intended to starve tbe burgbers out by closing tbe\\nmines, tbat tbe Australians were leaving in crowds, and tbougb\\ntbere were tbree presidential candidates in tbe field, Kruger was\\nsure to be returned for a fourtb term, as General Joubert was known\\nto be weak, and Scbalk Burger almost unknown.\\nREEF OP GOLD.\\nTbe Transvaal veld was mucb greener and more rolling tban\\ntbat of tbe Orange Free State. Jobannesburg came into view\\nabout 9 A.M. but instead of making direct for it tbe train sbeered\\noff and came to a bait at Elands fontein, six miles east. It was\\ntben we first obtained an intelligent comprebension of tbe term\\nMain Reef, to wbose production of gold tbe existence of Joban-\\nnesburg is due. Its total lengtb, I am told, is tbirty-eigbt and a\\nbalf miles, to be accurate, and along tbis a cbain of mines, well\\nequipped and developed, exists, out of wbicb, bowever, only ten\\nmiles of tbe reef can be profitably worked under tbe present eco-\\nnomic circumstances. Tbe working of tbe remaining twenty-eigbt\\nmiles depends mainly upon tbe removal of tbe burdens, upon low\\nwages, abundant labor, cbeap transport, etc.\\nTo eitber side of Klandsfontein runs a lengtby line of cbimney\\nstacks, engine bouses, tall wooden frames, supporting tbe bead-\\ngear, stamp mills, witb clusters of sbeds, buts and offices, bills of\\nwbite tailinsfs and ore. To tbe westward tbese become more numer-\\nous, and as tbe train moved from Elandsfontein towards Jobannes-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0184.jp2"}, "185": {"fulltext": "THE CHIEF CITY OF THE TRANSVAAI,. 129\\nburg, it clung to tlie side of a commanding ridge by wbicli we\\nobtained a panoramic view of mine after mine, each surrounded by-\\nits reservoirs, hills of tailings, lofty stores of ore, iron sheds, mills,\\noffices and headgear structures, until finally they occupied an\\nentire valley.\\nPresently, while we still clung to the ridge, we saw that the\\nscattered cottages, with their respective groves, were becoming\\nmore massed, and looking ahead of them we sav/ the city of Johan-\\nnesburg, filling the breadth of a valley, girdled by a thin line of\\ntall smoke stacks, and dominated by two parallel lines of hills, the\\ncrests of which rose perhaps 300 feet or so above the city. The\\nscent of eucalyptus groves filled the air, for now the ridge on our\\nright was given up to cottages, villas, mansions, each separated by\\nfirs, eucalyptus, flower gardens and varied shrubberies, the whole\\nmaking a charming sight, and a worthy approach to the capital of\\nthe mining industry with its golden promises of wealth.\\nLIKE A EUROPEAN CITY.\\nReduced to matter-of-fact figures, Johannesburg proper covers\\nfour square miles its roads and streets are 126 miles in length,\\ntwenty-one miles of which are macadamized, and ten miles have\\ntram lines. The city s parks and open spaces occupy eight3 -four\\nacres. There have been twenty miles of gas-piping laid, while the\\nelectric light is supplied by forty-two miles of wire. The water-\\nworks supply 600,000 gallons of water dail}^ for domestic use, exclu-\\nsive of what is required for the mines and street watering.\\nThe streets of the city generally are about 50 feet wide, while\\nthe principal business streets average 90 feet in width. Several of\\nthese are flanked by buildings which would be no discredit to any\\nprovincial city in England, while the array of shops have their\\nwindows as artistically dressed with wares as those of Regent Street\\nIn London, which gave me some idea of the character and good\\ntaste of the people.\\nA photograph of Johannesburg taken in 1888 revealed a thin\\ncollection of galvanized iron structures, widely scattered over a\\nroadless veld, while present photographs show a mature city, com-\\n9", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0185.jp2"}, "186": {"fulltext": "130 THE CHIEF CITY OF THE TRANSVAAL.\\npact, with an aspect of age, well furnislied witli cliurclies, massive\\nbuildings, parks Avith trees over a hundred feet in height, rich villas\\nand artistic mansions. It was scarcely credible that in such a short\\nperiod such a marvellous change had been wrought. The wonder\\nwas increased when I was driven along the length of Hospital Hill,\\nand noted the streets of this suburb, bordered by artistic and costly\\nhouses, luxuriant shrubberies, flower gardens and stately lines of\\nshade trees.\\nThe marvel was greater still when my conductor told me that\\nas late as 1892 this suburb, now so flourishing, was a mere virgin\\ngrassy veld. What, all these miles of groves and gardens and\\nvillas sprung up since 1892 Yes, so prodigiously rapid is the\\ngrowth of vegetation, trees, climbing plants and shrubs, when daily\\nwatered, that these shade trees which give the suburb such an\\nappearance of age are only a few years old.\\nSIGNS OF THRIFT AND PROSPERITY.\\nNow these picturesque and comfortable residences of such\\nvarying architecture, vvhose furniture I could just see through open\\nwindows and doors, and bespoke great wealth and taste, you must\\nbear in mind would adorn Birmingham or Manchester. Imagine\\nmiles of such houses crowded with fair occupants and troops of\\ndaintilj^-clad children, their long hair floating in the wind as they\\nsported in snowy garments on the lawns and amid the flowers,\\nand then my surprise, and something more, as I suddenly came in\\nview of a fort which the rude Boers have built to terrorize this com-\\nmunity.\\nThe superb ridge, which seemed to me with its beautiful houses\\nand gardens a veritable paradise after four thousand miles of travel\\nover treeless plains, and which would certainly be an ornament to\\nany city on the globe, had in its centre a large and ugly earthwork,\\nbehind which were monstrous Krupp guns to lay waste this Eden,\\nshould the humanity of Johannesburg ever be driven b}^ despair to\\nstrive physically for the rights of freemen. The mere suggestion\\nof it is brutish, and a Government which can cooll}^ contemplate\\nsuch a possibilitv. and frighten tim^id wonieii and 3^oung children", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0186.jp2"}, "187": {"fulltext": "THE CHIEP CITY OE THE TRANSVAAI,. 131\\nwitii sucli liorrid prospects, are only fit to be classed witli the\\nHerods of the Dark Ages.\\nA short drive northward of the suburb placed me in a position\\nto view the far-reaching desolate wastes of the primitive veld, and\\nto realize more fully what human intellect, skill, energy and capital\\nhave done on Hospital Hill and in Johannesburg itself Twelve\\nyears ago there was not a vestige of life human or vegetable,\\nexcept the grass to be seen within the entire range of vision from\\nthe Hill, and yet the creators of the remarkable transformation we\\nhad just seen were to be threatened with slaughter and devastation\\nif once they plucked up courage to exact the rights which every\\ncivilized government would long ago have granted to them.\\nIt were well now, after briefly sho^ving what Johannesburg and\\nits population is, that the chief of the State and his rustic burghers,\\nin whose hands lie the future of this remarkable city and its indus^\\ntry, should be presented to the reader in order that he might realize\\nthe striking incongruity of first-class mechanical ingenuity, spirited\\nenterprise, business sagacity and tireless industry being subject\\nto senile madness and boorish insensibility.\\nINTELLECT RULES THE WORLD.\\nThat such a thing should be is most preposterous and contrary\\nto all human precedent. For elsewhere, and since the dawn of civi-\\nlization. Intellect has always become Master, Captain and King\\nover Ignorance, but at Johannesburg it is Asinine Ignorance which\\nrules Intellect. Another reversal of human custom is seen in the\\nsubmissiveness of Intellect to Ignorance, and though, being natur-\\nall}^ sensitive under the whip and restless under the goad, it remon-\\nstrates sometimes, its remonstrance is in such a sweet, mild way,\\nthat the spectator can only smile and wonder.\\nFitting words are wanting to describe my overmastering sur-\\nprise at the state of things in the Transvaal I am limited by space\\nand time, so that I must let my pen race over these pages and trust\\nlargely to the intelligence of those who read the lines. I have a\\nprinted cutting before me of a discussion in the First Raad of the\\nBoer Republic, during which the President, in the support of his", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0187.jp2"}, "188": {"fulltext": "132 THE CHIKF CITY OF THK TRANSVAAL.\\nviews, stands up and says tliat Isaiah had been told by the Lord\\nthat Israel had been punished because the rulers of that people\\nhad not hearkened unto the voice of the poor.\\nAnother speaker of similar intelligence rose up to contend\\nthat the Lord had enjoined that the rich, not the rulers, should\\nhelp the poor, and Isaiah had not been told that the poor were to\\nbe helped with other people s money. This construction of Scrip-\\nture raised the President of the State to his feet again, and he reit-\\nerated the fact that the Lord had meant the rulers, whereupon\\nanother Senator interpolated the remark that some people were in\\nthe habit of shielding themselves behind the Bible with a view to\\nsaving their own pockets and justifying their actions.\\nMONEY SPENT FOR DEFENCES.\\nAt Standerton the President was questioned as to the prospects\\nof assistance being given to poor burghers. His entire reply is\\nworth quoting, but I have only room for a small portion of it. Said\\nhe: The burghers distress has been caused by the war (Jameson s\\nraid), and the subsequent unrest has not tended to improve matters.\\nThe burghers have suffered from these circumstances. The coun-\\ntry has been compelled to spend a lot of money on the building of\\nforts, nearly $10,000,000, by which our means have been exhausted.\\nIn the Zoutpansberg district especially, the condition of things I\\nknow to be most distressing. White families as well as black are\\ndying rapidly. Still I expect you to turn to the Bible in a time of\\nadversity like this. Follow the prophet Isaiah s advice, and look\\nto the Lord God who has so far befriended you. Why will men\\nnot follow in the path of the Lord instead of losing money at races\\nand by gambling\\nI was fortunate enough to have an early morning interview\\nwith President Kruger. As he was fully dressed in the usual black\\nsuit and little old-fashioned top hat, and smoking on the verandah\\nof his house, the old President must have risen from bed an hour\\nearlier at least, and though all the clocks in this region are fully\\nthirty minutes behind time, 5 a.m. is a remarkably early hour to\\nbegin business. Two-armed guards in the uniform of London", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0188.jp2"}, "189": {"fulltext": "THE CHIEF CITY OF THE TRANSVAAI,. 133\\npolice Inspectors stood in the street barring the way to the house\\nbut a mere look from the President sufficed to give us admission.\\nHis Good-morning in English slipped from him uncon-\\nsciously, and after a shake hands he led the way to a spacious\\nsaloon, wherein the first thing that attracted my attention was a\\nlarge and coarse oil painting of him.\\nIt was clear that neither Kruger nor his friends knew any-\\nthing of art, for the picture was an exaggerated reproduction of\\nevery defect in the President s homely features, the low, narrov/,\\nunintellectual brow, over-small eyes, and heavy, massive expanse\\nof face beneath. The man himself was almost beautiful in com-\\nparison with the monster on the canvas, and I really could not help\\npitying him for his innocent admiration of a thing that ought to be\\ncast into the fire as an intolerable monstrosity.\\nA REPULSIVE BOER.\\nBut presently the President spoke a mouthful of strange\\nguttural words in a voice that was like a loud guigle, and as the\\ngreat jaws and cheeks and mouth heaved and opened, I stole a\\nglance at the picture, and it did not seem to me then as if the\\npainter had libeled the man. At any rate, the explosive dialect so\\nexpanded the cheeks and widened the mouth that I perceived some\\nresemblance to the brutal picture.\\nI was told by my introducer, after the interview was over, that\\nthe President had already read a chapter in the Bible, and that it is\\nhis custom to do so every morning before appearing in public. I\\nthen understood the meaning and tone of his last words to me.\\nSaid he What I have said, shall be done. He was alluding to\\nthe fact that the Dynamite Monopoly and Railway Rates were the\\nchildren of the State, but they should be put into the hands of the\\nAttorney-General, and if it were discovered that the terms of the\\nconcessions were in any way contravened, reparation should be\\nmade. The manner of his last words reminded me of the Jovic\\nway and what I will, is fate but when I learned how he had\\nbeen engaged, I knew he had been infected with the style of the\\nPentateuch.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0189.jp2"}, "190": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IX.\\nGold and Diamond Mines of South Africa.\\nM I HB History of tlie diamond mines may furnish some clew to an\\nejj understanding of the situation, if nothing more. Diamond\\ndealers say that the precious gems have increased very much in\\nvalue since the beginning of the war. The mines of Kimberley are\\nthe greatest diamond producers in the world, furnishing from\\nninety to ninety-five per cent, of all the diamonds sold. Bven\\nmore could be put on the market, but the mines are controlled by\\nthe richest trust on earth, which limits the output so as to keep\\nup prices.\\nYet the discovery of diamonds in South Africa goes back only\\na few years. One day in 1867 children of a Boer farmer, who\\nlived on a farm seventeen hours ride west of Hopetown, on the\\nbank of the Orange River, were playing with some stones they had\\nfound in its bed. An Ostrich hunter named O Reilly happened to\\npass, and the Boer farmer. Van Niekerk, called his attention to an\\nespecially brilliant stone that a Griqua boy had found. O Reilly\\nwas startled. He scratched on a pane of glass with the stone, and\\nimmediately decided that he had a diamond in his hand. He\\npromised the Boer half of whatever it proved to be worth, and\\nwanted to follow up the search at once.\\nAfter many wanderings he went to an English physician in\\nGraham s Town, a Dr. Atherstone, who was the first to recognize\\nthe great value of his find. He recognized it as a diamond in a\\nmoment, and estimated its weight at 21 3-16 carats. A little later\\nthis stone was sold to Sir Philip Wodehouse, then Governor of Cape\\nColony, for $2,500. O Reilly soon brought another stone from the\\nsame locality which weighed 8% carats, and it was sold to the\\nsame person for $i,ooo- One of the most beautiful of South Afri-\\ncan diamonds later came from Van Niekerk s -farm on Orange\\nRiver, the so-called Star of South Africa, weighing 8T)}4 carats,\\n134", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0190.jp2"}, "191": {"fulltext": "GOLD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 135\\nfound by a Kaffir. Tlie brilliant later cut tberefrom came into the\\npossession of the Barl of Dudley for $125,000.\\nImmediately after the first report of these discoveries the\\nOrange River was crowded with white, black and yellow Buropeans,\\nKaffirs and Hottentots, and here and there they succeeded in find-\\ning a few diamonds. Thence the search spread to the bed of the\\nRiver Vaal, and here, on the property of the Berlin Missionary\\nSociety, at Pniel, camps were pitched, and the work began in\\nearnest.\\nIn 1870, new diamond diggings were discovered, again by\\nchildren playing with stones. This was not on the banks of the\\nriver, but on the high table land where their existence had not been\\nsuspected. It was on the farm of Du Toits Pan, between the Vaal\\nand the Modder rivers. It was in the mud which had been used to\\nbuild his house that the children saw a shining object, and dug out\\na diamond. In pulling up a plant another child found a diamond\\nweighing eighty carats clinging to the roots.\\nDIAMONDS OF THE FIRST WATER.\\nThe richest mine of all, however, was found in July, 1871, on\\nthe Kolesberg-Kopje. The old mines wxre abandoned, and then\\ncame De Beers New Rush. The town of Kimberley was later\\nfounded, in the neighborhood of this mine, being named after the\\nBritish Colonial Secretary at that time. Lord Kimberley, and the\\nmine was known as the Kimberley mine. Later some small dig-\\ngings were found in the Orange Free State, Kossifontein and\\nJagersfontein, from which some of the diamonds of the first water\\nhave since been taken.\\nThe confusion and disorder of the frenzied fortune hunters\\nwere tremendous, and political confusion followed in the claim of\\nthe Orange Free State to Kimberley and the mines around it.\\nThe British government held that this was British territory, and\\nto make its claim good purchased the claim of an old Griqua chief\\nto this land.\\nThe British referred the matter to arbitration, notwithstanding\\nthe protest of the Orange Free State, making a British officer the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0191.jp2"}, "192": {"fulltext": "136 GOI.D AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.\\numpire. He decided in favor of Great Britain, and meanwhile,\\nwith a huge rush, thousands of miners had come into the country.\\nThe Free State protested against the decision in vain, for England\\nclaimed that its power was necessary to preser^ ^e order, and the\\nFree State was obliged to accept $450,000 for its claim. This inci-\\ndent has not been forgotten by the Free State Boers, and is no\\nsmall incentive to them to aid their brothers of the South African\\nRepublic.\\nSeveral of the wiser miners began to combine for the formation\\nof companies to purchase machinery that they might go to the\\ndeeper levels where the faijious blue ground lay, filled with dia-\\nmonds. By 1885 many of these companies were at work, and then\\na further combination of their interests took place in the formation\\nof the De Beers Consolidated Compan}^, Limited. The moving\\nspirits in this combination were the redoubtable Barney Barnato\\nand Cecil Rhodes. Under the able financial management of the\\nlatter, this compan}^ now pa3^s a di^ddend of ten millions annually\\non a nominal capital of twenty millions.\\nMINES OF GREAT DEPTH.\\nThe latest improvements in mining machinerj^ have been of\\ncourse adopted, and the best engineers are engaged in conducting\\nthe work. The yellow earth of the surface in which the early\\nprospectors found their wealth has been dug through, and the\\nblue ground is being worked to unprecedented depths. This\\npeculiar formation appears to be practically inexhaustible, for\\nsoundings have never been able to get beyond it.\\nNowhere else on the earth is this peculiar blue quartz to be\\nfound, so it has been called kimberlite. It is very hard, but alters\\nand softens under moisture and air. The miners have taken advan-\\ntage of this, and the large companies haul the blue ground to the\\nsurface, and spread it out to disintegrate naturallj^ It is spread\\nout on floors surrounded by armed guards night and day, and there\\nit is first harrowed by two engines some 500 3^ards apart dragging\\nthe harrows over it.\\nThere it stays for six months or a year, and is then sent to the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0192.jp2"}, "193": {"fulltext": "GOI.D AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 137\\ncrusliing works, where it is washed and rolled by machinery until\\nevery bit of foreign matter has been removed and the diamonds\\nalone remain. Some bits that do not pulverize under the harrow\\nare called hard blue, are picked out by hand and carefully treated\\nseparately, for large stones are sometimes in these hard masses\\nof rock.\\nThe work in the mines is done chiefly by Kaf rs, who wield\\nthe drills and use the dynamite for the blasting with little incon-\\nvenience. They are engaged for a specified number of weeks, dur-\\ning which they are kept in a well-guarded compound, fed, and if ill,\\ntreated by the company. Only at the end of their term of service\\nare they paid and permitted to leave, when they return with what\\nseems to them untold wealth, to buy a wife and set up housekeep-\\ning in their home, some weeks journey away.\\nAll kinds of precautions are taken to prevent them from steal-\\ning diamonds which they find while at work. As each man leaves\\nthe mine he must strip to the skin and submit to a search of mouth,\\nears and nose. The companies try to prevent stealing by offering\\npremiums for the finding of large stones, but, strange to say, all of\\nthe precautions have not prevented the largest diamonds from\\nreaching the market through private persons.\\nHOW DIAMONDS ARE FORMED.\\nThe diggings at Kimberley have done much to explain the\\nformation of the diamond itself, for kimberlite is recognized by all\\nauthorities as being of eruptive origin, and the diamond in it must\\nhave been formed by the tremendous heat generated at the time of\\nthe eruption. In fact, the mines look like chimneys, or pipes,\\nas they are called, the blue ground running down toward the center\\nof the earth like a huge water-pipe.\\nThe depth of the mines is very great, a level in the Kimberley\\nbeing 1,520 feet down and in the De Beers, 1,200 feet. Most of the\\nmining now is done under ground by galleries running to the cen-\\ntral shaft. This prevents many accidents, and is a great economy\\nin space and time.\\nThe sorting of the stones is an art and science in one. Good", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0193.jp2"}, "194": {"fulltext": "138 GOI.D AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.\\neyes and judgment are necessary. Here are found some witli deep\\ntints of brown, pink and yellow, which, are most valuable, being\\nclassified as fancy stones. Those with slight shades are least valu-\\nable, and the pure white rank next.\\nThe largest diamond ever found in the world was discovered\\nhere in 1893, and is known as Excelsior. It weighed 971^ carats,\\nand was discovered at Jagersfontein. It far surpassed the De Beers,\\nfound some time before, which weighed only 428^ carats, yet was\\nquite a diamond itself.\\nSouth Africa is deeply indebted to the diamond mines. When\\nthey were first discovered, it was at the almost unknown end of a\\nmysterious and unpopular continent. When claims were pegged\\nout in Kimberley in 187 1, it was probably as difficult to obtain in-\\nformation about the interior of Cape Colony as it is still of the head\\nwaters of the Niger. Yet by the end of 1872 the value of the im-\\nports and exports of Cape Colony had more than doubled, and the\\npopulation working in the Kimberley mine alone was estimated at\\nupwards of ten thousand.\\nSTRANGE METHOD OF WORKING.\\nAt first the mines were worked on the open system, roadways\\nbeing left by which the gravel was carted away. Soon these fell\\nin, and were replaced by wires stretched from a line of scaffolding\\non the edge of the chasm to some point on the claim below.\\nThe scene was a strange one. Amidst a cloud of dust, or in a\\nslough of mud, white men and black toiled, sweated, and dug at\\nthe bottom of a huge and ever deepening pit. Some claims had\\nbeen sunk considerably lower than their neighbors, and all lay\\nunder the threatening shadow of a loose and crumbling wall. From\\nthe uneven surface, from amidst the crowd, struggling like pigmies\\nfar down in the bov/els of the earth, rose a never-ending succession\\nof buckets full of gravel, traveling slowly along the wires on their\\nway to the floors above, where they were sorted by the dry process.\\nWhen a large stone came to hand, or when the partner down\\nbelow could endure the dust no longer, the bucket, instead of re-\\nturning empty, was occasionally freighted with a bottle of cham-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0194.jp2"}, "195": {"fulltext": "GOLD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 139\\npagne, purchased possibly at an extravagant cost in exchange for\\none of the diamonds just unearthed.\\nWithin the camp, surrounding the sorting floors, hung another\\njostling crowd, largely recruited from the vilest scum of the uni-\\nverse, many of whom were ready to sell what was left to them of\\nconscience, of honor or of purity, for the gems from below. A\\ngreat proportion of these were illicit diamond buyers, using every\\nmeans in their power to tempt the v/hite master or the colored ser-\\nvant to rob those around them. Prior to the passing of the laws\\nagainst the illicit purchase of diamonds, in 1882-83, crime, disease\\nand fever held high revel at Kimberley, walking openly, hand in\\nhand- through the filthy by-streets of a dissolute city.\\nMeantime the walls surrounding the mine were rapidly falling\\nin. By 1882 half the claims were buried, and many of the remain-\\nder were scarcely workable. At the bottom, then some 450 feet\\nbelow the surface, water accumulated and could not be removed.\\nScarcely a digger who was not the claimant and defendant in half\\na dozen different suits. Bfforts were made to tunnel through the\\ndebris and to gain access to the buried claims, but with little\\nsuccess. The crumbling reef itself fought against the miners,\\ncatching fire after rain and smoldering for long periods.\\nGREATEST MININQ COMPANY IN THE WORLD.\\nMany sold out or abandoned their claims, seeking employment\\non the newly-discovered gold mines at Barberton. At length a few\\nfar-seeing men, chief amongst whom was Mr. Cecil Rhodes, created\\nthat great institution, the De Beers Mining Company, which to-day\\ncontrols the diamond market of the world, and spends over $5,000,-\\n000 every year in labor alone.\\nThe deserted pit, garnished by a few rustling wires, still lies\\nopen to the sky, but mining is continued by means of under-\\nground shafts, carried in some instances to a depth of 1200 feet\\nbelow the surface, and necessitating the employment of more\\ncapital than any ordinary individual could hope to dispose of.\\nOf the diamond mines still worked on the open ;y-stem some\\nare owned by the De Beers Company, but a few belong to private", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0195.jp2"}, "196": {"fulltext": "140 GOLD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.\\nindividuals or to syndicates. It is quite possible that diamond-\\niferous areas now unknown may be thrown open to prospectors, as\\nthere is every reason to believe that the crystal lies hidden in\\nmany parts of South Africa.\\nThough history shows that large fortunes were made in the\\nKimberley mines, and that many most deserving men remained\\nv/ealthy after the crash, faulty legislation and want of organization\\nallowed far too great a proportion of the gains to fall into the hands\\nof the scum, whilst haste, greed and inexperience, by causing\\nmen to dig straight down without regard to any other interest than\\ntheir own, were eventually prejudicial to all, and caused a property,\\nsince proved to be the source of almost fabulous wealth, to be\\ninaccessible and absolutely valueless to those who then owned it.\\nGEMS FOUND IN MANY PLACES.\\nA number of diamonds are annually washed from the neigh-\\nborhood of the Vaal River, and mines are worked at and near Kim-\\nberley, in Griqualand West. A few stones have been found at\\nKlerksdorp in the Transvaal, and discoveries have been reported\\nfrom the neighborhood of the Zambesi, and Delagoa Bay.\\nThe historical record of the diamond in South Africa is fraught\\nwith striking incidents, and it has been said many a time and oft\\nthat the discovery may be ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of\\nthe World. It certainly has been productive of as astounding and\\nmagnificent wealth as any discovery of modern times, quite as\\nastounding and magnificent as the discovery of gold in California,\\nAustralia, the South African Republic, or as the discovery of gold\\nin any of the gold centres in the known world. In its extension\\nof the British Bmpire, in the spread of the Bnglish language, in\\nproviding homes and elbow room for industrial populations, it is\\nunrivaled, and nothing has been so effective in reclaiming native\\nraces from barbarism and bringing them within the limits and\\ninfluence of civilization.\\nLike most discoveries, whether of new countries, new material\\nfor science or labor to manipulate, the discovery of diamonds owes\\nmore to accident than to expert explorers. Whatever else may be", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0196.jp2"}, "197": {"fulltext": "GOIvD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 141\\nsaid of tlie slowness and lack of enterprise of tlie Cape it had done\\nall in its power for years after it was suspected from the diamondif-\\nerous and auriferous indications that gold and precious stones\\nexisted in South Africa to test the reliability of scientific experts,\\nand had expended thousands of pounds of sterling money in the\\nemployment of geological and mineralogical explorers with no better\\nresult than getting the most confident reports that by no possibility\\ncould a particle of gold or a precious stone be found in any part of\\nthe South African Continent.\\nAuriferous indications of most profuse promise had been\\nbrought by the late Chevalier Forssman, of Potchefstrom, to Cape-\\ntown and London, taken from his lands in the Transvaal at least\\ntwenty years before the discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West,\\nand a quarter of a century before the establishment of the South\\nAfrican gold industry, but neither Colonial nor English capitalists\\ncould be induced to invest. Capital is apt to be suspicious.\\nACCOUNTS WERE NOT BELIEVED.\\nNeither the Cape Colonist nor the people of England would\\nbelieve in the discovery of real diamonds at the Cape for a very\\nlong time. First it was denied that the Star, already mentioned,\\nwas a diamond when that could no longer be denied, Oh, then it\\nfell from a star, was dropped by an ostrich, was imported from India\\nby owners of land in the Colony to send land up to a fictitious\\nvalue. But by Christmas, 1869, there were 6,000 people located\\nat Pniel, and as many on. the other side of the Vaal, digging on\\nthe river banks, between Hebron and Cawood s Hope.\\nAt one time dealing in stolen diamonds was carried on in the\\nmost barefaced manner, and. reprisals in the form of tent burning\\nwere of nightly occurrence. The Post-office at Kimberley had been\\nrobbed of a large consignment of diamonds worth thousands of\\ndollars, there had been several attempts to waylay the post cart\\nand rob the mail bags of the diamonds which they were known to\\ncontain. In one case the mail bags had been stolen at the post-\\noffice, and then it became plain that diamonds in transit must be\\nbetter guarded. Fortunately in most cases diamonds stolen were", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0197.jp2"}, "198": {"fulltext": "142 GOTvD AND DIAMONDS OF vSOUTH AFRICA.\\nrecovered or at least tlie cliief part of tliem. Kverytliing about\\nthe fields grew with astonishing rapidity.\\nIn 1870 the output of diamonds did not exceed in value a few\\nthousand dollars a year. In 1880 the diamond diggings had be-\\ncome mines with steam machinery in full work claimholders had\\namassed fortunes, and the yield of precious stones was estimated to\\nexceed twenty million dollars a year at least. The establishment\\nof the De Beers Company by the amalgamation of smaller compa-\\nnies brought about a new era in diamond mining, and gave it a per-\\nmanency it never could otherwise have attained, and has given it a\\nworld-wide distinction surpassing all other mining operations.\\nMAKING SOUTH AFRICA RIOH.\\nThe diamond industry in its infancy saved the country from\\nbankruptcy to-day it is making for South Africa an enviable name\\nthroughout the whole wide world. No industry was ever more\\nperfectly organized than that of the De Beers Mining Company.\\nAll its mining operations are carried out under superintendence\\nand management of first-class men. The average number of per-\\nsons employed daily in 1899 reached the grand total of 1,729 whites\\nand 7,340 blacks almost every nationality being represented by\\nthe employees. Everything is done with admirable precision and\\nthere is a grandeur about the magnitude and boldness of the in-\\ndustr3A which should fill the heart of every man connected with it,\\nfrom the directors, the chief manager and his subordinates, with\\npride.\\nThe great diamond industry of Kimberley, combined by Cecil\\nRhodes into one vast consolidated company representing a market\\nvalue of many million dollars, is managed by an American. He is\\nGardner Williams, and his assistant, Louis I. Seymour, is also an\\nAmerican. The selection of Mr. Williams was made by Mr.\\nRhodes.\\nThe way Williams got to South Africa is an interesting tale.\\nIt was when the great Transvaal gold find of Witwatersrand was\\nfirst attracting English attention. There were many doubts in the\\nbeginning among London capitalists of the real value of the ore.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0198.jp2"}, "199": {"fulltext": "GOI^D AND DIAMONDS 01^ SOUTH AFRICA. 143\\nThe Loudon house of Rothschild determined to investigate, and\\ndirected its American correspondent to engage an American gold-\\nmining authority to visit the African workings.\\nMr. Williams, a famous expert of the Western American gold\\nfields, w^as engaged for the purpose. He v^ent to the Transvaal,\\ntraversed the beautiful grazing lands so different from the gold\\ncountry of America, entered a few shafts in the reefs of that\\nmarvellous deposit, unlike any other on earth, examined the black,\\npowdery, alluvial soil that the burghers said was ore and was dis-\\ngusted.\\nNever in the experience of man had gold been found under\\nsuch conditions, and Mr. Williams v/as unbelieving. He even\\ndoubted the pannings. He regarded the alleged results as fraud,\\nand eventually reported that the whole business was not worth\\ngetting off one s horse to look at. That same black alluvial plain\\na few years later was turning out $40,000,000 worth of gold per\\nannum. But, losing this great chance, Mr. Williams nevertheless\\nmade a hit at Kimberley, and became the manager of the greatest\\ndiamond field on earth, which is the source of fabulous wealth.\\nDISCOVERY OF GOLD.\\nThere would not have been any war between the English and\\nBoers if gold had not been discovered within the boundaries of the\\nTransvaal. The Outlanders, or foreigners, are fighting for rights\\nthat are accorded to new settlers by all civilized nations, and the\\nBoers are fighting for supremacy and the exclusive right to govern\\nthe countr}^ by the most oppressive and barbarous laws.\\nThe Transvaal was nothing but a rolling inland tract of mea-\\ndow and mountain. It was fit for nothing but farming and ranch-\\ning, with an occasional good shot at big game. The Dutch settlers\\nhad won it from the savages by blood and suffering, and they held\\nit against the English with their lives forfeit. The English let\\nthem have it. Why not? It was scarcely worth the quarrel.\\nThe land did not even possess a seaport.\\nIt was in 1881 the British left the Boers their barren republic.\\nResources were few, exports fewer, and the treasury was empty.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0199.jp2"}, "200": {"fulltext": "144 GOLD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.\\nThere was little communication with, the outer world, for there were\\nno railroads. It was forty days by ox-cart to Cape Town.\\nIn 1884 a man named Arnold told a farmer named Geldenhuis\\nthat there was gold on his land. Geldenhuis did not believe it,\\nbut repeated the gossip, and sold his farm to two adventurous\\nbrothers named Struben, who put up a mill and began to work the\\ngrayish, powdery dirt that has since proved the richest gold ore the\\nearth has ever shown. The Boer government proclaimed nine\\nfarms public gold fields.\\nThen the rush began. The Boers, always slow where enter-\\nprise wins out, were unbelieving. They could not make up their\\nminds to abandon the certainty of cattle-raising for the uncertainty\\nof mining, even with rich claims crying for takers. A few settled\\non the Witwatersrand and w^ent to work. Meantime the news of\\nthe find spread over the borders into English territory. The word\\nmade a sensation in Cape Town, and a horde of adventurers at\\nonce set out. The news reached London and started the adventur-\\nous there. Within a year nearly every v/orking claim was under\\nthe spade, and nearly. all were in English hands. The Boers on\\nthe spot had made up their minds too late.\\nOBTAINED NOWHERE ELSE SO EASILY.\\nThe workings of the Witwatersrand White Water Range,\\nin English were thirty miles in length when all were developed.\\nThe gold was found in a formation seen nowhere else in the world.\\nRegular beds, or reefs, of dry, powdery conglomerate, in thick-\\nness from two to twenty feet, are found throughout this district.\\nThis black veldt is the ore. Nowhere else on earth is gold mined\\nand worked so easily or so cheaply.\\nIn 1887, midway in the district and on the site of a hamlet\\nthat had become the centre of the industry, a hustling, bustling\\ntown was laid out, the city of Johannesburg. It as named after\\nthe surveyor. Its altitude is 5,600 feet above the sea. In twelve\\nyears the finest and largest city in South Africa has sprung up on\\nthe bare mountain side, and the hills have been lined with the huge\\nchimneys, the reservoirs, the engine sheds, the rtamping- houses", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0200.jp2"}, "201": {"fulltext": "GOLD AND DIAMONDS 01^ SOUTH AFRICA. 145\\nand the offices of great works tliat employ 60,000 native miners\\nand 10,000 Europeans.\\nIn 1899 the 198 companies had decreased to 137, but those\\npaying dividends had increased from twenty-eight to forty-five.\\nThese forty-five companies paid dividends of $25,448,925 on a capi-\\ntal of $101,473,375, or something more than twenty-five per cent.\\nIt is a curious anomaly, wrote Major Ricarde-Seaver, in\\n1894, to see, at the end of the nineteenth century, a minority of\\nfifteen thousand burghers, all told, ruling a majority of sixty thou-\\nsand enlightened, wealthy and prosperous aliens, who, although\\nthey possess the richest and most valuable portion of the countrj^,\\nhave no voice in its management. The franchise must be extended\\nto all qualifying for citizenship, and when this is done, the Out-\\nlanders, as a class, will cease to exist. They will become citizens,\\nand the control of the State will pass into the hands of the majority,\\nor, in other words, the Anglo-Saxon race.\\nRHODESIA A LAND OF GOLD.\\nJohannesburg is rightly named the Gold City, for its output\\nis constantly increasing. Bulawayo, in Rhodesia, is likely to prove\\na rival to Johannesburg. There are many gold mines there, but\\nthey are not developed. Before the war started nearly all who went\\nto South Africa for gold located at Bulawayo. In 1898 it was a\\nsmall place, but the gold rush has been the means of enlarging the\\ncity, and it has- increased its population tenfold. From all appear-\\nances Bulawayo will be an excellent place for prospectors after the\\nTransvaal war is ended.\\nGold in South Africa is but rarely found in alluvial deposits.\\nAlthough it may be washed from the sand of some of the rivers and\\nfrom certain parts of the sea-shore, and although nuggets of con-\\nsiderable size have occasionally been unearthed in places so far dis-\\ntant from one another as the south of Cape Colony and the valle}\\nof the Zambesi, the individual digger, whose capital consists of a\\nspade, a washing-trough, and a couple of tins of bully beef, will\\nprobably do better by obtaining employment on some mine, than\\nin excavating and washing alluvial soil on his own account.\\n10", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0201.jp2"}, "202": {"fulltext": "146 GOLD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.\\nThe ricliest alluvial gold-fields known are tliose near Lyden-\\nburg, in the Transvaal, where a large amount of the precious metal\\nhas been recovered but the total output at Lydenburg for several\\nyears sinks into utter insignificance when compared to that now\\nyielded annually by the Witwatersrand mines.\\nThe minine laws of most of the South African communities\\nrequire that the holder of a claim shall not merely pay the license\\ndues exacted, but shall do a certain amount of work upon the\\nground within a given time in other words, that he shall prove\\nthe value of his claim. Quite properly this work is made a condi-\\ntion of fixity of tenure, and, failing its completion within the period\\nfixed, the right of the holder lapses.\\nIn the above law lies the chance of the prospector. Were the\\nholding of a claim dependent entirely upon the payment of the\\nnecessary monthty license, a wealthy capitalist might retain large\\ntracts of land indefinitely, without even disturbing the surface of\\nthe soil. Arrivals in the country would thus be prevented not only\\nfrom working on their own account, but perhaps from working at all.\\nTHE LUCKY MAKE FORTUNES.\\nAs it is, the capitalist relies upon the prospector to carry out\\nthe law on his behalf, and the prospector turns to the capitalist for\\nthe wherewithal to develop the riches whose existence his researches\\nhave disclosed. This mutual dependence has led in many cases to\\nan amalgamation of interests. Where a district is found to be au-\\nriferous, syndicates or men of means are read}-^ to pay experienced\\nminers to peg out reefs for them, in return for a monthl}^ wage and\\nfor a share in what is eventuall}^ discovered.\\nBy those who are lucky, large fortunes nia}^ thus be realized\\nand those who are not personall}^ successful in drawing great prizes\\nare at least earning an honorable living at the time, and are free to\\nturn to other employments when they wish to do so.\\nThose having a little money to fall back upon may perhaps do\\nbetter by exploring on their own account, but in either case the\\nchances of prospectors in South Africa are quite equal to those of\\nmen working in alluvial districts elsewhere. Though the}^ may", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0202.jp2"}, "203": {"fulltext": "GOIvD AND DIAMONDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 147\\nnot actually recover tlie gold by their own exertions, the public is\\nquite willing to pay them large sums for the liberty of doing so on\\nthe property which they have pegged out.\\nExperience is, of course, an advantage, but it is not indispen-\\nsable. In Mashonaland and Matabeleland the existence of reefs is\\nnearly always associated with ancient workings, and the neighbor-\\nhood of workings themselves is occasionally indicated by the char-\\nacter of the vegetation, lemon-trees, for example, being one of the\\nmost conspicuous signs of the district having once been occupied\\nby a colony of miners.\\nBesides this, experience gained in other countries is not always\\nof service in South Africa. For instance, the gold-bearing con-\\nglomerate containing the auriferous deposit of the Witwatersrand\\nin the Transvaal was examined by experts at the request of the\\ndiscoverer, and declared valueless. Yet, within a decade, we find\\nthe group of mines round Johannesburg producing nearly a quarter\\nof the total output of the whole world and increasing their yield\\nmonth by month.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0203.jp2"}, "204": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER X.\\nCecil J. Rhodes the Uncrowned King.\\nM I HB rapid marcli of events in Soutli Africa can scarcely be re-\\ne ia corded without some mention of the Right Hon. Cecil J.\\nRhodes, who became Premier of Cape Colony in July, 1890, and a\\nmember of Her Majesty s Privy Council in January, 1895. This\\nmost astute and fortunate man has played an important part in\\nalmost all the great political or financial events that have taken\\nplace in South Africa. As a diplomatist and intermediary, where\\nopposing interests require to be reconciled, his ability is unques-\\ntionably extremely great.\\nThough not a gifted orator, he never fails to command atten-\\ntion, and, though exceedingly plain spoken, remains a riddle to\\nthose most intimate with him. Apparently a believer in National\\nFederation, he gives away a small fortune to the Irish Home\\nRulers. Enterprising, or even rash in matters of business, he\\nsatisfies those connected with him, earns the respect of those who\\nfeel themselves injured by his actions, enriches himself, and is yet\\nregarded by all as an honest, straight-forward man.\\nIn spite of Solon s advice to call no man happy until he is\\ndead, it is safe to say that Mr. Rhodes will certainly be regarded for\\nall time as one of the leading statesmen in South Africa. Posterity\\nmay even give his name an honorable place among those of other\\ngreat adventurers, who, since the days of the Tudors, have helped\\nto found or guard the British empire. Mr. Rhodes was succeeded\\nas Premier of Cape Colony by Sir John Gordon Sprigg, early in\\nJanuary, 1896.\\nThe first five years of Mr. Rhodes s politics were devoted to a\\nseemingly foolish admiration of the Kalahari Desert. To most\\nCape Colonists and Cape Governments, Bechuanaland was a wil-\\nderness, and Mr. Rhodes, with his plea for extension thither, was\\na voice crying in the wilderness. The first use which Mr. Kruger\\n148\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0204.jp2"}, "205": {"fulltext": "CECII. J. RHODES\u00e2\u0080\u0094 THE UNCROWNED KING. 149\\nmade of his guarantee of independence was to send out Ms raiders\\neast and west to found a new republic, for tlie Boer holds tliat\\neverytHing north, of the Vaal was made over to him forever many\\nyears ago.\\nIt is curious to note that the Dutch-conciliation part of the\\nRhodes programme broke down before the one incalculable factor\\nBoer obstinacy. After all his efforts as Deputy Commissioner\\nto square the Boer raiders, it cost an expedition to keep Bechu-\\nanaland open. However, thanks to the Imperial Government, not\\nthe Colonial, the way to the north was kept open, and through it\\nCape Town is linked by rail with Bulawayo.\\nSCRAMBLE FOR TERRITORY.\\nBut meanwhile all sorts of people were sending up and spying\\nout the North itself: Germans, Boers, and so forth boundaries\\nwere all uncertain and conflicting territorial rights veiled in the\\nmist. With each fresh rumor Mr. Rhodes sat on thorns. What\\nGovernment should he get to take the next step Colonial Minis-\\nters stuck short even at Bechuanaland. The Imperial Government\\nwas not prepared to do any more to define its sphere of influence\\nuntil and unless private enterprise was ready to do something to\\ndevelop it. Can t jk^z^ do something? was Sir Hercules Robin-\\nson s answer to a last urgent appeal from Mr. Rhodes. I want\\nsomething to quote to the Imperial Government in proof that there\\nis real enterprise at work to make the country ours not merely in\\nname.\\nThat conversation was the germ of the great enterprise, begun\\nand carried on by Mr. Rhodes, which has linked the southern coast\\nof Africa with the vast region north of the Transvaal, where a new\\nnation is buckling on the harness for a rapid march forward and a\\nbrilliant career.\\nThe plan means the acquirement of territory that has been\\nrunning to waste through all past ages. Bechuanaland, annexed\\nby Cape Colony, is an example of empire-extension by protectorate.\\nRhodesia is an example of empire-extension on joint-stock prin-\\nciples. The former plan is the more correct and stagnant. The", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0205.jp2"}, "206": {"fulltext": "150 CECIL J. RHODES\u00e2\u0080\u0094 THE UNCROWNED KING.\\nlatter makes big mistakes and progress. Joint-stock imperialism\\nis as old as the East India Compan}^; but the Rhodes version of it\\nhas some new as oects, both for ^ood and evil.\\nWhen Gordon told him the stor}^ of his refusing a roomful of\\ngold offered b} the Emperor of China for crushing the Tai-ping\\nrebellion, Air. Rhodes deplored the wasted opportunity. He would\\nhave taken as man}^ roomfuls as he could get. One ma}^ have\\nbig aims, but the bigger the}^ are the more mone\\\\ one needs to\\nhelp them through. Napoleon remarked that Providence was\\ngenerally on the side of the big battalions. The battalions of the\\nNapoleon of finance are substantial dollars. He has to win, like\\nhis protot^^pe, b}- sudden dashing concentrations of these battalions\\non a divided and hesitating enem}^\\nMAKING AND GIVING AWAY MONEY.\\nIt is absurd to talk of Air. Rhodes as if he despised money.\\nIt is eqnall} absurd to talk as if the extremel}- good bargains which\\nlie has struck, when selling his brains to the eager world of share-\\nholders and speculators, proved that mone}^ was to him what it is\\nto the averaofe millionaire. Air Rhodes husbands his fortune with\\none hand and lavishes it ^^-ith the other, just as Napoleon kept the\\nrecruiting sergeant bus}^ at one end of the scale while he never\\nhesitated to fling a few thousand men to certain death at the other.\\nBut what is all this mone}^ wanted for Isn t it to square\\npeople an engine of corruption? That is the qu:;stion commonU^\\nsuggested by some impressions of Air. Rhodes which have become\\ncurrent, not ^^^thout a grain of fact to each ton of fanc}-. After\\nAir. Rhodes conceived his northward schemes and began to press\\nthem on High Commissioners and Colonial Secretaries, he was con-\\ntinually brought up b}^ the hogy of the British taxpayer. The\\nBritish taxpayer is not stingy, but it is impossible to eat territory\\nat such a pace as John Bull has done for the last half century M-ith-\\nout satiet}^ supervening, and some fastidiousness about the menu.\\nJohn Bull will pay for annexing a country already proved pfood. and\\nwhat he has once taken he will hold \\\\rith blood and treasure, pro-\\n\\\\dded muddling governments do not overdo military disaster.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0206.jp2"}, "207": {"fulltext": "CKClTv J. RHODES\u00e2\u0080\u0094 THE UNCROWNED KING. 151\\nBut w^b.en lie has liad a lot of little wars, wdtli small apparent\\nproiit and still less glory, as lie lias had in South Africa, he is chary\\nof taking up large new provinces on uncertainties. He does not\\nmind declaring, by a stroke of a Foreign Of ce pen, a sphere\\nof influence but there the matter stops. Something more was\\nneeded, if the Transvaal borderland was to be secured from Trans-\\nvaal emigrations. And after being checked again and again by\\nthis same miserable dif culty about money, it is no wonder if a\\nman of Mr. Rhodes s belief that territory is everything, or every-\\nthing at least for the immediate British future in South Africa,\\nshould also conclude that money is nearly everything in the acqui-\\nsition of territory, and is pretty sure to succeed.\\nHOW THE BILLS ARE PAID.\\nAn English statesman contrasted what he called the miserably\\nsqualid associations of Bulawayo with the high administrative ideals\\nof a rule like Sir Harry Johnston s further north. The statesman\\nforgot the instructive fact that for years Mr. Rhodes s company has\\nbeen paying cash down to keep up Sir Harry s excellent adminis-\\ntration, while Mr. Rhodes s own pocket has been drawn on for Sir\\nHarry s brilliant little raids on the sla\\\\ e traders. It seems scarcely\\nfair or consistent in a school of Bnglish thinkers to make a boast\\nof retaining and governing certain regions, allow the Treasury to\\ndraw on the pocket of an ambitious rich man in paying the bill\\ntherefor, and at the same time twit that man with a sordid pre-occu-\\npation in money-grubbing.\\nThe system of empire-making on joint-stock principles may\\nbe analyzed as follows. A Chartered Company goes in and governs\\na country for what it can get out of it. A direct British territorial\\ngovernment could only get a deficit. The Chartered Company has\\nnot got a dividend yet but it has got assets which a proper gov-\\nernment could not touch that is to say, it has bought the chances\\nof a prospective boom. A regular government can take, as Canada\\nhas shown, a heavy royalty on gold-fields, but a ro3^alty does not\\nbring in money until the gold has been actually got out, at which\\nstage the problem of running an administration is solved already.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0207.jp2"}, "208": {"fulltext": "152 CECII. J. RHODES\u00e2\u0080\u0094 THE UNCROWNED KING.\\nBut the Britisli Soutli Africa Company, by virtue of Mr,\\nRhodes s patent fifty per cent, clause, can go shares with the pri-\\nvate exploiters and speculators out of whatever value the investing\\npublic of Europe chooses to put on the prospectuses of a country\\nstill undeveloped. On other gold-fields, the government may take\\ntoll by royalty, transfer dues, stamps, duties on mining necessa-\\nries, licenses, or, as in the Transvaal, percentages on monopolies\\ngranted to private persons. Here the idea is to make things easy\\nfor the prospector till he strikes what he considers a find then\\nthe Company comes in as a sort of ground-landlord and claims half\\nof the shares which the vendor gets allotted to himself in floating\\nthe find into a company.\\nThus in all subsidiary companies the Chartered Company\\nholds scrip, which it can either hold as an investment or sell to the\\ninvesting public. Mr. Rhodes laid down the principle that ordi-\\nnary revenue got of the settlers must be spent in administration\\nit is this speculation mining revenue that has to pay the piper\\nto the tune of millions eventually. In short, Mr. Rhodes has in-\\ngeniously arranged to bleed the British share-gambler in order to\\npay for the neglected duties of the British taxpayer.\\nSPEOULATMG IN SHARES.\\nIn the speculative stage of all gold-fields vast sums are drawn\\nfrom the credulity, as it is often called, or from the avarice and\\nrecklessness, as it might be called more justly, of the people who\\nbuy mining shares in the hope of selling them again to other peo-\\nple at a profit. We do not speak of swindles, but simply of the\\ninevitable risk in the purchase of geological chances. Generally\\nspeaking, these sums go into the pockets of private persons.\\nTo a considerable extent, of course, that is true also of tlie\\nexploitation of Rhodesia but the peculiarity of the case is that\\nwhen the process is concluded, whatever may be the fate of all the\\nvarious gold companies, and even of the Chartered Company it-\\nself, there will have been incidentally added to the empire a prov-\\nince, of more or less value for colonization, fitted up with railways,\\ntelegraphs, and all the plant of a precocious civilization.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0208.jp2"}, "209": {"fulltext": "CKCIIv J. RHODES\u00e2\u0080\u0094 THE UNCROWNED KING. 153\\nxn tlie interim Mr. Rliodes takes, and gets Hs friends to take,\\nlarge risks. His own roomful of gold is not enougk for liis\\nschemes, and nothing is more remarkable than the way in which\\nhe has been able, throughout his career, to induce financial asso-\\nciates to put their resources also into his hobbies. No doubt one\\npart of the secret is their uniform experience that he always does\\nhis best to see that they come out of it not badly.\\nHowever that may be, his personality seems to have cast a\\nspell over the Beits, the Barnatos, and all the other long-headed\\nmen who were iu close contact with his achievement of amalgama-\\nting the diamond mines and so, when his northern scheme most\\nneeded it in the early days, he was able to count on De Beers for\\na risky loan. Risky it was thought at the time yet here again\\nhe boasts that De Beers has had no cause to repent. One way or\\nanother, the good British (and Continental) investor has had to\\nmake it up to De Beers and forestall all losses.\\nNOT EAGER TO FURNISH THE MONEY.\\nSometimes the spell fails to work, and the allies disappoint\\nhim. The Transcontinental telegraph, which is linking the Cape\\nto Cairo, was a scheme praised in every English paper. Here, at\\nleast, they said, was imperialism in which was no guile, because it\\nwould never pay. Yet when Mr. Rhodes sent out circulars in\\nLondon to the shareholders of all his concerns, who were doing-\\nvery nicely just then, inviting them to put money, by way of a\\nthank-offering, into the guileless and unremunerative telegraph,\\nhis only answer so he tells the story was from one indignant\\nshareholder who wrote to ask whether these highly improper cir-\\nculars were being sent out at the shareholders expense. It is just\\nthis kind of person whom Mr. Rhodes has made lay out large sums\\non the extension of the Empire by the ingenious mechanism\\nabove described.\\nSo, too, the inquiry at Westminster brought out the fact that\\nthe Chartered Company had had to be tided over several lean\\nperiods by private advances from Mr. Rhodes and his friend, Mr.\\nBeit. When Dr. Jameson telegraphed down that it was necessary", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0209.jp2"}, "210": {"fulltext": "154 cEciiv J. rhode:s- the; uncrowned king.\\nto smash Lobengiila, and Mr. Rhodes sent the characteristically\\nlaconic reply, Read Luke xiv. 31, the result of the calculation\\nof ways and means, which the Scripture quoted enjoins, was not\\npromising. So little promising, in fact, that this time De Beers\\nfliiled Mr. Rhodes.\\nHe hurried up to the seat of war to find awaiting him a reply\\ntelegraphed from Kimberle}^ to a telegram of his own proposing a\\nloan Wish you luck in 3^our war, such was its purport Sorry\\nwe cannot see our way clear to the loan 3^ou want. So once again\\nMr. Rhodes had to see the way himself, out of his own pocket. The\\nskeptics thought they would score a point when the} called for a\\nlist of Chartered holdings, and it proved that Mr. Rhodes had sold\\na block of his shares it was a surprise to those skeptics to learn\\nthat Mr. Rhodes had only sold Charters to keep the Charter going.\\nNAPOLEON OF FINANCE.\\nAnd so the financial Napoleon goes on recruiting his bat-\\ntalions and disposing of them driving hard bargains with Consoli-\\ndated Goldfields shareholders, and even, on one occasion at least,\\nwith Chartered shareholders throwing the mone}^ back again into\\nthe Charter at weak points recovering loans when the tide turned\\nand the Company could repa}^ him subscribing heavily to almost\\nevery one of those subsidiary gold companies from whose vendor-\\nshares the Chartered shareholders in turn look to get their profits.\\nOf the sins of the British South Africa Company we have\\nheard enough since 1895. What of the credit side? It (with the\\nallied Railwa}^ Companies) has opened up to the world a province\\nas large as any two countries in Europe (Russia excluded) has\\norganized, and paid for, the crushing of the last native war and the\\nlast native rebellion in the long series of African wars and rebel-\\nlions, giving for the first time in the history of African govern-\\nments, compensation for damage done to the amount of $1,250,000\\nin Matabeleland alone it has set up an administration Avhich is at\\nleast not corrupt, with pure and competent courts of justice and\\nhas secured the enthusiastic, the almost intolerant, support of the\\nvast mass of the white inhabitants of the country.\\nII", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0210.jp2"}, "211": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XI.\\nOom Paul Kruger and other Famous Leaders.\\nN May 9tli, 1883, a most remarkable man was cliosen presi-\\ndent of the South African Republic. That he is a man of\\nextraordinary ability is shown from the fact that he has\\nretained his hold constantly upon the executive chair of the Trans-\\nvaal, and the outbursts of opposition which he has had to encounter\\non several occasions have been overcome and have not served to\\ndislodge him.\\nPresident Kruger is a sturdy Boer. A man of strong native\\nsense, of iron will, blunt even to roughness, in close touch with\\nordinar}^ people, a man of simple habits yet very shrewd and far-\\nseeing, a firm believer in the Bible, which he interprets to suit\\nhimself, making it frequently endorse his own opinions, he is the\\none great, rugged figure that stands out in the war, even as he has\\nbeen the most conspicuous personage in Transvaal history for\\nmany years.\\nThe weight of more than three score years and ten does not\\nseem to diminish his energy, cloud his mind, or swerve him from\\nhis purposes. He only becomes more gross and irritable with age,\\nand more firmly bent on having his own ^vay. His people look\\nupon him almost as a prophet, and he is careful to give them to\\nunderstand that the Lord is on the side of the South African Re-\\npublic, and that the fiite of the people will be only what Divine\\nProvidence either decrees or permits.\\nOom Paul is a person of regular habits, and can be seen any\\nday sitting on his stoep (verandah), or visiting the Raad in Pre-\\ntoria, but he is a difficult bird to entrap into an interview. After\\nthe war broke out he assumed a little more of the pomp that\\ndoth hedge about a crowned or presidential head. He has an es-\\ncort of seven troopers to accompan}^ him to and from the govern-\\nment buildings. They wait at a respectful distance in the middle\\n155", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0211.jp2"}, "212": {"fulltext": "156 OOM PAUIv KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS.\\nof Cliiircli Square, until his Honor, attired in his invariable black\\nfrock-coat and broad-brimmed top-liat of ancient design, hurries\\nback to his beloved stoep, in order to puff away at his enonnous\\npipe of Transvaal tobacco, and contemplate the New Dopper Church\\nopposite his residence. Here also, since threatening letters and\\nrumors of assassination have become more frequent, a guard has\\nbeen stationed, and two sentries of somewhat casual bearing, with\\nnntidy cartridge-belts, are posted to warn off any possible intruder.\\nThe house is certainly an insignificant-looking bungalow foi\\nthe chief of the State. It is a one-storied building, with wooden-\\ntrellised verandah running along its whole length, and abuts on\\nthe roadway without any intei-vening space. The only indications,\\nbesides the sentries and the flagstaff, that the abode is one out of\\nthe common, are the two mottled white marble lions presented by\\nBarney Bamato to the President. They are small and not partic-\\nularly artistic animals, but they are quite pets with the Kruger\\nfamily.\\nGREAT RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL.\\nWhen the writer happened to be in Pretoria, Oom Paul was\\nextra busy on account of the quarterly nachtmaal, the Boer reli-\\ngious festival, which fell this year on Palm Sunday and the day or\\ntwo before. On these occasions the big square surrounding the\\nchurch is invaded by Boers who have trekked in from all parts of\\nthe country, with their long wagons and spans of tw^elve or more\\noxen, till the place resembles a huge farmyard. They outspan at\\nthe foot of the government buildings, and boil their pots at the\\nchurch door, in exercise of their free rights as burghers. There is\\na similar gathering around the President s church. Long services\\nare carried on, and the two buildings are crammed to suffocation.\\nIn the intervals more secular matters are transacted ^\\\\4th his Honor\\nStephanns Johannes Paulus, who is not averse, by the way, to doing\\na little preaching himself.\\nI braved the sentries, says a isitor, and was very civilly\\nreceived by the President s grandson, who promised an introduc-\\ntion to his grandfather on his return from the Raad. On coming\\nback, however, the old gentleman was not in a particularly com\\nII", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0212.jp2"}, "213": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUL KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS. 157\\nmunicative mood. He sat behind a sort of screen which con-\\ncealed the upper part of his face, showing only the familiar New-\\ngate frill. He eyed my camera distrustfully, and was evidently\\ndetermined not to be drawn into any definition of the word suzer-\\nainty. He has indeed been somewhat tactlessly handled by inter-\\nviewers, and now resents the approach of any newspaper man. A\\nwell-known Frenchman, for instance, asked him point-blank what\\nhe would do if the English came and occupied Pretoria. Uncle\\nPaul was speechless with rage.\\nIn answer to a few questions put through an interpreter, the\\nPresident intimated that he had nothing to say just at that moment,\\nand preferred to smoke away undisturbed. He said, however, I\\ncould photograph his lions and sentries if I liked, but he thought it\\nwas scarcely worth while to waste time over the house, as it was\\ngoing to be pulled down on the following day and rebuilt in a man-\\nner more consonant with the dignity of the chief of the State. His\\nhouse was eighteen years old, and originally built by a Pole, but\\nwas now out of keeping with the fine new buildings of the capital.\\nA SNAP SHOT AT KRUGER.\\nAs to being experimented on himself, he said that if he gave\\npermission to one journalist he would have to grant the favor to\\nall, and too many fearful caricatures of him had been published.\\nHis sentries, however, were much readier to face the camera, and\\ngave me their names and the numbers of their boxes at the post-\\noffice, in the hope that I would send them their portraits. It only\\nremained to snapshot the President as he retreated within his abode,\\nand to take a few more external views of the latter, after which I\\ndeparted, looking round from time to time to see if the guard were\\nafter all covering me with their rifles for daring to accost the Arch-\\nBoer on his own stoep.\\nHis worst enemy would not accuse him of lack of courage. It\\nis related of him that he was once hunting when he gave chase to\\na huge buffalo. The animal fell into a wallow, and in a second\\nKruger was on top of it, rider, horse and buffalo, rolling together\\nin the big puddle. Disentangling himself, Kruger seized the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0213.jp2"}, "214": {"fulltext": "158 00 M PAUL KRUGER AND OTHER FxVMOUS LEADERS.\\nbuffalo b} the horns and tv^ isted its neck until lie forced its nose\\nunder water. After a fearful struggle, b}^ sbeer strength, lie drowned\\nthe animal.\\nKruger once injured his left thumb with a rifle, whereupon he\\ncoolly took out his knife and amputated the wounded digit. On\\nanother occasion he had a severe attack of toothache. For three\\nor four days and nights he endured the pain without a murmur\\nthen one night, as he could not sleep o\\\\\\\\ ing to the troublesome\\ntooth, he got up, hunted for his knife, and with this dug out the\\noffending- molar.\\nBut President Kruger is above all things a ^^ly diplomatist,\\nas well shown w^hen a deputation of Outlanders waited upon him\\nto hint that he was responsible for the decrease in value of mining\\nshares. Oom Paul answered them in a parable about a pet monkey\\nhe once had. Years ago, said the President, on a cold day, I\\nand the monkey made a fire, in which the animal burned his tail,\\nand in revenge bit me. I said to him I made a fire to warm us\\nboth, but 3^ou burned your tail in it. That was your own fault, and\\nI don t see why 3^ou should be angry with me.\\nSHREWD WAY OF DIVIDING PROPERTY.\\nOn another occasion he had referred to him a question about\\nthe di\\\\ ision of certain property between two brothers, who agreed\\nto abide by Kruger s decision. He listened patiently to both sides,\\nand then delivered his judgment. To the elder brother he said:\\nI decide that you, being the senior, shall di\\\\ ide the property.\\nBut I also decide that the j^ounger brother shall have his choice of\\nthe two portions.\\nThe Transvaal sun was already high in the heavens when\\nat 6 o clock on an August morning, I called upon President Kru-\\nger, writes a traveler. I found him sitting on his front porch\\nwith his feet propped up against one of the Bamato lions. Nearby\\nsat Mrs. Kruger placidly knitting a pair of gray woollen socks for\\nher husband, and occasionally smiling at the quaint sallies of wit\\nwhich he flung out for the benefit of some country burghers who\\nwere occup^dng the steps.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0214.jp2"}, "215": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUIv KRUGBR AND OTHER FAMOUS LBADKRS. 159\\nAs we approached tlie gate, Oom Paul got up and, knocking\\ntlie ashes from his pipe on a lion, said something which made his\\nhearers explode with laughter and indicated to our party, with a\\nwave of the hand, that he would receive us within.\\nWhile the others were paying their respects to Mrs, Kruger,\\nI had time to look over the White House, as it might be called,\\nthough in color alone is the home of the Transvaal president simi-\\nlar to that furnished the head of our nation. It is a little, one-\\nstory stone affair, covered with white plaster, more humble in ap-\\npearance than the home of the ordinary American farmer. A\\nveranda about six feet wide runs along in front, and morning-\\nglory vines creep up the posts.\\nThe only suggestion of decoration is furnished by two huge\\nmarble lions, which recline on either side of the steps. So massive\\nare they that the house appears, in comparison, even smaller than\\nit is. Barney Barnato gave these to Mr. Kruger to remind him of\\nthe Great Trek from Cape Colony, in 1836, when the Boer\\npioneers killed 6,000 lions.\\nBLACK COFFEE AND PERFECT HEALTH.\\nOom Paul, like all his countrymen, has been practically\\nnourished on black coffee. To it he ascribes his remarkable health,\\nfor he has never been sick a day in his life. He drinks it poison-\\nously strong, and so hot that, as the Boers say, if spat on a dog it\\nwill take off his hair.\\nHe shook hands with me on being introduced, and immedi-\\nately began to speak to my sponsors with such a rapid flow of lan-\\nguage that I can only describe it as a splutter. He used the Taal\\ndialect, a deteriorated form of Holland Dutch, spoken by the Boers,\\nwho also employ many KaflB.r words in their conversation. Oom\\nPaul soon had the party laughing heartily over some recent ex-\\nperience. One of the gentlemen took occasion to lean over and\\nprompt me in a stage whisper with His Honor is in a good humor\\nthis morning. Ask him anything.\\nIt could easily be guessed that there would be no warm friend-\\nship between President Kruger and Cecil Rhodes. Yet it were", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0215.jp2"}, "216": {"fulltext": "160 OOM PAUI. KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS.\\npertinent to ask, A^Hi}^ all tHs intermittent exliibition of spite and\\nvain anger from tlie Colossus for he is colossal in man} ways of\\nthe Transvaal Ever since the Jameson episode Mr. Kruger has\\nhad the game in his own hands, and because his cards have been\\nbadly played, with a probable disastrous result to himself and\\nothers, he blackguards the amused on-looker, and figuratively tells\\nhim not to look on while he is pla^ang, as his presence only\\nirritates. The reason for all this is too apparent, and verges, in\\nits unreasonableness, on the keen jealous}^ displa3 ed by foreign\\nnations to British supremac3\\\\\\nDESEUT TURNED INTO A GARDEN.\\nThe Transvaal, with all its potentialities and proved riches,\\nis on the doA\\\\mvrard grade, whilst Rhodesia, the scorned, the water-\\nless desert, and the land with nothing to show (^as Paul Kruger\\ntermed it) is progressing out of all understanding. The slump in\\nthe one is put dovm to Kruger, and the rise in the other is placed\\nto the credit of Rhodes. There lies the point in a nutshell.\\nImagine an old-established and flourishing business, in a leading\\nthoroughfare, losing its trade to a neighboring newcomer, with\\nhalf the stock to offer, no connection to boast of, and yet cutting\\nout its older and more powerful rival by leaps and bounds. The\\nproprietor of the older establishment, if a business man, will over-\\nhaul his whole S3 stem, and work on lines more modem and en-\\nlightened, and endeavor to retain the trade, the fruits of past years\\nof success.\\nMr. Kruger is not a business man, and therefore cannot reason\\non these lines, but, instead, stands at the narrow door of his empty\\nshop and relieves his feelings by berating his brisk rival. The\\nver} pillars of his stability are deserting him b^^ the exodus of a\\nnumber of his burghers into Rhodesia, and the stream of Dutch\\ncolonists from the Cape and the Orange Free State being diverted\\ninto the newer channel. Paul Kruger is like a wealthy proprietor\\nwho has lined his own pockets, but is doomed to see the edifice he\\nhas built fall about his ears, to the detriment of his whole staff and\\nemplo3^ees. In his rival, Cecil Rhodes, he sees a man whose pockets", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0216.jp2"}, "217": {"fulltext": "HON. CECIL J. RHODES- THE UNCROWNED KING", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0217.jp2"}, "218": {"fulltext": "COLONEL BADEN-POWELL\\nGALLANT DEFENDER OF MAFEKING AGAINST THE BOERS", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0218.jp2"}, "219": {"fulltext": "JOHANNESBURG GOLD MINE-SHOWING STAMP BATTERY WHERE\\nTHE ORE IS CRUSHED", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0219.jp2"}, "220": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0220.jp2"}, "221": {"fulltext": "A GROUP OF OFFICERS OF THE 10th ROYAL HUSSARS NOW ON\\nDUTY IN SOUTH AFRICA", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0221.jp2"}, "222": {"fulltext": "A NATIVE DISPATCH CARRIER OVERTAKEN AND SHOT\\nBY THE BOERS", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0222.jp2"}, "223": {"fulltext": "TYPE OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES MOUNTED RIFLES\\nWHO VOLUNTEERED FOR SERVICE IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND BOERS", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0223.jp2"}, "224": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0224.jp2"}, "225": {"fulltext": "CAPTURED BRITISH OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE 18th HUSSARS AT\\nPRETORIA, TRANSVAAL", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0225.jp2"}, "226": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0226.jp2"}, "227": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0227.jp2"}, "228": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0228.jp2"}, "229": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUL KRUGKR AND 0TH:^R FAMOUS tKADERS. l6l\\ntave not been overburdened witb riclies made out of bis own ven-\\nture, but wbose work is founded upon strict business principles, and\\nwbicb will flourisb for years after be retires from tbe management.\\nTbe enmity and envy engendered by tbis state of affairs bas been\\nwell reflected lately by tbe epitbets burled upon tbe devoted bead of\\nMr. Rbodes. Murderer, witb probably a few adjectives, omitted\\nin transmission, is tbe selected cboice from tbe pious man s vocabu-\\nlary but to do Kruger full justice we do not ascribe sucb violent\\nlanguage to a deliberate expression of a man wbo is cognizant of\\ntbe excellencies of bis neigbbor, and bates bim tbe more for bis vir-\\ntues being impressed upon bis notice.\\nLAND TEEMING WITH RICHES.\\nPaul Kruger is, unfortunately, built rougbly, and bis utter\\nblindness to tbe plain patb tbat lies before bim excites pity more\\ntban disgust. Tbere is not tbe sligbtest doubt tbat be bas firmly\\npersuaded bimself into tbe belief wbicb is not less convincing be-\\ncause it suits bis own pocket tbat tbe Transvaal s existence de-\\npends upon tbe Dynamite Concession. Imagine a young and prom-\\nising land, teeming witb ricbes, being dependent upon a private\\ncontract for its existence I Wbat can be tbe fate of a land, wbere\\nevery wisb of tbe majority of its inbabitants is tbwarted, and all\\nopposition to tbe existing autocracy is set down as tbe macbinations\\nof its enemies?\\nPaul Kruger, witb teetb clencbed and fists doubled, retains\\nand yearly increases bis power, as against all comers. Small\\nwonder it is tbat tbe sigbt of Rbodes working away patiently at\\nan extreme corner of bis dominion, v/itbout active autbority or tbe\\ndesire for sucb, recommending tbe granting of any wisbes of tbe\\nsettlers tbat may be rigbt and proper in a free and open country,\\nexcites bis rival to abuse. Wbere tbe figbt is unequal between tbe\\ntwo powers of Soutb Africa is, tbat Rbodes knows bis Kruger, but\\nKruger, if be tried, bas not tbe capacity to understand bis Rbodes.\\nTbere can bardly be a doubt tbat eacb force will keep to tbe track\\nuntil tbe last, witb a result tbat is easily foretold.\\nWben tbe war began a niece of President Kruger, far from ber\\n11", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0229.jp2"}, "230": {"fulltext": "162 OOM PAUL KRUGKR AND OTHER FAMOUS IvBADBRS.\\nnative land, was anxiously scanning every war dispatcli tHat gave\\nher information regarding the prowess of tlie sturdy Boers, whose\\nsuccesses caused her loyal heart to beat exultantly and her cheek\\nto glow with excitement over each fresh burgher victory.\\nIn 1898, in company with her brother, she came to the United\\nStates, where he was obliged to look after an interest he had secured\\nin one of the rich gold and silver mines of southern Arizona. At\\nthat time no thought was entertained of war or the devoted pair\\nwould have remained in the land of their nativity one to defend\\nhis rights, and the other, if need be, to nurse and aid in every way\\npossible her valiant kinsmen, friends, and countrymen.\\nBOER GIRL IN AMERICA.\\nSannie Kruger s grandfather was a mixture of Boer and Bng-\\nlish, this combination being brought about before the great trek\\nin the beginning of the century, when the Boers and English\\nfraternized, and up to that time had not acquired the deep hatred\\nthey have for one another at the present day. Her grandmothei\\nwas a Boer girl and a sister of the present wife of Oom Paul Kru^\\nger, while her father was a nephew of this clear-headed and re^\\nsourceful pilot of the destiny of the Transvaal Republic. She is,\\ntherefore, a grandniece of both Kruger and his wife. On her mo-\\nther s side she is also a great niece of General Piet Joubert. Thig\\ncondition of affairs has been brought about from the fact that the\\nBoers intermarry among one another, crossing the relationships\\nuntil they exceed in complicity and intricacy even the famed rela^\\ntionships of the West Virginia and Kentucky mountaineers.\\nUnlike most of her countrywomen, Sannie Kruger was educated\\nin Hnrope, the greater part of her training being obtained in France\\nand Belgium, where she became highly proficient in painting and\\nmusic. President Kruger severely condemns foreign customs and\\na continental training, but the fair slip of a girl he calls his niec^\\nso captivated him that he forgave her this unpardonable offense\\nand even overlooked the slight strain of English blood in her na.\\nture, which probably, more than anything else, accounts for her\\nlove of travel and her determination to accompany her brother in", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0230.jp2"}, "231": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUIv KRUGBR AND OTHER FAMOUS I.KADERS. 163\\nHs unHeard-of determination to leave his native country and come\\nto America and hazard his fortunes in the most progressive of\\nAnglo-Saxon countries.\\nIn speaking of her kinsfolk, Miss Kruger throws much light\\nupon what is generally unknown in this country concerning her\\npeople. The impression that usually obtains concerning the Boers\\nis that they are purely an agricultural people, with few desires and\\nsimple tastes and from long contact with the savage tribes whose\\nterritory they took by force, they have acquired to a greater or less\\nextent a certain barbarity and coarseness not possessed by more\\nprogressive peoples and different tastes.\\nVICTIMS OF PREJUDICE.\\nShe says We Boers are plain folk, with few caste and class\\nlines, having a strong national feeling, and desiring to be left alone\\nto govern ourselves as best we see fit. The impression that pre-\\nvails that we are coarse, uneducated and brutal is due to the preju-\\ndices scattered broadcast against us by the Outlanders, who are\\ndesirous of taking by hook or crook our lands and property which\\nhave, contrary to first impression, proved very valuable, not alone\\nin mineral wealth, but as an agricultural community.\\nIt is true that the doppers, as we call them, the plain\\nfarmers, who live on isolated farms and rarely if ever mingle with\\nthe life of our cities or towns, are more or less uneducated and plain\\nin their tastes but in the United States on the Western farms and\\nin fact scattered all over the country you have settlers who are\\ncruder and more primitive in their way of living than our hay-\\nseeds are. A dopper girl dresses and looks as different from a\\ntown-bred girl as your country lass does from your city-bred maiden.\\nYour farmers daughters are not duplicates of your daughters of\\nwealth and fashion, are they? No more are we like the dopper\\nwomen.\\nThe doppers all dress in gowns cut after the same pattern, a\\ncheap print of bright color made into a short skirt for convenience\\nsake, gathered full around the waist, a blouse simply made with a\\nlow band for a collar, topped off by a sunbonnet. On Sundays and", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0231.jp2"}, "232": {"fulltext": "164 COM PAUL KRUG:^R AND OtHl^R I^AMOUS tvEADKRS.\\nliolida3^s they appear resplendent in their gaudiest, brightest and\\nbest gowns, with a narrow ribbon of gay color, tied in a Dutcby\\nbow short, stiff loops and long ends somewhat like the fashion in\\nvogue in this countr}^ several years ago.\\nWe girls of the cities and tow^ns, however, dress as fancy dic-\\ntates, and it is no unusual thing to see copies of La Mode, Harper s\\nBazaar and the latest London fashion plates adorning the dressing\\ntables of these city belles. xAs a rule, however, on ordinary occa-\\nsions we dress very simply owing to the fact that we ride a great\\ndeal and as we ride astride like the men, we cling to short skirts\\nrather than trailing gowns. To tell you the truth I do not see how\\nAmerican girls accustom themselves to ride in the awkward manner\\nthey do, and I am glad to see the progressive young ladies in the\\nWest have adopted our mode of riding.\\nREADY TO ADOPT FASHIONABLE DRESS.\\nThe general impression that Boer wives wear a Mother Hub-\\nbard and never appear in anything else is a base libel on the race.\\nPerhaps in some of the outlying farms this may be true, but our\\nmothers as a rule wear a two-piece garment, the skirt and waist\\nbeing simply made, while their children, as I have before stated,\\nlean very strongly toward foreign fashions, and adopt them on all\\npossible occasions.\\nIt is also generally asserted that a great deal of Zulu blood\\nis intermingled with our race. This is another Knglish absurdity.\\nWe pride ourselves upon our hereditary clannishness, and we treat\\nthe Zulus and Basutos and Mashoanos simply as servants to do the\\ndrudgery and other labor which they are willing to perform to par-\\nticipate to a slight degree in the influences of our civilization. We\\ncarry our relationships almost to an absurdity, for a Boer, even if\\nhe is only a fiftieth cousin, is a relative, but from our custom of\\nintermarrying all Boer families are more or less closely related.\\nLike all Boer girls I am an excellent shot and I fervently\\nwish I were back in the Transvaal that I might if need be defend\\nour land from the relentless attacks of the English invader. From\\nsheer necessity we have all been obliged to learn how to shoot, and", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0232.jp2"}, "233": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUIv KRUGKR AND OTHER FAMOUS I.EADERS. 165\\none of tlie first prerequisites of our education is to hit a bull s eye\\nat long range.\\nOur cunning witli tlie gun has been handed down to us\\nthrough the generations. When treking on the veldt it often fel]\\nto the women to keep the prowling lions away from the wagons, and\\nin time of war our women stand behind the laager or barricades, as\\nthe case may be, load the guns, tend the wounded and if needed\\ntake a hand in the shooting also.\\nWe will be defeated in the long run by the English, but we\\nwill show that we know how to fight.\\nHere I am continually harassed by the thought that I am\\nneeded by my country, and at times so strong is the inclination to\\nreturn that I am almost persuaded to commence the long voyage\\nto the land of my nativity so that I may be able to help, if it is pos-\\nsible, repeat to the British the terrible lessons we taught them at\\nRorke s Drift and Majuba Hill.\\nPRESIDENT OF ORANGE FREE STATE.\\nAnother celebrity in South Africa is President Steyn, chief\\nexecutive of the Orange Free State. He spent his earlier years\\nwith his maternal grandmother at Bloemfontein. This good lady\\nwas the wife of the famous Boer leader and pioneer, Wessels a\\nman with some sterling qualities, whose memory the Boers hold in\\nthe highest reverence. Mrs. Wessels was a fit wife for such a hus-\\nband ^brave, determined, patriotic, gentle and loving.\\nThe natives disputed every step the trekking Boers took\\nin their country, but they were hardly more dangerous than the\\nlions which prowled about in large numbers. Many a time in the\\ndead of night Steyn s grandmother, when a young married woman,\\nhad to fly from impending death in one form or another, one child\\nin her arms, another running by her side clinging to her skirts.\\nIn later years, when the Boers had settled down to cultivate their\\nfarms and the Wessels were able to look back on the stormy days\\nthat had passed, a phrase that Steyn and his brothers heard often\\nfrom their grandmother s lips was You are free men. See to it\\nthat you remain free,", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0233.jp2"}, "234": {"fulltext": "166 OOM PAUI. KRUGKR AND OTHER FAMOUS LKADBRS.\\nThe marriage of tlie president of tlie Free State is quite a little\\nromance in itself He was intended for a legal career, and wlien\\nnineteen years of age left SoutH Africa to pursue his studies in\\nBurope. On tlie same ship was a sweet, winsome lassie of twelve,\\nand the boy and girl became boon companions to the end of the\\nvoyage. Steyn studied with diligence and success. Sometimes\\nhe thought of his little traveling companion, and wondered if he\\nshould ever see her again.\\nSix years passed, and Steyn returned to Bloemfontein a full-\\nfledged barrister. He had only been home a few days when he\\nattended a school function, and one of the first guests he was in-\\ntroduced to was a beautiful young woman of eighteen, in whom\\nhe quickly recognized his ship companion of six years before.\\nUnder similar circumstances young people are apt to call such a\\ncoincidence destiny, and Steyn and his sweetheart were no ex-\\nception to the rule. His offer of marriage was accepted, but\\nSteyn s financial position did not warrant him in setting up house-\\nkeeping just then. He had plenty of brains, but few briefs to\\nexercise them on. There was nothing for it but to wait and work.\\nTHOUGHT TO BE STEALING A SWEETHEART.\\nSteyn traveled a great deal in circuit, and the letters for his\\nsweetheart he addressed secretly to a mutual friend, upon whom\\nMiss Fraser for such was the young woman s name called every\\nday for her billets-doux. Bloemfontein even now is no larger than\\na decent-sized English village in those days it was so small that\\neverybody made a point of knowing everybody else s business.\\nConsequently, people were quick to notice the friendship that\\nhad sprung up between Miss Fraser and Steyn s friend in the bar-\\nrister s absence, and the general impression was that this friend\\nwas trying to steal Steyn s sweetheart from him, thus proving\\nhimself a traitor to Steyn and unworthy of recognition by any\\nhonest, fair dealing resident of Bloemfontein! Friends deserted\\nthe unhappy man where once he was met with smiles he saw\\nnothing but frowns, but he stuck loyally to his trust despite it all.\\nWhen Steyn returned to Bloemfontein, people received him with", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0234.jp2"}, "235": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUI. KRUGBR AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS. 167\\nveiled expressions of commiseration. Steyn could not understand\\nit. He hastened to tlie residence of tlie man wlio liad been acting\\nas his postman, and inquired tlie meaning of it all. He roared\\nwitH laughter when he heard of the conclusion his fellow townsmen\\nhad jumped to, and how surprised those good but misguided folk\\nwere when they saw the rising young barrister and the base\\ndeceiver walking arm in arm through the streets may be readily\\nimagined.\\nAt last Bloemfontein learned the truth. They had much to\\nask forgiveness for from the man upon whom they had too quickly\\npassed judgment, and he was feted and banqueted for many days\\nthereafter. The marriage of Advocate Steyn and Miss Fraser\\nrounded off a pretty little romance, but whether the postman\\nacted as best man if there is such an ofi ce at a Boer wedding\\ndeponent sayeth not.\\nIn this wise did the man who is figuring so prominently in\\nthe Transvaal war meet, woo and win a charming bride.\\nOTHER CELEBRITIES.\\nDoubtless the action of the Orange Free State people in aiding\\nthe Boers against the British was started by Dr. Frank W. Reitz,\\nPremier of the Transvaal, who was formerly President of the\\nOrange Free State. He resigned in 1895, because of ill health, and\\nvisited England, and was cordially received by King Leopold, of\\nBelgium, and by the President of France.\\nDr. Reitz comes of German stock, his ancestors having settled\\nin Holland two centuries ago. His grandfather went to Africa,\\nwhere Dr. Reitz was born, in 1844. He was graduated from the\\nSouth African College, studied law in England, and was called to\\nthe bar in 1868. He practiced successfully in Cape Town for six\\nyears, and was then appointed Chief Justice of the Orange Free\\nState. In 1889 he was elected President, and his of cial service\\nwas entirely satisfactory.\\nThe great general and commander-in-chief of the Boer army is\\nPietrus Jacobus Joubert. When the British General Symons was\\nkilled in one of the first engagements of the war, it was just like", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0235.jp2"}, "236": {"fulltext": "168 OOM PAUI. KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS I^EADERS.\\nJoubert to telegrapli condolences to Lady Symons. He is frank-\\nness and honesty personified. He is a man and a soldier of tiie\\ntype Knglishmen and Americans like. Nothing could be more\\ncourteous tban his treatment of his English prisoners. from Lady-\\nsmith. Nothing could be kinder than his care for the wounded\\nenemy.\\nHere is what a correspondent of a London journal said of him,\\nwriting from Ladysmith\\nAt daybreak I got back to the station just as Joubert s train\\nwas steaming away to Sandsspruit. By dint of audacity the station\\nmaster was persuaded to stop it. I boarded the General s own spe-\\ncial saloon carriage. Evidently the sheer impudence of the thing\\nmust have staggered him, for he forgave me and came into my\\ncompartment. We chatted for hours on the journey to the big Boer\\ncamps at Sands River, or spruit.\\nCOMMANDER OF THE BOER ARMY.\\nI noted that the General was generally popular, the Boers\\nclustering about the stations to shake hands with him. He would\\ndescend, when the train stopped long enough, to say a few words\\nby way of encouragement. There were some feeble attempts at\\ncheering, but 3^our Transvaal burgher has no lungs for that form\\nof popular approval.\\nI asked and received permission to snapshot Joubert and his\\nmore immediate friends. He stepped out of the train and took up\\na position for that purpose. In appearance he bears strong traces\\nof his French origin. His quick, dark eyes beam with shrewdness\\nand kindness. He has a belief that the future and the present are\\nfor the Boer, and declares he would cut his throat sooner than give\\nway on the points of Transvaal s claims or doubt God s personal\\nsupport of its cause.\\nJoubert, with the addition of some polish, is a typical Boer.\\nHe comes of an old French Huguenot family, long settled in South\\nAfrica, with a strong infusion of Dutch blood. Like President\\nKruger, he was born of good family. He was a worker and at\\none time was a farmer. But his innate ability soon lifted him into", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0236.jp2"}, "237": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUI. KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS. 169\\npublic life. He became State Attorney to tbe South African Repub-\\nlic, and afterward Vice-President. He bas long been ambitious to\\nbe President, and in 1893 came witbin 881 votes of winning tbis\\nhonor from the great Kruger himself. Joubert is very popular.\\nIn the late seventies, during the troubles with England that\\nculminated in the war, under the memory of which Bngland has\\nsmarted ever since, Joubert became a very prominent figure in\\nTransvaal affairs. He accompanied Kruger on his memorable visit\\nto England, when the demand for the independence of the Republic\\nwas formulated. This demand was finally refused, and on Decem-\\nber 30, 1880, Kruger, Joubert and Pretorius formed themselves into\\nthe triumvirate that declared the Republic independent.\\nThen came the memorable war, with Laing s Nek, Ingoga Rion\\nand Majuba Hill following in rapid and fatal sequence. Joubert\\nwas the hero of Majuba Hill. He personally led the force that\\ndealt England the blow she has neither forgotten nor forgiven.\\nJoubert remarked the next day that he always had supposed the\\nEnglish flag was red, but now he knew it was white he had seen it\\nat Majuba Hill. That remark completed his conquest of the Boers.\\nREPUTATION FOR FAIRNESS.\\nNothing is written about Joubert that does not comment on his\\nfairness. The Boers, in their insatiable ambition to possess out-\\nlying lands that England seized before them, raided Bechuanaland\\nin 1884. The movement was a popular one. The Boers were\\nflushed with victory. They believed the land was more theirs than\\nEngland s, for they had broken the ground before England pos-\\nsessed it. But Joubert stopped it.\\nI positively refuse, he declared, to hold office under a gov-\\nernment that deliberately breaks its covenants, and we have made\\ncovenants with England. He meant it. He would have resigned\\nand gone back to his farm, and the Boers knew it.\\nJoubert organized the army of the Transvaal. He divided the\\ncountry into seventeen military departments, and each department\\nagain and again into smaller divisions, with commanders, field cor-\\nnets and lieutenants of various ranks in charge. Every man in", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0237.jp2"}, "238": {"fulltext": "170 OOM PAUL KRUGBR AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS.\\nthe Transvaal became a trained soldier without leaving His farm.\\nEvery man had his complete equipment ready at home. Every\\nman was pledged to appear at an appointed spot at the summons.\\nTo mobilize the entire force of the Republic Joubert had to send\\nonly seventeen telegrams. The word passed down the line, and in\\nan incredibly short time hundreds of post riders ;arried the summons\\nfrom farm to farm. Within forty-eight^hours the entire nation would\\nbe in arms, fully equipped and provisioned for a month, awaiting only\\nthe command to assemble. In the old days of Majuba Hill the\\narmy thus assembled was an army of sharpshooters. Then Jou-\\nbert s proud boast was true Forty bullets per soldier, and a\\nman per bullet. But game is almost as scarce in the Transvaal\\nnow as in New Jersey, and with practice lacking the Boers are not\\nthe marksmen they were many yea rs ago.\\nANECDOTE OF KRUGER AND JOUBERT.\\nThis story is told of Joubert and Kruger in Paris The Gen-\\neral was asked how he trained the Boers to such splendid marks-\\nmanship. We are hereditary marksmen, he said. We had to\\nsend our children to school, and the country was full of wild beasts\\nand Kaffirs. So every boy had to carry a rifle and know how to\\ndefend himself. and his sisters. He was expected to prove his skill\\nby bringing home bags of game. That s how we teach our boys.\\nIsn t that so, Kruger\\nThe burly President, thus appealed to, puffed his pipe con-\\ntentedly for a few moments and then said Yes, we make our\\nboys understand that the meek inherit the earth.\\nJoubert and Kruger, it is well known, are not the warm per-\\nsonal friends they once were. Not that there is enmity, or even\\ncoldness between them, but they have drifted apart. This was un-\\navoidable between two such men, when Joubert grew big enough to\\nbecome a serious rival to the great Boer President. Twice they\\nhave run against each other for the presidency, but in the last elec-\\ntion Kruger, because of his fiercer anti-British attitude, far out-\\nstripped his rival.\\nLike Kruger, General Joubert has a popular nickname in the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0238.jp2"}, "239": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUI. KRUGBR AND OTHER FAMOUS IvBADBRS. 171\\nTransvaal, but not one nearly so affectionate as Oom Paul, thougli\\na compliment to his abilities. He is known far and wide as Slim\\n?iet. But slim bas no reference to bis physical being. It is\\nBoer for sbrewd, or crafty, and bow slim Joubert really is the\\nBritish discovered at Ladysmitb.\\nPhiladelphia is the birthplace of General Piet Joubert, the com-\\nmander-in-chief of the Boer forces. In the narrow three-storied\\nbrick building at 1 105 Arch street the man who commands the\\nBoer army first saw the light. The building has been altered\\nsomewhat since it was occupied by the Joubert family, but it remains\\npractically as it was at the time of Joubert s birth.\\nMARRIED AND CAME TO AMERICA.\\nVery little is known in Philadelphia of the Joubert family. A\\nspecial deputy of the Custom House and Surveyor of the Port\\naccidently learned that the Jouberts were at one time residents of\\nthe Quaker City. A little search revealed their place of residence,\\nand that it was here that Piet Joubert was born. The family was\\nin moderate circumstances, and soon after the birth of the boy, who\\nhas since earned world-wide fame, they removed to some little town\\nin the central part of Pennsylvania. Before coming to Philadel-\\nphia the Jouberts had lived a short time in Holland. The elder\\nJoubert was a Frenchman, but he fell in love with a girl in the\\nsouth of Holland, and soon after their marriage they emigrated to\\nAmerica.\\nWhen the great stories of South African wealth reached\\nAmerica, Joubert decided to take his family there. He joined a\\ncolony from Holland, and settled at Fransche Hoek, near Stellen-\\nbosch, where other members of his family were living. The Joubert\\nname has been prominent in Transvaal affairs for many years, and\\nit was but natural that the American-born Joubert would especially\\ndistinguish himself. He has been a leader in South Africa many\\nyears.\\nGeneral Joubert has visited the land of his birth twice. First\\nin 1883, when an agent for a large financial company, and again\\nten years later, when he was the official representative of his", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0239.jp2"}, "240": {"fulltext": "172 OOM PAUL KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS.\\ncoimtr}^ to tlie World s Fair at Chicago. It is not generally known\\ntliat Piet Joiibert and Paul Kniger are not friends, but enemies,\\nand that the war in the Transvaal has largel}^ been urged on by\\nboth because each was afraid that an}^ lack of zeal he displa3^ed\\nwould cause his undoing and the political elevation of the other.\\nIn fact they are rivals in every field of activity, have little in com-\\nmon and much in difference. The}^ are both men of strong per-\\nsonalit}^, and bring to bear shrewdness and knowledge quite\\nunusual in their fight against each other. Kruger has thus far\\nhad the advantage of mone}?- and position to aid him. This is the\\nexplanation of the success of his political aspirations.\\nThough Kruger is President of the republic, Joubert s political\\nposition is hardl}^ less notable. He is Vice-President, commander-\\nin-chief of the army, a member of the Executive Council, the Cabi-\\nnet of the republic, and holds a dozen other offices. He fails only\\nof the Presidency, though he has made two attempts to wrest this\\nfrom Krueer. The first time there were those who said that he had\\npolled more votes and was defeated b}^ wholesale swindling. The\\nsecond time he was undoubtedl}^ beaten b} the presence of a third\\ncandidate in the field, who divided the vote.\\nCAN GET THE BEST OF A BARGAIN.\\nJoubert is an honest man according to his lights, but they are\\ndim. He never has deliberatel}^ swindled any one but, being a\\nman of business first and a farmer or a generalissimo afterguards,\\nhe takes the keenest delight in getting the best of a deal, whether\\nit be iu mining shares, gold claims, water rights or oxen. It is\\nthis pride in the conscious sentiment of smartness that is such\\na prominent feature throughout the Boer character.\\nOne of Joubert s foibles is being photographed, Probablj he\\nis the most photographed man in the Transvaal. Owing to this\\nharmless little peculiarit} his features are thoroughl} well known.\\nA broad, straight furrowed brow, from which the whitening hair is\\ncarefully brushed back, overhangs a pair of powerful, clear and\\nhonest grey ej^es, which look the stranger straight in the face, and\\nare not shift}^ and furtive as are those in the head of the average", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0240.jp2"}, "241": {"fulltext": "OOM PAUI. KRUG^R AND OTHER FAMOUS I.EADERS. 17S\\nBoer. The moutli is cold and hard, with no trace of a smile the\\ncorners droop slightly, and the general expression is not amiable.\\nThe nose is the striking feature; it inspires respect, for it is built\\non strong, commanding lines, and broadens out at the base into\\npowerful but sensitive nostrils. The face as a whole has dignity,\\nrepose, almost a certain nobility of its own.\\nA renowned commander was sent to South Africa from England\\nto direct the movements and be responsible for the fortunes of the\\nBritish army. This is General Sir Redvers Buller, who wears the\\nVictoria Cross, a badge of valor won on the battlefield.\\nA BRILLIANT OFFICER.\\nIn May, 1858, a young man of whom nothing of any great\\nimportance was known at the time joined the Sixtieth Rifles as\\nensign, yet there are few Englishmen to whom his name and ex-\\nploits are not familiar. This is because the Rifleman of 1858 is\\nnow the man in whom the thoughts of every soldier of the empire\\nare centered. Sir Redvers life has been crowded with incidents.\\nThe first twelve years of his service were spent as a subaltern. He\\nsaw plenty of fighting in them, for the Chinese war of i860 took\\nhim to the east, and he was present at the actions of Sinho, Taku\\nForts and the capture of Pekin.\\nTen years later he met Wolseley in Canada, and served under\\nhim in the Red River expedition. Evidently he impressed the\\ncommander-in-chief very strongly with his capabilities, for when\\nthe Ashanti expedition was organized Buller was selected to accom-\\npany him. When the troops returned to England, Sir Redvers\\n(then a Major) was given a staff appointment at the War Office.\\nIn the latter part of 1878 the situation in South Africa de-\\nmanded his presence in the field, and accordingly Buller took an\\nactive part in the Kaffir and Zulu wars. For his services in the\\nvarious operations that ensued he was frequently mentioned in\\ndispatches, granted the brevet of lieutenant colouel, thanked in\\ngeneral orders, and awarded the proud distinction of the Victoria\\nCross for persiDual heroism in the face of the enemy.\\nNo precaution was omitted for the successful performance of", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0241.jp2"}, "242": {"fulltext": "174 OOM PAUIv KRUGER AND OTHER FAMOUS LEADERS.\\ntlie threefold task devolving upon Sir Redvers Bnller and Ms com-\\nmand, a larger force tHan was commanded by Wellington at Water-\\nloo. Buller s task was threefold. He was instructed to disarm tlie\\nBoers, to establisli equal rights for white men south of the Zambesi,\\nand to arrange for the civil administration of the conquered terri-\\ntory when the war was over. No man is more competent than\\nBuller to accomplish these ends. His character is complex.\\nBrave, determined, stem, with a biting tongue and burning zeal,\\nhe exacts from others in pithy and monosyllabic sentences instant\\nand unquestioning obedience.\\nHe is head of a county family, a Privy Councillor, and has\\nbeen Under Secretary for Ireland, where he is supposed to have\\ncontracted sympathy for Home Rule. Although taciturn, brusque,\\nand even brutal in speech when on service, there is another side to\\nhis character. His social characteristics are equally marked. An\\nexcellent judge of the art of dining, and a perfect host, there is an\\natmosphere of charm and a note of distinction that makes Buller\\nthe idol of his friends. He is human, and attracts more strongly\\nthan he repels; unlike Kitchener, whose cold, hard, calculating\\ncharacter left him almost friendless while carving his way to for-\\ntune, Buller s so ial reputation and magnetism have grown with\\nhis manhood.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0242.jp2"}, "243": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XII.\\nTragic Story of Majuba Hill and Lang s Nek.\\nRIGINALLY tliere were four republics in the Transvaal, but\\nin i860 tbey were united into one under tbe title of tbe\\nSoutb African Republic, wbicli is now its official desig-\\nnation. Tbe South African Republic did not prosper. From the\\nfirst it was impecunious, and within a decade after its establishment\\nit was practically insolvent. The discovery, in 1867, of diamonds\\nand of gold brought into the country a rush of strangers, whose\\nenergy and enterprise might have altered the condition of the\\nTransvaal, but for the lethargy and obstinate isolation of the Boer\\npopulation. Burgers, the last President before the annexation to\\nGreat Britain, was a man of vigor and talent, but the stolid Boers\\ndeclined to be welded by him into a nation. In a war upon which\\nthey entered with Sekukuni, a powerful native chief, the fighting\\nwas done for them by the warlike native tribe of Amaswazis, who\\nwere so disgusted with their white allies that they left them. When\\nthe Boers had to do their own work their hearts failed them and\\nthey fled ignominiously. Burgers, with tears, strove to rally them,\\nbut in vain, and he begged them to shoot him rather than disgrace\\nhim. But they shrugged their shoulders, and more than two-thirds\\nof them fled home, leaving him hemmed in and powerless.\\nThe republic was encircled by native enemies all round the\\nTransvaal borders, all waiting fiDr the impending onslaught by\\nCetewayo, the Zulu king, the master of a formidable army which\\nlay on the frontier ready to strike, and restrained from immediate\\nhostilities against the Boers who had provoked him by many\\nencroachments only by his fear of the English and the personal\\ninfluence of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the native secretary of\\nNatal. On the northeast the Amaswazis brooded in sullen discon-\\ntent northward, within and beyond the frontier, anarchy raged\\nand in the west the Bechuanas were waiting for their opportunity.\\n175", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0243.jp2"}, "244": {"fulltext": "176 STORY 01^ MAJUBA HII.Iv AND I^ANG S NB^K.\\nFinancially the republic was hopelessly insolvent. The Boers\\nset their faces against taxation. It is a notorious fact that when\\nShepstone annexed the Transvaal there was found in the public\\ntreasury only twelve shillings and sixpence (about three dollars),\\npart of which was base coin. Clearly a crisis was impending which\\nthreatened to involve South Africa in great peril. The annexation\\nwas no sudden act. The Blue-books contain remonstrance on re-\\nmonstrance addressed by British of cials to the Transvaal authori-\\nties. At length Lord Carnarvon s forbearance was exhausted.\\nShepstone was sent for to England, and received a commission of\\ndate 5th October, 1876, directing him, should the emergency render\\nsuch a course necessary, to annex the Transvaal to her Majesty s\\ndominions and put an end to the controversy.\\nTHE BOERS REJECTED ALL REFORMS-\\nShepstone, escorted by twenty-five mounted policemen and a\\nfew of cials, reached Pretoria in February, 1877. It was an open\\nsecret that he was empowered to annex the country if he deemed it\\nadvisable, but he expressed his readiness to refrain from that step\\nif certain reforms were carried out. The Boers would have no\\nreforms, and on April 12, 1877, Shepstone issued a proclamation\\nformally annexing the Transvaal to Great Britain. For some time\\nthe Boers remained sullenly quiet. A few of them rendered good\\nand loyal service with Sir Bvelyn Wood during the Zulu war, but\\nthe main body stood aloof. Sir Owen Lanyon succeeded Shepstone\\nas Administrator of the Transvaal, and from the first was unpopu-\\nlar with the Boers.\\nAt the close of the Zulu war Sir Garnet Wolseley, who held\\nthe position of High Commissioner for Southeastern Africa, came\\nup into the Transvaal with a considerable strength of regular and\\nirregular troops. During his stay no actual outbreak occurred, but\\nthere were ominous demonstrations, which would probably have\\ncome to a head but for the presence of the troops. The Boer dis-\\ncontent was enhanced by the positive intimation from the Colonial\\nSecretary that under no circumstances whatever would the Trans-\\nvaal independence be restored to the Boers, and by Sir Garnet s", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0244.jp2"}, "245": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HILIy AND I^ANG S NKK. 177\\nless prosaic J but equally resolute utterance, tHat so long as tlie\\nsun shone and tlie Vaal river flowed to tlie sea tlie Transvaal would\\nremain British, territory. He finally left the Transvaal in March,\\n1880, and the troops in that territory were gradually reduced until\\nin November of the same year they consisted of but thirteen com-\\npanies of infantry, two troops of mounted infantry and four guns,\\ndistributed in detachments in some half-dozen garrisons scattered\\nover the country.\\nThroughout the land there was a deceptive peace, which lulled\\nLanyon into a sense of security, and to some extent deceived\\nWolseley. The Boers were playing the waiting game. Mr. Glad-\\nstone became Premier in March, 1880. Taking it for granted that\\nhe would act on the lines of his speeches when in opposition, the\\nBoer leaders called on him to rescind the annexation. The answer\\nof the Government came in the curt telegram Under no circum-\\nstances can the Queen s authority in the Transvaal be relinquished.\\nThere was consternation among the Boers the British inhabitants,\\ntrusting implicitly in an assurance so specific, rejoiced greatly and\\nbought land without hesitation. In the matter of taxation the\\nBoers had always presented a passive resistance against the British\\nrule, but Lanyon s officials considered that they might now crush\\nthis resistance by active measures. A Boer named Bezuidenhuit\\nwas levied on, and in default of payment, a seizure was made.\\nBezuidenhuit and his friends forcibly recovered the article seized,\\nand an attempt to arrest him was thwarted by a gathering of Boers.\\nDETERMINED TO FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE.\\nAt a mass meeting on the 13th of December, 1880, it was de-\\ncided that the South African Republic should be restored it was\\nresolved to fight for independence, and a triumvirate consisting of\\nKruger, Joubert, and Pretorius was appointed to administer the\\ngovernment. On the i6th the republic was proclaimed at Heidel-\\nberg, which became the headquarters of the new Government. A\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2large body of Boers took possession of that place, another went to\\nPotchefstrom, and a third commando was detailed to another\\nservice presently to be described.\\n12", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0245.jp2"}, "246": {"fulltext": "178 STORY OF MAJUBA HII.I, AND I^ANG S NBK.\\nLanyon was powerless to interfere, and lie and tlie Bnglisli in\\nPretoria had to await events, pending the expected arrival of the\\ndetachment of the 94th regiment which had been ordered up from\\nLydenburg, whence it was known to have moved on December 5th.\\nThis ill-fated body was destined never to reach Pretoria. On the\\nmarch Colonel Anstrnther had frequent warnings of danger, to\\nwhich he paid insufficient heed there prevailed in the force the\\nrooted belief that the Boers did not intend serious mischief.\\nIt was scarcely to be expected that the men who had pusilla-\\nnimously recoiled from before Sekukuni s spear-armed natives\\nwould venture to assail a body of British regular infantry. But\\nlong before the end of this miserable war the valor and constancy\\nof the Boers, not less than their moderation and humanity, had\\ncome to be acknowledged and admired. In this, their first conflict\\nwith the red soldiers, their unerring marksmanship was the chief\\nsurprise.\\nTAKEN BY SURPRISE.\\nThe scouting duties of Colonel Anstruther s detachment were\\nperformed with carelessness else, whatever might have been its\\nfate, it would not have been taken by surprise. About noon on\\nDecember 20th, the little column, marching at ease, was approach-\\ning Bronkhorst Spruit. The ground traversed by the road was\\nsparsely wooded, sloping down from either side. Military precau-\\ntions were neglected, and the convoy stretched to an interminable\\nlength. The band at the head of the column abruptly stopped\\nplaying when about 150 armed mounted Boers suddenly became\\nvisible in skirmishing formation on a rise on the left of the road,\\nat a distance of a few hundred yards. Colonel Anstruther imme-\\ndiately galloped back, and ordered the leading wagon to halt and\\nthe others to close up.\\nA Boer advanced midway with a flag of truce, and was met by\\nColonel Anstruther, to whom he handed a letter written in English.\\nIts terms were at once quaint and peremptory. We don t know,\\nit ran, whether we are in a state of war or not, consequently we\\ncan t allow any movements of troops from your side, and wish you\\nto stop where you are. We not being at war with the Queen nor", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0246.jp2"}, "247": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HII,I, AND IvANG S NKK. 179\\nwith tlie people of England, but are only recovering the independ-\\nence of our country, we do not wisli to take to arms, and therefore\\ninform you that any movements of troops from your side will be\\nI taken by us as a declaration of war.\\nThe messenger was to take back an answer, which had to be\\ngiven within five minutes. Anstruther read the letter and tersely\\nreplied I go to Pretoria do as you like. The messenger de-\\nparted, and the colonel, hurrying back towards his men, ordered\\nthem to skirmish. But it was too late. The Boers had closed in\\nupon the rear and flanks of the column and opened fire at point-\\nblank range. Their fire was deadly every shot told that of the\\ntroops was scattered and ineffective. In ten minutes, out of a total\\nof 259, there had been killed or wounded 155 of cers and men.\\nColonel Anstruther, himself riddled with bullets, then ordered the\\nCease fire, and intimated the surrender of the remains of his\\nforce. The Boers then closed in, ordered all arms to be laid down,\\nand formed a cordon round the scene of the slaughter.\\nFRIENDLY ACTS FOLLOW THE FIGHT-\\nWhen the fighting was over, Boers and soldiers became very\\nfriendly. The Boer commander, Joubert, came forward and shook\\nhands with Colonel Anstruther, expressing regret that he should\\nbe among the wounded. A hospital camp was pitched closed by,\\nand leave was given for the retention of the wagons containing\\nbaggage, provisions, and hospital equipment, tents for the wounded,\\nand some uninjured men as hospital nurses the remaining un-\\nwounded prisoners with the rest of the wagons were removed to\\nHeidelberg. Two men were permitted to carry the tidings of the\\ndisaster to Pretoria, whence without hindrance surgeons, hospital\\norderlies, and ambulances were sent out to Bronkhorst Spruit.\\nThe Boers showed themselves most obliging, and were ex-\\ntremely solicitous for the comfort of the wounded in camp, bringing\\nmilk, butter, eggs, bread, and fruit gratuitously. The statements\\nregarding the Boer losses in the short fight were curiously conflict-\\ning. The Boers af rmed that they amounted only to two killed\\nand five wounded.", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0247.jp2"}, "248": {"fulltext": "180 STORY OF MAJUBA HILI. AND IDAHO S NEK.\\nWlien Sir Garnet Wolseley went liome lie had. been succeeded,\\nin July, as Higli Commissioner for South-Kastern Africa, by Colonel\\n(afterwards Major-General) Sir George Pomeroy CoUey, an officer\\nof bigb. character. Tidings of tbe outbreak in tbe Transvaal\\nreached him at Pieter Maritzburg on the 21st of December, and\\nwere in possession of the Colonial Office in London on the follow-\\ning day. Reinforcements from India were promptly ordered to\\nNatal, and further instalments of troops were sent out from Kngland\\nas early as possible. Considering the weakness of the forces at\\nColley s immediate disposition, he would have been wise to wait\\nuntil he had been reinforced but he had a great contempt for the\\nBoers, and was eager to distinguish himself before he should be\\nsuperseded by officers of higher rank. He was warned by Colonel\\nBellairs (in military command of the Transvaal) that there were\\nfrom 6,000 to 7,000 rebels in the field, who, under good leader-\\nship, would exhibit courage, discipline, and organization.\\nINADEQUATE RELIEF COLUMN.\\nColley hurried up towards the Transvaal frontier the few com-\\npanies of infantry which he had in Natal. The arrival of some\\ndrafts was .very opportune a naval brigade was landed and sent up,\\nas also a squadron of dragoons and mounted infantry under the\\ncommand of Major Brownlow, and the Natal Mounted Police.\\nColley had early intimated his intention to enter the Transvaal\\nabout January 20th, 1881, with a column consisting of eight com-\\npanies of infantry, four guns, and a mounted squadron a miserably\\ninadequate force. So far from accomplishing this anticipation, he\\nwas able only to quit Newcastle (a border town of Natal) on Janu-\\nary 24th with about 60 officers and 1,200 men.\\nThis little force was styled the relief column, as it was in-\\ntended to raise the siege of the Transvaal towns in which were\\nscanty British garrisons beleaguered by the Boers. Apart from\\nPretoria, the besieged capital of the Transvaal, there were six of\\nthose places Potchefstrom, Rustenburg, Marabastadt, Lydenburg,\\nStanderton, and Wakkerstrom, all of which held out gallantly until\\nthe restoration of peace.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0248.jp2"}, "249": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HII,L AND I^ANG S NKK. 181\\nBefore advancing from Newcastle, Colley sent an ultimatnm\\nto the Boers, ordering them, as insurgents, to disperse. They re-\\nplied, declaring that all they wanted was the rescinding of the\\nannexation and the restoration of the South African Republic under\\nthe Protectorate of the Queen. On the 26th the British force en-\\ntrenched itself on an elevated position at Mount Prospect, about\\ntwenty miles north of Newcastle, in the mountainous region form-\\ning the northern projection of Natal. The camp was about a mile\\nright of the road from Newcastle to Standerton, which crossed the\\nridge known as Lang s Nek about three and a half miles further\\nnorthward. In the vicinity of Lang s Nek a considerable number\\nof Boers were seen. On the morning of the 28th, Colley moved\\nout with a strength, all told, of about 1,160 men.\\nFORMED IN LINE OF BATTLE.\\nThe pass over Lang s Nek crosses the ridge about the centre\\nof a rough semi-circle, on the west of which is the Majuba moun-\\ntain on the east is a long spur surmounted by a rocky crest. In\\nfront of the proper left of this spur, several hundred yards to the\\nfront, is an isolated conical hill. The ground in the bottom of the\\nenclosed basin is low, with a gradual rise towards the face of the\\nspur, something in the nature of a glacis. About nine o clock the\\nBritish force, having moved up along a ridge out of shot, formed\\ninto position on a rise in the bottom, with the mounted squadron\\nand the 58th on the right, the guns in the centre, and the 60th and\\nnaval brigade on the left, the whole facing toward the spur.\\nThe action was begun by shelling parts .of the enemy s posi-\\ntion, and by pushing forward a company of the 60th and the Naval\\nBrigade, with their rockets, which took some effect on the Boer re-\\nserves in rear of the Nek. At ten o clock the 58th advanced to\\nthe attack of the spur, covered on its right by artillery fire and by\\nBrownlow s squadron. The leading troop of mounted men swept\\nwith fine dash up the isolated hill, and then charged. The hill-\\ntop was held by a Boer piquet of considerable strength.\\nBrownlow shot the Boer leader with his revolver, but his horse\\nwas shot under him; Lieutenant Lermitte and Sergeant-Major", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0249.jp2"}, "250": {"fulltext": "182 STORY OF MAJUBA HII,I. AND I^ANG S NKK.\\nLunny were killed; the supporting troop was checked tlie lead-\\ning troop, fatigued and broken by the charge, and with its leaders\\nall down, could make no head, and the whole squadron gave way.\\nIt was no proper ground for cavalry, and the horsemen should\\nhave acted as mounted infantry. Meantime, the 58th had\\nbegun climbing the steep ascent through the long entangling\\ngrass, which retarded the men s progress. The Boer piquet from\\nthe hill, having repulsed Brownlow s squadron, moved down and\\nopened fire on the now exposed right flank and rear of the 58th,\\nwhile the Boers on the spur gathered on its brow and maintained\\na deadly fire from behind cover.\\nCHARGED THROUGH A HAIL OP FIRE.\\nAnxious to get to close quarters out of this purgatory. Colonel\\nDeane gave the order to charge. The officers led nobly, and the\\nmen struggled on through the hail of fire. Colonel Deane s horse\\nwas shot, but he dashed forward on foot until riddled with bullets\\nten yards in front of the foremost man. Major Poole and Lieu-\\ntenants Inman and Elwes were killed in supporting Colonel Deane\\nMajor Hingeston and all the mounted officers of the 58th were\\nshot down or dismounted. The stubborn soldiers of that gallant\\nregiment youngsters as they were, most of them continued to\\nhold their ground unflinchingly for some time, notwithstanding\\nthe bitter fire.\\nLieutenant Baillie, carrying the regimental color, was mortally\\nwounded, and when his comrade Hill went to his assistance, the\\nbrave young officer said Avith his last breath, Never mind me\\nsave the color Hill, who had been carrying the Queen s color,\\ntook the other also when he went down, Sergeant Budstock took\\nboth colors, and carried them until the general retirement, which\\nsoon had to occur. The 58th, wrote Colley, having fallen\\nback leisurely without haste or confusion, reformed at the foot of\\nthe slope, and marched back into position in as good order, and\\nwith as erect and soldierly a bearing, as when it marched out.\\nSpite of much British bravery, the combat of Lang s Nek was\\nan unquestionable and severe defeat. But many noble deeds were", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0250.jp2"}, "251": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HILI, AND I^ANG S NEK. 183\\nperformed. Lieutenant Hill (already named) bronght wounded\\nman after man out of action, and worthily earned tlie Victoria Cross.\\nTrooper Doogen saved the life of Major Brownlow; Private God-\\nfrey and Bandboy Martin remained with Major Hingeston and\\nCaptain Lovegrove when those of cers lay wounded, enduring\\nheavy fire in doing so. The great brunt of the losses fell on the\\n58th. The casualties altogether amounted to 198, of which 173\\nbelonged to that regiment, which had to bury 75 officers and men\\nout of a total strength of 494. Lang s Nek caused the Boers ex-\\nceptionally heavy loss. Their total casualties from beginning to\\nend of the war were but loi, of which Lang s Nek accounted for\\n41 14 killed and 27 wounded. The Boers behaved with humanity.\\nThe moment that the Cease fire sounded they gave permission\\nto the English surgeons to attend the wounded lying in front of\\nthe Boer position, fetched water to them, and assisting in binding\\nup their wounds, rendered all possible relief.\\nA DISASTROUS REPULSE.\\nThe folly of the forward position prematurely taken up by\\nGeneral Colley with an inadequate force was made apparent by the\\nresult of the battle of Lang s Nek. The comparative handful of\\nmen in the Mount Prospect camp could no longer be regarded by\\nany stretch of imagination as a relief column. That repulse\\ntaught the Boers their ability to arrest the further advance of the\\nBritish force, and enabled them to turn their attention to the in-\\nterception of its line of communication. The Boers, in effect, were\\nmasters of the situation. Their patrols penetrated nearly to Lady-\\nsmith, and threatened Newcastle from the Drakensberg and Utrecht\\ndistricts. Convoys were cut off, captured, and destroyed the mail\\nservice was arrested, and except for the telegraph service, which\\nremained uninterfered with, the Mount Prospect camp was all but\\nentirely isolated. An escort of mounted infantry sent out on\\nFebruary 7th to attempt to reach Newcastle with mails, was driven\\nback to the camp by the fire of the Boers. I\\nColley then determined to make a more formidable effort next\\nday to open up communications with Newcastle, and to clear the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0251.jp2"}, "252": {"fulltext": "184 STORY OF MAJUBA HII.I. AND IvANG S NEK.\\nBoers from the road. On the morning of the 8th he left camp with\\nfive companies of the 6oth Rifles nnder Colonel Ashburnham, two\\nfield and two mountain-gnns nnder Captain Greer, R.A., and a\\nsmall detachment of mounted men nnder Major Brownlow. About\\nfive miles south of the Mount Prospect position the Newcastle\\nroad is crossed by the Ingogo river, which runs from west to east\\nthrough a valley. The ground north of the river is broken and\\nrugged; from the south bank there is a gentle rise to the foot of a\\nflat-topped ridge strewn with rocks and boulders, and irregularly\\ncut by rocky depressions.\\nThe general, leaving the two mountain-guns and a company of\\ninfantry on a commanding crest north of the river, crossed it with\\nthe main body, which he formed on the plain beyond, and then\\nmoved it forward to the foot of the ridge bounding the valley to the\\nsouthward. As the troops were ascending the rise to the ridge the\\nBoers showed themselves in considerable strength, and they at once\\ngalloped forward to dispute the ridge, and to take advantage of the\\ncover afforded by the intersecting valleys. Greer brought his two\\nguns into action, but the Boers had already taken cover, from which\\nthey directed a heavy and active fire on the guns and skirmishers.\\nGreer was killed early, and the command of the guns devolved on\\nLieutenant Parsons.\\nHOT ENGAGEMENT AND MANY CASUALTIES.\\nThe engagement became heavy and general about noon, when\\nthe companies of the 6oth were pushed forward against the enemy,\\nwhose fire from behind cover was very deadly. The guns had to\\nbe freely exposed, and were in action with case-shot at a range of\\nless than 500 yards. The gunners suffered very heavily, and a\\ncompany of the 60th, which most gallantly advanced to cover the\\nguns, and met the Boer fire at close range, had many casualties\\nfrom the steady and accurate fire of enemies enjoying almost per-\\nfect cover.\\nSo severe was the fire of the Boers that the guns had soon to\\nbe withdrawn from their exposed position, and during the rest of\\nthe affair fired only occasionally. It was apparent that the enemy", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0252.jp2"}, "253": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HII,I, AND LANG S NKK. 185\\nwere being gradually reinforced, and tlie general sent orders to\\ncamp for three companies of tlie 58tli to move out and occupy the\\nridges north, of the river, and for a part, if practicable, to cross the\\nIngogo in support of the troops already deeply engaged and re-\\nduced by severe losses.\\nAbout three o clock there was a comparative lull, although the\\nBoers maintained a very accurate fire, any one on the British side\\nbeing almost certainly struck if at all exposing himself. Later in\\nthe afternoon the Boers received considerable reinforcements, and\\nLieutenant Parsons, wounded as he was, re-opened with his guns\\nfor a short time but darkness presently set in, and the Boers\\ngradually withdrew to their camp. It was Colley s conviction that\\nthe enemy intended renewing the engagement next morning in\\noverwhelming strength, and he acted wisely in deciding to withdraw\\nto camp under cover of darkness. It was a gruesome night. Tor-\\nrents of rain were falling, and the darkness was intense, except\\nwhen the lightning flashes broke the blackness of the cold and\\ndismal night, thus adding to the terrors of the conflict.\\nFIELD STREWN WITH WOUNDED.\\nThe ambulances sent out during the fight had not been able to\\nreach the actual scene of action, since the Boers had threatened to\\nfire on them if they advanced while the engagement was going on.\\nThey were not now available in the darkness and the wounded,\\nwhom in many instances it had been impossible to remove from the\\nadvanced positions, had to be searched for. Those who were found\\nwere collected and sheltered for the night as well as possible with\\nwaterproof sheets, blankets, great-coats, etc.; but many lay as they\\nhad fallen throughout the long, inclement night. The guns were\\nhorsed, although insufficiently, by collecting all the available ani-\\nmals, and by withdrawing the team from the ammunition wagon,\\nwhich had to be abandoned. When all arrangements had been\\ncompleted, the force moved off in silence, formed in hollow square,\\nthe guns in the centre, the infantry in skirmishing order on the\\nfour sides. The river, swollen by the rain, was deep and rapid\\nand some of the first men trying to cross were swept down, but", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0253.jp2"}, "254": {"fulltext": "186 STORY OF MAJUBA HIIvL AND LANG S NEK.\\nfound footliold on a sandbank. Tlie main body crossed in detacli-\\nments with, locked arms. Tke camp was readied about 4 A. m. on\\ntke 9tli. Tbe soldiers bad dragged the guns up tbe bill, tbe borses\\nbeing unable to pull tbem up tbe steep and slippery road. Tbe\\n58th companies spent tbe nigbt on tbe nortbern ridges, and were\\nnot witbdrawn until tbe following day.\\nTbe total loss of tbis unfortunate day amounted to 139 officers\\nand men. According to tbe statement of tbe Boers, tbe Ingogo\\nfigbt cost tbem eigbt killed and six wounded. Tbe Boers returned\\nto tbe scene of action on tbe morning of tbe Qtb, expecting to re-\\nnew tbe engagement. Tbey took away two gun limbers and tbe\\nammunition wagon abandoned over nigbt by Colley s people, and\\ntben fell back bebind Newcastle to join tbeir main force, reported\\nas tbreatening to prevent tbe advance of tbe reinforcements recently\\narrived from India and now burrying to tbe scene of action.\\nSEVERE AND COSTLY REVERSE.\\nTbeir disappearance gave opportunity to succor tbe wounded\\nand bury tbe dead witbout molestation, and opened tbe road from\\nMount Prospect to Newcastle, to tbe bospital at wbicb latter place\\nwere promptly sent tbe wounded from tbe Britisb camp. Tbe com-\\nmunications in rear of Mount Prospect remained open from tbis\\ntime forward.\\nSir George Colley bad sustained a second reverse, propor-\\ntionately more bloody tban bad been tbe first. By tbis time, one\\nwould imagine, it migbt bave begun to dawn on tbe bome autbori-\\nties tbat Colley, to say tbe least, was not a successful commander.\\nHis experience, of actual warfare was but slender be bad served\\nonly in tbe Cbina war of i860 and in the Asbantee campaign. He\\nwas comparatively new to Soutb Africa, and was quite unfamiliar\\nwitb tbe Boer nature. Yet tbe autborities bad assigned to bim as\\nsecond in command an officer senior to bim in army rank, wbo bad\\nfougbt witb distinction tbrougb tbe Crimean and Indian Mutiny\\nwars, and in tbe Asbantee and Zululand campaigns, in bigb and\\nsuccessful commands.\\nBrigadier-General Sir Evelyn Wood was tbe only officer in", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0254.jp2"}, "255": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HII,I, AND I^ANG S NBK. 187\\ntlie latter campaign under whom Boers served and died served\\nwith a loyal devotion, died gallantly under his eye. He knew the\\nstrange, simple, yet stubborn nature of the Boers he was ready to\\nfight with them, and equally ready to argue them out of a folly.\\nWood and Colley were old and fast friends Wood was quite con-\\ntent to serve under his junior, and had hurried out to India with a\\nnumber of special service ofS.cers.\\nHe reached Durban on February 12th, four days after the In-\\ngogo reverse, Sir G. Colley s account of which was in London on\\nthe loth, and notwithstanding the unwarrantable optimism of its\\ntone, must have been read between the lines in Pall Mall. Then\\nwould have been the time to avert further futile waste of brave\\nsoldiers by instructing by telegraph Colley and Wood to exchange\\ntheir relative positions. The arrangement would have been per-\\nfectly regular, and Colley was the sort of man who would loyally\\nhave accepted the secondary position.\\nWAITING FOR REINPOROEMENTS.\\nPicking up on his rapid journey the Indian column from its\\ncamp on the Biggarsberg, Wood and it (consisting of the 15th\\nHussars, the 2d battalion 60th Rifles, and the 92d Highlanders)\\nreached Newcastle on the 17th. Colley met him there, and it was\\nresolved between the two officers that no further advance should\\nbe attempted until more reinforcements, now on the way up, should\\narrive. They parted on the 21st, Colley moving the Indian column\\nup to Mount Prospect without molestation Wood returning to\\nPieter Maritzburg to press on the advance of further reinforce-\\nments.\\nSir George Colley s motive in making the fatal advance on the\\nMajuba mountain-top, whatever it might have been, died with him.\\nHis assurance had been given to Wood that no further advance\\nshould be attempted pending the arrival of further reinforcements.\\nHe had engaged with the Boer Vice-President in -negotiations\\nwhich promised favorable results. A reconnoissance in force to the\\nsummit of the mountain could give no more information than a\\nmere patrol could easily ascertain the position of the Boer en-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0255.jp2"}, "256": {"fulltext": "188 STORY OP MAJUBA HILI. AND IvANG S NKK.\\ncampments and an approximate estimate of the force occupying\\nthem. A Boer piquet occasionally held the hill-top during the day,\\nand Colley resolved to occupy it by making a night march.\\nAt ten o clock on the night of February 26th he left the Mount\\nProspect camp with a force of 22 of cers and 627 men^a smaller\\nforce than he had employed at Lang s Nek. At the start its com-\\nposition and order were as follows: Two companies 58th, the\\nNaval Brigade, three companies 92d, followed by some details two\\ncompanies of the 60th moved out later to the piquet post close\\nto the foot of Inquela hill, with instructions to occupy its summit\\nwith some detachments. Further on, upon the narrow Nek between\\nthe Inquela and the Majuba, Captain Robertson s company of the\\n92d was dropped as a link, with orders to entrench itself.\\nCLIMBING THE STEEP MAJUBA.\\nThe Nek traversed, the troops, guided by friendly Kaffirs, had\\nnow to undertake in single file the actual climb up the steep and\\nrugged side of the Majuba, whose top is 6,200 feet above sea-level\\nand more than 2,000 feet above the positions of the Boer laagers.\\nFrom time to time during the tedious and toilsome ascent, a halt\\nwas made to enable the men heavy laden with rations and extra\\ncartridges to regain their breath. As the troops neared the sum-^\\nmit the obstacles increased. The steep grassy slopes were suc-\\nceeded by great boulders and deep dongas, varied by sharp crags\\nand treacherous loose stones, over and up which the wearied and\\nburdened men had to drag themselves. Near the top the ascent\\nhad to be accomplished on hands and knees. Between four and\\nfive in the morning of the 27th the force, much exhausted after\\nthe heavy toil, and now only about 400 strong, gained the summit.\\nLike most of the mountains of South Africa, the Majuba is\\ncrowned by no peak. Its top is a plateau of saucer -like shape,\\ndipping towards the centre, across which is a rocky reef about\\nbreast high. The circumference of the plateau is about 1,200\\nyards. When the summit was reached it was still dark, and the\\ntroops having got mixed during the scramble up, and being :weary,\\nlay down where they stood until dawn. With daylight they were", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0256.jp2"}, "257": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HII,I, AND IvANG S NKK. 189\\nextended round the edge of tlie plateau, witb. a small reserve in the\\ncentral hollow. No instructions were given to entrencli, and in-\\ndeed, the troops had no tools for such a purpose but the men of\\ntheir own accord attempted to obtain some cover by throwing up\\ndefences of turf and stones.\\nHere and there the soldiers showed on the sky line, and a few\\nshots were fired, which for the moment caused great consternation\\nin the Boer camps in the lower ground north-west of the Majuba.\\nSeeing that the mountain was in British occupation, the expecta-\\ntion was natural that an attack would presently be made on their\\npositions on the Nek, in which case they would find themselves\\nbetween two fires. Their first idea, it seems, was of flight. The\\noxen were inspanned, and hurried preparations were made for re-\\ntreat. But when it became evident that the troops on the summit\\nwere in no great strength and had neither cannon nor rockets, and\\nthat their Nek position was unmolested, the courage of the Boers\\nrevived. Smijt, the fighting general, made a short, stirring speech,\\nand at his summons a number of the younger men began to climb\\nthe mountain side under cover of the stones and scrub.\\nSHARP FIRING FROM BOER SKIRMISHERS.\\nJoubert, the commanding general, detailed a force of the older\\nmen in support of the storming party picked shots who remained\\nbelow watching the edge of the plateau, and firing at every soldier\\nwho exposed himself. As the morning passed Boer detachments\\nattacked and hemmed in the British position on the north, the east,\\nand the south-west. The defenders were not in suf cient strength\\nto hold the whole of the edge of the plateau, and detachments had\\nto be moved hither and thither to meet and attempt to thwart the\\nadvances of the Boers. Slowly and steadily the hostile skirmishers\\nclambered upwards from cover to cover, while the supports below\\nprotected their movement with a steady and accurate fire.\\nDuring the hours from dawn to noon our men had not suffered\\nvery heavily, notwithstanding the Boer marksmanship. The first\\nofficer to fall was Commander Romilly, of the Naval Brigade, while\\nreconnoitring with General CoUey. But the long strain of the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0257.jp2"}, "258": {"fulltext": "196 STORY 01^ MAJUBA HII.L AND I^ANG S NBK.\\nBoers close sliooting began to tell on tlie nerve of tlie Britisli sol-\\ndiers, and wlien tlie Boers at length reached the crest, and opened\\na deadly fire at short range, the officers had to exert themselves to\\nthe utmost in the effort to avert disaster.\\nThe reserves stationed in the central dip of the platean, out of\\nreach until then of the enemy s fire, were ordered up in support of\\nthe fighting line. Their want of promptitude in obeying this order\\ndid not augur well, and soon after reaching the front they wavered\\nand then gave way. The officers did temporarily succeed in rally-\\ning them, but the bolt had a bad effect.\\nIt was struggled against very gallantly by the officers, who,\\nsword and revolver in hand, encouraged the soldiers by word and by\\naction. A number of men, unable to confront the deadly fire of\\nthe Boers, had huddled for cover behind the rocky reef crossing the\\nplateau, and no entreaty or upbraiding on the part of their officers\\nwould induce them to face the enemy. What then happened\\none does not care to tell in detail. Everything connected with this\\ndisastrous enterprise went to naught, as if there had been a curse\\non it. Whatever may have been the object intended, the force em-\\nployed was absurdly inadequate. Instead of being homogeneous,\\nit consisted of separate detachments with no link or bond of union\\na disposition which notoriously has led to more panics than any\\nother cause that the annals of regimental history can furnish.\\nDRIVEN BACK IN A WILD PANIC.\\nFragments of proud and distinguished regiments fresh from\\nvictory in another continent shared in the panic of the Majuba,\\nseasoned warriors behaving no better than mere recruits. To the\\ncalm-pulsed philosopher a panic is an academic enigma. No man\\nwho has seen it much less shared in it can ever forget the infec-\\ntious madness of panic-stricken soldiers.\\nIn the sad ending, with a cry of fright and despair, the rem-\\nnants of the hapless force turned and fled, regardless of the efforts\\nof the officers to stem the rearward rush. Sir George Colley lay\\ndead, shot through the head just before the final flight. A surgeon\\nand two hospital attendants caring for the wounded at the ban", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0258.jp2"}, "259": {"fulltext": "STORY OF MAJUBA HII,I, AND I^ANG S NKK. 191\\ndaging place in tlie dip of the plateau were sHot down, probably\\ninadvertently. The elder Boers promptly stopped the firing in that\\ndirection. But there was no cessation of the fire directed on the\\nfugitives. On them the bullets rained accurately and persistently.\\nThe Boers, now disdaining cover, stood boldly on the edge of the\\nplateau, and, firing down upon the scared troops, picked off the\\nmen as if shooting game.\\nThe slaughter would have been yet heavier but for the en-\\ntrenchment which had been made by the company of the 92nd, left\\novernight on the Nek between the Inquela and the Majuba. Cap-\\ntain Robertson was joined at dawn from camp by a company of the\\n60th, under Captain Thurlow. I^ater there arrived at the entrench-\\nment on the Nek a troop of the 15th Hussars, under the command\\nof Captain Sullivan. After midday the sound of the firing on the\\nMajuba rapidly increased, and men were seen running down the\\nhill toward the entrenchment, one of whom brought in the tidings\\nthat the Boers had captured the position, that most of the troops\\nwere killed or prisoners, and that the general was dead with a bul-\\nlet through his head, and the rout was complete.\\nA MURDEROUS FIRE FROM THE BOERS.\\nWounded men came presently pouring in, and were attended\\nby Surgeon-Major Cornish. The entrenchment was manned by\\nthe two companies, and outposts were thrown out, which were soon\\ndriven in by large bodies of mounted Boers, under whose fire men\\nfell fast. Robertson despatched the rifle company down the ravine\\ntowards the camp, and a little later followed with the company of\\nthe 92nd under a murderous fire from the Boers, who had reached\\nand occupied the entrenchment. The Highlanders lost heavily in\\nthe retreat, and Surgeon-Major Cornish was killed.\\nThe surviving fugitives from Majuba and from the entrench-\\nment finally reached camp under cover of the artillery fire from it,\\nwhich ultimately stopped the pursuit. With the consent of the\\nBoer leaders, a temporary hospital was established at a farm-house\\nnear the foot of the mountain, and throughout the cold and wet\\nnight the medical staff never ceased to search for and bring in the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0259.jp2"}, "260": {"fulltext": "192 STORY CF MAJUBA HItL AND LANG S NElt.\\nwounded. Sir George Colley s body was brought into camp on\\nMarch ist, and buried there with full military honors. The other\\ndead of the JMajuba fight rest in a cemeter}^ on the plateau of the\\nmountain summit victims of a strange and almost incredible folly.\\nOf the 650 officers and men who were in action on this disas-\\ntrous da}^ 90 were killed, 133 were wounded, 58 were prisoners, and\\ntwo were missing, the total casualties being 2S3, the great majority\\nof which occurred in the 92nd, whose losses were 125 in the 5Sth,\\nwith a loss of 93 and in the Naval Brigade, which lost 36 more\\nthan half of its strength.\\nSIGNING TERMS OF PEACE.\\nSir Evelyn Wood reached Newcastle on March 4th, and\\nassumed command. On the 6th he met the Boer leaders, when an\\narmistice to last for eight days was agreed upon. The British garri-\\nsons in the Transvaal were revictualled for twelve da3^s, pending\\nthe raising of their siege on the consummation of peace and Sir\\nKvelyn Wood acknowledged the right of the Transvaal people to\\ncomplete self-government, subject to the suzerainty of the Queen.\\nTerms of peace were signed on IMarch 23d; and next da} General\\nSir Frederick Roberts, who had been sent out with large reinforce-\\nments to succeed Sir George Colle} reached Cape Towm, but\\nlearning of peace being signed, immediately sailed home.\\nThe total number of Transvaal Boers capable of carrying\\narms was under 8000 at the beginning of hostilities. The total\\nBritish force in -South Africa, or on the way thither, at the close\\nof hostilities consisted of thirteen infantry regiments, five cavalry\\nregiments, twenty-two guns, three naval brigades in all, not far\\nshort of 20,000 men. This total was exclusive of the British\\nearrisons besieeed in the Transvaal duriuQ; the war. The Boer\\ncasualties throughout the war, as alread}- mentioned, amounted to\\n43 killed and 58 wounded. The British casualties were over 800\\nkilled and wounded. At Majuba the Boers had one man killed\\nand five men wounded.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0260.jp2"}, "261": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XIII.\\nDr. Jameson s Famous Raid in the Transvaal.\\nMONG the stirring incidents that have marked the progress\\nof events in South Africa was the bold attempt of Dr.\\nJameson and others to overturn the government of the\\nTransvaal. Jameson, having received an appeal for help\\nfrom the Outlanders, or foreigners, in Johannesburg, the chief\\ntown in the Transvaal, crossed the frontier with a force from\\nPitsani Pitlogo, December 29, 1895. Colonel Grey and others\\nstarted from Mafeking with about four hundred men (volunteers) of\\nthe British South Africa s troops.\\nIn its issue of the ist of January, 1896, the London Times\\nprinted a telegram from Cape Town the text of an appeal for help\\naddressed to the Administrator of Rhodesia by the Outlanders of\\nJohannesburg in the Transvaal, who had been long and fruitlessly\\nagitating for equal rights with the Boer inhabitants of that coun-\\ntry. Appended to the message was a laconic announcement that\\nDr. Jameson, at the head of an armed force and accompanied by\\nartillery, had crossed the frontier on the 29th of December and was\\nhurrying on by forced marches to the gold reef city. The news\\nfell like a bombshell on the dawning New Year.\\nThe position of affairs in the Transvaal which had given rise\\nto this sensational coup had been long discussed in South Africa,\\nbut although strong language had been used, the probability of a\\nrecourse to armed force had not been anticipated by the general\\npublic. It was known, however, that for some years the intolerable\\ngrievances of the Outlanders had raised apprehensions in official\\nquarters, and Lord Loch stated that, during his tenure of the High\\nCommissionership, he found it necessary to make military prepara-\\ntions in view of a conflict which then seemed probable. It appears\\nalso that the Boer Government itself was quite alive to the dangers\\nof the situation, and it was this fact, coupled with the conviction\\n13 193", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0261.jp2"}, "262": {"fulltext": "194 DR. JAMESON S FAMOtlS RAID IN THE TRANS VAAt.\\nthat a prolongation of tlie statics quo was impossible, which, gave\\nrise to the invitation addressed to Dr. Jameson. The situation is,\\nindeed, best described in the language of that document. The\\nchiefs of the Johannesburg Reform Committee wrote\\nThe position of matters in this State has become so critical\\nthat we are assured that, at no distant period, there will be a con-\\nflict between the Government and the Outlander population. It\\nis scarcely necessary for us to recapitulate what is now matter of\\nhistory suffice it to say that the position of thousands of English-\\nmen and others is rapidly becoming intolerable. Not satisfied with\\nmaking the Outlander population pay virtually the whole of the\\nrevenue of the country, while denying them representation, the\\npolicy of the Government has been to encroach upon the liberty of\\nthe subject, and to undermine the security for property to such an\\nextent as to cause a very deep-seated sense of discontent.\\nSTRONG INDIOTMENT AGAINST THE BOERS.\\nA foreign corporation of Hollanders is to a considerable extent\\ncontrolling our destinies, and, in conjunction with the Boer leaders,\\nendeavoring to cast them in a mould which is wholly foreign to\\nthe genius of the people. Every public act betrays the most positive\\nhostility, not only to everything English, but to the neighboring\\nStates. What we have to consider is, what mil be the condition of\\nthings here in the event of conflict Thousands of unarmed men,\\nwomen and children of our race will be at the mercy of well-armed\\nBoers, while property of enormous value will be in the greatest peril.\\nWe cannot contemplate the future mthout the gravest appre-\\nhensions. All feel that we are justified in taking au}^ steps to pre-\\nvent the shedding of blood, and to insure the protection of our\\nrights. It is under these circumstances that we feel constrained to\\ncall upon you to come to our aid should a disturbance arise here.\\nThe circumstances are so extreme that we cannot but believe that\\nyou, and the men under you, will not fail to come to the rescue of\\npeople who will be so situated. We guarantee any expense that may\\nreasonably be incurred by j^ou in helping us, and ask you to believe\\nthat nothing but the sternest necessity has prompted this appeal.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0262.jp2"}, "263": {"fulltext": "DR. JAMESON S I^AMOUS RAID IN THEi TRANSVAAL. 195\\nSome mystery still attaches to the date of this letter, and the\\ncircumstances under which the invitation it contained was to\\nbecome operative. From the correspondence which has been pub-\\nlished, it seems, however, that the reason it was acted upon towards\\nthe end of December, 1895, was not that the contemplated crisis\\nhad arisen in Johannesburg, but that the preparations for the inva-\\nsion were complete, and it was impossible to delay action any\\nlonger without provoking suspicion. It is, indeed, questionable\\nwhether suspicion had not already been excited.\\nOn the side of Dr. Jameson, troops had been concentrated on\\nthe frontier at Mafeking; while, on the side of the Rand Reform\\nCommittee, arms had been secretly imported into Johannesburg,\\nand stores had been established and stocked at various points along\\nthe route which the invading force was likely to take. The Trans-\\nvaal Government were probably not unaware of th(3 steps which\\nhad been taken. Subsequent events, indeed, tend to show that\\nthey were both aware of them, and prepared to counteract them.\\nGOOD REASON FOR ASSEMBLING TROOPS.\\nSo far, however, as the assembly of Jameson s force on the\\nIrontier was concerned there was apparently no reason for appre-\\nhension. As it afterwards transpired this concentration was per-\\nfectly legitimate, and neither the Home Government nor the Junta\\nat Pretoria had any reason to question the ostensible legitimacy of\\nits designs. The object was to superintend the extension of the\\nVryburg-Mafeking Railway along the western frontier of the\\nTransvaal to Gaberones, a hundred miles further north. In a Blue\\nBook published in the course of the year appears a letter on the\\nsubject from the British South Africa Company to the Colonial\\nOffice, explaining that this scheme rendered the presence of an\\narmed force at Mafeking necessary, and asking that the High\\nCommissioner might be authorized to concert measures with Mr.\\nRhodes for the supply of adequate police protection during the\\nprogress of the railway works.\\nIn this way Dr. Jameson found himself at Mafeking at the\\nhead of a considerable body of Bechuanaland police towards the", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0263.jp2"}, "264": {"fulltext": "196 DR. JAMESON S I^AMOUS RAID IN THH I RANSVAAL.\\nend of December, 1895, awaiting the signal to ride to the resfue of\\nthe Outlanders. The signal, so far as it was other than the letter\\nof invitation, did not come, and Dr. Jameson seems to have de-\\ncided to act without it.\\nFour days after Christmas the men were ordered to muster in\\nmarching order, and in the afternoon were formed into hollow\\nsquares and addressed by Dr. Jameson, who also read out the letter\\nreceived from the Johannesburgers. Before Dr. Jameson could ask\\nif they were willing to go, the entire force spontaneously sang\\nGod Save the Queen and Rule Britannia. Jameson then,\\naccording to one account, added words to the following effect\\nWhen you get into Johannesburg, should you wish for more help\\nno doubt there are other Bnglish hearts such as the Cape Mounted\\nRifles and the Natal Mounted Police, who would only be too pleased\\nto help you in such a cause. This closed Jameson s appeal.\\nINVADING FORCE ON THE MARCH.\\nSir John Willoughby stepped forward and said that he was\\npleased to be in command of such a trustworthy and willing force,\\nespecially in such a matter. A little before sundown on the same\\nday the force started for the border. It consisted of Sir John\\nWilloughby (in command). Colonel White, thirty officers, and 380\\nrank and file, divided into four troops, numbered from A to D, each\\nwith an inspector and two sub-inspectors, and an artillery troop\\nwith one inspector and one sub-inspector, all in light marching\\norder, carrying only a cavalry cloak or mackintosh strapped to the\\nsaddle and a towel and small hold-all in the wallets. They rode all\\nnight, halting only for an interval of an hour about 10 p. m. to fodder\\nhorses and for about ten minutes every two hours till they arrived\\nat Malmani, a small village about forty miles from the border.\\nHere they were met by G and K troops, lately trans-\\nferred from the Bechuanaland Border Police, who started from\\nMafeking 120 strong, including officers. The men of these troops\\ndid not know where they were going till after they had crossed\\nthe border, when a copy of the Johannesburgers letter was read\\nto them. The telegraph wires were cut at Malmani, and the force", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0264.jp2"}, "265": {"fulltext": "DR. JAMKSON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAI,. 197\\nhalted about seven miles beyond that place for breakfast on Monday\\nmorning, the 30th.\\nThe news of the invasion caused the profoundest sensation in\\n.England, while all over the Continent of Europe, which for months\\npast had been given up to a gamble in Transvaal gold mines, the\\nraid was denounced as an attempt by Great Britain to grab the\\nuew El Dorado. The British Colonial Office seems to have been\\nbaken completely by surprise. Mr. Chamberlain, Foreign Secre-\\ntary, was at Birmingham when the news arrived, but he at once\\ntook steps to endeavor to stop the expedition. Returning instantly\\nto London, he put himself into telegraphic communication with\\nSir Hercules Robinson, the High Commissioner at the Cape, and\\nmessengers were sent to overtake and recall Jameson.\\nREPUDIATED BY THE HOME GOVERNMENT.\\nThese efforts were unavailing. A proclamation was then\\nissued repudiating Dr. Jameson s act, and calling on all British\\nsubjects to hold aloof from it. On January 2d Mr. Chamberlain\\nreceived the following telegram from Sir Hercules Robinson\\nNewton telegraphed that his messengers overtook Jameson\\nten miles beyond the other side of the Eland River. Brought back\\nverbal messages that despatches had been received and would be\\nattended to. Force was saddling up when messengers arrived, and\\nat once proceeded eastwards. Jameson has thus received both my\\nmessages, and has disregarded them. De Wit telegraphs this\\nmorning that it would have been impossible for him to have gone\\nto Jameson, and if it had been possible his mission would have\\nproved futile, as fighting commenced at four o clock yesterday. He\\nhad been unable to obtain particulars from Joubert (commander of\\nthe Boers) last night, and he has heard nothing beyond rumor this\\nmorning.\\nSimilar efforts to stop the invasion seem to have been made by\\nthe Chartered Company, by Mr. Rhodes, and by the Reform Com-\\nmittee at Johannesburg. Owing, however, to the scantiness of the\\nsupplies carried by the force and available on its route a return\\nseems to have been impossible. Meanwhile the Boers were sum-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0265.jp2"}, "266": {"fulltext": "198 DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAl,.\\nmoned to arms by General Joubert, and preparations were made to\\ngive tbe invaders a warm reception. In Johannesburg everybody\\nseems to have been taken by surprise. The Reform Committee\\nwere unprepared for a rising. The arms at their disposal were\\ncomparatively few, and the population generally had not been taken\\ninto their confidence.\\nNone the less it became necessary to act. Accordingly the Boer\\nauthorities were expelled from the town. A provisional government\\nwas formed under the Transvaal flag, and companies of insurgents\\nwere organized and armed. At this juncture President Kruger\\nastutely employed his diplomacy to prevent the invaders and the\\nrebels from acting in unison. Sending for the leaders, of the\\nReform Committee, he promised to consider their grievances, and\\narranged an armistice wdth them. Not knowing where Jameson\\nwas, and being further exercised in their minds by the Proclama-\\ntion of the High Commissioner, the Outlanders remained quiescent,\\nand consequently all the military resources of the Republic became\\navailable for the resistance of the invading force.\\nREPULSED BY THE STURDY BOERS.\\nOn the morning of the New Year Dr. Jameson came in touch\\nwith the Boers in the neighborhood of Krugersdorp, a mining vil-\\nlage within a short ride of Johannesburg, and connected with the\\ntown by railway. The fighting which followed is thus described\\nby a member of the force\\nWe mounted a very steep rocky hill in skirmishing order in\\na terrible thunderstorm, the Boers having entrenched themselves\\non an opposite and strongly fortified hill. We put several shells\\ninto their fortifications, but were unable to dislodge the Boers.\\nThe order was then given for the skirmishers to charge, but there\\nseems to have been some misunderstanding, as only twenty-five\\nmen charged, about fifty going round to the left and tr3dng to take\\nthe Boers in the flank. It was during this movement that we saw\\nhow strong the Boer position was, for a very heavy fire was imme-\\ndiately poured on both parties. The attack proving fruitless, the\\nr.Qlumn was ordered to make a detoujr to the right, which we sue-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0266.jp2"}, "267": {"fulltext": "DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAl,. 199\\nceeded in doing, but we were so itemmed in by tbe Boers tbat it\\nwas decided to rest for tbe night, hoping for assistance from Johan-\\nnesburg in the morning.\\nThe camp was formed in a rough hexagonal square, horses\\nand ammunition wagons inside, the men lying outside shoulder to\\nshoulder, with a Maxim pointing out from each corner. We were\\ntwice attacked before this was completed, and again at about 9 p.m.,\\nbut repulsed the enemy each time without loss on our side. During\\nthe night we were told we were to make a rush for Johannesburg\\nin the early morning, but we were attacked just before dawn, and\\nagain on our attempting to form in battle line, losing three men\\nkilled and four or five wounded. We managed to get away at\\nabout 5 A.M., and, making a long detour to the right, rode at a fast\\ncanter towards Johannesburg, followed by the Boers, who con-\\ntinually harassed our rear, inflicting all the injury they could.\\nTHE WHITE FLAG WAS HOISTED.\\nAfter three hours of this running fighting we were brought to\\na halt at Doornkop, where we perceived a strong force opposed to\\nus. We succeeded in taking one bluff, but the second was too\\nstrongly held, and had, moreover, a splendid natural fortification of\\nrocks. We fought on, however, till ten o clock, when, on receipt\\nof a command from the Knglish Government to return to the bor-\\nder. Dr. Jameson ordered the white flag to be hoisted. The horses\\nwere all dead beat and our 7-pounder ammunition had given out,\\nbut I think we could have gone on fighting for some time if necessary.\\nAt first when the flag was hoisted we could not believe that\\nit meant our surrender, and thought that it must be only tem-\\nporary for the purpose of recovering our wounded but after it was\\nknown, and we were collected by the farmhouse, I constantly heard\\nmen say that they had not the faintest notion that we were getting\\nthe worst of it.\\nIt would be idle to deny that the news of this disaster was\\nreceived with the deepest regret throughout England. The ille-\\ngality and rashness of the raid were generally admitted, but the\\noppressive treatment of the Outlanders had won much sympathy", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0267.jp2"}, "268": {"fulltext": "200 DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THK TRANSVAAL.\\nfor their cause. THis sympathy became concentrated on Dr. Jame-\\nson and his followers when it became evident that his defeat was\\nlargely due to the failure of the Johannesburgers to fly to his aid.\\nThe British Government, however, pursued a strictly correct atti-\\ntude. Mr. Chamberlain acted with energy, and, while repudiating\\nthe proceedings of Dr. Jameson, exerted himself, in consonance\\nwith the sentiment of the country, to procure a merciful treatment\\nfor the prisoners. If any disingenuousness was shown in the sub-\\nsequent negotiations with President Kruger it was not on the side\\nof the British Government.\\nThe High Commissioner for South Africa, Sir Hercules Rob-\\ninson, was sent to Pretoria to discuss the crisis with the Transvaal\\nGovernment and to obtain a solution which should be satisfactory\\nto all parties. President Kruger declined to negotiate until Johan-\\nnesburg had surrendered, and proceeded to take steps for an assault\\non the town. Sir Hercules Robinson having represented to the\\ninsurgents that their action was jeopardizing the lives of Dr. Jame-\\nson and his followers, they consented to lay down their arms and\\nthe leading members of the National Reform Committee were\\narrested. The High Commissioner then opened up negotiations\\nfor the transfer of Dr. Jameson and his force to the British authori-\\nties, and for securing a measure of redress of the legitimate griev-\\nances of the Outlanders. On the latter subject he failed to obtain\\nany concession from President Kruger, but the transfer of the raid-\\ners was granted on condition that they should be tried in Bngland\\nfor their offence, and brought to speedy justice.\\nKRUGER SHOWS A MAGNANIMOUS SPIRIT.\\nPresident Kruger s magnanimity in thus sparing the lives of\\nthe filibusters, as he called them, was highly extolled both in\\nEngland and South Africa, and the Queen addressed a message to\\nhim expressing her satisfaction at his decision. It afterwards trans-\\npired, however, that the praises lavished on the Transvaal President\\nwere not altogether deserved, since Dr. Jameson had not surrendered\\nunconditionally at Doornkop, but in pursuance of a written under-\\ntaking given by the Boer commandant to spare the lives of himself", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0268.jp2"}, "269": {"fulltext": "DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANS VAAI,. 201\\nand his followers. This fact had been kept secret from the British\\nauthorities.\\nAfter the release of Dr. Jameson, Mr. Chamberlain made an\\neffort to secure concessions for the Outlanders, and addressed an\\nelaborate memorandum to the Boer Government inviting Mr.\\nKruger to England and suggesting a scheme of Home Rule for\\nthe Rand. At first Mr. Kruger was disposed to accept the invita-\\ntion, but when he found that the British Government declined to\\ndiscuss a revision of the clause of the London Convention by which\\nthe Transvaal was prevented from making treaties with foreign\\ngovernments, he refused the invitation and the negotiations were\\nsuspended.\\nBROUGHT TO TRIAL IN ENGLAND.\\nDr. Jameson and his followers were brought to England, and\\nthe chief members of the force were tried in London, almost con-\\ncurrently with the trial of the Reform leaders at Pretoria. After a\\npreliminary examination at Bow street, they were committed to\\ntake their trial for various infractions of the Foreign Enlistment\\nAct. The trial was at Bar in the Queen s Bench Division, before\\nthe Lord Chief Justice, Mr. Baron Pollock and Mr. Justice Haw-\\nkins. For the defence, various objections were taken to the indict-\\nment on technical grounds, but these were overruled, and ulti-\\nmately the prisoners were all found guilty. Dr. Jameson was\\nsentenced to fifteen months imprisonment, Sir John Willoughby\\nto ten months. Major Robert White to seven months, and Colonel\\nGrey, Colonel Henry White, and Major Coventry to five months.\\nIn each case the imprisonment was without hard labor, and the\\nHome Secretary directed that the prisoners should be treated as\\nfirst-class misdemeanants. Dr. Jameson and Major Coventry were\\nafterward released on the ground of ill-health.\\nThe Rand reformers had a rather more exciting experience.\\nAfter a lengthy preliminary investigation they were all committed\\nfor trial, and a special tribunal, presided over by a judge imported\\nfrom the Orange Free State, was constituted to try them. The\\nproceedings, however, were cut short by a plea of guilty entered\\nby all the prisoners, the chiefs, Messrs. Phillips, Farrar, and Ham-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0269.jp2"}, "270": {"fulltext": "202 DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAL.\\nmond, and Colonel Rhodes admitting tlie cliarge of high treason,\\nand tlie others the minor offence of lese majeste. The ringleaders\\nwere then sentenced to death, and the remaining sixty prisoners to\\ntwo years imprisonment, a fine of $10,000 each, and banishment\\nfor three 3^ears.\\nThe severity of these sentences cansed great indignation in\\nEngland and the colony, and even the Boers themselves petitioned\\nfor their mitigation. The Transvaal Executive, however, took\\ntime to reconsider them, and meanwhile the prisoners were huddled\\ntogether in an insanitar}^ prison totally unfitted for their accom-\\nmodation. One of them, jMr. Grey, committed suicide during this\\nperiod of suspense. Tow^ards the end of May the decision of the\\nGovernment was made known. All the sentences were commuted\\nto a fine, the four leading prisoners being mulcted in $100,000\\neach and the rank and file in $10,000. A promise to abstain from\\nparticipation in politics was exacted from all of them. Colonel\\nRhodes alone refused to give the promise, and was consequently\\nbanished.\\nCHIEF CONSPIRATORS ESCAPED.\\nBy this time the strong feelings which had been evoked by\\nthe raid, both on the part of those who w^ere inclined to defend it\\nand those who most violently denounced it, had subsided, and the\\nconviction became prevalent that, while much necessary justice\\nhad been dispensed, the prime movers in the conspiracy had so far\\nescaped. From the beginning considerable suspicion had attached\\nto Mr. Rhodes, the Premier of Cape Colony and chairman of the\\nChartered Compan}^ The Chartered Company itself was also\\nthought to have been implicated. On the first news of the failure\\nof Dr. Jameson s invasion, Mr. Rhodes had tendered his resigna-\\ntion of the Colonial Premiership to the High Commissioner, and\\non the return of that official from his mission to Pretoria it was\\naccepted.\\nThroughout the crisis Mr. Rhodes had preserved a singular\\nreticence. When asked what he knew about the invasion, he con-\\ntented himself with saying that Jameson had taken the bit\\nbetween his teeth and bolted, After his resignation he came to", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0270.jp2"}, "271": {"fulltext": "DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAI.. 203\\nEngland, and had an interview witli Mr. Cliamberlain, but wliat\\noccurred between the two statesmen has not transpired. Almost\\nimmediately afterwards he left again for South Africa, landing at\\nBeira, and proceeding by the eastern route to Matabeleland, where\\na native insurrection had broken out. The curiosity of the public\\nto know more about the secret springs of the raid was intensified\\nby the publication by the Transvaal Government of a number of\\ndocuments and deciphered telegrams by which Mr. Rhodes and\\nhis colleagues seemed to be compromised.\\nDemands for an inquiry were made in both the Home and\\nColonial Parliaments, and the latter appointed a Select Committee.\\nThis committee published further documents and telegrams, and\\nfound that Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Beit, another director of the Char-\\ntered Company, were privy to Dr. Jameson s proceedings, and that\\nthe chief officers of the company in Cape Town were active pro-\\nmoters of the raid. The London Board, however, were not impli-\\ncated, and Mr. Rhodes paid all the expenses incurred by the Cape\\nofficials in connection with Dr. Jameson s invasion. Subsequently\\nthe British House of Commons resolved on a further inquiry, and\\nin August a Select Committee was appointed, not only to investi-\\ngate the circumstances of the Jameson raid, but also to inquire\\ninto the administration of the Chartered Company.\\nMANY DISASTE3RS IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\nThe invasion of the Transvaal was but the beginning of a\\nwhole series of disasters in South Africa. A few days after the\\nbattle of Doornkop, while the attitude of the Outlanders was still\\nin doubt, a mail train laden with refugees from the insurgent city,\\nand bound for Natal, was wrecked en roiUe^ and over thirty of the\\npassengers killed. A few weeks later a terrible catastrophe took\\nplace at Johannesburg itself. Some fifteen tons of dynamite ex-\\nploded in the suburb of Vredendorp, laying waste the whole district\\nand involving the loss of many lives.\\nThe public had scarcely recovered from these shocks when bad\\nnews was received from Matabeleland. Taking advantage of the\\nabsence of Dr. Jameson and the Charter Company s police, and", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0271.jp2"}, "272": {"fulltext": "204 DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANS VAAI,.\\nencouraged by the news of the disaster whicli had befallen them, a\\nportion of the Matabele native police had broken out into revolt,\\nand had massacred a number of whites, including Mr. Bently, the\\nNative Commissioner. Favored by the discontent which had been\\ncaused by an outbreak of rinderpest itself a serious visitation\\nthe rebellion rapidly spread, and even the usually timid Mashonas\\ntook to the war path. Energetic measures were resolved upon by\\nthe authorities, but owing to the great distance of the chief centres\\nof the revolt from the termini of the railways the rapid dispatch\\nof assistance to the colonists was dif cult.\\nMr. Rhodes, arriving in Mashonaland from Beifa, organized a\\nforce, with which he marched to the relief of Bulawayo and Gwelo,\\nthen completely invested by the insurgents. He had to fight his way\\nthrough the ill-omened Shangani district, and his progress was con-\\nsequently slow. Meanwhile troops were hurried up from the south,\\nand Sir Frederick Carrington was appointed to command the forces.\\nAt the same time Barl Grey succeeded Dr. Jameson as Adminis-\\ntrator at Bulawayo, and the military forces of the Chartered Com-\\npany were transferred to the control of Sir Richard Martin, who was\\nappointed Deputy High Commissioner in Rhodesia.\\nSTRONG NATURAL DEFENSES.\\nIn the middle of May Mr. Rhodes succeeded in relieving Gwelo,\\nand in effecting a juncture with a column sent out to meet him\\nfrom Bulawayo. A few days later Bulawayo was also relieved, and\\nthe rebels, who had meanwhile proclaimed Nyamanda, a son of\\nLobeugula, King of the Matabele, concentrated their forces on the\\nMatoppo Hills. In these fastnesses they proved safe from all but\\nthe most reckless attacks, and after several attempts to storm their\\nkopjes and caves, in which many lives were lost. General Carring-\\nton resolved to invest the hills with a chain of forts. In August\\nColonel Plumer fought a decisive engagement with the combined\\nforces of the chiefs Secombo and Umlugula. This broke the back\\nof the rebellion, and overtures for peace were made by the rebel\\ncommanders.\\nIt was still, however, very unsafe to enter the Matoppo Hills,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0272.jp2"}, "273": {"fulltext": "DR. JAMKSON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAI,. 205\\nwhere the negotiations were to take place, and the British com-\\nmander hesitated to accept the invitation of the Matabele. Ulti-\\nmately Mr. Rhodes volunteered to open negotiations himself, and,\\nwith three attendants, all unarmed, he gallantly proceeded to the\\nmeeting-place. Throughout the campaign Mr. Rhodes had distin-\\nguished himself by his coolness and activity. Although forced by\\nthe clamor at home to resign his position as chairman of the Char-\\ntered Company, he continued to exercise a predominant influence\\nin the colony. His personal prestige and his assurance that what-\\never occurred he would remain in Rhodesia, and watch the develop-\\nment of the country, alone prevented the settlers from leaving the\\ncountry under the storm of disasters by which they were beset.\\nGERMANY LOOKING WITH EAGER EYES.\\nAmong the natives, too, his name and personality proved more\\npowerful than that of any other Bnglishman. His valuable ser-\\nvices were fitly crowned by the courage with which he entered the\\nrebel stronghold in order to negotiate the terms of peace. Met by\\na large force of rebels in arms, he dictated to them the terms of\\nsurrender. The chiefs at once made their submission, and a few\\ndays later their arms were laid down, and peace was proclaimed.\\nA scheme of administration by which the natives were to be\\nretained was drafted. Having successfully grappled with these\\nserious questions, Mr. Rhodes left Bulawayo for a time, to meet\\nin London the charges made against him in connection with the\\nJameson raid. He traveled via Cape Town, where he was received\\nwith immense enthusiasm.\\nEver since the London Convention gave back its independence\\nto the Transvaal, the Germans have cast longing eyes in the direc-\\ntion of that country. Berlin paid effusive court to Pretoria, and\\none of the chief objects of the establishment of a German colony\\nin South-west Africa was to creep towards the western frontier of\\nthe Transvaal, and thus shut out British expansion northwards.\\nThis scheme was defeated by the vigilance and public spirit of Mr.\\nRhodes, who, in the nick of time, despatched his pioneers to\\nMashonaland, painted the map red as far as the Zambesi, and estab-", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0273.jp2"}, "274": {"fulltext": "206 DR. JAMESON S I^AMOUS RAID IN I HH TRANSVAAL.\\nlislied comm-iinications witli Nyassaland, to tlie nortli of tliat river.\\nIt seems tliat when first President Kruger suspected tHe real\\nnature of the Outlander agitation he turned for assistance to\\nBerlin.\\nEngland s relations with the Transvaal, which were so se-\\nriously disturbed by the Jameson Raid, remained more or less\\nstrained throughout the year 1897. In March, the Transvaal\\nentered into a defensive alliance with the Orange Free State, the\\nobject being to oppose a strong Dutch front to possible British\\nencroachments. A long correspondence took place between the\\nColonial Office and the Transvaal Government in reference to cer-\\ntain legislation directed against aliens, and other acts of the South\\nAfrican Republic, which were alleged to be contrary to the spirit\\nand letter of the London Convention.\\nTHE SITUATION GROWING WORSE.\\nThe great expenditure on armaments incurred by the Trans-\\nvaal, the complaints of two of the Reform leaders still remaining\\nin prison at Pretoria, the publication of the official correspondence\\nrelating to the Vaal Drifts affair of 1895, when war with the South\\nAfrican Republic was threatened, the insulting references to the\\nQueen made by a nephew of President Kruger at a public meet-\\ning, the President s persistent refusal to admit that a British suzer-\\nainty was implied by the London Convention, and the exorbitant\\nclaim put forward by the Republic for compensation for the Jame-\\nson Raid, all helped to aggravate the situation. Towards the\\nmiddle of the year, however, a better spirit began to prevail. The\\nobnoxious legislation in the Transvaal was withdrawn, and Presi-\\ndent Kruger contributed still further to allay the prevailing irrita-\\ntion by his graceful conduct in liberating the remaining Reform\\nprisoners on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee.\\nIt is impossible,, however, to pretend that relations of perfect\\namity and mutual confidence were restored. Apart from minor\\nsources of irritation, the Transvaal Government was far from sat-\\nisfied with the result of the Select Committee appointed by the\\nHouse of Commons to inquire into the origin and circumstances of", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0274.jp2"}, "275": {"fulltext": "ty-k. jAxMESOM I^AMOUS JlAlD IN YU:^ I^RANSVAAt. 207\\ntlie Jameson Raid, and tlie administration of the British South\\nAfrica Company. It had hoped that the work of this Committee\\nwould have led the Imperial Government to prosecute Mr. Cecil\\nRhodes for his share in the organization of the Raid, and to with-\\ndraw the charter of the British South Africa Company. Neither\\nof these, steps was taken.\\nThe Committee, which was an exceptionally strong one, and\\nwas presided over by Mr. Jackson, held thirty-one sittings between\\nFebruary i6th and July 6th. It examined many witnesses, but\\nelicited few new facts. Mr. Rhodes, who, on his way from Rho-\\ndesia to London, was the object of many remarkable demonstra-\\ntions of confidence on the part of British Afrikanders, both Dutch\\nand English, was examined and cross-examined at length by the\\nCommittee, and frankly avowed that he had supported and financed\\nthe Raid. He strongly defended his conduct; and his exposition\\nof the difficulties under which the Outlander in the Transvaal\\nlabored, the maladministration of the Pretoria Junta, and the\\nenmity of the Republic towards England excited considerable sym-\\npathy on his behalf, and served to explain the situation.\\nMR= CHAMBERLAIN STRONGLY SUSPECTED.\\nMuch of the evidence adduced before the Committee turned\\nupon certain suggestions, by no means obscure, to the effect that\\nMr. Chamberlain had some foreknowledge of the Raid, if he was\\nnot actually an accessory to it. The non-production of a batch of\\ntelegrams believed to refer to this matter and for which the Com-\\nmittee did not press, gave rise to some adverse comment. The\\nwhole Committee, however, were unanimous in characterizing the\\nsuggestions as absolutely unfounded.\\nFor the rest the Committee in their report severely censured\\nMr. Rhodes for the part he had played in connection with the Raid,\\nand placed on record an absolute and unqualified condemnation\\nof the Raid and of the plans which made it possible. With re-\\ngard to the alleged maladministration of the Chartered Company\\nthe Committee confined itself to publishing a report received from\\nSir Richard Martin, Deputy Commissioner for Rhodesia, in which", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0275.jp2"}, "276": {"fulltext": "208 DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAL.\\nvarious charges were made against tlie Compan^^ These charges\\nwere subsequently rebutted by the directors in an elaborate de-\\nfence. Towards the end of July, Lord Salisbury announced in the\\nHouse of Lords that it was not intended to ^\\\\-ithdraw the Company s\\nCharter.\\nImmediately after his examination by the Select Committee,\\nMr. Rhodes left London to return to Rhodesia, where he had re-\\nsolved to devote himself to watching over the progress and devel-\\nopment of the colon}^ Arriving in South Africa he was again re-\\nceived ^ath demonstrations of welcome, and it was clear that he\\nstill had a large following in the countr3^ He proceeded to Bula-\\nwayo, and thence to his residence near Umtali. xAlthough from\\nthis moment little was seen or heard of him, his restless energy\\nwas made manifest by the spirit and rapidity with which the rail-\\nway to Bulawaj^o was pushed forward. This great work, which\\nis almost entirely due to him, was happily completed towards the\\nend of the 3 ear, and was formally opened by the High Commis-\\nsioner amid great rejoicings throughout South xAfrica on Novem-\\nber sth.\\nPROJECT FOR GREAT AFRICAN RAILWAY.\\n]\\\\Ir. Rhodes, who was recovering from an attack of fever, was\\nnot present at the festivities, but the most enthusiastic appreciation\\nof his labors was testified b}^ all the speakers, not excluding the\\nof6.cial representatives of the Imperial Government. In repl}^ to a\\ntelegram of congratulation from the residents of Bulawayo he de-\\nclared that he should not rest satisfied until the railway had been\\nfurther extended to the Zambesi. A further illustration of his in-\\nexhaustible energ}^ was afforded during the year by the progress\\nmade by his trans-continental telegraph scheme, the wires having\\nalready been carried beyond the Zambesi.\\nFollowing the surrender of Dr. Jameson and his party who\\nhad invaded the Transvaal, thej^ were handed over to the British\\nGovernment for trial of offenses under the foreign enlistment act,\\nand arrived in London in February, 1896. After a preliminary\\nexamination the of cers were put on trial before Lord Chief Justice\\nRussell. Eminent counsel appeared in their behalf, but they were", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0276.jp2"}, "277": {"fulltext": "DR. JAMESON S FAMOUS RAID IN THE TRANSVAAI,. 209\\nfound guilty. Public opiniou was to some extent divided, just as\\nit was when war actually broke out between the Knglish and tbe\\nBoers, after all attempts to settle the contention by diplomacy had\\nfailed. Much excitement was caused throughout Great Britain by\\nthis trial for the time being the public mind was fully occupied\\nwith it, and doubtless more so from the fact that the wisest states-\\nmen looked upon it as only the beginning of troubles in the Trans-\\nvaal that would result finally in war.\\nTHE GUILTY RECEIVE SENTENCE.\\nAn appeal for a new trial was declined by the defendants, and\\nsentences were pronounced of imprisonment without hard labor.\\nDr. Jameson, who was the chief conspirator in the attempt to over-\\nthrow the Transvaal Government, was sentenced to fifteen months\\nimprisonment, but on account of illness was released in the follow-\\ning December. Other officers received various sentences, and some\\nof these were cut short by pardons secured under various pretences.\\nMeanwhile the Reform Committee of Johannesburg, who were\\nin league ^vith Dr. Jameson and his party, were tried and convicted.\\nSome of them were sentenced to death and others to imprisonment\\nand heavy fines. The Transvaal Government, however, dealt leni-\\nently with the offenders upon representations from the British\\nGovernment, and on the occasion of the Queen s Jubilee in June,\\n1897, the chief conspirators were liberated.\\n14", "height": "3306", "width": "2264", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0277.jp2"}, "278": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XIV.\\nCause for War Many Years Old.\\n^T^HK dispute between Great Britain and tlie Transvaal, or, to\\n\\\\2^ use its correct legal designation, the Soutli African Republic,\\nis most unfortunate, especially for the latter country. It has\\nthe area of New York and Pennsylvania put together. It has a\\ncolored population, still in a state of barbarism, equal to that of\\nAlabama. It has a white population of only a little over a quarter\\nof a million, and to one-half of this white population, which is\\nBnglish, all political rights are denied by the Dutch colonists.\\nTo put it differently, if we imagine the white population of\\nRhode Island and the negro population of Alabama, spread out\\nover an area about equal to that of Colorado, and the entire politi-\\ncal power vested in one-half of the white population, the political\\nsituation out of which come the causes of the war of the Trans-\\nvaal, will be clearly grasped.\\nThe removal of their political disabilities was the first ostensi-\\nble cause of Great Britain s action. The real underlying cause of\\ndispute, however, is the supremacy of the Bnglish-speaking race in\\nthe colonial conquest of the world. The English Government found\\nin the political and civil disabilities of Bnglish-speaking men the\\noccasion for dissatisfaction. The cause lay in the final fact that as\\nlong as Boers in the Orange Free State and the South African\\nRepublic treated white men of Bnglish birth as they did, the para-\\nmount supremacy of Great Britain in South Africa was in peril.\\nAn irrepressible conflict inevitably existed between the master claim\\nof Great Britain and the actual condition of British subjects in the\\nTransvaal. After fifty years of ebb and flow war has come to settle\\nthe fate of South Africa, and with it of the continent itself.\\nIt was not to be expected that the thousands of foreigners who\\nhad been drawn to the Transvaal would rest satisfied under a system\\nwhereby they were heavily taxed without any representation.\\n210", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0278.jp2"}, "279": {"fulltext": "CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OI.D. 211\\nFor tliis anomalous condition of affairs no one can be held\\ndirectly responsible. It is tbe result of tbe History of tbe nine-\\nteentH century. The beginning of the century found what is now\\nCape Colony inhabited by a population of mixed Dutch and Hugue-\\nnot ancestry, drawn from the best and most adventurous blood of\\nboth stocks, who had reduced the docile black population to slavery,\\nand were leading a simple agricultural and deeply religious life\\nwith the virtues and the limitations of the patriarchal era. This\\npopulation, by treaty with Holland at Vienna in 1815, was trans-\\nferred to the sovereignty of Great Britain. It found itself governed\\nby an alien administration, its law enacted and administered in\\nEnglish, and its property rights over its negro labor suddenly\\naltered.\\nUnder these two grievances, a foreign rule and interference\\nwith slavery, a large body of Dutch farmers in 1836 crossed the\\nOrange River and organized the Orange Free State. In 1854 the\\nabsolute independence of this State was recognized by Great Britain,\\nand there has since been no serious conflict between the two powers.\\nIn the negotiations which preceded this recognition the position of\\nGreat Britain was that the Dutch emigrants were subjects of Great\\nBritain when they started, that they remained so after reaching\\ntheir own home, and that their independence was not completed\\nuntil it had been recognized and ratified by Great Britain.\\nCLAIMED INDEPENDENCE.\\nThe Dutch farmers themselves claimed that when they crossed\\nthe Orange River it was the recognized boundary of English ad-\\nministration that they entered on territory which owed no Euro-\\npean allegiance, and in which they had the same right which any\\nindependent body of men would have to organize their own govern-\\nment and create their own institutions. They held that when the\\nBritish Orders in Council of January 30, 1854, declared the aban-\\ndonment and renunciation of the dominion and sovereignty of Great\\nBritain over the Orange River territory on and after August i, it\\nwas only the recognition of a condition of affairs which had been\\nreached independent of Great Britain.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0279.jp2"}, "280": {"fulltext": "212 CAUSKS FOR WAR MANY YEARS OLD.\\nTHs principle and precedent lias its importance in tlie present\\ncase because the entire position in tlie Transvaal from the stand-\\npoint of international law hinges upon the issue whether when\\nGreat Britain made the Orange River the boundary of its adminis-\\ntration, it left this territory free for any colonization or subject to\\nits own sovereignty, whenever it chose to again exercise it.\\nIf the English contention is true, the Dutch trekkers remained\\nsubjects of Great Britain and found themselves on the soil of Great\\nBritain. On the Bore contention, they passed out of the jurisdic-\\ntion of Great Britain, renouncing its sovereignty and gained a new\\nallegiance. This is an act v^^hich could not be taken by an English\\ncitizen under English law, and the step as taken by a body of men\\norganized for a given purpose, raises exactly the same type of issue\\nas was debated in this country at the opening of the Revolution, as\\nto the precise character of allegiance which had been transferred\\nby Great Britain s colonists in seeking this country.\\nCANNOT RENOUNCE ONE S COUNTRY.\\nThe general precedents of the international law are that no\\nbody of men under a civilized sovereignty can divest themselves of\\nthe sovereignty to which they owe allegiance b}^ occupying new\\nterritory, because new territory can be taken up only by an existing\\nsovereignty, not by a body of men endeavoring to create a new\\nsovereignty for this purpose. Such an act by public law is filibus-\\ntering. The general current of law is, therefore, against the Boer\\ncontention, though their case offers differences from all other modem\\ncolonization, because most colonies have wished to preserve and\\ngain the protection of the old sovereignty, while the purpose of the\\nBoer emigration was to escape it.\\nThe first Boer trek which formed the Orange Free State suc-\\nceeded without serious dif culty in establishing itself in the terri-\\ntory which they had sought. The next emigration, of which Presi-\\ndent Kruger is one of the last surviving members, passed into a\\nterritory more thickly settled and better organized under Zulu chiefs.\\nThe fight was, therefore, bitter, long continued and nearly ended in\\nthe destruction of the colony. Of the twenty-four members of the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0280.jp2"}, "281": {"fulltext": "CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OED. 213\\nTransvaal Raad, in 1897, seventeen men carried bullet wounds won\\nin savage warfare, while wresting the Transvaal from its negro\\nowners and cultivators.\\nIn 1852 this same issue occurred with tlie Transvaal which had\\npreviously occurred with the Orange Free State, Unlike the latter\\nthis second body of colonists had not as yet succeeded in subduing\\nthe native tribes by which it was surrounded, and it still led a pre-\\ncarious existence. It was, however, at a long distance from Cape\\nColony. The British Government had no desire to assume re-\\nsponsibilities which would involve the military defense of the terri-\\ntory. Instead, therefore, as with the Orange Free State, of first\\nclaiming sovereignty and later renouncing it, the first action taken\\nwith the Transvaal was without any special assertion on either side\\nin regard to the matter.\\nREGARDED AS BRITISH SUBJECTS.\\nThe Boer farmers undoubtedly looked upon the Transvaal as\\nalready an independent power. The British ministers as undoubt-\\nedly considered its white inhabitants British subjects, who had not\\nlost this character by transfer to new territory. The following\\nconvention, known as the Sand River convention, January 17,\\n1852, gave \u00c2\u00b1he Transvaal its first status.\\nThe assistant commissioners guarantee in the fullest manner,\\non the part of the British Government, to the emigrant farmers\\nbeyond the Vaal River, the right to manage their own affairs, and\\nto govern themselves, without any interference on the part of her\\nMajesty the Queen s Government, and that no encroachment shall\\nbe made by the said Government on the territory beyond the north\\nof the Vaal River, with the further assurance that the warmest\\nwish of the British Government is to promote peace, free trade and\\nfriendly intercourse with the emigrant farmers now inhabiting, or\\nwho hereafter may inhabit that country, it being understood this\\nsystem of non-interference is binding upon both parties. Her Ma-\\njesty s assistant commissioners hereby disclaim all alliances what-\\never, and with whomsoever of the colored nations north of the Vaal\\nRiver.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0281.jp2"}, "282": {"fulltext": "214 CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OI.D.\\nUnder this agreement tlie Dutcli farmers of tlie Transvaal\\ncontinued to carry on their own government. 1858 their govern-\\nment assumed the style and title of the South African Republic.\\nTwo treaties were made with Portugal in 1869 and 1875, delimiting\\ntheir boundary, in which Great Britain was formally termed suze-\\nrain of the Transvaal State, but in this delimitation Great Britain\\ntook no share in the organization in regard to a boundary which\\nwas treated in this organization, not as a boundary of Great Bri-\\ntain, but of a State under suzerainty, and in other respects inde-\\npendent.\\nThis definite position might have remained unchanged but for\\nthe two successive circumstances which modified the internal con-\\ndition of the Boers, surrounded by native tribes, maintaining their\\nsupremacy with dif culty over a native population, cut ofi from\\ncivilization, without education, and without an outlet for their pro-\\nducts during twenty years. From 1858 to 1877 the condition of\\nthe Boers by no means improved.\\nPERPETUAL WARS WITH NATIVES.\\nThere were at one time four separate republics claiming\\nrule over the region perpetual native wars rendered life and\\ntravel unsafe, and such English settlers as came in found them-\\nselves without protection. Without these latter the Boers would\\nprobably in the end, as their numbers increased, have maintained\\ntheir supremacy, but the presence and desire of the Bnglish settlers\\nadded to the imperial political policy of Disraeli s administration,\\ntogether with the internal weakness of the Boers and the failure to\\npreserve internal peace, order and protection on an ef cient level,\\nled, in 1877, to a declaration by British commissioners that the\\nSouth African Republic was from that date British territory, and in\\n1879 orders patent were issued organizing the region as a territory.\\nA Boer rising followed, and the next step deciding the status\\nof the Transvaal was taken after successive Bnglish defeats ending\\nat Majuba Hill, in the convention of 1 881, in which Kruger and\\nthe other representatives of the Transvaal burghers declared that\\nthey do hereby agree to all the above conditions, reservations and", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0282.jp2"}, "283": {"fulltext": "CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OI.D. 215\\nlimitations under wHich self-government lias been restored to the\\ninhabitants of the Transvaal territory, subject to the suzerainty of\\nHer Majesty, her heirs and her successors.\\nWhile the original extension of imperial authority over the\\nTransvaal had taken place under Lord Beaconfidd s government,\\nthis convention was negotiated by Mr. Gladstone s government, in\\nwhich Great Britain reserved the right to move troops through the\\nTransvaal to have a resident, to guarantee native liberty and free-\\ndom from slavery, and the Transvaal Government agreed to give\\nall persons, other than natives, the usual liberties given to aliens.\\nOwing to the different ministries under which these successive steps\\nwere taken, when this and the following convention came up for\\ndebate, the members of the Liberal ministry were interested in\\nasserting that the retention of suzerainty under one, and the veto\\ntreaties in the other, gave Great Britain supremacy in South Africa.\\nTHE POINT OP DISAGREEMENT.\\nOn the other hand, the Conservative ministry was interested\\nin minimizing the control reserved by Great Britain. Lately these\\nconditions have been reversed. The Conservative ministry in Boer\\nnegotiations has been anxious to magnify the rights retained under\\nthe conventions, and the Liberals who opposed this policy have\\nbeen engaged in minimizing the rights which were reserved under\\ntheir negotiations.\\nIt is, therefore, possible to quote detached portions from the\\nspeeches of either at different times and places which will express\\nin the most unreserved language either the assertion of the sover-\\neignty of Great Britain over the Transvaal, or the declaration that\\nthis sovereignty was reduced to a mere shadow by the terms accepted\\nby the Liberal ministry in 1881 and 1884.\\nIn 1884 the entire subject of British relations was re-opened,\\nand a new convention was negotiated by Lord Derby, in negotia-\\ntions which began with the request of the Transvaal to be relieved\\nof the suzerainty which the previous convention recognized, and\\nunder which the relations of the two countries had been continued\\nfor nearly thirty years. The conditions of the relations of the two", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0283.jp2"}, "284": {"fulltext": "216 CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OI.D.\\ncouDtries remained unchanged so far as tlie internal affairs of the\\nTransvaal were concerned. With reference to the foreign relations\\nof the South African Republic, the following article was adopted\\nArticle IV. The South-African Republic will conclude no\\ntreaty or engagement with any State or nation other than the\\nOrange Free State, nor with any native tribe to the eastward or\\nwestward of the republic, until the same has been approved by Her\\nMajesty the Queen.\\nSuch approval shall be considered to have been granted if\\nHer Majesty s Government shall not, within six months after\\nreceiving a copy of such treaty (which shall be delivered to them\\nimmediately upon its completion), have notified that the conclusion\\nof such treaty is in conflict with the interests of Great Britain or\\nany of Her Majesty s possessions in South Africa.\\nAUTHORITY NEVER GIVEN UP.\\nIn adopting this article, and the convention of which it was a\\npart. Great Britain made no formal renunciation of suzerainty, and\\nthe Transvaal no formal declaration of independence. Both were\\ncontent to leave unaltered the original issue, which turns upon the\\nconflicting interpretation of the relations of the two parties, the\\nBnglish Government claiming that all the rights of the Transvaal\\nwere the grants of the Crown to its subject, and the Transvaal\\nGovernment that it had possessed independence from the start, but\\nhad submitted to a limitation upon its free rights with reference to\\ntreaties, though not with reference to negotiations or agreements\\nwhich did not take the form of formal treaties.\\nThese opposing views might have gone without question on\\neither side, if it had not been for the discovery of gold mines in\\nthe Transvaal, and the gathering of a large alien population. This\\n(population was, at the start, of the usual character of mining popu-\\nlations. Alarmed at its rapid increase, and undoubtedly justlj\\napprehensive that a small permanent population would be over-\\nridden by a large temporary population, the Legislature of the\\nRepublic lengthened the period for acquiring citizenship from two\\nyears to twelve, and imposed limitations which practically made", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0284.jp2"}, "285": {"fulltext": "CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YKARS OLD. 217\\nimpossible the acquisition of political rights by those who were not\\nnatives of the colony and speaking the Dutch language.\\nAt no time has there been any suggestion from either party to\\nthe controversy that the negro population should be given even\\ncivil rights. They remain, to all intents and purposes, serfs, and\\nin the Dutch settlements they are not permitted even liberty on\\nthe sidewalks. Their standing in court is about that of a free\\nnegro in a Southern court before the war. Within the past ten\\nyears, however, the character of the population at Johannesburg\\nand even in the gold mining region, has wholly changed.\\nHOW GOLD MINES ARE WORKED.\\nThe gold mines are worked by elaborate mechanical processes,\\nthe mining is on deep levels, the work is rather akin to that of a\\nhighly skilled and scientific manufacture than the rough labor and\\nhazardous adventure of surface gold mining. A population of\\nengineers, highly skilled mechanics, surveyors and professional\\nmen gathered at Johannesburg, grew in number to over 50,000,\\nthough the right of suffrage in this city, the decision as to all sani-\\ntary steps, the conduct of education, the adjustment of taxes and\\nthe discharge of police duty all rested in about 500 policemen,\\nbrickmakers and other persons holding similar positions, who were\\nDutch burghers.\\nThis situation created the ground upon which Mr. Chamber-\\nlain began his remonstrances with the Dutch Government in 1897.\\nThe Jameson raid led to an important English legal decision, declar-\\ning the Transvaal in British law to be a friendly State. Mr.\\nChamberlain began his negotiations with the assertion on October\\n16, 1897, that Great Britain was the suzerain of the South African\\nRepublic. This was the first direct assertion of this power since\\nthe signature of the convention in 1884, and in denying right\\nunder this basis to interfere the South African Republic made a\\ndemand for arbitration in order to determine the precise relations\\nbetween the two countries.\\nThe numerous arguments between the tv/o powers on this issue\\nsummed themselves up in the declaration by the Transvaal that", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0285.jp2"}, "286": {"fulltext": "218 CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OLD.\\ntlie object of tlie convention of 1884 was to remove suzerainty, and\\nthe declaration of Great Britain that, as its renunciation was not\\nasserted in terms, it must be assumed that the original sovereignty\\nwhich Great Britain possessed remained, was unfounded. The\\nissue thus presented, which involves a long series of negotiations,\\nof despatches, of public utterances and of signed instruments, is\\none of those controverted questions upon which no one would will-\\ningly predict the decision of an impartial court, and on which Great\\nBritain has refused arbitration and the Transvaal has sought war.\\nAGREED IN ONLY ONE THING.\\nAll to which both contestants would agree was that the Trans-\\nvaal enjoyed independence as to internal relations, and that Great\\nBritain possessed powers in regard to the Transvaal by its right of\\nveto upon the treaties of this republic, which removed the South\\nAfrican Republic from the category of the independent sovereign-\\nties. Beginning with the several States of the American Union,\\nwhich are for foreign purposes completely incorporated in the gov-\\nernment of which they are part, and as to internal affairs sovereign\\nStates of limited powers, passing on to the States of the Germanic\\nConfederation, which retain the privilege of foreign relation with-\\nout the privilege of foreign action, reaching protected States, whose\\nnegotiations are from the start in the hands of a suzerain power,\\nthe Transvaal evidently stands in a position freer than such a\\nState, as it has for many years, though under the protest of the\\nBnglish Colonial Of ce, carried on negotiations at will, but has\\nbeen unable to embody these in treaties without the consent of\\nGreat Britain.\\nShifting the position which he had originally taken, Mr. Cham-\\nberlain began to base English demands upon the assertion First,\\nthat the provision of the convention of 1884 guaranteed equal civil\\nrights to aliens resident in the Transvaal, and that these rights\\nwere systematically withheld by the municipal Legislature of the\\nRepublic; and, second, that this reduced British subjects within\\nthe Transvaal to a condition in which the British Government would\\nhave a right to interfere, even if the position of the Transvaal were", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0286.jp2"}, "287": {"fulltext": "CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OI,D. 219\\nthat of a sovereign independent State, uncontrolled by Great\\nBritain.\\nThe legal position of the Transvaal in claiming the right to\\ngovern its own affairs without English interference is regarded by\\nmany as a strong one. Its position in equity is less defensible.\\nSomewhat less than one-third of the population of the Transvaal\\ndenied to a much larger white population permanently resident,\\nowning property and paying taxes upon it, any vote in the levying\\nof taxes and all share in municipal government.\\nA rigid press law was in force, public meetings were prohib-\\nited, white men not Boers were denied the privilege of serving on\\njuries no Roman Catholic or Jew was allowed to hold any office\\nwhatever, or to be enfranchised they might be expelled at any\\ntime from the Republic without a trial, on the mere order of the\\nPresident, the use of English was prohibited in the only schools\\nwhich their children could attend, paid for by their own taxes any\\nrepresentation in one branch of the Legislature was denied and the\\ncourts were made, by special legislation of a dubious constitutional\\nvalidity, subject to the direct order of the Executive.\\nROBBED OP THEIR RIGHTS.\\nNo English-speaking white population in any part of the\\nworld, and that in the Transvaal numbers now nearly 80,000, would\\nsubmit to such rule, and it was maintained at Johannesburg only\\nby depriving all but Dutch burghers of arms and commanding the\\ntown with fortifications, whose guns are trained upon its dwellings.\\nNo such step has been taken in a civilized State since there was a\\nBourbon King at Naples.\\nIn demanding a revision of this injustice the British Govern-\\nment was undoubtedly within its rights. If a similar American\\nState had grown up in Mexico and was similarly treated, the United\\nStates would undoubtedly act, first by remonstrance, and later by\\ndirect interference.\\nThis interference was also certain to lead to the subjugation\\nof the Transvaal to the English vote. War came, therefore, because\\nthe Boers preferred war to the law of political supremacy. Political", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0287.jp2"}, "288": {"fulltext": "220 CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OLD.\\nand civil riglits tliey would have retained witli a majority British\\nvote in the Transvaal. They have preferred war.\\nOne of our very prominent and influential journals makes the\\nfollowing statement concerning the merits of the controversy be-\\ntween the Bnglish and Boers\\nThe outbreak of the war in South Africa is from many points\\nof view greatly to be deplored. Such a conflict at some time, how-\\never, between the progressive Anglo-Saxon and the reactionary\\nDutch elements could not be averted. It is only a matter of sur-\\nprise to men acquainted with the history of South Africa and with\\nthe history of colonial movements in other parts of the world that\\nthis encounter between the races has been so long delayed.\\nSETTLED ONLY BY THE SWORD.\\nIt was in the nature of an irrepressible conflict between pro-\\ngressive and unprogressive peoples, and, although the barbarity of\\na war has been postponed for a longer time than it could have been\\na hundred years ago, through the advance of civilization and the\\nspread of humane sentiments, it seemed impossible in the end to\\nsuggest any method by which an amicable settlement could be\\narrived at. It is true that England may have displayed a rather\\nunyielding spirit during the negotiations which preceded the\\npresent war. But it must be remembered that the Boers have been\\nmost obstinate on their side, giving nothing in the controversy,\\nwhile the trouble is one of very long standing and diplomacy has\\nfailed to score anything throughout many years.\\nAt the last moment, without any special provocation for the\\nact, the Transvaal government issued an ultimatum to England\\nmaking most extraordinary demands and giving her only a few\\nhours in which to comply with them. Such a course, by such a\\npeople, at such a time, as against a power which claimed suzer-\\nainty over them is almost unheard of in the annals of ultimatums,\\nespecially when the nature of the demands are taken into con-\\nsideration.\\nPresident Kruger, for instance, insisted that Great Britain\\nshould not land the troops which she then had on the high seas", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0288.jp2"}, "289": {"fulltext": "CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OLD. 221\\nanywhere in SoutH Africa. No more absurd proposition ever was\\nmade to any power, large or small, that it should not disembark\\ntroops if it chose at its own ports. A porcupine that comes at you\\nwith its quills out in that fashion invites the overwhelming anni-\\nhilation it will receive in due season.\\nWe are told, of course, that there ought to be some place in\\nthe world for these Dutch peasants, who settled first in the Cape\\nand were pushed farther and farther back by English colonists\\nuntil they at last began the great trek up to the Orange Valley\\nand the Transvaal. That is very likely true. No one wishes to\\ndeprive them of the place in the world to which their talents and\\ncapacities entitle them. They are a more or less good type of\\nfarmer of peasant antecedents. They are, however, simply unable\\nor indisposed to keep up with the pace which has been set in South\\nAfrica. The English colonists have swept up around and into\\nthese Boer States. Instead of trying to mend their ways and\\nadmit the English and the Americans for there are more than a\\nfew of our own country-people in the Transvaal to an equality of\\nrights and privileges, the Boers have stood out and resisted every\\nmovement in that direction.\\nGREAT SUMS OF MONEY INVESTED.\\nThousands of Outlanders, who have invested enormous sums\\nof money there and made the country what it is, largely contribu-\\ninsf to the Boer Treasuries in taxes, have been treated with the\\nmost scant consideration, if not with insult, throughout a long\\nperiod of years. The Dutchmen have maintained a virtual olig-\\narchy, and whenever they are invited to reform their policy they\\nresent the request as an unwarranted interference with their liberties,\\nand have now declared a v^^ar on Great Britain because of her\\ninsistence that they should do so.\\nThis is not a v. ar of conquest which England is waging\\nagainst a weak and oppressed people, so far as we can see. It\\nmust be remembered that South Africa is British to the core, and\\nis inhabited almost altogether by people of Anglo-Saxon blood.\\nNatal, which sticks its prong into the Boer country, and Rhodesia,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0289.jp2"}, "290": {"fulltext": "222 CAUSES FOR WAR MANY YEARS OI.D.\\nwliicli runs up behind it, are both British, not to speak of the\\nmillions of dollars worth of good foreign money and British bone\\nand sinew to look after it, that are actually inside the Transvaal.\\nIn Africa it is the story of the colonization of the North American\\ncontinent over again.\\nAnglo-Saxon ascendency was a result in the natural course\\nof things. It was a movement that nobody could resist. There is\\nno man in whom Anglo-Saxon blood flows who could be expected\\nto live happily under such a political dispensation as President\\nKruger s. It is unfortunate, of course, that some result agreeable\\nto all the interests involved could not have been arrived at by arbi-\\ntration. But when neither or only one party desires to arbitrate\\nthat system fails. England being now in the war, will give an\\naccount of herself that will bring hostilities to an early close. The\\nresult will be what the Boers might have better conceded long ago,\\nand South Africa will be more than ever British, with an open\\ndoor to the traders of all countries.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0290.jp2"}, "291": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XV.\\nThe Struggle for Equal Rights in the Transvaal.\\n[The following chapter, containing a masterly statement of the controversy between\\nthe English and the Boers in South Africa, is from the gifted pen of Rev. Dr. Robert Wilson,\\nthe well-known and eloquent divine of St. John, New Brunswick. In thus becoming one of\\nthe contributors to this volume, Dr. Wilson handles the whole subject of the war in a very\\nclear and convincing manner, and what is here presented from his trenchant pen will be\\nread with eager interest.]\\nHBN a country has become, or is likely to become, the\\ntheatre of important changes, a very natural desire is\\nawakened in the public mind to obtain reliable information\\nconcerning its history, position, resources and institutions, and the\\nmanners, customs and characteristics of its people. Of this there\\nhave been some striking illustrations, for the country has been\\nflooded with books and magazine articles on Cuba, Porto Rico and\\nthe Philippine Islands.\\nSouth Africa is at present the observed of all observers, on\\naccount of the war between the British and the Boers, and many\\nare inquiring into the causes of the quarrel. To furnish the required\\ninformation is the purpose of the following pages, but to do this\\nintelligently it is necessary to know something of the early history\\nof the country.\\nDuring the wars of Napoleon the First the Government of\\nHolland, finding itself unable to prevent its falling into the hands\\nof the French, transferred all its rights, title and interest in and\\nto its South African possessions to Great Britain, and the cession\\nwas confirmed by the Treaty of Vienna. Although the flag of\\nHolland floated over these regions for about a century and a half,\\nnot more than ten thousand Europeans, chiefly Dutch, had been\\ninduced to settle there. Under the new order of things a brighter\\nera was inaugurated, representative institutions were introduced,\\nthe people were accorded larger liberties than had been previously\\nenjoyed, and in process of time Cape Colony became self-governing\\n223", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0291.jp2"}, "292": {"fulltext": "224 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.\\nThe Britisli Government was specially considerate to tlie\\nDiitcli, permitted tlie use of their language in the legislature, in\\nthe courts and in the public schools, and between Dutch and\\nBritish no distinctions were allowed. And as new colonies were\\nestablished the same liberal course was pursued, and the same\\nrights and privileges granted eJike to all. The first real difficulty\\nbetween the races grew out of the abolition of slavery.\\nA number of Boers, unwilling to give up their slaves and\\ndissatisfied with the compensation offered, retired from Cape\\nColony, taking with them their various belongings, and settled\\nin an unoccupied region in what is now known as the province of\\nNatal. Like the Mormons who settled at Salt Lake, they sought\\nto place themselves beyond the reach of modern civilization, and\\ncarry out their obsolete ideas without let or hindrance.\\nTHE BOERS MOVE AGAIN.\\nBut their cruelty to the natives was such that, in the interests\\nof humanit} the British authorities had to interfere. A province\\nwas organized, law courts were established, and the necessary\\nmeasures were adopted for the protection of life and propert3^\\nThis was just what the Boers did not desire, and again they\\ndecided to seek fresh pastures and new fields in which to work\\nout their peculiar social and political views. The region chosen\\nlay beyond the Vaal and Orange rivers, and the exodus is usuall}\\nreferred to as the great trek.\\nWhether the territory in question did or did not belong to\\nGreat Britain by the terms of the treaty already spoken of, or to\\nthe native races, is a question not necessary to be discussed here\\nbut, as the Boers did not obtain it by purchase, or by cession from\\none tribe for assistance rendered against another, they were simply\\nadventurers and squatters, without the shadow of a claim to the\\nlands of v/hich the}^ had thus possessed themselves.\\nThey organized a government under the name and style of the\\nSouth African Republic, which in 1852 was formally recognized by\\nGreat Britain in what is known as the Land River Convention,\\nsubject, however, to certain limitations and restrictions. For a", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0292.jp2"}, "293": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. 225\\nquarter of century it liad a precarious existence, for the people\\nwere unwilling to bear tlie burdens inseparable from statehood.\\nThe regular laws and ordinances were disregarded, taxes were\\nuncollected, the treasury was exhausted, the public credit was\\ngone, and their cruelty to the natives had arrayed against them the\\nKaf rs and Zulus. Humanly speaking, their extermination seemed\\nto be inevitable.\\nIn their day of danger they sought and secured British pro-\\ntection, and by their own act and deed became the subjects of the\\nBritish Queen. They were thus saved from destruction, the en-\\nraged native forces were driven back, peace was established, a few\\nBritish troops were stationed in the country for police purposes,\\nand the outlook was quite encouraging.\\nBRITISH BADLY DEFEATED.\\nBut Paul Kruger and a few others who had opposed the an-\\nnexation began immediately to agitate for repeal. In this he suc-\\nceeded all too well. A provisional government was formed, and in\\nDecember, 1880, the independence of the South African Republic\\nwas again proclaimed. The Boers rose en masse^ the British troops,\\nfew and far between, were utterly unprepared to meet the emer-\\ngency, and were compelled to succumb to overwhelming numbers.\\nSeveral fierce engagements took place in which they were badly\\nbeaten.\\nThe most disastrous of these was one led by Sir George Colley\\nat Majuba Hill, ninety-seven officers and men being killed, and\\ntwo hundred wounded or taken prisoners. That humiliating defeat\\nhas rankled in the hearts of Britons during all the intervening\\nyears, and the desire of many a soldier has been the opportunity to\\nretrieve the loss and to wipe out the disgrace. Certain events can\\nnever be recalled without arousing in the patriotic heart the deter-\\nmination to die if need be to vindicate the national honor, and\\namong these may be fairly classed the destruction of the Maine\\nand the battle of Majuba Hill.\\nContrary to the advice of the British leaders in South Africa,\\nwho feared the effect upon the Boer and native mind of a peace\\n15", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0293.jp2"}, "294": {"fulltext": "226 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.\\nconcluded in tlie face of defeat, Mr. Gladstone, wlio was then the\\nBritish premier, entered into negotiation with the exultant victors,\\nthe issue of which was the recognition of the South African Re-\\npublic as at least a semi-independent power.\\nExperience has shown that however good were his intentions\\nMr. Gladstone made a great mistake, for out of this have grown\\nall the troubles of the present. This is not the view taken merely\\nby his political opponents, but also by many who were his warmest\\nsupporters. Lord Roseberry, who succeeded Mr. Gladstone in the\\nleadership of the Liberal Party, thus expresses himself:\\nPO\\\\A/^ER OF GREAT BRITAIN.\\nMr. Gladstone had an overpowering conviction of the might\\nand power of England. He thought that Great Britain could\\nafford to do things, owing to that overpowering might and dominion,\\nwhich other nations could not afford to do without a risk of misun-\\nderstanding. And for that reason he endeavored, after what was\\nundoubtedly a reverse, to treat with the Boers as if no such reverse\\nhad taken place.\\nI cannot help looking back to it now and remembering how\\ncompletely the fears I felt at that time have been realized in the\\nresult. So far from the Boers taking the magnanimity as it was\\nintended, they regarded it as a proof of weakness on which they\\ncould encroach. And it was with a deliberate and constant encroach-\\nment on the terms of the settlement that the Boers rewarded the\\nsublime magnanimity of Mr. Gladstone.\\nBut even Mr. Gladstone did not grant the Boers the full status\\nof a nation, for the convention between Great Britain and the\\nTransvaal in 1881, states in the preamble that complete self-\\ngovernment, subject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty, her heirs,\\nand successors, will be accorded to the inhabitants of the Transvaal\\nterritory.\\nThis treaty was revised in 1884, and in the revised document\\nthere is no mention of the phrase, the suzerainty of Her Majesty,\\nbut that suzerainty was not relinquished is clearly stated in\\nArticle IV of the Treaty in the words The South African Re-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0294.jp2"}, "295": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. 227\\npublic will conclude no treaty or engagement with any state or\\nnation, other than the Orange Free State, nor with any native tribe\\nto the eastward or westward of the Republic, until the same has\\nbeen approved by Her Majesty the Queen.\\nBy Article II of the said treaty the Boers were strictly con-\\nfined to their own territory, the precise words being The govern-\\nment of the South African Republic will strictly adhere to the\\nboundaries defined in the first article of this convention, and will\\ndo its utmost to prevent any of its inhabitants from making any\\nencroachments upon lands beyond the said boundaries. The gov-\\nernment of the South African Republic will appoint commissioners,\\nwhose duty will be strictly to guard against irregularities and all\\ntrespassing beyond the boundaries. And Her Majesty s Govern-\\nment will, if necessary, appoint commissioners in the native terri-\\ntories outside the eastern and western borders of the South African\\nRepublic to maintain order and prevent encroachments.\\nEQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL.\\nBut other things were agreed upon between the governments\\nconcerned, which may be classed under the general head of equal\\nrights to all the white inhabitants of the country, irrespective of\\nrace or creed, together with the protection of, and justice to, the\\nnative tribes. Hon. David Mills, the Canadian Minister of Justice,\\nin a speech delivered in the Senate during the last session, thus\\nsummarizes the manner in which the terms of the treaty have been\\ndisregarded by the Boers: As long, says Mr. Mills, as the\\nTransvaal Government felt that they were not secure against the\\nnative population they did not wish to quarrel with the British, but\\nwhen they felt that all danger from the natives was a thing of the\\npast they began to impose disabilities upon the Outlanders.\\nThey disregarded the state boundaries, drove back the natives\\non the west, made war on those tribes, and undertook to extend\\ntheir authority beyond the boundaries stipulated for in the conven-\\ntion. Taxation became oppressive, for every man, woman, and\\nchild of the Outlander population had to pay an average tax of\\nsome eighty dollars.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0295.jp2"}, "296": {"fulltext": "228 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.\\nTheir government lias been cliaracterized by personal out-\\nrages, by pecuniary wrongs, by political disabilities, and by\\ninsecurity for life, reputation, and property. While the Outlanders\\nconstitute the majority of the white population and pay nineteen-\\ntwentieths of the taxes, not one dollar of that money goes towards\\nthe education of their own children in their own language.\\nThe disabilities to which the Outlanders have been subjected\\nare thus spoken of by a New York journal\\nThe constitution and laws of the Transvaal forbid any\\nCatholic to share in the law-making for the country. Kngland\\ndemands that this discrimination against Catholics cease.\\nThe Transvaal laws forbid any Jew to share the law making\\npower. England demands that this discrimination against the\\nJews cease.\\nThere are two hundred and sixty thousand whites in the so-\\ncalled Roer Republic, but only sixty thousand are Boers. The\\nBoers declare that they are merely asking the right to live.\\nWhat they really ask is the right of six men to tyrannize over\\ntwenty, of sixty thousand to rule two hundred thousand, and rule\\nthem unjustly. The Boer attitude is not a demand for freedom it\\nis strictly an attitude of denying freedom to others.\\nAN AUTOCRAT FOR PRESIDENT.\\nKruger has been an absolute ruler there for seventeen years.\\nAll power is in his hands, and that of a council of seven. They\\ncan and do ignore the laws and orders of even the Upper House of\\nRepresentatives. The land of the Boers is no Republic. It is a\\nmediaeval Dutch settlement, as great an anachronism as any in\\nexistence. This is the question at issue in the Transvaal.\\nEqually strong were the words of the Rev. Dr. Edgar, in a\\nsermon recently delivered by him in Saint Andrew s Church,\\nMontreal The history of the Boer in South Africa is to be written\\nin blood and tears. He has done nothing for the native races but\\nheap upon them insult, cruelty and wrong.\\nForty years ago. Dr. Livingstone, who had spent many years\\namong the Boers and native races, condemned in the very strongest", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0296.jp2"}, "297": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. 229\\nterms the treatment of the natives by their Dutch oppressors. Here\\nare some of the charges he makes against them Though they\\nwere the immigrants, who had seized the country, they treated the\\nnatives as though they were the aggressors. They compelled them\\nto work for them without reward, in consideration of allowing them\\nto live in their own country. To supply the lack of field and\\ndomestic labor they shot down men and women in cold blood and\\nstole their children to make slaves of them. While claiming to be\\nChristians they treated the colored race as black property, as crea-\\ntures of less real value commercially than their own. They justified\\nthis outrageous injustice, claiming, that being the chosen people of\\nGod, the heathen were given to them for an inheritance and that\\nthey were the rod of divine vengeance on the heathen, as were the\\nJews of old.\\nWORDS OF A TRUSTWORTHY HISTORIAN.\\nThese are the words of one who knew whereof he spoke, and\\nhe is a trustworty historian. Forced labor, kidnapping children,\\nmassacre of inoffensive men and women, absolute denial of the\\nrights of human beings these are the crimes which an eye-witness\\nlays at the door of the ancestors of the Boers of the Transvaal.\\nThe experience of British subjects from the descendants of Living-\\nstone s contemporaries within the last twenty years has not been a\\nwhit lesss oppressive, the changed circumstances being considered.\\nCruelty to the native races and injustice to the whites, go naturally\\nhand in hand. If the Boers could do it, neither would have any\\nrights, and the future of South Africa would be in the hands of as\\ncruel, selfish and superstitious set of despots as modern history\\nreveals. Verily the children are filling the measure of their father s\\niniquities.\\nSuch a condition of things could not possibly be continued in\\nthis enlightened age, and the problem would have been solved with-\\nout the bullet if the ballot had been allowed. But that was a\\nweapon the Boer refused the use of to the Outlander, for while\\nevery Dutch lad of sixteen years of age was a voter, all others had\\nto wait for years before they could obtain the rights of citizenship.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0297.jp2"}, "298": {"fulltext": "230 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.\\nOwing to the gold discoveries a new order of things had been\\nbrought about with which the Boers were unable to deal. Men of\\nbroader minds and more liberal principles would have pursued a\\ndifferent course, but they elected to act otherwise.\\nThey hated the newcomers, were alarmed at their growing\\ninfluence, and undertook the hopeless task of shutting out the\\nrising tide of civilization and progress. In the words of the\\nLondon Spectator^ their administration of the Transvaal was\\narbitrary, narrow-minded, corrupt, and towards the great foreign\\npopulation conspicuously unfair.\\nAPPEALS WERE DISREGARDED.\\nThe Outlanders sought redress as redress is usually sought,\\nbut their appeals were not only unheeded, but the burdens of which\\nthey complained grev/ heavier and heavier as the years went by.\\nExasperated at the manner in which they were treated, they entered\\ninto negotiation with their sympathyzers in the adjoining provinces,\\nand out of this came the unsuccessful Jameson Raid.\\nAll that need be said here is that it was not the cause of the\\nOutlanders troubles, but only an incident of it but whatever it was\\nthe British Government repudiated all connection with it. In a\\nlengthy despatch from Mr. Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the\\nColonies, under date of February 4, 1896, and addressed to the\\nBritish High Commissioner for South Africa, after going over the\\nseveral causes of discontent and unrest in the Transvaal, he thus\\nsums up the situation\\nThe political situation is an anomalous one. The newcomers\\nare men who were accustomed to the fullest exercise of political\\nrights. In other communities where immigration has played an\\nimportant part in building up the population, it has been the policy\\nof the legislature to make liberal provision for admitting all new-\\ncomers who desire naturalization, after a comparatively brief period\\nof probation, to the rights and duties of citizenship a policy which\\nhas been fully justified by the event, for experience shows that the\\nnaturalized alien soon vies with, if he does not outstrip, the natural-\\nborn citizen in the fervor of his patriotism.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0298.jp2"}, "299": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. 231\\nIn the Soutli African Republic different counsels Have pre-\\nvailed for whereas in 1882 an Outlander could obtain full rights\\nof citizenship after a residence of five years, he can never hope to\\nobtain these rights in full, and their partial enjoyment is only con-\\nceded after a term of probation so prolonged as to amount, for most\\nmen, to a practical denial of the claim. If he omits to obtain any\\nkind of naturalization for himself, his children, though born on the\\nsoil, remain aliens like himself.\\nThe South African Republic, as regards its external rela-\\ntions, is subject to the control of this country, in accordance with\\nthe provisions of Article IV of the Convention of 1884, and Her\\nMajesty s Government intend to maintain them in their integrity.\\nAs regards the internal affairs of the Republic, I may observe that,\\nindependently of any rights of intervention in particular matters\\nwhich may arise out of the articles of the convention, Great Britain\\nis justified, in the interests of South Africa as a whole, as well as\\nof the peace and stability of the South African Republic, in ten-\\ndering its friendly counsels as regards the newcomers, who are\\nmainly British subjects.\\nTRIED TO STOP THE RAID.\\nIn reference to the Raid, Mr. Chamberlain says As soon as\\nthe Raid became known, every possible effort was made by the\\nBritish authorities to stay Dr. Jameson s advance a fast messenger\\nwas sent to warn him and his ofl cers of the position in which they\\nhad placed themselves, and to direct their immediate return, and\\nproclamations were issued in which Her Majesty enjoined her sub-\\njects in the South African Republic to abstain from aiding or coun-\\ntenancing Dr. Jameson or his force.\\nHow long the resources of diplomacy would have been em-\\nployed in the effort to secure the redress of the grievances com-\\nplained of it is impossible to say, for these were brought to a sudden\\nand unexpected termination by President Kruger s ultimatum,\\nwhich made demands that no self-respecting government could even\\ndiscuss.\\nThese demands were that the questions in dispute should be", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0299.jp2"}, "300": {"fulltext": "232 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.\\nsubmitted to arbitration; tbat no more British troops be sent to\\nSoutb Africa that those on the way thither should not be allowed\\nto land that during the period of negotiation there should be no\\nstrengthening of the frontier, and that compliance with these\\ndemands be consented to within forty-eight hours. In the face of\\nsuch arrogant and unprecedented demands, however averse she was\\nto war, Great Britain had to meet the issue.\\nThat war was not sought by Britain cannot be doubted by any\\none who intelligently considers the whole situation. War deranges\\nbusiness, interferes with trade, increases the burdens of the people,\\nand carries misery and woe into thousands of homes. Lord Salis-\\nbury is a man of peace, and by his firm but genial style of diplomacy\\nhas more than once averted war where a less judicious but more\\nbellicose minister would have failed.\\nGREAT PATIENCE AND FORBEARANCE.\\nBven Mr. Chamberlain, who has been called the fighting man\\nof the Cabinet, has shown wonderful patience and forbearance\\nduring the years in which he had to deal with the Boers. And the\\nworld has no need to be told that Queen Victoria has never con-\\nsented to war until peace had been rendered impossible, and this\\nhas been strikingly shown in the present case.\\nIn an address delivered. Lord Landsdowne, the Secretary for\\nWar, speaking in the name and on behalf of the government, thus\\npresented the case\\nWe are engaged in a serious enterprise we are face to face\\nwith the terrible realities of war realities which have been brought\\nhome to us by important events. The government which would\\nface them without the support of the people of this country would\\nbe indeed an object for pity. We believe that we have that support;\\nwe have spared no pains to carry the country with us and to con-\\nvince it at each step of the necessity of what we were doing.\\nThere have been no secrets and no reticences we have, indeed,\\nbeen reproached with not being reticent enough. I think the answer\\nto that is that unless we had taken the public into our confidence,\\nour people would have failed amid the tangle of these diplomatic", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0300.jp2"}, "301": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. 233\\ncontroversies to detect tHe real issues that are at stake. They have\\nfound out what those issues are. They no longer ask what we are\\nfighting about. They know, of course, that we are fighting, in the\\nfirst place, because we have been attacked. But they know, too,\\nthat we were attacked because the Queen s Government showed its\\ndetermination to protect the Queen s subjects in South Africa, and\\nto insist that the future of South Africa should be moulded upon\\nthe British and not upon the Boer model.\\nNOT FIGHTING FOR MERE FORMS.\\nIf we keep these broad issues steadily before our minds, all\\ndisputes about the existence of the suzerainty, or the meaning of\\nthe word, all the microscopic scrutiny of the wording of documents,\\nbecomes academical. We are fighting, not about words, but about\\nthings about the substance and not the form. It is the substance\\nwhich we mean to retain. It is the substance of which the South\\nAfrican Republic has shown its determination to get rid, not only\\nby the manner in which it has conducted these negotiations, but\\nby the extravagant military preparations which it has been making\\nduring the last few years.\\nWhen we are told that we have been wanting in patience or\\nin consideration, I am inclined to answer that if we are open to\\nreproach it is not for having been wanting in patience, but for\\nhaving tolerated too patiently in the midst of our flourishing and\\ncontented colonies the hostile preparations of a State which, during\\nthe last four or five years, has been arming itself to the teeth with\\nthe newest and most destructive implements of war, and drilling\\nits troops with the aid of foreign instructors for the scarcely con-\\ncealed purpose of driving us out of South Africa. It is in order\\nthat we may not lose the substance that we are putting into the\\nfield in South Africa the largest force which has ever left the shores\\nof this island.\\nIt is because of these broad issues that the people of the\\nUnited States sympathize so generally with Great Britain in the\\npresent struggle, and why so many of the leading organs of public\\nopinion have so warmly espoused her side of the quarrel. This", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0301.jp2"}, "302": {"fulltext": "234 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.\\nkindly feeling may be attributed in part to affinities of language,\\nrace, and political institutions, and in part to Britain s firm and\\nfriendly attitude during the late war witb Spain, but tbe great\\nreason is that her cause is felt to be a just one, and that she stands\\nfor the defence of the oppressed, for the enfranchisement of the\\ndown-trodden, and for the advancement of libert}^, progress, and\\ncivilization.\\nThe following from The New York Independent very forcibly\\nvoices this feeling The present crisis cannot be dissociated from\\nthe whole history of Boer rule in South Africa. It commenced\\nwith a brutal treatment of the natives unequalled in the relations\\nof civilized and uncivilized peoples. As fast as they found the\\nfreedom for such treatment abridged, they mthdrew from one place\\nto another until they established themselves in the Transvaal.\\nStill the same spirit dominated them, and they were in perpetual\\nstrife.\\nWhen they found that British rule was closing in around\\nthem they commenced a series of negotiations with other European\\npowers, hoping thus to secure a counteri-nfluence in their behalf\\nThen came intrigues among their kinsmen in the Free State and\\nCape Colony, and the assertion that Boer funds supplied the\\ntreasury of the Africander party is generally credited.\\nABSOLUTE DENIAL OF JUSTICE.\\nDuring all this time not once has the Transvaal Government\\nmanifested any desire to do what the rest of the world has consid-\\nered to be justice. It has made promise after promise, then with-\\ndrawn, then advanced counter-propositions until it seemed impossible\\nto know just what the situation was.\\nSir Alfred Milner has shown a patience, as well as firmness,\\ndeserving of all praise. He has been well supported, too, by Mr.\\nChamberlain, who has kept in close line with Lord Salisbury. All\\nhave realized that such a war as would follow would be terrible,\\nboth in loss of life and in general disaster. They realize also that\\nthere are things worse than war, and that to permit the development\\nof so reactionary a power as the Transvaal has shown itself to be.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0302.jp2"}, "303": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. 235\\nmeans permanent injury to the whole of South Africa. Therefore,\\nthat country must not be a continuous festering spot to the peace\\nof the entire continent.\\nThe reasons which induced President Kruger to precipitate this\\nconflict are at least suggested in the foregoing quotation. He must\\nhave known, he did know, that however brave and determined his\\npeople were, and however well prepared for war they might be, and\\nthat whatever successes they might win in the earlier stages of the\\ncontest, defeat would be inevitable. It seems incredible that he\\nshould have entered upon so unequal a struggle without assurances\\nof outside support, for it would not only mean his own personal\\noverthrow, but also the loss of whatever measure of independence\\nhis people had enjoyed, for war annuls all treaties and abrogates all\\nconventions.\\nCOUNTING ON SYMPATHY OF THE BOERS.\\nAs there has always been a discontented class among the Dutch\\nin South Africa, he probably counted upon their practical sympathy\\nand co-operation in the event of trouble. That sympathy they had\\nrather effusively exhibited on various occasions, and under circum-\\nstances which left no room to doubt as to what they would do if the\\nopportunity were afforded. He may have expected something from\\nthe evident unwillingness of the British people to have recourse to\\nextreme measures.\\nBut if so, he has been disappointed, for seldom, if ever, has the\\nnation given a government such united and hearty support as is\\nnow being given to the government. And that support is not\\nconfined to the Motherland, for from Australia, from New Zealand,\\nfrom India, and from the Dominion of Canada, thousands of brave\\nand brawny men have voluntarily enrolled themselves under the\\ncommon flag, and have thus proclaimed the unity and solidarity of\\nthe Empire.\\nBut his great hope undoubtedly was in the intervention of\\nsome of the European powers, and in view of the somewhat strained\\nrelations between them and Great Britain the hope was not an\\nunreasonable one. Russia s advance toward the Indian frontier has", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0303.jp2"}, "304": {"fulltext": "236 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.\\nbeen continuous and steady, and especially since the Crimean War,\\nwhen she was made to understand she could not possess herself of\\nConstantinople. That advance has been watched with the keenest\\ninterest in Great Britain, and it is the all but universal opinion\\nthat a collision between these two powers must take place at no\\ndistant day.\\nAnything, therefore, that would engage her and require her\\nforces elsewhere would afford Russia an opportunity to seize\\nPersia, and perhaps establish herself in Afghanistan. But famine\\nand lack of funds have rendered this an inopportune time, and help\\nis not likely to come from that quarter.\\nNURSING HER WRATH.\\nFrance, checkmated in Bgypt, humiliated at Fashoda, and\\ndenounced by the pulpit and press of Britain for the way in which\\nDreyfus was dealt with, would gladly have assailed her neighbor\\nacross the channel if she could have secured an ally but failing\\nin this, and concluding that prudence in such a case was the better\\npart of valor, is contenting herself with merely nursing her wrath\\nto keep it warm.\\nThe press of Holland may be ultra-Boer in feeling, and the\\nrabble may shout, Down with England but the government of\\nthat country realizes that Holland exists as an independent power\\nbecause Britain has bound herself by treaty to see that that inde-\\npendence is maintained. Therefore the Dutch in Burope can\\nfurnish no substantial aid. The attitude of the German Kmperor\\nat the time of the Jameson Raid may have led Mr. Kruger to look\\nfor something practical from the Fatherland, but the hope has not\\nbeen realized the expectation has been but a dream, for Emperor\\nWilliam has suddenly developed a strong affection for his august\\ngrandmother and her people, and has warned his subjects to main-\\ntain the strictest neutrality.\\nEven republican America, as shown in the preceding pages,\\nwithholds her sympathy, believing him to be the champion of a\\ncause that is bad in itself, and must end in failure. His only ally,\\ntherefore, is the Orange Free State.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0304.jp2"}, "305": {"fulltext": "THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. 237\\nIntervention, therefore, is not to be thought of, and the British\\nand the Boer will have to fight it out themselves. This is very clearly\\nindicated in Lord Salisbury s speech at the Guildhall Banquet on\\nNovember 9th. In words of weighty import words uttered with the\\ncalmness of conscious strength, and which suggest much more than\\nthey say he thus defines the situation\\nI have seen it suggested, and it seems to me a wild sugges-\\ntion, that the other powers will interfere with this country, and\\nin some way or other dictate to those who are concerned in it as to\\nwhat the upshot should be. Don t let any man think it is in that\\nfashion the conflict will be concluded. We shall have to carry it\\nthrough ourselves, and the interference of anybody else will have\\nno effect upon it.\\nINTERVENTION NEED NOT BE FEARED.\\nIn the first place, because we would not accept that inter-\\nference, and, in the second place, because we are convinced there is\\nno such idea in the mind of any government in the world. Within\\nmy recollection, there have been five or six great wars, involving\\nin their close great territorial modifications but, except as provided\\nfor by treaties, and except in the case of treaties, in none of these\\nwars has a third party ventured to interfere between the combatants.\\nAs to what was to come after the war. Lord Salisbury would\\nonly say What we desire is equal rights for all men of all races,\\nand security for our fellow-subjects and our Bmpire. By what\\nmeans this aim is to be worked out he left for events to determine.\\nWhenever we are victorious, said his lordship, we shall\\nconsult the vast interests committed to our care. Vast duties lie\\nupon us to perform and, taking counsel of the uniform traditions\\nof colonial government and of the moderation and equal justice to\\nall races of men which it has been our uniform practice to observe,\\nI do not doubt we shall so arrange that the issue of this conflict\\nwill confer good government on the area where it rages, and give\\nthe security, sorely needed, against the recurrence of any such\\ndangers and the necessity of any such future exertion for the\\nrestoration of peace and civilization to that portion of the world.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0305.jp2"}, "306": {"fulltext": "0^\\nCHAPTER XVI.\\nGallant Canadian Troops Off for the War.\\n^N October 25, 1899, the Governor-General of Canada received\\nat Ottawa this cablegram from the Sovereign of England\\nHer Majesty the Queen desires to thank the people of her\\nDominion of Canada for their striking manifestation of loyalty\\nand patriotism in their voluntary offer to send troops to co-operate\\nwith Her Majesty s imperial forces in maintaining her position and\\nthe rights of British subjects in South Africa. She wishes the\\ntroops Godspeed and a safe return.\\nThis city s contingent for the Transvaal left the same evening\\nfor Quebec. Ten thousand people assembled at the armory to bid\\nthem farewell, and escorted them to the station. Dispatches from\\nMontreal and Toronto stated that the departure of the local con-\\ntingents for Quebec evoked great enthusiasm. Thus Canada\\npromptly took up the cause of the mother country. Throughout\\nthe Dominion there were rousing demonstrations of loyalty, and\\nthe call for troops to join the imperial army in South Africa met\\nwith a quick and hearty response.\\nAn unparalleled scene of enthusiasm attended the departure\\nof the Canadian contingent from London for the seat of war. In\\nthe march from Victoria Park to the Grand Trunk station, the\\ndeparting troops had the appearance of a thin red line, piercing a\\nblack mass of people, who surged from curb to curb, cheering and\\nwaving hats and handkerchiefs. It was a roaring, cheering, tumult-\\nuous crowd, with here and there touches of sadness in the faces of\\nthose who were bidding good-bye to near and dear ones. There\\nwere even some bonnets among the helmets mothers and sisters,\\nwho walked in the ranks, so as to be with their boys and their\\nbrothers every precious moment of the time. Over all shone a\\nbrilliant sun, as if shedding a benediction on the departing heroes.\\nAt the barracks before the contingeut took up the line of march\\n238", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0306.jp2"}, "307": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 239\\nfor the station a sword was presented to Major Duncan Stuart. In\\nhanding the gift to the Major, Alderman Graham said: On behalf\\nof the citizens of London, I take great pleasure in presenting you\\nwith this sword. May you wear it to the glory of your country\\nand your Queen in the cause you are going to defend. Loud\\napplause followed.\\nMajor Stuart made a graceful reply. He was grateful for the\\nhonor done him. He would do the best he could to deserve it.\\nThe men of B Company will do their part, he said. Of that I\\nam convinced. It only remains with me to do mine, which I will\\nendeavor to do. The Major was heartily applauded.\\nPRIDE AND HOPE OF THEIR COUNTRY.\\nSubsequently B Company was again drawn up on the square\\nat Wolseley Barracks and Canon Dann addressed them as follows\\nWe are all proud of you. We have every hope that you\\nwill do credit to your country. When an enemy thinks to quell\\nthe stubborn hearts of oak, and to chain with chains and bind with\\nbands the sons of Britain, he must be taught by force to learn\\nhumility like those men of Succoth, whom Gideon in the days of\\nold schooled with briars and the thorns of the wilderness. What\\nmade your forefathers great soldiers will make you the same.\\nTrust in God, and faithfulness to duty. Do your duty earnestly,\\nscrupulously, and to the uttermost. The path of duty is the path\\nof glory. Never be untrue to yourselves, to your Queen or to your\\nGod. If you have to fight, fight, knowing that God s eye is upon\\nyou. Be magnanimous in all your actions. Never strike an\\nunnecessary blow. So that when all is over you will have the\\napproving voice of your Master, Well done, good and faithful\\nservants! We wish you God-speed, a happy voyage, a brilliant\\ncampaign, and a safe return.\\nWith touching solemnity. Canon Dann then offered this prayer:\\nO Eternal God, be pleased to receive in Thy Almighty protection\\nthe persons of these Thy servants, about to proceed to South Africa\\nin defense of our Most Gracious Sovereign Lad}^ Queen Victoria,\\nand of her dominions. Preserve them from the perils of travel,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0307.jp2"}, "308": {"fulltext": "240 GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS.\\nwhether by land or sea. Give to tliem true courage and endurance.\\nProtect tliem from the violence of the enemy., And be Thou ever\\ntheir defense and ready helper, that they may return again in safety\\nto enjoy the blessings of Thy goodness, with a thankful remem-\\nbrance of Thy mercies to ever praise and glorify Thy Holy Name,\\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\\nMayor Wilson addressed the company, expressing the pride\\nthe city felt in her brave sons and wishing them, not only a brilliant\\ncareer in South Africa, but a safe return to their home and friends.\\nWhen the volunteers arrived at the station the crowd massed\\non the platform was tremendous. Way was made for the South\\nAfrican contingent, who marched into position alongside their\\nspecial train. Then the crowd closed in on the ranks, and people\\nin the rear crushed forward for a last word with their friends.\\nSeveral women fainted, but no serious accident occurred. Progress\\nalong the platform was impossible for several minutes. Sir Wilfrid\\nLaurier, premier of Canada, appeared on the platform of one of the\\nspecial cars, and cheer after cheer rent the air.\\nADDRESS FROM THE PREMIER OF CANADA.\\nMembers of the South African contingent, he said, I have\\nonly one word to say, and it is not even necessary to say that.\\nThat is, that we look to you to do your duty. You are going to\\nSouth Africa to give the people of that country the same liberty\\nwhich you here enjoy. May you do credit to your country. The\\nspeech was greeted with loud cheers.\\nThe train was profusely decorated. The cars were covered\\nwith gaily-colored bunting, with flags and mottoes. The colors\\nwere all red, white and blue. The banners extended the whole\\nlength of the car, and in large letters had printed on them the\\nwords From London to South Africa, B Company, Transvaal\\nContingent, For the Empire, and No. i Military District.\\nOne of each banner was on each side of the car. The train con-\\nsisted of a baggage and three passengers cars. The latter were\\nthe best and most comfortable that are on the road.\\nThe mighty cheer that v/ent up when the train started to pull", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0308.jp2"}, "309": {"fulltext": "COLONEL OTTER\\nCOMMANDER OF THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0309.jp2"}, "310": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0310.jp2"}, "311": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0311.jp2"}, "312": {"fulltext": "O\\nI\\n111\\n-I\\n1-\\no\\nT\\n1-\\nCO\\nh\\nn\\nI\\nm\\nUJ\\nz\\nI\\nUJ\\nIII\\nh-\\nh\\nir\\n3\\n2\\nCO\\nQ\\nIII\\ncc\\nfO\\nHi\\no\\nz\\n(t\\nn\\n_l\\n-1\\nir\\nX\\n1-\\nlO\\nUJ\\nI\\nCO\\nK\\nLU\\nUl\\n.J\\nI\\na\\nH\\n3\\nL.\\nCO\\no\\nUJ\\nnr\\nUJ\\nK\\n3\\nz\\nCC\\nUJ\\nO\\nX\\no\\n1-\\nX", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0312.jp2"}, "313": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0313.jp2"}, "314": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0314.jp2"}, "315": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0315.jp2"}, "316": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0316.jp2"}, "317": {"fulltext": "HOW THE BLUE JACKETS SHELLED THE BOERS AT LADYSMITH", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0317.jp2"}, "318": {"fulltext": "BRITISH GARRISON OBEYING ORDER, STAND TO ARMS,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0318.jp2"}, "319": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0319.jp2"}, "320": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0320.jp2"}, "321": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0321.jp2"}, "322": {"fulltext": "BOER PRISONERS ON THE WAY TO PIETERMARlTZy URG,\\nCAPITAL OF NATAL", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0322.jp2"}, "323": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 241\\nout was like the roll of thunder, and completely drowned the\\nstrains of God Save the Queen by the band. Hats were thrown\\nin the air, and handkerchiefs were waved on all sides. Kvery\\nperson was wildly enthusiastic as they shouted a last good-bye to\\nthe soldier boys. Many of the ladies in the crowd carried small\\nUnion Jacks, and waved them above their heads. The cheering\\ncontinued until the train had passed from view.\\nThe decorations in many parts of the city were very elaborate,\\nespecially in the business portion. Huge Union Jacks hung across\\nthe streets in many places, and the stores and wholesale houses\\nwere gaily decorated with flags and bunting. Many private resi-\\ndences were also tastily decorated with myriads of miniature flags.\\nGREAT POPULAR DEMONSTRATION.\\nThe Toronto and London companies of the South African\\nregiment were given an enthusiastic farewell at the former city,\\nOctober 25th. Tens of thousands thronged the streets to see the\\nsoldiers depart. They were presented at the armories with purses\\nof gold on behalf of the city, and silver match-safes inscribed with\\nthe motto, What we have, we ll hold, referring, of course, to the\\nEmpire. The of cers were presented with expensive field-glasses.\\nA committee of citizens has arranged for life insurance on each,\\nand loaded them with all sorts of things and reading matter to\\nmake the ocean voyage more comfortable.\\nThe South African contingent paraded the principal streets,\\naccompanied by four volunteer corps, each with a brass band. The\\nMayor and aldermen, veteran soldiers, boys brigades, and thou-\\nsands of public school lads carrying wooden guns, followed by the\\nstudents of Toronto University and various city colleges, who sang,\\nto the tune of Sweet Bye-and-Bye, a refrain, There s a Place\\nWhere the Boers Ought to Go. Half a holiday was given at the\\nschools, and most of the city warehouses were closed to let the\\ncitizens join in giving the soldiers a hearty send-off.\\nNo such military ardor as that shown at Toronto had been\\nmanifested since the Fenian raid in 1866. A prominent journal\\ncommented on the event of the day as follows\\n16", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0323.jp2"}, "324": {"fulltext": "242 GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS.\\nThe starting of the Canadian contingent marks an epoch in\\nthe history of the world. No such a thing is recorded in history as\\nthat colonists should journey for more than a month and cover\\nalmost half a circuit of the world in order to fight for the rights of\\ntheir fellow-citizens thousands of miles away. It is a grand\\nclimax of Imperial unity, and Canada, with other portions of the\\nEmpire, has come forward to join in the demonstration of it to the\\nworld. Other journals were filled with similar comments.\\nAN OVATION FOR COLONEL OTTER.\\nA farewell, in some respects more inspiring and enthusiastic\\nthan that which the Toronto company carried away with them in\\nthe afternoon, was the lot of Lieutenant-Colonel Otter, who left for\\nthe east in the evening. The Colonel arrived at the station shortly\\nafter nine o clock. He was accompanied by his staff, and proceeded\\ndirectly to his car, the last coach on the Grand Trunk express.\\nThen the Queen s Own Rifles marched into the huge waiting-room\\nand down to the tracks, forming in companies along the north wall\\nand behind the crowds on the platform. It was hard for them to\\nmaintain their positions, but maintain them they did, and sang\\nwhile their old Colonel, who almost began his militia life under\\ntheir colors, shook hands with them and returned the farewells of\\nthe people who pressed about his car. The coach moved slowly\\nout, and Colonel Otter climbed on the rear steps, where, while the\\ngreat crowd cheered and the bands played, he stood with bowed\\nhead until he was lost from view.\\nThe men are of magnificent physique, said one of the public\\njournals, and the company is largely composed of business men.\\nThe case of Private J. F. Ramsey is typical of many. He was a\\nCaptain of the Highlanders and is a member of the Ramsay-Cowan\\nCompany, a big manufacturing concern of this city. He was the\\nwestern manager, and was in Utah when the call for volunteers\\ncame. He travelled home post haste, found there was no opening\\nas an of cer and he promptly enlisted as a private. His father is a\\nvery wealthy man and a director of U .uperial Bank. Another\\nprivate is a master at Upper Canada College. Several others are", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0324.jp2"}, "325": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 243\\npromising business men and officers who threw up their commissions\\nto go in as privates.\\nIn commenting on the departure of the troops one of the news-\\npapers said: During the past week, the various companies that\\nwill comprise the Canadian contingent to the Transvaal have been\\nconverging from all parts of the Dominion to the place of rendezvous\\nat Quebec, where they will embark in the steamship Sardinian, for\\nSouth Africa. The gallant soldier-boys have received hearty send-\\noffs from their various towns people, the good wishes being in\\nmany cases coupled with handsome presents and useful articles for\\nthe men who go forth in defence of the flag.\\nFIGHT AS GOOD CANADIANS.\\nThe Montreal company left on schedule time. Before the men\\nwere marched out of the Drill Hall, Lieut.-Col, Gordon addressed\\nthem, pointing out the seriousness and responsibility of the step\\nthey had undertaken. Canada is sending you forth, he said, to\\nfight the battles of the Empire on a foreign field Be a credit to\\nyour country; uphold her honor and traditions, and not let it be\\nsaid of the Canadian contingent that they shirked their duty in any\\nrespect. Be men and soldiers. If needs be, fight as good Canadians,\\nand bring glory to the flag. Canada will watch you Montreal\\nwill watch you. May you have a safe voyage and may you all\\nreturn. I wish you God-speed from the bottom of my heart.\\nAt the close of his remarks Col. Gordon called for three cheers\\nfor the men, and these were given with a will, and a tiger was added\\nby those present. Cheers for the Queen and Empire followed, the\\naudience waxing enthusiastic.\\nWhen the procession reached Bonaventure station it was\\ngreeted with a solid mass of humanity, who had gathered to see the\\nboys off. The company found some difficulty in getting through\\nthe crowd, and the scenes they passed through were most affecting,\\nmothers, sisters, and sweethearts clinging to the loved ones to the\\nlast, while fathers, brothers, and friends held their hands and\\nwished them God-speed. Soon, however, all were aboard the train.\\nThere were faces at every window, smiling faces, too. The train", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0325.jp2"}, "326": {"fulltext": "244 GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS.\\nmoved, but very slowl}^ at first. Not a sound of the ringing of a\\nbell nor ttie puffing of a locomotive could be heard. There was a\\ngreat buzzing sound, and the noise of many voices. Some of the\\nboys leaned out of the car windows, and grasped the hands of friends\\nas the}^ passed. There was a waving of handkerchiefs, and God\\nbless you from the ladies. As the train increased in speed a mighty\\nthrill of enthusiastic loyalty went through the crowd.\\nOne b}^ one the carriages rolled past. On the rear platform\\nstood a magnificent specimen of a Canadian soldier. His face glowed\\nand he took off his cap and waved it to the cheering spectators. On\\na little stick at the rear of the train flapped cheerily a flag its color\\nwas not white.\\nBritain s drum-beat in South Africa had been heard in far-off\\nCanada, and Montreal s sons were on the way to the front. A\\nnumber of the western companies passed through Montreal on their\\nway to Quebec, and all were given enthusiastic greetings and hearty\\nsend-offs by a crowd numbering many thousands.\\nQUEBEC STIRRED WITH ENTHUSIASM.\\nThe Canadian contingent left for the seat of war under com-\\nmand of Lieut.-Colonel Otter, of Toronto, with Lieut.-Colonel Buchan\\nas second in command, and Captain McDougall as adjutant. The\\nstaff included Lieut.-Colonel Drury, Captain Forrester, Captain\\nMacdonnell and others well known in St. John.\\nFrom published reports it would seem that all Quebec turned\\nout on the evening of October aSth to honor the gallant sons of\\nCanada who were going to take their share in fighting the battles of\\nthe Empire. The dinner given by the Garrison Club to Colonel\\nOtter and his officers was a success, and was attended by all who\\ncould get seats. The dining room had been tastefulty decorated\\nwith flags and festoons of flowers. On one side of the coat of arms\\nof the Empire was a British shield, and on the other the Dominion\\nshield, while the shields of the seven provinces were distributed\\nthroughout the hall.\\nAfter discussing the menu Lieut.-Colonel White arose and\\nannounced that the guests had been invited to join in the promenade", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0326.jp2"}, "327": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 245\\nand smoking concert at the Drill Hall, where the citizens committee\\nwas entertaining the brave boys. He then proposed the toast of\\nThe Queen. Rarely, if ever, has this toast been received in any\\npart of the country with such ehthusiasm as it was on this occasion,\\nand every man present sang the National Anthem in a manner that\\nwould have convinced even the most critical observer that all felt\\nthe particular solemnity of the moment.\\nLieutenant-Colonel White then proposed the toast of Lieu-\\ntenant-Colonel Otter, and the officers of the contingent. It was\\nparticularly fitting that Quebec, which v/as surrounded b}^ battle-\\nfields, where brave men had struggled on both sides, should repre-\\nsent the whole of Canada in bidding God-speed to the men who\\nwere bravely going forth to distant lands to prove the unity of the\\nEmpire and the loyalty of all Canadians of all races and creeds.\\nHONORED IN REPRESENTING CANADA.\\nColonel Otter was unable to speak for five minutes, so enthu-\\nsiastic and prolonged was the cheering which greeted him. When\\nthe applause subsided, the commander of the Royal Canadian regi-\\nment expressed the pleasure it gave him to be once more in Quebec,\\nas a guest of the Garrison Club, which was known all over Canada\\nfor its hospitality, especially to military men. He would like to\\nassure his hearers on behalf of himself and his of cers of the pride\\nthey all felt in the duty which they were doing. They were highly\\nhonored in having been chosen to represent Canada in aid of the\\nEmpire.\\nHe had been struck by the enthusiam displayed from one end\\nof the country to the other it was reall}- almost more than a man\\ncould bear. All classes vied with each other to honor, cheer aud\\nassist in every possible way the officers and soldiers. These sincere\\nactions and expressions touched them very much, and they felt they\\nhad in every way the sympathy of the whole country. Feeling\\nthis, while their task may be physically hard, it would be easy in\\nevery other respect. This universal sympathy would help them to\\ngive up their homes and endure the hardships of South Africa, if\\nthereby the}^ could gain glory for Canada and the Empire.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0327.jp2"}, "328": {"fulltext": "246 GALLANT CANADIAN TROXDPS.\\nIt will be seen that a patriotic spirit animated the Dominion\\nfrom one end to the other. Especially notable was the promptness\\nwith which the military preparations were despatched. Canada did\\nmore than send her soldiers away with a cheer that rang from the\\nPacific to the Atlantic, and will forever echo to the nations of the\\nworld the stern message, Britain s quarrels are the quarrels of her\\nchildren, and Britain s sons will be defended by their brothers.\\nShe showed by the despatch with which the contingent was enrolled,\\nand by the promptness with which it was fitted out, that the militia\\ndepartment of this young country is an organization to be proud of,\\nand that in an emergency it can do good work for the Empire.\\nA REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT.\\nThe fact that, without conscription, it was possible to get to-\\ngether in the short space of a fortnight a thousand men, represent-\\ning every section of this vast domain, and send them away on their\\nlong ocean journey, properly equipped and provisioned, was as much\\nan eye-opener to the nations of the world as was the enthusiasm of\\nthe people over the opportunity to show even in this small way their\\ndevotion to the causes of the Empire and their willingness to make\\nits quarrels their own. The object lesson was expected to make an\\nimpression on the world. The knowledge that from the uttermost\\nparts of the earth would come thousands upon thousands of English\\ncolonists at the call to arms will not soon be forgotten by those who\\nin the past have considered that the nation s only arm was her navy,\\nand that her people would not voluntarily seek military service.\\nMilitary men of all countries most favorably commented on the\\ndespatch of the Canadian volunteers, while those in Canada who\\nhad an intimate acquaintance with the workings of the militia de-\\npartment, and who knew the difficulties that had to be met and sur-\\nmounted, spoke most enthusiastically, and! one and all praised the\\nMinister of Militia, Hon. F. W. Borden, and the officers of his staff,\\nparticularly the Quartermaster-General, Colonel Foster, for the\\nhighly creditable manner in which the work was done. The fact\\nthat the Minister, Hon. Mr. Borden, was himself a militia officer of\\nthirty years standing, and that under his rule many important re-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0328.jp2"}, "329": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 247\\nforms had been inaugurated, no doubt helped in a very great meas-\\nure to make possible the wonderful undertaking, which, as has\\nalready been said, called forth praise even from the regular army\\ndepartments of the old world.\\nCanada fitted out its soldiers with everything of the very best, and\\nsent them away with quarters that were pronounced far superior to\\nthose usually provided on a troop ship. When the call for volun-\\nteers was made the militia department had not even uniforms for the\\nmen, but the tailors of Canada were equal to the occasion, and they\\ndelivered at Quebec before the steamer sailed the splendid uniforms\\nthat were expected to prove both serviceable and comfortable. The\\nCanadian soldiers were uniformed as a rifle regiment, and had a\\nkhaki serge service uniform, with jackets with four pockets, and\\nshort breeches. They wore the Oliver equipment, and all their belts\\nand straps were of brown leather. In addition to this equipment,\\neach man received both summer and winter underclothing and other\\nnecessaries, so that as regards clothing they were as well provided\\nas if fitted out by the best army service in the world.\\nSUPERB DRESS PARADE.\\nOne of the newspapers contained the following account of the\\nCanadian contingent The Royal Canadian Infantry, looo strong,\\nhad a magnificent ovation in the ancient city of Quebec while on its\\nway to the wharf and upon its embarkation on the steamer Sardin-\\nian for the voyage to Cape Town. In the morning the regiment\\ngave a dress parade in Dufferin Terrace in the presence of 20,000\\nspectators. Addresses were made to them by Lord Minto and Sir\\nWilfrid Laurier, in which the soldiers were highly complimented.\\nIn the afternoon the regiment boarded the vessel that was to carr}-\\nthem to Africa amid scenes of the wildest enthusiasm. Quebec\\nnever witnessed anything near so impressive or enthusiastic as this\\ndemonstration.\\nThe command is made up of eight companies raised in\\ndifferent parts of the Dominion in which is represented Manitoba,\\nthe Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New\\nBrunswick, Prince Edward Island, Montreal, Toronto, Quebec,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0329.jp2"}, "330": {"fulltext": "248 GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS.\\nOttawa, London and Kingston. The regiment is finely officered\\nand the rank an file are men of high intelligence and courage and\\nphysically in splendid form. We mistake if they do not measure\\nup equally with the celebrated crack regiments of the British army\\nwhom they fight along side of in the battles of the Transvaal.\\nThe inhabitants of the Dominion are justly proud of the\\ncontingent they are sending to Africa and everywhere the infantry-\\nmen were made to feel the popular heart was with them in this\\nexpedition. French and English vied with each other in cheering\\nthem on and bidding them God-speed and safe return to their homes.\\nPATRIOTISM OF THE DOMINION.\\nIt would prove as difficult for one who did not witness the\\nleave-taking of the Canadian contingent to realize the depth of\\nsentiment, the loyalty and the unity of the Canadian people which\\nthe farewell brought out as it would be for one who saw and took\\npart in the demonstration to ever forget it. To Quebec came the\\npicked men of the volunteers from every portion of the Dominion,\\nfresh from the plaudits and the decorations of the.ir own friends,\\nthinking, perhaps, that the last good-byes had been said, that they\\nwere among a strange people, that the journey to South Africa had\\ncommenced in earnest. The contingent had been arriving by com-\\npanies for almost a week, but Quebec, anxious to prove that none\\ncould surpass her in her devotion to the Canadian contingent or\\nthe cause in which that contingent was to serve, waited until the\\ndeparture of the troops, and then the great wave of enthusiasm\\nswept over all restraint, and the greatest popular demonstration\\nwhich the country ever saw resulted.\\nThe officers and men of the Second Royal Canadian Regiment\\nmarched through the flag-decked streets of the city under great\\nwelcoming arches in the midst of a cheering throng, with men and\\nwomen catching their hands as they passed, and wishing them, in\\na language which they could not understand, her Majesty s wish,\\nGod-speed and a safe return. They were told by the Mayor of\\nthe city that they were the united descendants of two races which\\nhad met in bitter conflict upon the ground on which they stood,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0330.jp2"}, "331": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 249\\nand tiiat they were now the representatives of one people whose\\nhearts they carried with them. But the last farewell was from\\n40,000 people of Quebec, who from the wharves and the hills of the\\ncity sang the National Anthem as their transport steamed down the\\nbroad St. Lawrence.\\nThe Sardinian began her voyage to the Cape at ten minutes\\npast four o clock on Monday afternoon, October 30th, within four-\\nteen days after the order for the mobilization of the troops came to\\nthe Canadian Government. The members of the Cabinet and the\\nofficers of the Canadian militia, who saw her leave her wharf car-\\nrying a regiment of Canadian soldiers fully prepared for the voyage\\nand equipped for the battlefield, heard with pleasure the following\\ncablegram received by the Governor-General of Canada\\nPRAISE FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.\\nLondon, October 30, 1899. Her Majesty s Government offer\\nhearty congratulations to Canadian Government and military\\nauthorities for rapid organization and embarkation of contingent.\\nBnthusiasm displayed by people of Dominion a source of much\\ngratification here. (Signed), Chamberlain.\\nThe pleasure of the recognition of Canada s ability to meet an\\nemergency was unbounded, but the satisfaction at the completion\\nof an almost overwhelming task was to those who made the embark-\\nation of a Canadian contingent possible at such an early date the\\ngreatest reward.\\nThe great Allan liner, which sailed under sealed orders, never\\ncarried such a cargo before. The privates of the contingent swarmed\\neverywhere over the boat, and shouted and cheered and sang inter-\\nmittently. The people of the city filled every dock on the water-\\nfront. They were dotted over the palisades they lined the great\\nwalls of the Citadel and from every coign of vantage answered\\ncheer and hurrah and sang with the soldiers.\\nWhen the time of the final leave-taking came the soldiers were\\non the upper deck and high in the rigging of the vessel. One of\\nCaptain Barker s men had climbed to the top of the first mast, and\\nhanging there swung his cap to those on shore. Below him was a", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0331.jp2"}, "332": {"fulltext": "250 GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS.\\nsea of wliite helmets and dark tunics, and as the first gun from the\\nCitadel roared out the vast multitude took up the strain of God Save\\nthe Queen, and the cannon of the Citadel marked the time. Then\\nthe whistles of the river craft drowned all else, and the Sardinian,\\nescorted by a fleet of gaily-decorated tugs and pleasure boats, was\\nlost to sight.\\nThe day began with the marshaling of the troops at the Citadel,\\nand here they were viewed by thousands of visitors who had traveled\\nfrom their homes to bid their own good-bye. There were many\\npresentations by civic deputations. Toronto sent as its representa-\\ntives City Treasurer Coady, Messrs. Joseph Thompson, acting Sec-\\nretary, Alderman Graham and James Somers, and the grants made\\nto the volunteers were handed over, the funds being delivered in\\ngold coin, which was duly placed in safe keeping on the Sardinian.\\nMr. Coady made the presentations, and Alderman Graham delivered\\nthe silver match-safes to those who had failed to receive them in\\nToronto.\\nPRESENTS FOR THE SOLDIERS.\\nMontreal sent the largest deputation, which included a number\\nof students of McGill University, and the members of the contin-\\ngent from that city received the warmest reception of the day. The\\nMayor of Montreal and a committee presented field glasses to the\\nofficers and funds to the men. Sir Mackenzie Bowell was at the\\nhead of a large party from Belleville, which city was also represented\\nby Mayor J. W. Johnson, Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Ponton, Major\\nW. W. Pope, Captain Marsh, Captain Stewart, Lieutenant Morden\\nand Lieutenant McGinnis. They carried with them $500, being\\nthe municipal and private subscriptions to the fourteen soldiers who\\njoined the contingent from Belleville.\\nThe crowd of visitors and residents of the city at the Citadel\\nwas very large, but it was insignificant when compared with the\\ntremendous gathering which waited on every side of the Esplanade\\nfor the appearance of the troops there. The streets leading from\\nthe Citadel were so congested with people that the regiment had\\ndifficulty in passing through, and it was some time after the hour", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0332.jp2"}, "333": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 251\\nannounced for tiie commencement of the ceremonies that it made\\nits appearance. A temporary stand had been erected on the Esplan-\\nade, and on this were gathered prominent visitors from all parts of\\nthe Dominion.\\nThe troops were formed up in review order, and the precision\\nshown by each company in taking its position was repeatedly\\ncheered. Finally the grand review began, and his Excellency Lord\\nMinto and General Hutton inspected the long lines of soldiers.\\nThey were accompanied by the following staff, and made a brilliant\\nmilitary picture Lieutenant-Colonel Irwin, Lieutenant-Colonel\\nEvanturel, Lieutenant-Colonel Sherwood, Hon. A. D. and Captain\\nGraham, in waiting. General Hutton appeared particularly im-\\npressed with the splendid physical and soldierly bearing of the men,\\nand complimented several of the officers. He said to Captain Bar-\\nker after reviewing that officer s company You have a splendid\\ncompany steady men. When you re away remember that you\\nmust always call it the Toronto Company.\\nHEARTY FAREWELL FROM THE PREMIER.\\nAfter his Excellency and General Hutton s review, the playing\\nof God Save the Queen by the regimental bands announced the\\ncoming of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The Premier was accompanied by\\nHon. Messrs. Fielding, Borden, Dobell, Fitzpatrick and Sutherland,\\nand was met by the staff of officers mentioned, and he, with the\\nmembers of his Cabinet, also made a careful inspection of the differ-\\nent companies, giving a kindly farewell to all those with whom he\\nwas personally acquainted.\\nAfter the formal review the regiment was formed into three\\nsides of a square in close order, and his Excellency, addressing\\nLieutenant-Colonel Otter, his officers and men, said I congratu-\\nlate you upon the splendid appearance of your regiment upon\\nparade. Canada may justly be proud of her representative troops.\\nBut the force which Colonel Otter commands, continued his Excel-\\nlency, represented a great deal more than a serviceable regiment\\non parade, and they were standing upon historic ground, under the\\nramparts of the old City of Quebec, surrounded by celebrated", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0333.jp2"}, "334": {"fulltext": "252 GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS.\\nbattlefields and in an atmosphere full of glorious traditions of two\\nnations, who, while respecting each other s manlike qualities, shown\\nin many a hard-fought battlefield, had now joined hands in common\\nloyalty to their Queen-Bmpress.\\nThe companies of the regiment had been gathered from British\\nColumbia to the Atlantic Coast, from the settlers in the Rocky\\nMountains and in the far west, from Ontario and the Maritime\\nProvinces, and from the old French families of Quebec. They\\nrepresented the manhood of the Dominion from west to east, and\\nabove all represented the spontaneous offer of the people of Canada,\\nBritish-born and French-Canadians, to the mother countr3^ The\\npeople of Canada had shown that they had no inclination to discuss\\nthe quibbles of colonial responsibility. They had unmistakably\\nasked that their loyal offers be made known, and rejoiced in their\\ngracious acceptance.\\nPRIVATIONS AND GLORIES OF THE ARMY.\\nIn so doing, surely they had opened a new chapter in the his-\\ntory of our empire. They freely made their military gift to the\\nImperial cause, to share the privations and dangers and glories of\\nthe Imperial army. They had insisted on giving vent to an expres-\\nsion of sentimental Imperial unity, which might perhaps hereafter\\nprove more binding than any written Imperial constitution.\\nThen, addreesing Colonel Otter again, his Kxcellency said:\\nThe embarkation of your force to-day will mark a memorable\\nepoch in the history of Canada and the empire. Of the success of\\nyour force w^e have no doubt. We shall watch your departure with\\nvery full hearts, and will follow your movements with eager enthu-\\nsiasm. All Canada will long to see the Maple Leaf well to the\\nfront, and will give her contingent a glorious welcome when it\\ncomes home again. And now, as the representative of her Majesty,\\nI wish you God-speed and every success.\\nHis Kxcellency, whose address was repeatedly applauded,\\nclosed by asking Colonel Otter that his regiment give three cheers\\nfor the Queen, and in this outburst the thousand of spectators\\njoined, the bands playing Rule Britannia.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0334.jp2"}, "335": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 253\\nSir Wilfrid Laurier, who followed, was received with another\\nburst of applause, and the throng so pressed about the stand that\\nunfortunately few persons were able to hear all of his address. In\\nwishing you God-speed, he said, I pray that God may accom-\\npany you, direct you and protect you, on the noble mission which\\nyou have undertaken. Upon this occasion it is not so much the\\nGod of battle as the God of justice whom we invoke. It is inspir-\\ning to reflect that the cause for which you men of Canada are going\\nto fight is the cause of justice, the cause of humanity, of civil rights\\nand religious liberty.\\nThis war is not a war of conquest or subjugation. It is not\\nto oppress the race whose courage we admire, but it is to put an\\nend to the oppression imposed upon subjects of her Majesty in\\nSouth Africa by a tyrannical people. The object is not to rush out\\nthe Dutch population, but to establish in that land, of which her\\nMajesty is suzerain, British sovereign law, to assure to all men of\\nthat country an equal share of liberty. This is a unique occasion\\nin the history of the world it is a spectacle which ought to make\\nevery Canadian feel proud of his country.\\nHAPPY ILLUSTRATION OF UNITY.\\nWho could have believed a few years ago that from this city,\\nwhich had been the theatre of a bitter conflict between the two\\nproudest races of the world, their descendants, who to-day were\\na happily united people, would go forth to help carry the blessings\\nof their own institutions to a far distant land Who could have\\nbelieved thirty-two years ago that the scattered Provinces of British\\nNorth America would have reached such a point of development to-\\nday that they would be able and willing, and cheerfully willing, to\\ncement with their blood the unity of the empire in its most distant\\npart?\\nMen of the Canadian contingent, continued the Premier,\\nI have no recommendation or request to make to you, but if I had\\nit would simply be to do your duty. More than this we cannot\\nask more than this you cannot do. If you do your duty, and I\\nknow you will, you take your place side by side with the Dublin", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0335.jp2"}, "336": {"fulltext": "254 GALLANT CANADL\\\\N TROOPS.\\nFusileers, the Gordon Highlanders and the Lancashires, who only\\nlast week carried the colors of England to the topmost heights of\\nGlencoe, Dundee and Elandslaagte.\\nIf you do your duty your proud countr3^men will share your\\nglory. Should any one of j^ou unfortunateh^ lose his life or limb\\nyour countr}^ will feel that 3 ou have fully discharged the duty under\\nwhich you place her this day by this sacrifice to Canada s glory,\\nthe glor}^ of the empire, and above all, to the cause of justice,\\nhumanity and libert3^\\nELOQUENT SPEECH OF THE MAYOR.\\nThe address from the citizens of Quebec was then delivered\\nby his Worship Hon. S. N. Parent, Mayor of the city. He said\\nThe citizens of Quebec offer 3 ou the most cordial welcome in this\\nold fortress, so often stormed by war and tempest, whose inhabit-\\nants from their earliest years have been accustomed to the music\\nof military bands, to the smell of powder and the smoke of battles.\\nWe are proud of the honor that has been done our cit}^ in its selec-\\ntion as the scene of the mobilization of this select rcQ-iment which\\nthe Canadian people send to the assistance of our mother country.\\nIt was no vain appeal that was made to our valor and our loj ^alty,\\nfor along the way from Victoria to Halifax a thousand picked men,\\nrepresenting the 3 outh, ph3 sical strength, the discipline and the\\ncourageous daring of our people, freely volunteered to serve under\\nthe British flag.\\nThe people of various origin and different religious creeds\\nthat go to make up the population of this countr3 are represented\\nin your regiment, and now that we are for the time being assem-\\nbled within the walls of the most French city of the new world let\\nus claim for the French-Canadian element a large share of the\\nwarm and spontaneous outburst of sentiments of lo3 alt3^ to England\\nwhich marked 3^our triumphant passage from 3 our homes to Quebec.\\nNo matter how diverse ma3^ be our origin and the language\\nthat we speak, who is there that will dare to affirm that we have\\nnot all the qualities necessar3^ for the making of a real nation\\nWho dare sa3^, upon such an occasion as the present, that we are", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0336.jp2"}, "337": {"fulltext": "GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS. 255\\nnot .v. -ely united and loyal towards the Canadian Dominion\\nand loynl tc: England, whicli has given us so complete a measure\\nof ;.h. We French-Canadians have loyally accepted the new\\ndestiuies that Providence provided for us on the battlefields of 1759.\\nIs it possible that anybody can have forgotten 1775 and 1812\\nOn the summit of this proud rock of Quebec, rendered\\nillustrious oy Jacques Cartier and Champlain, behold, but a few\\nsteps from this place, the superb monument erected by an English\\nGovernor to the memory of Wolfe and Montcalm. Why may we\\nnot make it the emblem and the symbol of our national unity\\nROSE, THISTLE AND SHAMROCK.\\nLet us leave to each individual amongst us the privilege to\\nretain as a sweet souvenir, worthy of a noble heart, the rose, the\\nthistle, \\\\\\\\i^ fleur-de-lis or the shamrock, and even the pot of earth\\nthat the Irish immigrant brings with him from under distant skies,\\nand let us be united for the great and holy cause that we have in\\nhand, the foundation of a great nation and the development of the\\nboundless resources of a rich and immense country. Our best\\nwishes accompany you in the long journey, at the end of which\\nyou v/ill no doubt find glory as well as sufferings, privations, and\\nperhaps even heroic sacrifices.\\nWhen you will be under the burning sun of Africa you may\\nbe sure that our hearts will follow you everywhere, and that in our\\nlong winter evenings you will be the principal object of our fireside\\ntalk and solicitude. Be quite sure, too, that this Canada of ours\\nwill watch with a maternal care over the loved ones that you leave\\nbehind you, and who, in parting with you, are making so great and\\nso generous a sacrifice. May the God of battles crown your efforts,\\nmay He preserve you in the midst of danger, and may He bring\\nyou back safe and sound to the beloved shores of your fatherland.\\nFollowing the delivery of this address, which was also received\\nwith great enthusiasm, the regiment formed fours and marched past\\nthe reviewing stand, where each company received hearty cheers.\\nThe procession was headed b3^ the musicians of the Royal Canadian\\nArtillery and by officers of different battalions.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0337.jp2"}, "338": {"fulltext": "256 GALLANT CANADIAN TROOPS.\\nThe regiment marclied through the streets of both the Upper\\nand Lower Town, and, although the line of route was lengthy, the\\ncheering was continuous and the troops were followed by one of the\\nlargest crowds Quebec has ever experienced. Great throngs were\\ncongregated at the wharf, but admission could be gained only by\\nticket, and the companies of the local militia closely guarded all the\\napproaches.\\nGreat promptness was observed in the handling of the troops,\\nand when shortly before 3 o clock his Excellency arrived, the em-\\nbarkation was almost completed and the Governor-General went\\non board and examined the men s quarters, spending some little\\ntime on the boat. Just as the lines were about to be cast off Gen-\\neral Hutton summoned the officers of the regiment to the wharf and\\nread to them the message from Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, given\\nabove. He then bade the ofi cers good-bye, and called for cheers for\\neach, concluding with cheers for the Queen.\\nAt 4.10 o clock the great liner slowly moved away from her\\ndock, and the greatest cheer of the day went up. The Canadian\\ncontingent had started for the Transvaal.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0338.jp2"}, "339": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVII.\\nFirst Clash of Arms Between the British and Boers.\\n\u00c2\u00a9N October 9, 1899, tlie British Government received the Boer\\nultimatum, demanding that points in dispute be referred to\\narbitration that all British troops on the border of the\\nTransvaal be instantly withdrawn that reinforcements sent to\\nSouth Africa since June ist be removed that no more troops be\\nlanded in South Africa, and that Great Britain answer before\\n5 o clock P.M., October nth. On the same date the Gordon High-\\nlanders and troops from India were ordered to Ladysmith.\\nGreat Britain, on the loth, replied that conditions demanded\\nby the Transvaal were such as could not be discussed. The British\\nagent was instructed to apply for his passport, which meant that\\nwar was an assured fact, and communication between the two\\ngovernments was at an end.\\nThe time for acceptance of the ultimatum expired at 5 o clock,.\\nP.M., October nth. Conyngham Greene, the British agent at Pre-\\ntoria, paid his farewell visits to President Kruger and the Boer\\nofficials. General Prinsloo was appointed commander-in-chief of the\\nOrange Free State forces headquarters at Albertina. The Boers\\noccupied Laing s Nek and the British hurried troops to the western\\nborder.\\nOn October 12th Free State burghers occupied Philipstown,\\nCape Colony, and Orange Free State troops entered Natal through\\nTintwa and Van Reenen s passes. The Natal reserves were called\\nout. France was notified by the Transvaal that a state of war\\nexisted. Transvaal Boers occupied Laing s Nek and Ingogo Heights.\\nA Transvaal manifesto was issued, calling on all Afrikanders in\\nSouth Africa to rise against the British. Marshal law was pro-\\nclaimed at Bloemfontein, capital of Orange Free State. A British\\narmored train under command of Captain Nesbitt carrying guns to\\nMafeking was destroyed by Boers at Kraalpan. There were only\\n17 257", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0339.jp2"}, "340": {"fulltext": "258 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\nthree armored trains in the British army in South Africa, and the\\nloss, therefore, was serious to the English arm3^ The armored train\\nis a prominent feature of the Transvaal war, owing to the position\\nof the contestants and the long, unprotected border of the boundary\\nline. The destroyed train was a hastily constructed affair, consist-\\ning of a locomotive and two cars. The engine was in the centre of\\nthe train.\\nThe box cars and the locomotive were covered by boiler plating\\nthree-quarters of an inch thick, as firmly riveted as time would\\nallow. The train was constructed at Mafeking, where there are\\nseveral railway shops, the town being on the new main line from the\\nCape to Bulawayo.\\nA RAPID-FIRING RAILWAY TRAIN.\\nThe locomotive was the only part of the train that did not\\ncarry guns, the steel casing being solely to protect the mechanism\\nof the engine from the shot of the enemy. The remainder of the\\narmor, however, was thickly perforated with port-holes, through\\nwhich guns of varying calibre peeped, the Alaxim, Nordenfelt and\\nGatling being the most serviceable weapons for this kind of work.\\nThe smaller holes were for the rifles of the marksmen, and usually\\nthe deadliest in a regiment were selected for the position. It takes\\nan expert marksman to shoot with satisfactor}^ results from a quick-\\n13^-moving train. As usual, the train was supplied with a powerful\\nsearchlight, in view of a possible night attack.\\nOf course, the boiler tubing can offer no resistance to artillery.\\nIn fact, rifle shots fired at short range will sometimes penetrate the\\nplates, and to meet such a possibility sand-bags were provided,\\nas was the case in the Egyptian campaign, when the armored train\\nwas found of great service.\\nBut in spite of all protection, the Boers conquered. They had\\ntheir artillery stationed along the hills beside the tracks. It was a\\nveritable trap. The track ahead was blocked. The Englishmen\\nhad failed to accompan}^ their train with the usual cavalry advance\\nguard, which experience in this kind of fighting had taught was\\nabsolutely necessary. Unaware of the true state of affairs, the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0340.jp2"}, "341": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 259\\ndoomed train steamed to the obstruction and became derailed. The\\nmen sallied forth and worked like beavers to put the wheels back on\\nthe track and remove the obstruction. Then the Boers opened fire\\nwith their cannon.\\nAt the first report the troops flew back into their iron battery.\\nThey worked their guns for all that was in them, but their force\\nwas small and the firing necessarily slow. The cannon fire of the\\nBoers was rapid and accurate. The thin sheet-iron protection\\nagainst bullet shots was an ideal bursting ground for the larger\\nshells. The armored train was soon a total wreck and most of the\\ncrew dead or badly wounded. In that condition the Englishmen\\nsurrendered, and the arms, ammunition and big guns so badly\\nneeded by Colonel Baden-Powell at Mafeking never reached their\\ndestination, but went into the hands of the enemy.\\nAMERICAN ARMORED TRAINS.\\nArmored trains, however, do not always fall so easily into the\\nhands of the enemy. Armored trains mounting field-pieces and\\nmachine guns were extensively utilized by the American troops en-\\ngaged in the conquest of the Filipinos, and it will be remembered\\nthat the successful issue of the fight at Columpit was attributed to\\nthe opportune arrival of just such a flying battery. During the\\nCuban rebellion there were numerous accounts wafted to the United\\nStates of the use of armored trains by the Spaniards. The question\\nnow arises, where did this mode of fighting originate\\nAlthough it is impossible to obtain any reliable details, it is\\ncertain that the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 was the first campaign\\nwitnessing the use of protected trains and locomotives on the field of\\nbattle. In their sorties from Paris the French troops were frequently\\nbacked up by the fire of light field-pieces carried in this manner,\\nand when the Communists were holding the capital against the\\nVersaillese an armored train operated upon the railway in the direc-\\ntion of Chateau Brecon, and is said to have achieved its object in\\nsilencing the batteries which the regular troops were endeavoring to\\nestablish in that position.\\nIt is this experience, perhaps, that has given rise to the belief", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0341.jp2"}, "342": {"fulltext": "260 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\ntliat the Frencli were the original adapters of the idea for the utiliza-\\ntion of permanent lines of railwa}^ for the transport of artiller}^,\\ncapable of being bronglit into action npon the metals themselves.\\nShortly after the war of iS 70 an Englishman, Mr. Evelyn Liardet,\\ntook ont a patent for an armored train, which was nullified by the\\ndiscover}^ in the Patent Office of Mr. Anderson s prior scheme. Mr,\\nJames Anderson, of Edinburgh, in 1847, prepared and patented a\\nseries of plans, and further submitted a working model of his de-\\nfensive rolling stock for the inspection of some distinguished engi-\\nneer and artillery officers.\\nBLUE-JACKETS THROWING SHELLS.\\nAs far as the British army is concerned, Captain Fisher s\\narmor-clad train, used during the first stages of the campaign\\nagainst iVrabi, was the first and onl} active example of its type.\\nThe train was constructed at Alexandria b}^ a part}^ of blue-jackets,\\nand was composed of a locomotive and a number of trucks protected\\nb}^ iron rails, iron plates and sand-bags. The engine was placed in\\nthe middle of the train, while a Nordenfelt machine gun was mounted\\non the leading protected truck, and a 40-pounder on the next. The\\nlatter, b}^ means of a small crane carried with the train, could be\\nquickly mounted and dismounted, one minute sufficing from the\\nhalting of the train to remount and fire the gun.\\nThe vehicles behind the engine conve3 ed a detachment of\\nskirmishers, while it was found expedient to attach one or two empt}^\\ntrucks in front of the working portion carrjdng the guns, so as to\\nminimize an}^ danger from the explosion of mines laid under the\\npermanent railwa}^ b}^ the enem^^ Unfortunateh^ Captain Fisher\\nhad but few opportunities of bringing his train into action, but\\nduring a smart skirmish on the IMahmoudi3^eh Canal it came steam\\ning up from Gabarrie, and b} throwing some well-directed shells\\ninto the ver}^ centre of the enemy compelled him to retire with con-\\nsiderable loss.\\nThe main objection raised against the practicability of armored\\ntrains is the suggestion that the enem}-, with a few men carrying\\nsmall parcels of dynamite, could easily destroy the permanent way.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0342.jp2"}, "343": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 261\\nDoubtless they could do so, if the defender s cavalry stood idly\\nwhile they advanced for this purpose hence it must be a sine qua\\nnon that armored trains are always accompanied by a strong force of\\ncavalry.\\nAgain, to guard against the compulsory abandonment of the\\nguns if the train is derailed. Captain Fisher s precaution of including\\na crane in the equipment should be followed. Machine guns or only\\nvery light field-pieces, were the only armament of the train which\\nthe Boers captured. Trucks carrying these should certainly have\\nthe gun detachments protected by bullet-proof mantlets, but any\\nvery high plating, with the idea of keeping out shells, has prov.en\\na mistake.\\nContinuing the record of the war, we find that on October 13th\\nthe British occupied a position near Ladysmith. On the same date\\nthe United States were notified by Great Britain that a state of war\\nexisted in South Africa. The Boers occupied Spitzkop and New-\\ncastle. Fighting was begun at Mafeking next day, and the Boers\\ndestroyed another armored train carrying telegraph operators. The\\ntrain engaged 500 Boers, who lost heavily. General Sir Redvers\\nBuller and staff left London for South Africa on the same date.\\nSHARP FIGHTING AROUND KIMBERLEY.\\nThe day following the Boers laid siege to Kimberley, where the\\nfamous diamond mines are located, and were defeated in an engage-\\nment at Spruitfontein, ten miles south of Kimberley. On the i6th\\na Boer commando with an estimated force of 2000 men and 16 field\\nguns arrived at Dannhauser, northeast of Dundee. Orange Free\\nState troops cut the telegraph wires and destroyed railroad tracks at\\nNorvals Pont. Marshal law was proclaimed at Newcastle, Dundee,\\nKlip River, Unsiga and Upper Tugila division of the colony. Gen-\\neral Joubert, commander of the Boer army, arrived at Newcastle,\\nNatal, and the Boers opposite Glencoe camp received reinforce-\\nments.\\nThree battles in Natal marked the opening of the war Glen-\\ncoe, Elandslaagte and Rietfontein. The first, the battle of Glen-\\ncoe, was fought on October 20th by the advanced British force, uuder", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0343.jp2"}, "344": {"fulltext": "262 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\nthe late General Sir William Sj^ mons, and tlie other two by the\\nlarger armj^ of Sir George White from its base at Ladj^smith, the\\npermanent camp of the British in Natal. The first shock of the\\nBoer invasion at Natal was borne by Sir William Symons at Glen-\\ncoe, his position on the Glencoe-Dundee line having been attacked\\non October 20th by the Boer columns invading Natal from the north\\nby way of Laing s Nek and the drifts, or fords, over the Buffalo River.\\nThe intention of the Boers was to attack Symons with three\\ncolumns, aggregating about 9000 men. The first, under General\\nErasmus, advanced from the north; the second, under Lucas Me3^er,\\nmajie a long detour along the Buffalo River, crossed that stream,\\nand moved due west upon Glencoe, and the third, having got to the\\nsouth, at Waschbank, was to destroy the railway communication\\nand head off Symons in that direction.\\nFIRST BATTLE OF THE WAR.\\nWhether from defective mobilization, or for other reasons, the\\nBoer plan did not succeed, and Sir William Sj^mons was able to\\nattack and defeat the second column advancing from the east, under\\nLucas Meyer, without having to engage the other two, having only\\nto keep the advance of the northern column in check by detaching\\na batter} of artillerj^ and one regiment. Thus was won the victory\\nof Glencoe, the first battle of the war, which proved to the Boers\\nthat British troops could fight them in their own way, scale difficult\\nheights and drive their defenders do\\\\\\\\Ti the opposite slope.\\nIt was, as an eye-witness stated, IMajuba with the positions re-\\nversed. The moral effect of the battle in which Sj^mons and many\\nof his gallant officers and men lost their lives was tremendous. It\\nstruck, so to speak, at once the keynote of the w^ar, namely, that the\\nBritish defence would be an offensive defence. Not only the Boers,\\nbut all Europe, were astounded at the result of the brilliant opening\\nof the campaign by the great soldier whose remains were buried for\\na while in the enemy s country.\\nThe following is an account of the engagement by an eye-\\nwitness who was with the British troops The first battle has\\nbeen fought, and |;l^e Boers have sustained a blow yhich may give", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0344.jp2"}, "345": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 263\\ntlicm serious pause in tlieir advance soutliward. In tHe Britisli\\ncamp last night it was the general expectation that to-day would\\nnot pass without some hard fighting. The enemy had been reported\\nadvancing in force, and this rumor had been confirmed by a squadron\\nof Hussars, which had been sent out to reconnoitre.\\nWhen dawn broke this morning it was discovered that the\\nBoers during the night had occupied a strong position on Dundee\\nHill, about three miles east and overlooking the camp and the town.\\nThey had placed several guns in position. Almost precisely at 6\\no clock came the boom of their first shot, and within a few minutes\\nthey had developed a heavy fire. Their practice was, however,\\npoor, and their shots did no damage.\\nSPLENDID FIRING BY THE ARTILLERY.\\nIn the meantime our own guns had taken up the challenge.\\nIt soon became apparent that whatever might be the issue of the\\nfight, our artillery would not be in fault. Our fire was magnificent.\\nWithin fifteen minutes after our first shot the Boer guns were\\nsilenced. By this time the enemy could be seen swarming over\\nthe hill outside of Dundee and making towards the south. Their\\nintention evidently was to turn our position.\\nAn advance was at once ordered of infantry and cavalry.\\nBoth moved out, and soon the battle was raging in the valley\\noutside of the town. A hot rifle fire was kept up by our men, no\\nadvantage offered by the nature of the ground being neglected.\\nThe advancing force was effectually covered by our guns, which\\ncontinued to play upon the enemy s position. The fire of the\\nBoers at this point was decidedly weak. It seemed as if their\\nineffective artillery work might have taken the heart out of them.\\nOur men continued steadily to advance in the face of their\\nfire, and reached the foot of the hill in fine form. The Boers,\\nseeing themselves worsted, fell back and retired toward the east.\\nOur losses have been heavy. The final dash up the hill was a\\nbrilliant affair. The Dublin Fusileers did fine work. Nothing at\\nthis time can be said of the enemy s losses, but they must have\\nIbeeu very serious,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0345.jp2"}, "346": {"fulltext": "264 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\nIt appears that during the night, as already- stated, the Boer\\nartiller} occupied a hill commanding the British camp and began\\ndropping shells at da3 break in the direction of the British forces.\\nThe latter, under General Sir William Penn Sj mons, promptly\\naccepted the challenge, and moved to meet the invaders under cover\\nof the British artillery, which appears to have worked with such\\nadvantage as to quickh* silence the enemy s batteries, enabling the\\niufantrj^ to carr}^ the Boer position ^nth a rush, in which the Dublin\\nFusileers and the King s Ro3 al Rifles specialh distinguished\\nthemselves, the Fusileers capturing the first guns of the enem}^\\ntaken in the campaign.\\nGENERAL SYMONS MORTALLY WOUNDED.\\nFortunately for the British, they were apparenth^ strong enough\\nto withstand a Boer force nearly- double their own, as, in view of\\nthe fact that the railway was cut at Elandslaagte, e\\\\4dently in\\nanticipation of an early attack, it would have been impossible to\\nsend reinforcements quickh from Ladj^smith. General Sj mons\\nwas in the thick of the fight.\\nA further account of the engagement states that after eight\\nhours of continuous fighting Talana Hill vras carried b} the Dublin\\nFusileers and the King s Rifles, under cover of a well-ser\\\\ ed artil-\\nlery fire by the Thirteenth and Sixty-ninth Batteries. The Boers\\nwho threatened the British rear then retired.\\nThe War Office in London received the appended despatch\\nfrom Lad3 smitli, filed at 10.45 o^ ^^y the battle\\nThe following ad\\\\-ices from Glencoe Camp just at hand: The\\nKing s Royal Rifles and the Dublin Fusileers are attacking a hill\\noccupied by Boer artillery. They are within 300 j^ards of the\\nposition, and are advancing under cover of our artiller3% at about\\n2000 yards range. Scouts report that 9000 Boers are advancing\\non Harting Spruit. The Fifteenth Batter} and Leicester regiment\\nhave gone to meet them.\\nSir William S3 mons was wounded through the thigh and\\nGeneral Yule assumed command.\\nGeneral Sir William Penn S3 mons, Knight Commander of the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0346.jp2"}, "347": {"fulltext": "CHARGE OF BOER CAVALRY NEAR LADYSMITH.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0347.jp2"}, "348": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0348.jp2"}, "349": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 265\\nBatli, whose deatH resulted from the wound he received at Glencoe,\\nentered the British army in 1863 served against Galekas in\\n1877-78, in the Zulu war, the Burmese expedition and several other\\ncampaigns. He commanded the Second Brigade in the Tochi field\\nforce, and the First Division of the Tirah expeditionary force in\\n1897-98. Sir William was decorated a Knight Commander of the\\nBath for services with the latter. He was the second in command\\nunder Major-General Sir George Stewart White, commander of the\\nBritish forces in Natal.\\nNARROW ESCAPE OF BRITISH TROOPS.\\nIt appears from authentic accounts of the fight at Glencoe that\\nthe carbineers and border-mounted riflemen who had been in action\\nwith the enemy nearly all day, returned in the evening, falling\\nback fighting, in the face of some 2000 Boers. They were several\\ntimes almost cut off, but a Maxim gun held the Boers in check.\\nSeveral times the Boers came within 400 yards range, but their\\nshooting was bad, and the Maxims rendered signal service in\\nstopping their rushes. The Boers had a large wagon train and\\nartillery.\\nThe absence of details regarding the British losses in the\\nengagement at Glencoe Camp caused the deepest anxiety in London,\\nand the War Of ce was besieged by relatives and friends of those\\nmaking up the forces that took part in the fight.\\nThe War Of ce received another official despatch from Lady-\\nsmith filed at half-past 3 in the afternoon, from Glencoe We\\nwere attacked this morning at daylight by a Boer force,\\nroughly estimated at 4000. They had placed four or five guns in\\nposition on a hill, 5400 yards east of our camp, and they fired\\nplugged shells. Their artillery did no damage. Our infantry\\nformed for attack, and we got our guns into position. After the\\nposition of the enemy had been shelled our infantry advanced to\\nthe attack, and, after a hard fight, lasting until 1.30 p. m.. an almost\\ninaccessible position was taken, the enemy retiring eastward. All\\nthe Boer guns have been captured. Our cavalry atid artillery are\\nstill out. Our losses are heavy,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0349.jp2"}, "350": {"fulltext": "266 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\nThe Britisli artillery practice in the early part of the day\\ndecided the battle. The seizure of Dundee Hill by the Boers was\\na surprise, for, although the pickets had been exchanging shots all\\nnight, it was not until a shell boomed over the town into the camp\\nthat their presence was discovered. Then the shells came fast.\\nThe hill was positively alive with the swarming Boers, still the\\nBritish artillery got to work with magnificent energy and precision.\\nThe batteries from the camp took up positions to the south of\\nthe town, and after a quarter of an hour s heavy firing silenced the\\nguns on the hills. Shells dropped among the Boers with remark-\\nable accuracy, doing tremendous execution, for the enemy were\\npresent in very large numbers and in places considerably exposed.\\nBy this time the enemy held the whole of the hill behind Smith s\\nfarm and the Dundeekopje, right away to the south, in which\\ndirection the British infantry and cavalry moved at once.\\nSPLENDID CHARGE OF INFANTRY.\\nThe fighting raged particularly hot at the valley outside the\\ntown. Directly the Boer guns ceased firing, General Symons\\nordered the infantry to move on the position. The infantry charge\\nwas magnificent. The way the King s Royal Rifles and the Dublin\\nFusileers stormed the position was one of the most splendid sights\\never seen. The firing of the Boers was not so deadly as might\\nhave been expected from troops occupying such an excellent\\nposition, but the infantry lost heavily going up the hill, and only\\nthe consummately brilliant way in which General Symons had\\ntrained them to fighting of the kind saved them from being\\nswept away.\\nIndeed, the hill was almost inaccessible to the storming party,\\nand any hesitation would have lost the day. The enemy s guns\\nwere all abandoned, for the Boers had no time to remove them. A\\nstream of fugitives poured down the hillside into the valley, where\\nthe battle went on with no abatement.\\nGeneral Symons was wounded early in the action, and the\\ncommand then devolved on General Yule. The enemy as they\\nfled were followed by the cavalry, mounted infantry and artillery.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0350.jp2"}, "351": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 267\\nTlie direction taken was to the eastward. The British losses were\\nvery severe, but those of the Boers were much heavier. The final\\nrush was made with a triumphant 3^ell, and as the British troops\\ncharged to close quarters the enemy turned and fled, leaving\\nall their impedimenta and guns behind them in their precipitate\\nflight.\\nWhile this was going on one battery of artillery, the Eighteenth\\nHussars and the mounted infantry, with a part of the Leicester\\nRegiment, got on the enemy s flank, and, as the Boers streamed\\nwildly down the hills, making for the main road, they found their\\nretreat had been cut off, but they rallied for awhile, and there was\\nsevere fighting, with considerable loss to each side. Many of the\\nenemy surrendered. A rough estimate placed the British loss at\\n250 killed or wounded, and that of the Boers at 8co\\nDEFEAT WAS DECISIVE.\\nThe Boers seemed to be nonplussed by the tactics of the\\nimperial troops, especially of the well-drilled, swift-moving horse-\\nmen. The enemy were still, as of old, a mob. They were without\\nhorses and forage, and man} of them relied for food upon what\\nthey could obtain by looting. Their animals were mostly in a\\nwretched condition.\\nSome of the particulars of the battle at Glencoe indicated that\\ndefeat of the Boers was in reality a rout. The victory of the\\nBnglish forces was doubly significant, for in three important\\nparticulars the South Africans had decidedly the advantage. The\\nBoers seem to have outnumbered their foe, they had the best\\nposition and they caught the Bnglish unawares. With respect to\\ncourage, the combatants were supposed to be equal, but the English\\nforces were seasoned, disciplined troops, while those of the Boers\\nwere without much military training. It was undoubtedly this\\nsuperior discipline and a greater knowledge on the part of the\\nofficers of the art of war that gave the victory to the English.\\nThe evident purpose of General Joubert in making the attack\\non the forces under General Symons was to drive a wedge between\\nLadysmith apd Qlencoe, ^nd divide the two divisions of the English", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0351.jp2"}, "352": {"fulltext": "268 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\narmy at these points. Had lie succeeded lie would liave completely\\nisolated Dundee, and gained, besides, a great advantage, which\\nmight have operated as an encouragement to an immediate revolt in\\nNatal and Cape Colony.\\nThe victory of the English forces at Glencoe, while seemingly\\ndecisive, was only won at the cost of many precious lives. As\\nnearly as could be ascertained, about one in every twenty men\\nengaged was either killed or wounded. This circumstance must\\ndispose of any thought that the Boers since their last war with\\nEngland have become less accurate in their shooting. A note-\\nworthy feature in connection with the casualities reported was the\\ndisproportionately large number of of cers killed or wounded.\\nMANY OFFICERS KILLED OR WOUNDED.\\nAccording to the despatches General Symons was mortally\\nwounded, two colonels, three captains and five lieutenants were\\nkilled, two colonels, three majors, six captains and eleven lieuten-\\nants were wounded, while only thirty non-commissioned officers and\\nmen were killed and 152 were wounded. Thus the first battle in\\nthe war grimly gave endorsement to the prediction of German offi-\\ncers made just before hostilities began that great numbers of valuable\\nEnglish officers would be sacrificed because, while leading and com-\\npelling their men to take advantage of shelter, the officers would not\\nseek shelter themselves, as they regarded it as unbecoming in a\\nBritish officer to do so.\\nToo offset to some extent the seriousness of the defeat of the\\nBoers at Glencoe was the fact of their capture of Vryburg, the\\ncapital of Bechuanaland. In one respect this was almost as great\\na disaster to the English as the defeat in the other instance was to\\nthe South Africans. The significance of the capture of Vryburg\\nwas not that it was particularly an important town, but rather\\nbecause it was the headquarters of the Bechuanaland border police,\\na body of men which is, in fact, mounted infantry accustomed to\\nrapid movements and of tried courage. That the place was captured\\nwithout serious bloodshed indicates that this force had been with-\\ndrawn to assist in the defence of Maf eking.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0352.jp2"}, "353": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 269\\nA leading New England journal commented on tlie outbreak\\nof the war in South Africa as follows\\nThe art of war is becoming interesting. It is perfecting it-\\nself in certain directions to a point that may yet shock the civilized\\nworld into its abolition and compel arbitration from a sense of com-\\nmon humanity. The Boers are said to have protested against the\\nuse of an explosive used by the English and known as lyddite.\\nThese brave and honest fighters seem to be hardly aware of what\\ncivilized nations are doing in the way of perfecting high explosives.\\nThey have fancied that their skill with the rifle and their superior\\nearnestness and science in a war carried on in their own territory\\nwould carry them through. God will direct our bullets, exclaims\\ngood old Oom Kruger.\\nDESTRUCTIVE WORK OF SHRAPNEL SHELLS.\\nBut let us see what this means in practice. The British took\\nwith them to South Africa certain rapid-firing guns that fire shrapnel\\nshells, each of which scatters 260 bullets over a space of twenty-\\nfour square yards. These guns will deliver twelve aimed shots per\\nminute; that is, 3120 bullets per minute for each gun, rendering a\\nspace of 288 square yards perfectly fatal to life. A battery of six-\\ninch guns would devastate an area of 1728 square yards every\\nminute, or an acre every three minutes.\\nEvery gun of this type can fire as many bullets per round\\nas could 260 soldiers using rifles, firing them as fast and several\\ntimes as far. The eighteen British rapid-firing guns used at Glen-\\ncoe were therefore equivalent to a reinforcement of 5000 men. Is\\nit any wonder, then, that the British artillery is said to have been\\nsuperb?\\nBut this is not all. Every one of the powers is using high\\nexplosives. The British use lyddite, the French melinite and the\\nGermans a similar explosive. At Santiago our soldiers had to hurl\\ntheir bare breasts against the Spanish entrenchments, for we had\\nnothing but an old type of slow-fire weapon, and even that we did\\nnot use.\\nSince then we have been experimenting with a new explosive", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0353.jp2"}, "354": {"fulltext": "270 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\nto be used against tlie Filipinos. It is called thorite/ and is tlie\\ninvention of a Western man. The War Department has ordered\\nLieutenant Parker to go to the Philippines and superintend its\\nmanufacture. It would seem that we have been obliged to join the\\nprocession of nations using high explosives, for The Hague Peace\\nconference, while it went on record as against dum-dum bullets, did\\nnot touch the matter of high explosives.\\nFEARFUL EXECUTION OF LYDDITE.\\nWhile lyddite is something similar to gunpowder, its effects\\nare far more terrific. It was this awful stuff that the British used in\\nthe Soudan. When the dervishes charged down on the British lines\\nat Omdurman and at the Atbara the lyddite shells mowed down\\nentire battalions. It is pretty evident that the superb artillery\\npractice of the British at Glencoe was largely the work of lyddite\\nshells. At au}^ rate the British propose to use them, and the reports\\nof military experts say that they accomplish fearful execution.\\nWhether thorite will prove equally destructive upon the Filipinos\\nremains to be seen.\\nThe Boers will probably protest in vain against the use of\\nlyddite, for all the leading nations are using that or something\\nsimilar. When applied to rapid-firing guns its effectiveness is some-\\nthing appalling. The nation that does not carry this awful machin-\\nery has onl}^ the jaggedness of its territory and the superior heroism\\nand skill of its soldiers and generals on its side. As was shown by\\nKitchener at the gates of Khartoum, the enemy caught in the open\\nis mowed down like grass, and no amount of personal valor can\\nsave it. Lyddite is said to demoralize the nerves of the enemy. The\\nBoers, in their manliness, probabl3^ object to it on this ground.\\nSuch are the terrific instrumentalities used in modem war-\\nfare. In a level country they would count heavily against the\\nBoers. But in the Transvaal their effectiveness may be balanced\\nby superior alertness and generalship.\\nThe terrific slaughter effected by the rapid-fire shrapnel guns\\nat Glencoe was the marvel of the military world. These guns,\\nmore than any other arm of the service in the field, were responsible", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0354.jp2"}, "355": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 271\\nfor tlie British triumpli. The battle was half won by the deadly\\nhail of shrapnel before the infantry had advanced. The terrified\\nBoers, who never expected any such form of attack as this, were\\nglad enough to get out of their hiding places in the rocks and do\\nthe best they could with their formidable enemy in open fight.\\nNothing like it has ever before been known in warfare.\\nFULL OF RETREATS AND PITFALLS.\\nSomething quite enough to excite curiosity was heard about\\nthe now famous shrapnel guns when Lord Kitchener used them\\nwith some effect among the enemy at Omdurman. But the fight-\\ning there was open and there was nothing to do but let the infantry\\ngo straight ahead. In Boerland it is very different. The country\\nis wild and mountainous, full of hidden retreats for the burghers\\nand pitfalls for the British. It is something like the conditions our\\nown troops had to face while chasing Indians through the Black\\nHills in Dakota.\\nA word to the uninitiated about the precise meaning of the\\nword shrapnel. It is a shell, so named from its inventor. General\\nShrapnel, and consists of a spherical cone filled with musket balls\\nand containing a bursting charge of powder. Extensive experi-\\nments are being made with shrapnel guns in the armies of all the\\npowers of Europe. France, Germany and Russia are doing a great\\ndeal with them, though they are keeping their experiments largely\\nto themselves. The Boer war forced England s hand and, in the\\nopinion of experts, shows that she is easily in the lead. The work\\nof all her field batteries, but more particularly the shrapnel, has\\nvery much astonished experienced ordnance of cers at Washington\\nand all over the country, and has incidentally uncovered some glar-\\ning defects in our own equipment.\\nThe latest and most deadly creation of the British gun-maker\\nemploys a shrapnel projectile weighing about fifteen pounds. This\\nprojectile consists of steel tubing, filled with about two hundred small\\nballs. These balls are of hardened lead and weigh almost one-third\\nof an ounce each. Each shell contains a light bursting charge, and,\\nso far as results show, may be timed with absolute accuracy.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0355.jp2"}, "356": {"fulltext": "272 FIRST CLASH OF ARMS.\\nS\\nIn firing the gun a time fuse is fitted into the head of the pro-\\njectile. In the hands of experienced gunners it may be cut so as\\nto cause the bursting of a shell as close as one-third of a second\\nafter firing the gun. Or, on the other hand, the missile may be\\ngiven a flight of twelve seconds before bursting. The gunners aim\\nto burst the shrapnel about thirt}^ yards short of the enemy s posi-\\ntion. At a range of looo yards all the shrapnel balls will be pro-\\njected within a circle on the ground for about twenty-five feet in\\ndiameter. The dispersion is greater according to the length of the\\nrange.\\nThe ordnance branch of the British army is not niggardly in\\nfurnishing its gunners ammunition for target practice with its field\\npieces, and particularly with any new piece. The wisdom of this\\ngenerosity is apparent in the accuracy with which a deadly down-\\npour of bullets has been hurled into the hiding places of the Boers\\namong their native rocks in Natal. To have driven them from\\ntheir strongholds with infantry without first bringing the shrapnel\\ninto play would surely have involved a shocking loss of life to the\\nBritish.\\nAt Glencoe, or rather in the hills of Talana, just back of it, the\\nBritish gunners employed shrapnel with sweeping accuracy at a\\ndistance of 3500 yards. Scarcely a shot was wasted, and the poor\\nBoers, brave as they showed themselves to be in open battle, were\\nterrified beyond description.\\nCOULD NOT ESCAPE THE FIERY BLAST.\\nWhat was this? Had the heavens espoused the British cause\\nand opened up a hail of lead that beat them down like so much\\ngrain They had heard of the English rapid-fire guns, and had a\\nvague idea of shrapnel, but they were not prepared for such a de-\\nvastating fire from above as descended upon them and sought out\\nevery nook and corner of shelter. In vain they shifted position\\nfrom one part of the pass to another. Those awful shrapnel\\nfollowed them everywhere and pelted them with a merciless rain of\\nfire. Bullets that fell from the skies by thousands and swept the\\nearth like hail were as mortal as though fired from a rifle.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0356.jp2"}, "357": {"fulltext": "FIRST CLASH OF ARMS. 273\\nBrave burghers saw their companions fall round them like\\nsheep and there was no enemy in sight. They did not know how\\nto strike back. Long before the infantry came up the victory was\\nwon and the hardy Boers, whose valor and determinarion in the face\\nof such tremendous odds won world-wide admiration, were compelled\\nto bite the dust in defeat.\\nEnglish firing shells are loaded with lyddite. Lyddite is one of\\nthe picric acid compounds known in this country as emensite and in\\nFrance as melinite. It is loaded in the shell like gun-cotton, the\\nshell having an explosive fuse at either end, but generally in the\\nfront or striking end.\\nThe explosive force of lyddite is tremendous. A small charge\\nof it fired against solid stone masonry has wrecked it as if it was so\\nmuch paper, and great holes have been dug in the ground from the\\nconcussion. In the Soudan campaign lyddite shells were fired from\\n5.4-10 inch howitzers into the fanatical Dervishes as they came\\ncharging down on the British lines. The results were appalling.\\nScores and hundreds of men were literally blown to pieces, scattered\\ninto fragments, as much as they would have been had they been\\nsitting over a barrel of gunpowder when the match was applied.\\n18", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0357.jp2"}, "358": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVIIL\\nFierce Fighting in Natal.\\n\u00c2\u00a9N tile afternoon of October 2 2d, tlie War Office in London\\nreceived intelligence of another bloody battle. Tlie despatch\\nwas from the General commanding in Natal, Sir George\\nStewart White, regarding the engagement of the 21st at Blands-\\nlaagte, between Glencoe and Ladysmith, when the British under\\nGeneral French routed the Transvaal forces under General Jan H.\\nM. Kock, second in command in the Transvaal army, who was\\nhimself wounded and captured, and afterward died.\\nGeneral White was present in person, but did not assume\\ndirection of the fight, which was left in the hands of General\\nFrench. Although desultory fighting took place earlier in the\\nday, while reinforcements sent out later on ascertaining the enemy s\\nstrength were arriving from Ladysmith, the real action did not\\nbegin until 3.30 p. m. At that hour the Boers held a position of\\nvery exceptional strength, consisting of a rock hill about a mile\\nand a half southeast of Blandslaagte Station.\\nAt 3.30 p. M. the British guns took a position on a ridge 4100\\nyards from the Boers, whose guns at once opened fire. This fire\\nwas generally well directed, but somewhat high. Contrary to pre-\\nvious experiences, their shells burst well. The Imperial Light\\nHorse moved towards the left of the enemy s position, and two\\nsquadrons of the Fifth Lancers toward his right. During the\\nartillery duel mounted Boers pushed out from their left and\\nengaged the Imperial Light Horse.\\nIn a few minutes the enemy s guns ceased firing, and the\\nBritish artillery was turned on the mounted Boers who opposed the\\nImperial Light Horse. The latter at once fell back. After the\\nartillery preparations the British infantry advanced to the attack,\\nsupported by guns in the second position. The Devonshires held\\n274", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0358.jp2"}, "359": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 275\\nthe enemy in front, while the Manchester Regiment and the Gordon\\nHighlanders turned his left flank.\\nThe Boer guns, although often temporarily silenced, invariably\\nopened fire again on the slightest opportunity, and were served\\nwith great courage. After severe fighting the British infantry\\ncarried the position. At 6.30 p. m. this was accomplished, the\\nenemy standing his ground to the last with courage and tenacity.\\nThe Fifth Lancers and a squadron of the Fifth Dragoon Guards\\ncharged three times through the retreating Boers in the dark, doing\\nconsiderable execution.\\nCAPTURE OF THE BOER CAMP.\\nThe Boer camp was captured, with tents, wagons, horses and\\nalso two guns. The Boer losses were very considerable including\\na number of wounded and unwounded prisoners. Among the\\nformer was Piet Joubert, nephew of Commanding General Joubert,\\nwho was prominent in the fight. One goods train, with supplies for\\nGlencoe Camp, and nine Bnglish prisoners, were recovered. The\\nBritish loss was heavy. It was roughly computed at 150 killed\\nand wounded.\\nA despatch from Cape Town, October 22d, 6.30 p. m., said:\\nThe following additional details from official sources are at hand\\nregarding the battle at Elandslaagte\\nThe Boers, although driven from their guns, returned again\\nand again, whenever an opportunity offered. The high ground\\nnear the left of the enemy s position was occupied at the com-\\nmencement of the action, the British creeping along the crest and\\nmaking a wide circuit.\\nThe infantry attack was directed against the right of the\\nenemy s position, the British coming quickly into contact with the\\nBoers, who at that point occupied a strong footing, which they held\\nresolutely until a flank attack was made by our troops, who\\nadvanced with great dash, and, in spite of heavy losses, carried the\\nmain position with a rush, just as the light was failing.\\nThe ground traversed by our troops was rough and stony,\\nand the capture of the position was a fine feat of arms. The", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0359.jp2"}, "360": {"fulltext": "276 FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL.\\ncavalry lapped well around and inflicted severe loss on tli\\nenemy.\\nIt was liiglily important to strike a severe blow, as tlie Orange\\nFree State forces are known to be concentrated northwest of Lady-\\nsmitli in considerable strength. The flank attack was gallantly\\ndelivered by the Manchester Regiment, the Gordon Highlanders\\nand the Imperial Light Horse. The front attack was done with\\nsplendid spirit by the Devonshire Regiment. The wounded are\\nbeing attended in the principal church at Ladysmith, which has\\nbeen converted into a hospital.\\nBRILLIANT VICTORY FOR THE BRITISH.\\nThe capture of Klandslaagte was a brilliant feat of arms. The\\nBoers were strongly entrenched, and fought with their wonted\\nbravery. They seized every opportunity of coming into action,\\nand ran to serve their guns whenever they could get a chance.\\nThe British wounded were taken to Ladysmith. Kvery care and\\nattention was also given to the Boer wounded, who were despatched\\ndown the country. Schiel, a former German officer, who was\\nleading a section of the Boers in the engagement at Klandslaagte,\\nwas taken prisoner.\\nFurther details of the engagement showed the desperate char-\\nacter of the battle. Realizing that the first attack on Glencoe was\\npart of a general combined attack by three columns, and that the\\nsituation was still serious so long as the Boers held the railway at\\nKlandslaagte, severing connection between Ladysmith and Dundee,\\nSir George Stewart White resolved to give battle, with a view of\\nrecapturing Klandslaagte.\\nOn the morning of the 20th all the mounted troops, supported\\nby two battalions of infantry and two batteries of artillery, recon-\\nnoitered some twelve miles along the Newcastle road, an open, roll-\\ning country, very suitable for cavalry operations, although the going\\nwas heavy after the recent rains.\\nAfter approaching within three miles or so of the break in the\\nrailway line, the British saw the Boer outposts falling back, appar-\\nently in no great force. Four were captured who had mistaken the\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0360.jp2"}, "361": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 277\\nBritisli for Boers until too near for them to get away. THen the\\nBritish returned, and, late at night, General White determined to\\nadvance in force on Blandslaagte at an early hour the following\\nmorning.\\nIt was imperative to dislodge the Boers from Blandslaagte, as\\nit had been learned that the Orange Free State burghers were\\ndescending from their positions on the slopes of the Drakenberg,\\nfrom Tintwa a ad other western passes, to co-operate with those\\nalready posted at Blandslaagte. At an early hour the British\\nmoved out by road and rail. It was computed that there were about\\n1 200 Boers, with big guns and Maxims covering their front, and\\noccupying a well-chosen position at the base of a hill, some little\\ndistance south of Blandslaagte. On both flanks were strong kopjes,\\nor hills, on which were three big guns strongly posted and com-\\nmanding a wide sweep on all sides, leaving an opening for retreat.\\nARMORED TRAIN SHELLED BY BOERS.\\nA British armored train, supported by two trainloads of infantry,\\nimmediately on approaching the enemy s position was shelled by\\nthe Boers. Artillery was at once brought up and drove the Boers\\nfrom their guns, making a series of brilliant dashes into the valley\\nand up the successive heights to get nearer the Boer position.\\nThrice were the Boer batteries on the way silenced by artillery,\\nalthough the Boers fought with great pluck and determination,\\nreturning each time the guns moved and raining shrapnel and\\nMaxim bullets against the British advance.\\nAt 4 o clock a tremendous artillery duel was in progress. Two\\nBoer guns, splendidly placed, were stubbornly fought for two hours\\nand a quarter, while mounted Boers endeavored to come into contact\\nwith the enemy on the left and on the right.\\nThen, at 6.15 p.m., the Devonshire Regiment, half the Gordon\\nHighlanders, half the Manchester Regiment and the Imperial Light\\nHorse advanced on the position and stormed the enemy s front. A\\nbayonet charge was sounded as the roar of artillery on both sides\\nsuddenly ceased, and the British, the Devonshires leading, made a\\nsuperb dash against the main body of the Boers, undaunted by", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0361.jp2"}, "362": {"fulltext": "278 FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL.\\nII\\nfacing a fearful fire. Twice were tliey checked by the terrible fusil-\\nlade. Once the advance quivered for a moment, but then, with\\nringing, roaring cheers, the whole force hurled itself forward like an\\navalanche and swept the kopjes, bayoneting the brokfen enemy in all\\ndirections. m\\nThe Boers were overwhelmed and astounded. They paused,\\nthen retreated, then raised the white flag and surrendered. Two or\\nthree hundred broke and ran, pursued by the Fifth Lancers, who\\ncharged through and through them. It was quite dark by this\\ntime, but the slaugher was great. The Boer loss was heavy. The\\nbest estimates place it at 400 killed.\\nCAPTURE OF FLAGS BY THE DEVONSHIRES.\\nOne of the captured Boers said that if he had known English\\nsoldiers could shoot as they did he would never have come. Another\\nBoer said he knew he was fighting for a lost cause. A third ex-\\npressed surprise that he had to shoot at men wearing khaki. He\\nwas terribly dejected. He had been told to shoot at men with red\\ncoats and white collars, and he saw none. His impression seemed\\nto be that the men who fought against him were not Bnglishmen.\\nA heavy rain fell immediately after the battle, making a piteous\\nscene on the battlefield, where many wounded were lying.\\nThe Devonshire Regiment captured thirty-eight Boer flags.\\nCommandant de Mellion, of Johannesburg, was taken prisoner. A\\nbugler boy of the Fifth Lancers, only fourteen years of age, shot\\nthree boys with his revolver. On returning after the fight he was\\ncarried shoulder high around the camp.\\nEverybody testified to the splendid fighting and stubborn\\nbravery of the Boers, but this tribute required some qualification,\\nfor, while the Gordon Highlanders were bringing in the wounded,\\na sharp fire was opened upon them by some Boer parties in hiding.\\nBritish losses, considering the desperate nature of the engagement,\\nwere regarded as light.\\nToward the close of the fight the British batteries ceased their\\nmurderous fire, and the infantry charged up the rocky heights still\\nseparating them from the enemy, and reached the summit of both", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0362.jp2"}, "363": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 279\\npeaks of Smith s Hill and of the Nek between without a check\\nor halt. It -was gallant work on both sides, and scores of men fell\\nwithin a distance of a couple of hundred yards, but the situation soon\\nbecame too hot for the Boers, who broke and fled for their horses,\\nwhich the}^ had left at the foot of the hills on the northeast. There,\\nhowever, they were received with a fusillade from the Hussars, who\\nhad captured or stampeded all the horses.\\nIN HOT PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY.\\nThe enemy swen^ed in their line of retreat. Some surrendered\\nthere and then, others made for Hatting Spruit, while some moved\\ntowards Landman s Drift. All who fled were closely pursued by\\ncavalr}^ and a field batterj When the main fight was drawing to a\\nclose, part, at least, of the Dannhauser contingent, under Com-\\nmandant Erasmus, came upon the ground, as well as a detachment\\nfrom a Free State contingent, which had made a forced march from\\nthe south. The chief portion of the Free State troops, however,\\nremained in a strong position at Biggarsberg. All the Hussar\\nsquadrons except one returned, and the whereabouts of that one\\nwas known, so that there was no cause for anxiety. Severe punish-\\nment was inflicted upon the retreating Boers.\\nMr. Bennett Burleigh, the special correspondent of the Lon-\\ndon Daily Telegraph in Natal, cabled the following account of the\\nbattle of Elandslaagte\\nA reconnoissance having failed to draw the Boers out\\nfrom their defences at Elandslaagte, General French advanced\\nagainst them with a small force. The troops were conveyed in\\nan armored train to Elandslaagte and reached a position 700\\nyards from the station. The Boer main force was posted upon an\\nextremely rough and rock}^ range of hills, running at right angles\\nto the railway, over a mile further north. This chain of hills,\\nwhich is several hundred feet high above the swelling plain, has a\\nconical hill rising from a wide dip in the range. This left two nar-\\nrow necks on either side of the base of this conical hill, where the\\nBoers had their camp wagons and tents. Half way up the necks\\ntheir guns were in position, two of them in the last neck.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0363.jp2"}, "364": {"fulltext": "280 FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL.\\nGeneral Frencli began the action about half-past 6 o clock\\nin the morning by sending a shell from a y-pounder into the\\nstation shed, while the mounted volunteers began firing at the\\nBoers, who were running to take up their positions. The enemy\\nhad only just finished their colonial matutinal coffee when they were\\nsurprised. Nearly all of our prisoners were caught in the vicinity, A\\nincluding the train which was recently captured, and its passengers.\\nThe Manchester Regiment in the early attack was at first\\nslightly leading. With the characteristic hardihood of British\\ninfantry, all of them marched straight-backed at the enemy, too m\\noften careless about taking cover, despite the rattling and hissing\\nand spitting of the Mauser bullets. Tommy Atkins says in fact,\\nWhat Hide from yokels Let em shoot. Discipline has its\\ndrawbacks as well as its advantages. Our soldiers know they are\\ncapable of readjusting the mistakes of the past. With a wide\\nsweep the Imperial Light Horse drove the Boers from the hills,\\nwhile the dismounted troopers and the Lancers clipped in smartly.\\nUpon their left the Boers had their pointed stakes.\\nADVANCE ALL ALONG THE LINE.\\nMeanwhile, under a hot fire, ruled out in long lines, our\\ninfantry marched along the low and heavy ground toward Blands-\\nlaagte. About half-past 4 o clock the Manchester Regiment and\\nthe Gordon Highlanders swung round at left shoulders to gain\\nthe hills, but the Devonshire Regiment held on. The Dragoon\\nGuards forged ahead to the extreme left, threatening the railway\\nstation, clearing that flank and menacing the line of Boer retreat.\\nGeneral French, aided by his able chief of staff. Colonel Douglas\\nHaig, handled his men beautifully, timing and keeping the whole\\noperations well in hand.\\nOur 15-pounders galloped up into a position whence they\\ncould shell the left of the Boer position, thus greatly assisting this\\ninfantry. Methodically and steadily the enemy were forced to give\\nground. Bit by bit the Manchester Regiment and the Gordons\\nclimbed the hill, and and then swinging at right shoulders up the\\nslope, began driving the Boers. As the artillery and infantry drew", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0364.jp2"}, "365": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 281\\ncloser the Boer guns were directed against them. I had even the\\nhonor of drawing much of their fire with my four-in-hand cape\\ncoat.\\nGeneral Sir George Stewart White came up by a special train\\nand witnessed the operations about an hour, until our success was\\nassured, when he returned to Ladysmith. The weather still re-\\nmained clear until after 4 o clock. Nothing could have been\\nfiner than the advance of our troops. In fact, it might have been a\\nglorious Aldershot field day, so stately and deliberate were our\\nmevements.\\nThe panorama was heightened and colored by the red war\\nhue of the gun flashes. Shells tore roaring through the air like an\\nexpress in a tunnel, bursting noisily and spouting flame and lead\\nand steel, which hissed like a hot iron dropped into water. The\\nplaces of explosion were marked by clods of earth, with a nimbus\\nof white smoke.\\nDESTRUCTIVE RIFLES AND ARTILLERY.\\nThe enemy bobbed about over the rocks like jacks-in-the-box,\\nfiring heavily at us, with a fair accuracy for a magazine gun. The\\nMauser rifle is a terrible weapon, although it inflicts clean wounds^\\nbut many of the enemy used explosive bullets besides Martinis.\\nThe Boer shells were mostly percussion, and threw up volcanoes of\\nmud and stones. They, however, destroyed the limber field artillery,\\nand inflicted damage on our infantry. Our gunners should note\\nespecially that upon rocky ground percusion shells give better\\nresults than high bursting shrapnel.\\nForced back down upon the conical hill and their camp, the\\nBoers struggled desperately, and soon found their retreat menaced.\\nTheir leaders strove to encourage them while reinforcements came\\nrushing hot foot from nearby in order to check the retreat by suc-\\ncessive rushes, the men cheering. While the Manchesters and\\nGordons bore forward along the crests of the hills their officers\\neverywhere were marked for death, but the Tommies made it their\\nfight also. Colonel Chisholm, of the Imperial I^ight Horse, courted\\ndisaster by waving a scarf to give encouragement to his men, who", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0365.jp2"}, "366": {"fulltext": "282 FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL.\\nreally needed none. He, like others of our splendidly brave fel-\\nlows, were killed. f I\\nA driving rain, accompanied by darkness, now set in, but tbe\\nbattle continued to rage until 6 o clock in tke evening, by which\\ntime the Boers were scuttling off in numbers, many of them rising\\nand throwing down their arms, while others, bolting, were hunted\\nand batted by our shrapnel and Lee-Medford bullets. Somebody 1|\\nshowed a white flag, and Colonel Hamilton tried to stop the firing,\\nbut the Boers, ensconced on the conical hill, and caring nothing\\nabout their comrades, took advantage of the lull to deliver a heavy\\nfire.\\nThe Gordons and Manchesters, rendered more savage than\\never by this, redoubled their energies, for the Boers in the hollows\\nwere delivering a flanking fire. At ten minutes to 6 the Devon-\\nshire Regiment, who had crept in upon a face position, each man\\ngetting to cover behind numerous anthills, whose domes were from\\ntwo to three feet high, rose and ran forward to the assault. Our\\nguns ceased their showers of shell, but the Boers resumed firing in\\nthe growing darkness.\\nLOUD CHEERS FOR THE VICTORY.\\nThere was pandemonium, lasting about a quarter of an hour,\\nabove all of which loud British cheers rang. Our three regiments\\nraced for the Boers and their guns. The Devonshires, favored by\\ntheir position, got in first in a body, and took them, but the others\\nabove came down over the rocks. Our victory was secure, but still\\na spattering fire went on till half-past 6 o clock.\\nNow it only remains to count the gains and the cost. One\\nhour more of daylight would have given us the whole force as\\nprisoners, but in the thick darkness which now came on the\\nunscathed and slightly wounded ran for it. A squadron each of\\nDragoon Guards and Lancers rode at them, and struck them,\\ncutting and thrusting, and probably killed sixty in all. The\\nenemy s guns, their abundant stores, hundreds of saddles and\\nhorses, a quantity of personal baggage, many of their war flags\\nand much ammunition fell into our hands.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0366.jp2"}, "367": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 283\\nI estimate their strength at just under 2000. Ours was about\\nthe same, but the Boers position was an almost impregnable one.\\nThe enemy s killed and wounded numbered some 300. All has\\nbeen done for the whole of the wounded that is possible, and the\\nBoers to-day expressed gratitude for their treatment. About forty\\nof them were allowed to go into their own hospital, a mile and\\na half to the north, for treatment. Our Tommies got wonderful\\nquantities of loot, from silk hats and frock coats to beaded Kaffir\\nloin-cloths. It was a sight to-day to see them loaded with their\\nbooty.\\nAlthough we gave the prisoners the best seats around the\\ncamp-fires, many of the poor wounded had to lie out on the bare\\nhillsides, where they spent a terrible night, crying, For God s\\nsake, give me water! Get a doctor for me, out here! Are the\\nBritish Boers One man fired round after round from his rifle to\\nattract attention to his whereabouts, for the field of battle covered\\nmiles.\\nIRON BRIDGE DESTROYED BY THE BOERS.\\nTo-day our force returned to Ladysmith, where they received\\na great welcome. The enemy have destroyed the iron bridge at\\nWaschbank, so that train service to Dundee cannot be resumed.\\nThe Gordon Highlanders say that the Blandslaagte action was\\na very severe one, Dargai a fool to it. Our prisoners number\\nfully 300. I saw eight dead Gordon Highlanders lying in one\\nheap. Boers declare the kilts made the men conspicuous, but\\nthat the khaki is difficult to locate. The enemy ask where our red\\ncoats are.\\nReports which have been obtained from Boer sources say\\nthat out of one commando only 250 men are left, the hospitals are\\nfull, and their losses are perhaps 1000. All of our wounded and\\nprisoners have been brought to Ladysmith, where there are ample\\nhospital accommodations for them. Electric lights have been fitted\\nup, also Roentgen ray apparatus. All day long the streets have\\nresounded with cheering as our troops return. Bauds of prisoners\\nalso continue to arrive.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0367.jp2"}, "368": {"fulltext": "284 FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL.\\nThe following description of tlie battle of Elandslaagte is from\\nthe pen of a war correspondent who witnessed the engagement\\nThe battle was a brilliant, complete success. The Boers\\nnumbered from 1200 to 2000, and probably had about 100 killed\\nand 150 wounded. The fight itself was like a practical illustration\\nof handbook tactics, each arm represented doing its proper work to\\nperfection. The Gordon Highlanders in their attack advanced in\\nmagnificent order. They were immediately saluted with a heavy\\nfire, which told from the first.\\nWOUNDED OFFICER LIGHTS HIS PIPE.\\nTheir Major fell with a bullet in his leg, but as he lay where\\nhe fell he lit a pipe and smoked placidly while the advance con-\\ntinued. As man after man dropped, supports were rushed into the\\nfiring line, our men darting from cover to cover, splendidly led and\\never advancing. Yet, as ridge after ridge was won, the Highlanders\\nstill found a new ridge confronting them, and thus they fought their\\nbleeding way until the final ridge was neared, with nearly every\\nof cer down.\\nThen rushing every available man into the firing line, Man-\\nchesters, Devons and Light Horse all mixed, with bugles chanting\\nthe advance, bagpipes shrieking and the battle a confused surge,\\nour men swept yelling forward, and the position was won. Mean-\\nwhile squadrons of Lancers and Dragoons lapped round the Boer\\nleft flank, catching the enemy as they retired in disorder, goring\\nand stamping them to pieces. And the commando was not.\\nGeneral French thanked the troops on the field, especially men-\\ntioning Colonel Ian Hamilton s splendid work. The British bivou-\\nacked on the captured position on the night of the 21st. Colonel\\nScott-Chisholm, the only British officer killed, was formerly attached\\nto the Ninth Lancers. He served with distinction in the Afghan\\nwar, and organized the Imperial Light Horse, a majority of whom\\nwere refugees from the borders of the Transvaal.\\nThe death of General Viljoen was a severe blow to the Boers,\\nand the death of General Kock and the capture of General PretO\\nxius hindered the further movements of this column.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0368.jp2"}, "369": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 285\\nFurtlier information concerning the battle of Glencoe, an\\naccount of whicli has already been furnished, was contained in the\\nfollowing graphic description of the fight by an eye-witness among\\nthe English troops\\nIt was after the battle was renewed, following the lull that\\nensued upon the sharp canonading of the British, which silenced\\nthe guns of the Boers on Smith s Hill, that our casualties began.\\nThe Indian Hospital Corps of coolies, under Major Donegan, of\\nthe Eighteenth Hussars, ran out, keeping in the rear of the advanc-\\ning infantry and artillery that had galloped from the second position\\nthrough the town amid the cheers of the citizens.\\nSHRAPNEL DID FEARFUL DAMAGE.\\nAt this point the Boers became erratic. Our artillery was\\nfiring on the hill where the Boers were stationed in great numbers,\\nbut the return fire did little damage. The enemy kept up an inces-\\nsant shooting, but our shrapnel began to tell its tale, with the result\\nthat the Boer fire visibly slackened. From a ceaseless rattle the\\nrifle fire dwindled to straggling shots.\\nThe artillery in front was shelling the hill, and the King s\\nRoyal Rifles on the right front were busy with the Maxims, making\\nthe Boers anxious about their position. Their artillery had been\\nsilenced by the splendid service of ours. Meanwhile a squadron\\nof the Eighteenth Hussars and a mounted company of the Dublin\\nFusileers were creeping around on the enemy s left flank, while\\nanother squadron of the Hussars and a mounted company of the\\nKing s Royal Rifles deployed to the right flank, at the cornfields.\\nThe artillery continued to play on Smith s Hill, with a range\\nof nearly 3000 yards. Under its cover the Dublin Fusileers and\\nthe King s Royal Rifles pressed forward. It was in the execution\\nof this manoeuvre that the casualties to our infantry occurred, several\\nmen being killed or wounded.\\nThe firing now eased ofi on our side, and only a solitary shot\\nwas returned now and then. General Symons taking advantage of\\nthis lull, rode forward with his staff in front of the guns, taking\\ncover at the rear of the plantation, near the base of the hill. All", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0369.jp2"}, "370": {"fulltext": "286 i lERCfi :t IGHTING IN NATAL.\\ntMs time otir infantry, in extended formation, liad gradually pressed\\nforward, watching tlie Boers from the rear of the artillery and\\nmassing on the extreme left of the hill.\\nI saw three shells in quick succession cut some to pieces and\\nand drive others away. The Boer fighting was becoming hot, but\\nthe First Battalion of the King s Royal Rifles and the Irish\\nFusileers, led respectively by Colonel Gunning and Colonel Carlton,\\ncontinued to mount the hill. Gradually they extended along the\\nridge, and at lo o clock, after four and a half hours of artillery\\nfiring to screen them, they managed to reach a wall, running par-\\nallel with the ridge, about 600 yards from the summit.\\nBEATEN BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN.\\nThis position was gained under cover of some magnificent\\nshooting by our artillerymen, who placed shells at points where\\nthe Boers were massed with amazing accuracy, compelling them to\\nretire. But not for long. On again the determined enemy would\\ncome, only to be beaten back again by the excellent shooting of\\nthe Thirteenth and Sixty-ninth Batteries, under Major Dawkins\\nand Major King.\\nAt 11.45 firing had almost ceased, and our infantry\\nwere over the wall in a twinkling and rushing toward the plateau\\nat the base of the top or secondary ridge. The defence made by\\nthe Boers was most determined, the enemy again and again pouring\\na long fusillade fire into the British ranks, which was hotly returned\\nin well-directed volleys by the slowly advancing Dublin Fusileers\\nand King s Royal Rifles.\\nA large body of Boers, driven from Smith s Hill, took refuge\\nin a cattle kraal, intending a cross fire. The Thirteenth Battery\\noprned fire, however, and poured in such a hail of bullets as caused\\nthem speedily to shift the position.\\nThus far the enemy have displayed undoubted courage,\\nperhaps unequaled by the best European troops. They had\\nstood up to our scattering artillery fire with the greatest deter-\\nmination, and then, on Talana Ridge, standing clearly out on\\nthe sky line, they still appeared unbeaten and defiant. The\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0370.jp2"}, "371": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 287\\nbattle liad now raged six and a lialf hours, when the Sixty-ninth\\nBattery was ordered to limber up and advance. The battery gal-\\nloped into a new position in splendid form, and was in action at\\nthe front in a moment.\\nSo effective was the apparent result of this close range firing\\nthat the Thirteenth Battery was at once ordered up, and after two\\nrounds from each battery perfect silence reigned over the enemy s\\nfront, broken only by the whirring of the Maxims, served by the\\nDublin Fusiliers, who had secured an excellent position to the right.\\nDuring a momentary cessation the Boers had taken up a position\\non a hill to the right of the road leading to Maima colliery, but the\\nThirteenth Battery soon opened fire on them and compelled them to\\nretire.\\nMeanwhile the two infantry battalions continued to climb the\\nhill, and at 1.30 p.m., after eight hours of desperate fighting, the\\nposition was carried, the Boers having precipitately evacuated the\\nhill. Thus what had commenced with a battle at Dundee ended in\\na glorious victory for British arms at what must be known as the\\nbattle of Talana Hill or Glencoe.\\nLONG HOURS OF HARD FIGHTING.\\nThe earliest information regarding the battle conveyed the im-\\npression that the whole affair was over in a couple of hours, the\\nBritish artillery silencing the Boer guns and infantry, and then\\nsimply charging right over the hill. According to the later advices,\\nhowever, the battle lasted eight hours, and nearly seven hours\\nelapsed before the last Boer gun was put out of action.\\nThe Irish Fusileers and the King s Rifles meanwhile had\\nadvanced to the assault and were shooting their way up the hill,\\ndriving the Boers back from shelter to shelter, until the final rush\\nof the British carried them to the summit. It was a bright, clear\\nmorning, which enabled the operations to be followed by the staff\\nofficers without difficulty. A curious fact was that several times a\\nlull occurred in the firing on both sides, the British infantry appar-\\nently taking breathing space in the stiff climb and the Boers hold-\\ning back their fire.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0371.jp2"}, "372": {"fulltext": "288 FIERCE FIGHTING IN NAtAL.\\nThe magnificent practice of the British guns was an immense\\nhelp, and the success of the assault was greatly due thereto. An\\nenormous quantity of ammunition was expended. Once the Brit-\\nish bayonets showed on top of a hill the Boers retreated, and v/hen,\\non the other side, they found a British battery and British cavalry\\noutflanking them, the retreat became a rout. The British guns\\nfollowed, and, unlimbering, from time to time threw shells among\\nthe flying foe.\\nThe latter did not wait to try conclusions with the Hussars and\\nmounted infantry, who apparently seldom got near enough to de-\\nliver effective volleys. The pursuit was continued until dusk,\\nwhen the Boers were completely demoralized. A heavy rain began\\nto fall late in the afternoon, which naturally impeded artillery work.\\nIt was a striking coincidence that the date of the battle was the sec-\\nond anniversary of a similar feat of British arms in India, when\\nthe Gordon Highlanders stormed Dargai Heights.\\nTERRIBLE SUSPENSE IN LONDON.\\nOn Sunday, October 2 2d, the vicinity of the War Office, London,\\nwas crowded all day by anxious enquirers for the latest information.\\nThe greatest anxiety and suspense existed regarding the losses at\\nBlandslaagte, and as to the fate of the Hussars who pursued the\\nBoers from Glencoe. Type-written copies of the reports of General\\nSir George Stewart White were posted on bulletin boards or read to\\nthe crowds amid much enthusiasm, while the additions to the list of\\nkilled and wounded at Glencoe were received with manifestations\\nof personal bereavement.\\nThe stream of callers at the War Office showed little diminu-\\ntion as the evening advanced. Everybody was gratified to read the\\nkindly message from the Queen, and disappointed at the absence of\\nnews from Glencoe, many arguing that communication must be cut\\noff, as otherwise there would be at least some further intelligence as\\nto the condition of General Symons, who, according to an uncon-\\nfirmed report, died of his wounds. This report proved afterward\\nto be true, as stated in preceding pages. The losses in killed\\nand wounded were the subject of pulpit references in all the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0372.jp2"}, "373": {"fulltext": "FIERCE FIGHTING IN NATAL. 2^9\\nchurclies, especially tlie Catholic churches, owing to the disasters\\nthat befell the Irish Fusileers.\\nThe message frora the Queen, above referred to, was addressed\\nto the Secretary of State for War, the Marquis of Landsdowne,\\nand was as follows My heart bleeds for these dreadful losses\\nagain to-day. It is a great success, but, I fear, very dearly bought.\\nWould you convey my warmest and heartfelt sympathy with the\\nnear relatives of the fallen and wounded and my admiration of the\\nconduct of those they have lost\\nYet the patriotic spirit shown by the English people every-\\nwhere was most resolute and self-sacrificing. One of the members\\nof the Royal Canadian Special Service Regiment, which sailed for\\nCape Town, to strive for the honor of the British Empire, had a\\nmother who wrote him as follows\\nMy Dkar Son: I was never more surprised than when I\\nreceived your letter informing me of your intention to be a soldier\\nand go to the battlefield at once. No matter, dear boy, how this\\naffects me, I will not be guilty of making you feel sad or taking the\\ncourage out of your heart at this moment the courage you need so\\nmuch to keep you manly and brave. You are only following in the\\nfootsteps of your forefathers they were all British to the core.\\nYour great-grandfather, both your grandfathers and your father\\nall were true to their king and country. Now, dear boy, you have\\nbeen well brought up but I will say, be a good and obedient\\nsoldier, and respect your commanding officers, no matter who they\\nare. We all here will pray for you, and may our dear Lord keep\\nyou and bring you back safe to us.\\nGood-bye, and may God bless and protect you from danger,\\nwith loi ?v, Your very affectionate Mother.\\n19", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0373.jp2"}, "374": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XIX.\\nThunder of Artillery Around Ladysmith.\\nOTH the glory and tHe horror of tlie struggle between tlie\\nEnglisli and Boers was shown in vivid colors by the battle of\\nKlandslaagte. Beginning in sunshine at 7 in the morning\\nand ending in rain and darkness after a fierce fight of nearly ten\\nhours duration, it was marked by a dogged courage on the one\\nhand and such irresistible valor as will make it the wonder of future\\ngenerations.\\nIn view of the victory of the British in carrying such an\\nalmost impregnable position, it was perhaps not surprising that re-\\nports found their way from Cape Town to London that President\\nKruger was ready to surrender.\\nThe slowness of the Boer movements after they entered Natal\\nwas a surprise to many. Within forty-eight hours after the ulti-\\nmatum expired the Boer forces had crossed the border. Natal,\\nwhich is a small colony little more than a fourth of the area of the\\nState of New York, is in its northern portion shaped like a wedge\\ndriven in between the Orange Free State on the west and Transvaal\\nterritory on the east, the eastern boundary being the Buffalo River,\\nwhile the western frontier is the Drakensberg range of mountains.\\nNear where the river and the mountains meet on the north, to\\nform the point of the wedge, is Charlestown. The railway running\\nsouth, down the middle of the wedge to Ladysmith distant little\\nmore than sixty miles as the crow flies traverses all the important\\npoints mentioned in the exciting news from the seat of war, and a\\nglance at their location made clear the tardiness of the Boer move-\\nment, since, on the second day after the ultimatum, the force under\\ncommand of General Joubert was reported as moving down from\\nCharlestown.\\nThey sent word to Newcastle, about twenty miles south, that\\nthey would hoist their flag there on the following Saturday that\\n290", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0374.jp2"}, "375": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 291\\nttey would pay for anything that they should take, and said they\\nwanted opportunity to slaughter cattle. The place was evacuated\\nby the British before the Boers reached it. Now it is little more\\nthan twenty miles further south to Glencoe, near which the Boers\\nmade their attack, with such disastrous results to themselves, on\\nOctober 20th. A spur from the railway runs east three or four\\nmiles to Dundee, where the coal mines are, and the permanent\\nBritish camp was located between the two towns. In the hint about\\nslaughtering cattle probably lies the secret of the Boer s slowness\\na defective commissariat.\\nDEFICIENT IN ARTILLERY PRACTICE.\\nAlthough well armed and admirable in the speed with which\\nthey mobilized, it was anticipated that the Boers would be deficient\\nin artillery practice and that in an open fight men who had just\\ndropped the farmer s utensils would be inferior in evolution to those\\nwhose life is devoted to scientific warfare. On the other hand, the\\nundaunted courage to which the victors in the battles paid unstinted\\ntribute, their power of endurance and their skill as sharpshooters\\nmade them foeman to be feared in the sort of semi-guerilla warfare\\nin which their past successes w6re achieved.\\nNow, however, they had thousands in the field where in the\\npast they had but hundreds, and the handling and feeding of large\\nbodies of troops in the camp and on the march presented problems\\nwith which they had never before been confronted. After the\\ndefeat it was found they had only one surgeon and a primitive staff\\nto cope with hundreds of wounded.\\nThe campaign appeared to have been well planned to strike a\\ntelling blow at the British before their tremendous reinforcements\\narrived, and by these preliminary victories to inspire the Dutch\\npopulation of the entire country to rise. While General Joubert\\ninvaded Natal from the north. Free State troops simultaneously\\nentered it through the mountain passes twenty-five miles west of\\nLady smith. The purpose, apparently, was to cut off communica-\\ntion between Ladysmith and the garrison, twenty-five miles north of\\nit, at Glencoe and Dundee, and when this had been defeated to make", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0375.jp2"}, "376": {"fulltext": "292 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\na simultaneous attack from the nortH and west on Sir George Stew-\\nart White at Ladysmith.\\nTlie preliminary attack on Glencoe was planned to be made by\\ntbree columns one from tbe nortb under General Erasmus, one\\nfrom the south under Commandant Viljeon, and the one under\\nGeneral Meyer, which took up its position on Smith s hill and\\nopened the battle on the morning of the 20th.\\nTelegraphic communication between the three commands had\\nbeen lost, and when the fight began the others were far away, and\\nGeneral Meyer after a stubborn contest was routed. While his men\\nwere still flying before the British cavalry a portion of Sir George\\nStewart White s command sallied forth from Ladysmith and won\\nthe thrilling victory at Blandslaagte.\\nMASTERLY RETREAT OF GENERAL YULE.\\nAfter Sir William Symons had been wounded the command of\\nthe Dundee force devolved upon General Yule. Blandslaagte was\\nfought on the day after the battle of Dundee, or Glencoe, and\\nthen there came a mysterious lull which caused some uneasiness.\\nAfter the defeat of General Meyer s column. General Yule found\\nhimself threatened by the northern column under Brasmus and\\nJoubert, and was unable to hold his own under a largely outnum-\\nbering force of the undefeated enemy. Yule received orders to fall\\nback, and so, on the night of October 2 2d, he quietly evacuated the\\nposition, and retired southward by the road which leads by Beith\\nthrough the mountains.\\nHe had to leave his wounded behind. Sir William Symons\\namong them, in the field hospital, and there a few days later the\\ngallant general breathed his last. On October 25th Yule accom-\\nplished his junction with Sir George White, and the two British\\nforces, the main body at Lady smith and the advanced force at\\nDundee, became one force concentrated and ready for battle at\\nLadysmith.\\nThe retreat of Yule from Dundee to the base at Ladysmith\\nwill rank high in military annals as a skillful operation carried out\\nunder great dif culties. The retiring force abandoned everything", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0376.jp2"}, "377": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 293\\nthat could in the least impede its rapid movements, and the weather\\nwas very rainy. The retirement was effected without loss, the\\nenemy having been kept in check by Sir George White s timely\\nhelp from Ladysmith. Knowing that Yule was retiring to\\\\^ards\\nhim, he sent out a reconnoisance along the Ladysmith-Dundee line,\\nand finding the Boers in force near the road prepared to attack them.\\nThe Boers, as usual, had taken up a strong position on a ridge\\nwith a kop, or abrupt mountain top, for a keep or main stronghold.\\nUnder a heavy fire of shrapnel the Boers were shaken, and finally,\\nby an advance of infantry, driven from their commanding position\\nover the road, and this being the object Sir George White had in\\nview, the British column returned to Ladysmith. The way had\\nbeen opened for Yule. In all the three actions the Boer losses must\\nhave been very heavy, probably twice those of the British.\\nHOW LADYSMITH OBTAINED ITS NAME.\\nAs the name Ladysmith is prominently connected with\\nmilitary operations in Natal, a word may be said of the lady after\\nwhom the town is named. It was so named in honor of the wife of\\nSir Harry Smith, who was once Governor of the Cape of Good Hope.\\nBut who was the wife of Sir Harry Smith To answer that ques-\\ntion it is necessary to go back to the time of the Peninsular war in\\nthe early part of the century.\\nSir Harry Smith was in that war, and was present at the\\nstorming of Badajoz, in the spring of 1812. According to a vera-\\ncious chronicler, on the day after the assault two handsome Spanish\\nladies, one the wife of a Spanish officer, serving in a distant part of\\nSpain, and the other her sister, a girl fourteen years of age, Juana\\nMaria de los Delores de Leon, claimed the protection of Smith and\\na brother officer, representing that they had fled to the camp from\\nBadajoz, where they had suffered violence from the infuriated\\nsoldiery, having had their earrings brutally torn from their ears.\\nThey were conveyed by Smith and his friend to a place of safety.\\nWithin two years Juana Maria de Leon became the wife of Smith,\\nshe being then sixteen and her husband twenty-six years of age.\\nGeneral Sir Harry Smith (in whose honor the town of Harris-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0377.jp2"}, "378": {"fulltext": "294 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nsmitH is named), died October 12, i860. The handsome Spanish\\ngirl who became his wife forty-six years previously survived him\\ntwelve years, and died October 10, 1872. It may be noted as a co-\\nincidence that on the twenty-seventh anniversary of her death\\nPresident Kruger sent his ultimatum, and on the thirty-ninth\\nanniversary of her husband s death the Boers invaded Natal and\\nsurrounded Lady smith.\\nIt will help to a clear understanding of the military situation\\nat this period of the war to glance over the field of operations and\\nget some idea of the strength of the opposing forces, together with\\nthe plan of campaign on each side.\\nSKETCH OF THE BOER ARMY.\\nThe ultimatum of the Boers, presented October loth, not having\\nbeen accepted, they at once declared war against Great Britain. As\\none of the things they demanded was the withdrawal from Natal of\\nall British troops sent there since the preceding June, it will be seen\\nthat war had been imminent for some time, and both sides had made\\ngreat preparations. At the beginning of hostilities there were in\\nNatal nearly 15,000 troops, under the command of Sir George\\nSteward White. Along the Western border there were 2000 troops,\\nprincipally volunteers and Cape Mounted Police, under the com-\\nmand of Colonel Baden-Powell.\\nThe military organization of the Boers is unique. Their per-\\nmanent army consists of but a few hundred artillerymen. They\\nform, however, a nation in arms. Orders had been sent throughout\\ntheir territory for the burghers to turn out, each man to bring to\\nthe rendezvous his horse, accoutrements, arms and ammunition.\\nKvery able-bodied male, from eighteen to sixty years of age, is\\nliable to be called out.\\nNo accurate information as to the strength of the Boer force at\\nthis time was available. A moderate estimate is 18,000 in the South\\nAfrican Republic and 14,000 in the Orange Free State. To these\\nmight be added some of the Afrikanders in the adjoining British\\nterritory.\\nThese troops assembled at Harrismith, Volksrust, Vryheld and", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0378.jp2"}, "379": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 295\\nBremersdorp, forming a cordon around the apex of Natal. On the\\nmorning of October I2tli the Boers crossed the frontier at Botha s\\nPass on the west, Laing s Nek at the apex, and from Wakkers-\\ntroom on the east, General Joubert being with the central column.\\nThe Free State forces came from the west one column through\\nVan Reenan s Pass toward Bester s Station, and another through\\nTintwa Pass toward Acton Homes.\\nThe northern column advanced to Newcastle and occupied it\\non October 14th, the British, previous to the opening of hostilities,\\nhaving withdrawn from the extreme northern part of Natal, and\\nhaving their main position at Lady smith, with a small force at\\nGlencoe and Dundee. The object of the Boers seemed to be to keep\\nthe British forces at Ladysmith and Dundee occupied while parties\\nof Boers could slip by to the south, cut the railway and telegraph\\nlines, destroy bridges and cut off the British from their base at\\nDurban on the coast and their advanced base at Pietermaritzburg.\\nSHARP ATTACK BY THE BOERS.\\nWar being declared, the Boers immediately assumed the offen-\\nsive, their northern column attacking the British forces near Glencoe\\non October 19th. The Boers, as we have seen, commenced their\\nattack with artillery from a hill about 5000 yards from the British\\ncamp. The British artillery opened in reply, and, after an artil-\\nlery duel, the attack on the hill began, the infantry in front,\\nthe cavalry on the flanks. After eight hours of stubborn fighting\\nthe position was taken, the Boers being driven eastward and losing\\ntheir guns.\\nThe advance of the Boers had cut off communication between\\nLadysmith and Glencoe, and it was a military necessity to dislodge\\nthe Boers from their position before they were joined by the burgh-\\ners frcssn the Orange Free State. Consequently, Sir George White\\nsent a column from Ladysmith along the Newcastle road. The\\nenemy was found in a strong position on hilly ground, about a mile\\nand a half east of Bland slaagte. After a long and stubborn fight\\nthe Boer camp was captured, with their transportation, camp equip-\\nage and two guns.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0379.jp2"}, "380": {"fulltext": "296 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nThe way was now clear to a junction between tHe main force\\nat Lady smith, and the withdrawal of the force near Glencoe was\\nconsidered advisable, as otherwise the British would have had two\\nseparate bodies of troops, each of which was smaller than the Boer\\nforce confronting it. While these operations were going on between\\nLadysmith and Dundee, the burghers from the Orange Free State\\nwere on their way to the theatre of operations, and on October 17th\\nthey were seen descending from the western passes, and later came\\nin contact with the British outposts near Bester s Station and Acton\\nHomes. No serious engagement took place there, however, and this\\ncolumn of Boers seems to have stopped in its advance.\\nAs the contingents from the South African Republic and the\\nOrange Free State were now within forty miles of each other, it\\nwas essential that a junction should be effected between the forces\\nof General White and General Yule with the least possible delay,\\nso that the combined British forces might be in a position to act\\nupon either one or the other of the hostile columns before they\\neffected a junction.\\nTHE TWO FORCES UNITE.\\nThis was not easy, as reconnoissance showed that the Boers\\nstill held a strong position between Ladysmith and Dundee, and it\\nwas necessary for General Yule s force to make a detour at once to\\nreach the main force at Ladysmith. General White had sent out\\nsome troops to meet him, and this force joined hands with General\\nYule s command and the junction of the British troops was effected.\\nMeanwhile the towns on the southern and western borders had\\nbeen menaced by small armed bodies of Boers, those along the\\nOrange River frontier being almost entirely unprotected. Along\\nthe western border the railroad runs nearly north, parallel to the\\nborder and but a few miles from it. It passes through Kimberley,\\nVryburg and Mafeking. The forces along this line, as before stated,\\nconsisted of about 2000 men, principally volunteers and Cape\\nmounted police, with a few regulars, under the command of Colonel\\nBaden-Powell.\\nThe Boers opened operations along this line by capturing and", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0380.jp2"}, "381": {"fulltext": ".J_4JJI_i U,^,lJUii\\n.^j-.i^ \u00e2\u0096\u00a0uLitiijjjj i ^.ky\\nRECONNOISSANCE IN FORCE OF BRITISH CAVALRY.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0381.jp2"}, "382": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0382.jp2"}, "383": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 297\\ndestroying an armored train. Vryburg was abandoned by tbe Brit-\\nish and taken possession of by tbe Boers. It bad a very small\\ngarrison, probably police, and was of small importance in itself,\\nexcept tbat its possession by tbe Boers cut tbe British line to the\\nsouth.\\nKimberley at this time was in a state of siege, and a recon-\\nnoitering party of about 300 volunteers and mounted police was\\nattacked near that place by the Boers. After a hot fight the Boers\\nwere defeated and their leader killed. Colonel Baden-Powell, with\\nthe larger part of his force, was in the vicinity of Mafeking, where\\nconsiderable fighting occurred. On October 15th, an attack on this\\nplace by the Boers was reported, the Boers being repulsed with con-\\nsiderable loss.\\nGREAT BRAVERY ON BOTH SIDES.\\nIn the fighting so far great bravery and stubbornness were\\nshown on both sides. The English would seem to have made a\\ngreat tactical advance since their operations on the same ground in\\n1 88 1. They made a very effective use of their artillery, and seemed\\nto have, to some extent, overcome their historical tendency to fight\\nin solid masses. The necessity of fighting in extended order was\\nimpressed upon them by no one more emphatically than by Sir\\nRedvers Buller. It is a question whether the Boers were individ-\\nually as expert with the rifle as they were twenty years before.\\nTheir country was more settled, there was much less game and con-\\nsequently much less attention to hunting than formerly. The\\nnatural result would be decreased efficiency as soldiers.\\nIt was, perhaps, unfortunate for British prestige that the con-\\ncentration at Ladysmith did not take place at an earlier date. It\\nwas considered from the outset that it would be impracticable to\\nhold such an exposed point as Laing s Nek, as it could be turned so\\neasily through the mountain passes to the south, and the force\\noccupying it entirely cut off from its base. The withdrawal of the\\ntroops from Glencoe after the declaration of war, and after they had\\nbeen attacked by the Boers, although they were the victors in the\\nattack, could not but detract from their prestige, strengthen the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0383.jp2"}, "384": {"fulltext": "298 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nmorale of the Boers and have a great effect upon the Afrikanders,\\nheretofore neutral, who secretly sympathized with the Boers.\\nThe strategy of the Boers seems to have been good. They\\nwere prepared to take the field the moment their ultimatum was\\nrejected by the British government. Bach contingent was called\\nout in its own territory and had Natal for a common objective. If\\nthey could cut off the British force in Natal, which their great\\nnumerical superiority in the field (probably nearly three to one)\\nwould lead them to expect, they would not only achieve a great\\nmilitary success, but the moral effect might also be to add to their\\nstrength by the accession of Afrikanders scattered through all the\\nBritish possessions in South Africa, and they might also hope for\\nan uprising in their favor by some of the native tribes.\\nSITUATION FAVORABLE TO THE BOERS.\\nThey enjoyed the great advantage of a central position, the\\nborder forming roughly the letter U, and were thus enabled to\\nmove on interior lines within their own territory. They could move\\nagainst Natal, or, making a feint in that direction, could throw their\\nmain force against the British possessions on their western border.\\nThe advantage of the possession of interior lines in the case of the\\nBoers, however, was much lessened by the fact that on account\\nof the lack of railway facilities in an easterly and westerly direction\\ntheir troops would have to move across the country by marching.\\nOn October 30th the military situation in South Africa is\\ndescribed by a London journal with exceptional sources of informa-\\ntion as follows For some days, if not, indeed, some weeks, the\\nmain interest in the military situation will be centred at Lady-\\nsmith. The Boer forces are gradually working their way round the\\ntown, entrenching themselves as if they were playing a waiting\\ngame. This, however, will probably be only a temporary measure.\\nIt is clear that they have withdrawn men from other points which,\\nfor the moment, they consider less important, and are concentrating\\nfor a supreme effort against Ladysmith.\\nThis town, which is third in importance in Natal, is situated\\non the Klip river, just to the east of the railway. As the town is", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0384.jp2"}, "385": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 299\\napproaclied from tlie soutli there is a High, rocky ridge of hills, the\\nsummits of which are clothed with mimosa trees. The town, shel-\\ntered by a semi-circle of hills, is of importance, from the fact that\\nthere are large railway workshops there. The most important posi-\\ntion to the northeast of the town is Lombard s Kop, at a distance of\\nabout five miles. It is in this direction that a strong force moved\\non the 27th. It met a reconnoissance of the enemy. The Boers\\nwithdrew early next day.\\nNews regarding the cutting off of the water supply is some-\\nwhat surprising, and seems to show that the British camp has been\\nshifted, and that the Boers are closer to the town than was generally\\nsupposed, for since Ladysmith was made a military station in 1897\\nthe troops have been stationed near the water works, about two miles\\nfrom the town.\\nQUICK MILITARY OPERATIONS.\\nThe Boers, too, are exhibiting a certain amount of daring,\\nwhich argues great confidence. They have managed to snap up a\\npatrol of non-commissioned officers, carry off a thousand mules\\nand seize the municipal slaughter-houses, with supplies of both\\nmeat and slaughtered stock. This, with the ease with which they\\nhave reorganized the German Corps, so severe a sufferer at Klands-\\nlaagte, and the column commanded by General Meyer, which was\\nshattered at Talana Hill, shows that they have great recuperative\\npowers, and by no means consider themselves beaten men.\\nIndeed, they have, throughout the campaign, shown great\\nfertility of resource and dogged perseverance, with which they\\nhave managed to transport heavy guns and post them in command-\\ning positions worthy all admiration.\\nIt is, of course, practically impossible to forecast what Sir\\nGeorge White will do. His chief difficulty will be to induce the\\nenemy to attack him on ground of his own choosing. There would\\nbe no doubt of the result, if this could be brought about. The in-\\ndications, however, are that there will be on both sides an indulgence\\nin Fabian tactics, but these will be all in favor of the British.\\nOn the 30th of October a battle raged around Ladysmith a", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0385.jp2"}, "386": {"fulltext": "300 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nlarge part of tlie day and proved to be a stubborn contest. The\\nBritisb advance was made at dawn with the object of sbelling the\\nBoers from the position where they had mounted a number of guns.\\nOn reaching the spot it was found they had evacuated the position.\\nThe British continued to advance and the movement developed\\ninto an reconnoissance in force. The enemy were posted on a range\\nof hills having a frontage of about sixteen miles. The British\\nforce was disposed in the following order: On the right, three\\nregiments of cavalry, four batteries of the Royal Field Artillery\\nand five battalions of infantry in the centre, three batteries of the\\nRoyal Field Artillery, two regiments of cavalry and four infantry\\nbattalions, and on the left, the Ro3^al Irish Fusileers, the Gloucester-\\nshire Regiment and the Tenth Mountain Battery.\\nPLAN FAILED OF EXECUTION.\\nThis force had been detailed to guard the British left flank at\\na late hour. General White s plan of operations was that, as the\\nmovement developed, the force constituting the centre, which was\\ndisposed under cover of a hill, about three miles from the town,\\nshould throw itself upon the enemy, while the left flank was being\\nheld by the Fusileers and the Gloucesters. The scheme was well\\ndevised, but failed in execution, owing to the fact that the Boer\\nposition, which formed the objective, was evacuated.\\nThe British artillery quickly reduced the volume of the\\nenemy s fire, but the attack delivered on the right flank was the\\nprincipal one, and the column was compelled to change. The Boer\\nattack had been silenced for a time, and the British infantry\\nadvanced covered by cavahy.\\nThe enemy now began to develop a heavy counter-attack, and\\nas they were in great numerical superiority. General White gave\\norders for the infantry to be graduall}^ withdrawn. The movement\\nwas carried out with great steadiness and deliberation, under cover\\nof the guns, which did good execution. Some shells were thrown\\ninto the town from the enemy s fort}^ pounders at a range of over\\n6000 yards, but no damage was done. The engagement lasted\\nseveral hours, and resulted in serious losses on both sides.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0386.jp2"}, "387": {"fulltext": "THUNDfiR OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 301\\nTlie attack was admirably delivered by the Britisb right, and\\nthe Boers were fairly driven out of one of their strongholds down\\nnear Lombard s Kop. It was not possible, however, to push the\\nsuccess much further, as below that point lay a long broken ridge,\\naffording every kind of natural cover. Of this the enemy took\\nthe fullest advantage.\\nThe shells failed to dislodge the Boers, and as the infantry\\nmoved forward in extended order they came under a heavy and well-\\ndirected rifle fire, the effect of which was soon apparent. General\\nWhite, who was with the centre, seeing that the troops were some-\\nwhat pressed, sent to their assistance the whole centre column with\\nthe exception of the Devonshire Regiment.\\nTERRIFIC ARTILLERY DUEL.\\nThe battle had then lasted four hours, during which the artil-\\nlery fire on both sides had been almost incessant. The naval\\nbrigade which landed at Durban arrived on the scene toward the\\nend of the fight, and immediately brought their heavy guns into\\nplay. Their practice was magnificent. At the fourth shot the\\nenemy s forty-pounders had been knocked out of action. Through-\\nout the engagement the Boers held their ground with courage\\nand tenacity, and suffered severely.\\nThe engagement at Ladysmith, which, despite the rather heavy\\nlosses, was regarded rather as an extended reconnoisance or skir-\\nmish than a battle, made little change in the actual positions. It\\nwas disappointing to the British public as again revealing tactical\\nskill of an unexpectedly high order on the side of the Boers. In\\naddition to the possession of a number of heavy guns, the transport\\nof which caused wonderment, they showed marvelous ability. Un-\\nless commanded by skillful European officers, it was hardly con-\\nsidered probable that Boer soldiers would have assumed a feigned\\nposition, as they evidently did, in front of the right column, with\\nthe intention of retreating from it to their real line of defence, and\\nof inducing the British to attack over a fire-swept zone.\\nThe special despatches describing the engagement again failed\\nto confirm General White s official account that the Boers were", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0387.jp2"}, "388": {"fulltext": "302 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\npushed back several miles. The fighting began with a frontal!\\nattack on the main Boer position, which, however, was found evacu-\\nated. The enemy having retired, now made a change of front!\\nand developed a heavy attack on Colonel Grimwood s brigade. Toj\\nmeet this the British artillery, which had been shelling the evacu-\\nated position, also changed front.\\nGrimwood s brigade was promptly reinforced, but soon was]\\nobliged to fall back rapidly, with consequences which might have\\nbeen serious had not the Fifty-third Field Battery pluckily covered\\nthe movement at considerable loss to itself. It is quite certain that\\nGeneral White failed to accomplish the object he intended, and the\\nday s proceedings were an instructive example of the difficulty of\\noperations when the enemy holds an extended position from which\\nhe is able to make sudden and unexpected developments and\\nchanges of front.\\nSURROUNDED AND FORCED TO SURRENDER.\\nUnder date of October 30th the following from General White\\nwas received at the London War Office I have to report a disas-\\nter to the column sent by me to take a position on a hill to guard\\nthe left flank of the troops. In these operations to-day the Royal\\nIrish Fusileers, No. 10 Mountain Battery and the Gloucestershire\\nRegiment were surrounded on the hills, and after losing heavily\\nhad to capitulate. The casualities have not yet been ascertained.\\nA man of the Fusileers employed as a hospital orderly came\\nin under a flag of truce with a letter from the survivors of the col-\\numn, who asked for assistance to bury the dead. I fear there is no\\ndoubt of the truth of the report. I formed a plan, in the carrying\\nout of which the disaster occurred, and I am alone responsible for\\nthe plan. There is no blame whatever on the troops, as the posi-\\ntion was untenable.\\nThe next day telegraphed as follows I took out from Lady-\\nsmith a brigade of mounted troops, two brigade divisions of the\\nRoyal Artillery, the Natal Field Battery and two brigades of infan-\\ntry, to reconnoitre in force the enemy s main position to the north,\\nand, if the opportunity should offer, to capture the hill behind", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0388.jp2"}, "389": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 303\\nFarquBar s Farm, wHicli had, on the previous day, been iield in\\nstrength by the enemy. In connection with this advance a column,\\nconsisting of the Tenth Mountain Artillery, four half companies of\\nof the Gloucesters and six companies of the Royal Irish Fusileers,\\nthe whole under Lieutenant-Colonel Carlton and Major Adye,\\nDeputy Assisiant Adjutant-General, was despatched, at ii p.m. on\\nthe 29th, to march by night up Bells-Spruit and seize Nicholson s\\nNek, or some position near Nicholson s Nek, thus turning the\\nenemy s right flank.\\nARTILLERY CAUSES HEAVY LOSS.\\nThe main advance was successfully carried out, the objective\\nof the attack being found evacuated, and an artillery duel between\\nour field batteries and the enemy s guns of the position and Max-\\nims is understood to have caused heavy loss to the enemy. The\\nreconnoissance forced the enemy to fully disclose his position, and,\\nafter a strong-counter attack on our right, the infantry brigade and\\ncavalry had been repulsed, the troops were slowly withdrawn to\\ncamp, pickets being left on observation.\\nLate in the engagement the naval contingent, under Captain\\nLambton, of Her Majesty s Ship Powerful, came into action, and\\nsilenced, with their extremely accurate fire, the enemy s guns of\\nposition.\\nThe circumstances which attended the movements of Lieu-\\ntenant-Colonel Carlton s column are not yet fully known, but from\\nreports received the column appears to have carried out the night\\nmarch unmolested, until within two miles of Nicholson s Nek. At\\nthis point two boulders rolled from the hill and a few rifle shots\\nstampeded the infantry ammunition mules. The stampede spread\\nto the battery mules, which broke loose from their leaders, and got\\naway with practically the whole of the gun equipment and the\\ngreater portion of the small-arm ammunition. The reserve was\\nsimilarly lost.\\nThe infantry battalions, however, fixed bayonets, and accom-\\npanied by the personnel of the artillery, seized a hill on the left of\\nof the road, two miles from the Nek, with but little opposition.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0389.jp2"}, "390": {"fulltext": "304 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nThere they remained unmolested till dawn, the time being occupied\\nin organizing the defence of the hill and constructing stone sangers\\nand walls as cover from fire.\\nAt dawn a skirmishing attack on our position was commenced\\nby the enemy, but made no way until 9.30 A.M., when strong rein-\\nforcements enabled them to rush to the attack with great energy.\\nTheir fire became very searching, and two companies of the Glou-\\ncesters, in an advance position, were ordered to fall back. The\\nenemy then pressed to short range, the losses on our side becoming\\nvery numerous.\\nAt 3 p. M. our ammunition was practically exhausted, the\\nposition was captured and the survivors of the column fell into the\\nenemy s hands. The enemy treated our wounded with humanity,\\nGeneral Joubert at once despatching a letter me, offering a safe\\nconduct to doctors and ambulances to remove the wounded. A\\nmedical officer and parties to render first aid to the wounded were\\ndespatched to the scene of action from Ladysmith last night, and the\\nambulances at dawn this morning.\\nTHE MULES RUN AWAY.\\nThe want of success of the column was due to the misfortune\\nof the mules stampeding and the consequent loss of the guns and\\nsmall-arm ammunition reserve. The official list of casualties and\\nprisoners will be reported shortly. The latter are understood to\\nhave been sent by rail to Pretoria. The security of Ladysmith is\\nin no way affected.\\nThe battle at Ladysmith was disappointing to the British, as\\nthe object, which was to roll back the Free Staters, was not achieved.\\nYet the soldiers, individually, showed themselves fully a match for\\nthe Boers, both in shooting ability and pluck, although they were\\nfaced by double their own numbers, posted upon rough ground\\nwhich had previously been prepared for defence and to resist a\\ncannonade.\\nThe Boers had been drawing their coils closer around on the\\nwest, north and east sides of the town, their forces being composed\\nof the Free Staters, General Joubert s column and that of General", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0390.jp2"}, "391": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 305\\nMeyer. General White s plan included fighting three simultaneous\\nactions. On the night of the 30th, before daybreak, the, British\\ntroops marched out a distance of several miles from camp, and\\nsucceeded in securing several points unseen by the enemy, the\\nadvantage being thus on our side. Considering the nature of the\\nsubsequent contests, the losses must be regarded as relatively light.\\nThe Boers began battle at 10 minutes past 5 o clock in the\\nmorning by firing their 40-pounder guns from a ridge, situated\\nabout four miles out, east of the railway, and dropping shells into the\\ntown. The missiles luckily proved almost harmless. The action\\nsoon became general, and the British left, centre and right engaged\\nthe Boer positions. At first the batteries seemed unable to quite\\nsilence the Boer artillery, which fought with indomitable energy\\nand pluck, the British gunners having to contend with the difficulty\\nof being on low ground.\\nATTACKED WITH GREAT VIGOR.\\nGeneral White s right and centre gained some initial successes,\\nbut the enemy arrived in great force, and the right and left were\\nattacked with tremendous vigor. The left became partially hemmed\\nin, and the right was driven in steadily. General retirement began\\nat about 11 in the forenoon, and was executed everywhere with\\ncoolness.\\nIt was a serious misfortune to the British that the Powerful s\\nbluejackets, with their big guns, were not summoned sooner, as the\\nresult of the engagement might have been different. Their third\\nshot with a 12-pounder, fired at i o clock in the afternoon, silenced\\nthe Boer 40-pounder.\\nScouting operations which were carried out disclosed the fact\\nthat several of the Boer s encampments, including that of General\\nLucas Meyer s column, from Dundee, lay behind Lombards and\\nBulwan Kops to the number of 7000 men, with two batteries.\\nAt daybreak General French, with 4000 men, prepared to\\nassault these positions with bayonet and lance, but was recalled.\\nThe Free Staters and Joubert s forces had joined hands to the south\\nof Modners Spruit and west of the railway. Their central position\\n20", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0391.jp2"}, "392": {"fulltext": "306 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nwas well selected from a tactical point of view, being upon rough\\nhills, south of Matawan s Hook.\\nThe Boers advanced in lines over a wide circuit of more than\\nten miles, extending from west of Acton Homes to east of Bulwan.\\nGeneral White detailed Major Adye with a mountain battery of\\ny-pounders and part of the Royal Irish Fusileers and the Glouces-\\ntershire Regiment to hold the neck of hills north of the old camp,\\nthus menacing the Free Staters line of retreat, and securing Lady-\\nsmith from a westerly attack.\\nGeneral Sir Archibald Hunter, with Colonel Grimwood, two\\nbatteries of artillery, the Leistershire and Liverpool Regiments and\\nthe First and Second Battalions of the Rifle Brigade, were sent to\\noperate against General Meyer.\\nIn passing beyond Lombard s and Bulwan Kops, unluckily one\\nbattery and the Liverpools lost their direction in advancing. They\\nretraced their steps, but were not able to render assistance in the\\naction until late.\\nHURRIED MANCEUVRES OF TROOPS.\\nThe remaining infantry brigades, Colonel Ian Hamilton s,\\ncomprising the Gordon Highlanders, the Devonshire Regiment, the\\nManchester Regiment and the Fourth Battalion of the Rifle Brigade,\\nand Colonel Howard s, consisting of the First and Second Battal-\\nions of the King s Royal Rifles, the Dublin Fusileers and six field\\nbatteries, were sent to the centre on the Newcastle roadway.\\nColonel Howard s brigde, being on the right, halted in the\\ndarkness behind a low kopje to the right of the roadway, about two\\nand a half miles out, the guns of Howard s men making a detour\\nby the right in order to turn what was thought to be the Boers left.\\nGeneral White sought to thrust forward his centre, while Major\\nAdye, on the left, and Colonel Grimwood, on the right, held the\\nlopposed commandoes in check.\\nMajor Adye, going on along Walker s Hook road, found a big\\nforce of Free Staters. The fighting soon grew desperate. An\\nexposed kopje, which was occupied, was at an early hour assailed\\non all sides, and their ammunition mules, with the Kaffir drivers,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0392.jp2"}, "393": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 307\\nstampeded. This was followed by the disaster reported in General\\nWhite s despatches, which gave a profound shock to the British peo-\\nple, who appeared to be looking for an uninterrupted series of\\nsuccesses against the Boers.\\nThe first shock of consternation over, the British Nation settled\\ndown to regard the situation in a calmer mood, and to this they\\nwere helped by the action of the government and all directly con-\\ncerned. Fully recognizing and appreciating the disaster the War\\nOffice, without waiting for the meeting of the Cabinet Council,\\nissued orders for the mobilization of three battalions of infantry\\nand a mounted battery, which were to be sent to South Africa as\\nsoon as possible.\\nFAULT OF THE COMMANDING GENERAL.\\nGeneral White, whose magnanimous assumption of the entire\\nresponsibility in his first dispatch commanded universal admiration,\\nsent a further dispatch, as we have seen, telling the tale in simple\\nbut somewhat reticent language. This in a measure relieved the\\ngloom, and in two respects gave a brighter view of the catastrophe.\\nIt now seemed that the full battalions were not engaged, thus\\nmaterially reducing the first estimate of the number of British pris-\\noners captured by the Boers.\\nIs is also pointed out that the disaster was not altogether the\\nconsequence of a tactical blunder, but was partly due to the unfore-\\nseen misfortune of the stampeding of the mules, which not only\\ndeprived the colums of their battery guns, but lost to the reserves\\na quantity of arms and ammunition.\\nIt was known that the British made a brave and stubborn\\nresistance to a foe overwhelmingly their numerical superior. When\\ntheir last cartridge was fired capitulation became a necessity. It\\nwas the almost incredible fact of a British regiment capitulating\\nwhile under fire which outraged public sentiment and made the\\ncatastrophe a harder one to bear. One day the British public was\\nin the depth of despondency; the next the people are comforting\\nthemselves in the belief that the Gloucesters and the Royal Irish\\nFusileers maintained their regimental traditions by exhibiting\\na courage and tenacity very rarely read of.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0393.jp2"}, "394": {"fulltext": "308 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nMilitary experts liere were unable to compreliend why Colonel\\nCarlton s command was unable to communicate in sucb a sore\\nstrait with tbe headquarters of General White, who was well pro-\\nvided with cavalry and mounted infantry. There were abundant\\nsignalers, and it is regarded as inexplicable that arrangements were\\nnot made for keeping up communication between the detachments\\nsent into an intricate and dangerous country and the main body. It\\nis generally hoped that the lesson of Boer tactics would not be.\\nthrown away, and that the public would not hear of other wild turn-\\ning movements attempted by small forces through such a country.\\nSHOCKED BY THE NEWS.\\nYet the first news produced an appalling effect, in part for the\\nreason that it was entirely unexpected. Awful British disaster\\nyelled the newsboys, and all London stayed its hurrying course and\\nread the urchins proffered wares. It was the hour when shoppers\\ncrowded Regent and Oxford streets and Piccadilly. Women stopped\\ntheir carriages in midstreet and hailed the hoarse-voiced boys. Out\\nof fashionable stores rushed other women, young and gray haired,\\nand joined the throng of rich and poor, many of whom had their\\nhearts and happiness bound up in those fighting at Ladysmith.\\nMany stood stock still in the crowded streets scanning the pages of\\nthe extras.\\nThen there was a rush to the War Of ce, which by noon was\\nsurrounded with private carriages and cabs, while many of the\\nhumbler class of people came on foot, all waiting and watching for\\nthe names they held dear.\\nAs the day advanced the throng at the War Of ce steadily\\ngrew. Anxious friends practically fought their way to the notice\\nboard, and most affecting scenes were witnessed. Many a woman\\nwas heard to gasp, Thank God, he s alive, at any rate! as she\\nfound the name of some beloved one on the list of prisoners. All\\nthe afternoon the sidewalks were packed with solid masses awaiting\\ntheir turn to enter, and up to a late hour in the evening there was\\na continuous stream of callers.\\nAt Gloucester, the home of many of those engaged, the wild-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0394.jp2"}, "395": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 309\\nest excitement prevailed. The special editions of the local news-\\npapers were speedily exhausted, and the same thing occurred at\\nBristol and other towns in that county. Coming so soon after the\\nengagement at Reitfontein, where the Gloucestershires suffered\\nheavily, the news brought the keenest sorrow to households all over\\nthe county, whose name the regiment bore.\\nThe disaster caused a feeling akin to consternation, and in\\nGloucestershire and the north of Ireland, where the captured\\nregiments were recruited, the blackest gloom prevailed, families\\nawaiting with beating hearts the names of the killed and wounded,\\nwhich were fully expected to reach a high figure. Many homes\\nwere already in mourning in consequence of losses sustained by\\nthese regiments in previous engagements.\\nDISASTROUS BRITISH LOSSES.\\nWhile minor reverses were not wholly unexpected, nothing like\\nthe staggering blow General Joubert delivered to General White s\\nforces was anticipated. The full extent of the disaster was not\\nacknowledged, if it was known, at the War Office. The loss in\\neffective men must have been appalling to a general who was prac-\\ntically surrounded. Two of the finest British regiments and a\\nmule battery deducted from the Ladysmith garrison weakened it\\nabout a fifth of its total strength and altered the whole situation\\nvery materially in favor of the Boers, who again showed themselves\\nstem fighters and military strategists of no mean order. The dis-\\naster cost the British from 1200 to 1500 men and six 7-pound screw\\nguns, and as the Boer artillery was already stronger than imagined,\\nthe capture of these guns was a great help to the Boers.\\nIt is evident that the patriotism and fortitude of the British\\nnation were to be tested in real earnest by these operations in Natal\\nagainst odds. General White had a difficult task set him, and it\\nsoon became evident the disaster would be taken with the dogged\\ncoolness which Britons know how to display, and the final result\\nwould be awaited without apprehension.\\nOne of the most influential journals of Canada commented as\\nfollows Great Britain is temporarily dismayed by the disaster at", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0395.jp2"}, "396": {"fulltext": "310 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nLadysmith, and from all parts of tlie empire come expressions of\\ndeep regret that the survivors of two grand regiments, which have\\nparticipated in many glorious victories in the past, are in the hands\\nof the enemy. It is feared that many of the brave soldiers have\\nbeen killed or wounded, and that when the truth is known the loss\\nof life will be appalling.\\nBRITON SHOULD NEVER SAY DIE.\\nIt would have been a lasting disgrace had the British soldiers\\nsurrendered to the Boers a Briton should never say die, but fight\\nuntil the bitter end. According to a late report from General White\\nthe regiments lost heavily in the encounter, and when their ammu-\\nnition was exhausted the survivors of the column fell into the\\nenemy s hands. The brave soldiers fought until the last shot\\nwas gone.\\nThough the disaster may mean a temporary check, and leave\\nLadysmith in danger, the British will proceed with the campaign,\\nmore determined than ever to conquer the Boers and place South\\nAfrica under British rule. Already the War Department is making\\narrano-ements to send forth regiments to take the places of the\\nGloucesters and Irish Fusileers, and there is talk of forming another\\narmy corps.\\nThe fighting qualities of the Boers and the skill of the\\no-enerals as military strategists must not be underestimated, and a\\nsufficient force should be sent to Africa to crush the enemy. It\\nmust be admitted, though regretfully, that the Boers outwitted the\\nBritish and laid a trap which they fell into. General White man-\\nfully accepts all responsibility for the disaster, and, while it is cer-\\ntain that somebody blundered, we must admire the general, who,\\nthough it means much to him and dims the glory of his past mili-\\ntary record, says, I alone am responsible. There is no quibbling\\nor attempt to shift the responsibility.\\nIt was feared that the loss of the regiments would weaken\\nGeneral White s position and that he would be unable to hold\\nLadysmith, but, according to later dispatches the War Department is\\nstill in communication with the British camp. The Boers shelled", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0396.jp2"}, "397": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. Sll\\nLadysmitli, but tlie British silenced their guns, and General White\\nis confident that he will be able to hold out.\\nIt has been suggested that Canada should send another con-\\ntingent to help the mother country. We think that at the present\\ntime the colonies should stand behind Great Britain and render all\\nassistance in their power. In a movement of this kind Canada\\nshould take the lead, and let Britain see that we are with her, and\\nthat if another contingent is required it will be sent without delay.\\nThe government should certainly volunteer to raise another\\ncontingent, and let the colonial office decide whether or not they are\\nneeded. Great Britain, however, seems able to cope with the occa-\\nsion, and though the disaster is a great one, many brave soldiers\\nbeing lost, and sorrow brought to many homes, the grand old nation\\nwill soon recover and bring the Boers to terms. Yet we think the\\noflfer of another contingent should be made. Young Canadians will\\ngladly volunteer their services to the mother country.\\nON MANY A HARD-FOUGHT FIELD.\\nThe Gloucestershire Regiment, the first battalion of which\\ncapitulated at Ladysmith, was formerly the Twenty-eighth North\\nGloucester. The colors bear the following magnificent list of\\nhonors: Ramilies, Louisburg, Quebec (1759), Egypt (with the\\nsphinx), Maida, Corunna, Talavera, Barossa, Alburhera, Salamanca,\\nVittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nives, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula,\\nWaterloo, Punjab, Chilli an wallah, Goojerat, Alma, Inkerman,\\nSebastopol, Delhi. The regiment raised in 1694 has been prac-\\ntically in existence ever since. One detachment was on garrison\\nduty in Newfoundland in 1868.\\nThe regiment was reorganized in 1702 and took part in the\\ncampaigns in the Low Countries, and in Spain from 1704 to 1709.\\nIn the Vigo expedition of 17 19 the Gloucestershires went to the\\nfore. Later in the campaign in Flanders the regiment added greatly\\nto its reputation by the gallant bearing in the fearful battle of\\nFontenoy and other bloody fights of that campaign. Coming to\\nthis side of the water in 1757 it fought at Louisburg, Cape Bretan\\nand Quebec.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0397.jp2"}, "398": {"fulltext": "312 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\nThe immortal General Wolfe received his death wound while\\nmarching at the head of this regiment on the Plains of Abraham.\\nThe regiment afterwards took part in the defense of Quebec against\\nthe French besiegers. In 1762 the Gloucestershires participated in\\nthe capture of Martinique and Havana, and later fought through\\nthe American war of independence, where the desperate valor of\\nofficers and men in many of the fierce struggles aroused the admir-\\nation even of Britain s enemies. The years of 1778 to 1794 pro-\\nvided the regiment with much active service in the West Indies and\\nFlanders. In 1798 it was part of the force which captured Minorca,\\nand in 1800 formed part of the expedition which demonstrated\\nagainst Cadiz.\\nTHE FAR-FAMED GLOUCESTERSHIRES.\\nUnder Sir Ralph Abercromby the regiment fought in Egypt in\\n1801, and in 1805-1807 was engaged in the campaign in Holland.\\nIn 1808 the Gloucestershire Regiment took part in Sir John Moore s\\nexpedition to Portugal. Throughout Wellington s campaigns in\\nPortugal and Spain the regiment fought, adding laurels to its record\\non many a hotly contested field and participating in the crowning\\nbattles and triumphs of Ouatre Bras and Waterloo. The Crimean\\nwar furnished the regiment with stirring service, as did also the\\nIndian mutiny.\\nThe Princess Victoria s Royal Irish Fusileers, late Eighty-\\nseventh and Eighty-ninth foot regiments, is one of the finest regi-\\nments in the British army. The first battalion, the one which\\ncapitulated, was raised in 1793, and, strange to say, within two\\nyears of its organization, had an almost similar experience to that\\nwhich befell it at Ladysmith. In the year 1795, during the cam-\\npaign in Flanders against the French, it formed part of the garri-\\nson of Bergen-op-Zoom. The Dutch troops of the garrison betrayed\\ntheir trust, threw open the gates and the Irish battalion had no\\nother recourse than surrender. In 1796, prisoners having been\\nexchanged, the battalion proceeded to the West Indies with the ex-\\npedition under Sir Ralph Abercromby, and the following year took\\npart in the Porto Rico campaign. The interval between 1797 and", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0398.jp2"}, "399": {"fulltext": "THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH. 313\\ni8io was a quiet one, but in the last-named year the battalion was\\npresent at the capture of Mauritius, and was stationed there until\\n1814.\\nIts next active service was in India in the Nepaul campaign of\\n1816. The Burmese war of 1826 furnished considerable hard cam-\\npaigning for the battalion. Throughout the Indian mutiny, 1857-\\n1859, the first battalion was to the fore in many a bloody fight. Its\\nlast active service previous to being ordered to South Africa was in\\nthe Egyptian war of 1882. The battalion was stationed at Halifax,\\nN. S., from 1872 to 1876.\\nThe second battalion of the regiment, raised in 1804, takes the\\nplace of the Eighty-ninth foot, a regiment raised in 1804 and dis-\\nbanded in 18 1 7, after distinguished service in the Egyptian expedi-\\ntion, the Peninsula and the American war, 18 12-13. This battalion\\nalso has a good fighting record, as the following brief summary\\nshows: 1818, Mahratta war 1824, Burmese war; 1856-57, South\\nAfrican; 1857-59, Indian mutiny; 1884, Soudan.\\nSTANDARDS WREATHED WITH HONORS.\\nThis battalion was stationed at Quebec, Montreal and Toronto\\nfor several years from 1841. As stated, the second battalion took\\nthe place of the old Eighty-ninth foot. The regimental standards\\nbear the following honors, which include those gained by the old\\nEighty-ninth foot and the first and second battalions of the regi-\\nment Egypt (with the sphinx) Montevideo, Talavera, Barossa,\\nTarifia, Java, Vittoria, Nivelle, Niagara, Orthes, Toulouse, Penin-\\nsula, Ava, Sebastopol, Egypt (1882-84), Tel-el- Kebir.\\nThe Tenth Mountain Battery forms a part of a comparatively\\nrecently organized branch of the royal artillery. This is a branch\\nof the army that has been represented in every battle in the annals\\nof the British history since Crecy, where the cannon of the time\\nwere scorned alike by friend and foe. It is now, however, admittedly\\nthe finest branch of the service, and one which has frequently\\naroused the admiration and envy of foreign military critics. The\\nstory of its record in active warfare would fill a bulky volume.\\nBritish enthusiasm over the war was shown in the grand fare-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0399.jp2"}, "400": {"fulltext": "314 THUNDER OF ARTILLERY AROUND LADYSMITH.\\n1\\nwell given tlie Guards on their departure from London for South-\\nampton, where they embarked for the Cape. Three battalions, the\\nFirst Scots, the Second Coldstreams and the Third Grenadiers, left.\\nThe Scots marched to Waterloo Station at 7 o clock in the morning.\\nThe fact that the day was raw and foggy did not deter a large crowd\\nfrom assembling at Chelsea Barracks at 6 o clock, and when the\\ndetachment wheeled out of the barrack gates the people cheered till\\nthey were hoarse. fl{\\nAlong the whole route a lusty ovation awaited the troops, the\\nspectators including the wives and sweethearts of the men. Before\\nmany yards were covered, ranks were broken and the women\\nlinked arms with the soldiers, who were carried along in the surg-\\ning, singing crowd to the station, where an immense concourse was\\nwaiting to give them a tremendous reception.\\nFriends grasped the rifles and kits of the troops and insisted\\non carrying them. The men marched to the platform singing,\\nwhile the band played Scotch airs, in which the crowd, that was not\\nallowed to go upon the platform, joined. All united in Auld\\nLang Syne as the train steamed out of the station.\\nThe Second Coldstreams marched to Nine Elms Station, amid\\nsimilar enthusiasm and many affecting scenes. The officers allowed\\nthe women to mix freely with the men on the line of march and\\nbefore they entered the station.\\nCrowds assembled also near the Wellington Barracks, from\\nwhich the Grenadier Guards emerged, after an inspection in the\\nbarrack yard by General Sir Evelyn Wood, who complimented the\\nmen on their smart appearance in their khaki helmets and red field\\ntunics. The march to Waterloo Station was a triumphal progress.\\nIf possible, their departure evoked more enthusiosm than did\\nthat of the Scots and Coldstreams. Friends and relatives marched\\nwith them, and soldiers and spectators joined in songs, which were\\nfrequently drowned by hurricanes of cheers as the troops passed\\npoints where the crowds were massed. At times they had difficulty\\nto get through, the people seeming to wish to carry them to the sta-\\ntion on their shoulders. Cheers shook the building as the trains\\nsteamed out, the troops responding lustily.\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0400.jp2"}, "401": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XX.\\nBritish Victories in the Western Campaign.\\n(ARLY in November Cecil Rhodes declared Kimberley was safe\\nas Piccadilly. He referred to one of the famous thorough-\\nfares of London, and his statement meant that in his estima-\\ntion, the diamond town had no reason to fear it would be captured.\\nThe defenders were proving their ability to hold the Boers at bay.\\nAll the information from the great diamond mining centre con-\\nfirmed the view that the town was safe. It appears that defense\\nagainst a Boer investment of Kimberley in the event of war had,\\neven as far back as July, gone beyond mere discussion and was\\nthen in actual process of preparation.\\nWith such men as Cecil Rhodes and Gardner Williams, of\\nCalifornia, manager of the diamond mines, to manage its defense,\\neven without the assistance of British troops, the capture of Kim-\\nberley would have been a most hazardous and diffcult task. Shortly\\nbefore the war broke out half a battalion of the Royal North\\nLancashire Regiment was sent up to Kimberley from Cape Town\\nto serve as a stiffening for the local troops, who were stated to\\nnumber at least 2000 and perhaps as many as 3000 men, including\\na cyclist corps.\\nThe local forces comprised the Kimberley Regiment, a town\\nguard under the command of Major Frazer, the Diamond Fields\\nArtillery and a corps recruited from employes of the De Beers mine.\\nThese latter had a Maxim all to themselves, and altogether Lieu-\\ntenant-Colonel R. G. Kekewich had about twenty field and machine\\nguns at his disposal.\\nColonel Kekewich was considered one of the cleverest officers\\ncommanding regiments. He served in Bgypt from 1884 to 1890,\\nand was very popular there. He was specially promoted as a major\\nin the Royal Inniskillin Fusileers, and was given command of the\\nRoyal North Lancashire Regiment in 1898. He saw service in the\\n315", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0401.jp2"}, "402": {"fulltext": "316 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\nPerak and Soudanese expeditions, and was military secretary to\\ntwo commanders-in-cliief in Madras. His experience, therefore,\\nwas ample.\\nKimberley, whicli was defended by tHe force under Colonel\\nKekewich, is situated on a plateau, and is four miles from the\\nOrange Free State and 647 miles from Cape Town. There are no\\nnatural features around the City of Diamonds that would assist\\nin its fortification, but mounds of earth thrown up by the miners\\nwere of service in sheltering the British troops from the Boer forces.\\nElectric searchlights, which are part of the mines equipment, made\\na night surprise by the Boers very difficult.\\nSEARCHLIGHTS AND STRONG DEFENSES.\\nKimberley tested the searchlights and found them satisfactory\\nIt also tested the defenses of the town through the medium of sham\\nattacks directed by Major Hore, commanding the Protectorate Regi-\\nment, and felt that it was safe against the Boer besiegers, although\\nthe Transvaal forces were said to largely outnumber the garrison.\\nBoys in Kimberley were infected with the enthusiasm which\\ndominated the town, and a cadet corps of lads from fourteen to six-\\nteen years old did orderly duty in the invested city, which has a\\npopulation of 10,000 persons.\\nColonel Kekewich erected a new signalling station on the top\\nof a conning tower 130 feet above the level of the road, and from\\nthis the movements of the enemy could be clearly discerned. The\\nstation had telephone connection with headquarters in the town.\\nTests of the value of this station were made both day and night,\\nand added to the confidence inspired by the presence of Cecil Rhodes.\\nWhen the war broke out the little town of Mafeking, in British\\nBechuanaland, was practicall}^ defenseless, but soon the place was\\nmore or less protected by sandbags and hastily-thrown-up earth-\\nworks. But Mafeking lies entirely in the open plain, which is as\\nflat as a pancake. A few isolated hills and ant-heaps, and here and\\nthere a clump of bushes under three feet high these are the only\\nthings that break the monotony of the landscape.\\nThe high plain runs right away to the far-distant sky line, and\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0402.jp2"}, "403": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES. 317\\nonly a few scattered shanties mark tlie line of railway. If tlie\\ntraveller were adventurous enougH to travel by tlie tlirougli express\\nfrom Cape Town to Bulawayo, away up in far Rhodesia, he would\\nfind Mafeking practically half-way between the two. This railway,\\nby the way, is the main Cape to Cairo route and will one day carry\\nthe globe trotter right through Africa from end to end.\\nIMPORTANT TRADING STATION.\\nThere is nothing palatial about Mafeking. Normally, it is a\\nsimple little township of a few hundred souls. Primarily, it is a\\ntrading station with. the far north, and there are many stores of\\ngreater or less importance. Grain, forage, tinned goods, saddles,\\nrifles, ammunition, and even furniture, can be bought there. In the\\ncentre of the Main street is the market-place, surrounded by\\ngalvanized-iron houses and stores, each with its little raised veran-\\ndah painted green and white, and many of the more miscellaneous\\nshops bearing wild Indian names. For the enterprising Mahom-\\nmedan trader has found his way throughout South Africa and com-\\npetes very keenly and successfully with the white man.\\nThe main street of Mafeking is a long, wide and straggling\\nthoroughfare with native trees, eucalyptus and diminutive oaks at\\nintervals. The houses all stand in little plots of ground, and there\\nare attempts at cultivation here and there of a few sunflowers or a\\npotato patch or a hanging trail of the grenadilla or passion flower\\nfruit. There is a church, a club, a prison and Salvation Army bar-\\nracks. A good deal of horse buying and selling takes place at\\nMafeking. It is rather a centre market for the surrounding farm-\\ners, which are mostly Boers, who bring in ugly-looking, but very\\nuseful, nags to the weekly auctions on the market-place. A good\\nhorse may often be picked up (in times of peace, of course) for from\\nthirty to forty dollars, and though he may be an ugly animal to look\\nat, he can do almost anything that is asked of him, and will outlast\\nmany a handsome-looking animal.\\nColonel Baden-Powell, that veteran South African warrior, was\\nplaced in command of an irregular, but wholly reliable, force of some\\n600 men encamped at Mafeking. This did not include the regulars", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0403.jp2"}, "404": {"fulltext": "318 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\nwliicli were sent to him since the hostilities began. He is an excel-\\nlent officer, a good sportsman, an inimitable entertainer and a bit of\\na literary character to boot. m\\\\\\nHe went through the Matabele war and gained experience,\\nhonor and no wounds. In some way he seems to bear a charmed\\nlife, because he is a reckless sort of fellow and fears no danger.\\nHe also has a quite remarkable gift of locality, that is to say, he is\\nable by some extraordinary instinct to find his way about a totally\\nunexplored country and always turn up just where he wants to, or\\nthereabouts. He shot big game wherever big game was to be shot,\\nand then came home quietly and wrote books about it. He is a\\nclever actor and musical entertainer.\\nRAILROAD BRIDGE STRONGLY GUARDED.\\nThe railway bridge near Mafeking was built over the Moloppo\\nRiver, which runs east and west a quarter of a mile from the town,\\nand in view of its being easily blown up by the Boers, Baden-Powell\\nkept strict watch on it. The railway is the property of the Cape\\nGovernment. It is pretty fairly run. The fares are terribly high,\\nbut, of course, that is inevitable in a new country. The officials are\\nmostly ex-English railway officials, and are uniformly polite a\\ngreat contrast to the railway servants on the Dutch lines.\\nThe Boers began a bombardment of Mafeking at twenty min-\\nutes of 8 o clock in the morning of October 23d, at a range of two\\nmiles and a half, their battery of three Krupp guns throwing\\n7-pound, 9-pound and 12-pound explosive shells. At the outset the\\nfiring was erratic, but ultimately the Boers got the range and sent\\na number of shells into the town. Comparatively little damage\\nwas done, a convent, which had been converted into a hospital,\\nbeing the chief sufferer. This building was struck thrice.\\nApparently the Boer ammunition was inferior. No casualties\\nwere sustained by the British, and only one shot was returned.\\nThis, however, was so well directed as to disable one of the enemy s\\nguns. After three hours the Boers sent an envoy to ask the town\\nto prepare for surrender. Colonel Baden-Powell replied in the nega-\\ntive. The shelling was not resumed.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0404.jp2"}, "405": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES 319\\nTlie tlirillmg story of tlie siege of Mafeking reached London\\nby a circnitious route north, of the Transvaal border. It contained\\nmany interesting incidents. Colonel Baden-Powell provided subter-\\nraneous shelter-places where the troops and civilians could take\\nrefuge while the shells were bursting. These were very effective in\\npreventing casualties.\\nThe Boers tried to get within rifle range under cover of the\\nfire of their guns, but were beaten off after a spirited engagement\\non all sides of the town. Both civilians and soldiers stood up\\nsplendidly and administered a warning to the Boers against coming\\nto close quarters. In consequence of the fight, General Cronje fell\\nback on his old tactics, to advance by a succession of trenches.\\nThis move had been anticipated. The British sent out parties\\nincessantly to worry the Boers by night attacks.\\nBOERS BAYONETED IN THEIR TRENCHES.\\nColonel Baden-Powell employed clever tactics in sending out\\nCaptain Fitz Clarence s squadron of the Protectorate Regiment to\\nworry the occupants of the trenches, and the little force stole out\\nsilently in the darkness. Not a shot was fired. The men, with\\nbayonets fixed, creeping rather than walking along the ground,\\ngradually approached the chief Boer position near the race-course.\\nAs they closed in there was a shrill screech. It was Fitz\\nClarence s whistle, the signal for the onslaught. A ringing British\\ncheer which the listeners back in the camp caught up was the\\nresponse as the party dashed into the trenches. It was a fearful\\nstruggle. The attacking forces bayoneted the Boers under tarpau-\\nlins where they crouched. At least fifty bayonets got in their work.\\nFor just a moment there was no systematic resistence. Then a\\nperfect hailstorm of bullets poured from the trenches to the rear.\\nAgain Fitz Clarence s whistle sounded. It was Cease firing\\nscatter homeward. The forces scattered silently, creeping back\\nunder the furious fire in the darkness to the appointed rendezvous,\\nwhere a roll-call showed the British losses six killed, one missing\\nand eleven wounded. But these came back. The British left no\\nwounded man on the field.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0405.jp2"}, "406": {"fulltext": "S20 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\nAnother thrilling episode occurred the next afternoon. A cor-\\nporal and six men of the Protectorate Regiment went to get their\\nkits, which they had left on the retirement of the troops to the town.\\nThe position was held by the Boers, but the men opened fire and\\ngradually drove too of the enemy pellmell to their entrenchments,\\nfrom which a heavy rifle fire silenced the little party, who crawled\\nback to town.\\nBaden-Powell s defense scheme was a sound one. All fire was\\nreserved till the Boers got within 500 j^ards range during daylight.\\nAt night he constantly worried them. Life at IMafeking was dreary\\nand unprofitable. Everybody was fearing that in the general advance\\non Pretoria from Natal, the garrison would be cooped up there.\\nGeneral Cronje sent a flag of truce, giving Maf eking a last chance\\nto surrender at the eleventh hour.\\nMAFEKING WOULD NOT SURRENDER.\\nThe battlefield resembled a shambles after the Boers final\\nassault, above described, showing what a desperate struggle had\\ngone on. All the men were killed by bullets or shells. A look-\\nout tower was shot to pieces. Nearly the whole place was simply\\nsmashed up by a concentrated fire of seven guns and 1000 rifles.\\nThe Boers at first held on pluckily, but lost heavily when they\\ncame within short range, men being shot down at a distance of 300\\nyards, and Mafeking still held out, with no thought of surrendering.\\nStirring and important news, on November 24th, from the\\nwestern frontier. Along with the announcement that a strong\\nposition of the Boers had been carried at the point of the bayonet,\\ncame the suggestive news of burghers leaving Natal for the capital\\nof the Free State, a pretty clear indication that they foresaw the\\nplan of campaign. An official telegram from Lord Methuen, in\\ncommand of the column marching northward to the relief of Kim-\\nberley, stated that at daybreak on the 23d he took the Boer position\\nat Belmont, some fifty-six miles south of Kimberley.\\nThe infantry behaved with great gallantry, and was well sup-\\nported by the naval brigade. The British losses were considerable,\\nwhile those of the enemy were heavy. The British troops carriec", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0406.jp2"}, "407": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES. 321\\nthe position at tlie point of the bayonet. The third battalion of the\\nGrenadier Guards suffered most severely, one of their officers,\\nLieutenant Fryer, being killed and eight others wounded. The\\nBritish total casualties were 223 in killed, wounded and missing.\\nIt is evident that the action was of a pretty severe character.\\nOur victory is complete, said Lord Methuen, in giving an\\naccount of the engagement.\\nHis official dispatch was as follows Attacked the enemy at\\ndaybreak. He was in strong position. Three ridges were carried\\nin succession, the last attack being supported by shrapnel. Infantry\\nbehaved splendidly, and received support from the naval brigade\\nand artillery. The enemy fought with courage and skill. Had I\\nattacked later I should have had far heavier losses. Our victory was\\ncomplete. Have taken forty prisoners. Am burying a good num-\\nber of the Boers, but the greater part of the enemy s killed and\\nwounded were removed by their comrades. Have captured a large\\nnumber of horses and cows and destroyed a large quantity of\\nammunition.\\nBOER GUNS QUICKLY SILENCED.\\nFrom later details of General Methuen s fight with the Boers\\nat Belmont it appears that Boers from Finchams Farm shelled an\\nadvance body of the British, and the British artillery was pushed\\nforward and shelled a hill, which the British subsequently occu-\\npied, capturing two guns. The Boer casualties were thirty men\\nkilled and wounded.\\nThe Boer main column left Finchams Farm during the after-\\nnoon and camped five miles ahead. At daybreak on the 23d the\\nBoers fired from the hills, 1000 yards distant, on the British advan-ce\\nforce. Other troops were then pushed up, and the engagement be-\\ncame general. The British artillery made an excellent showing\\nand silenced the Boer guns.\\nThen two battalions of the Grenadier Guards and the North-\\numberland Regiment stormed the heights at the point of the bayo-\\nnet. Crossing the fire zone amidst a storm of lead, the Guards and\\nthe Northumberlands pushed up the incline and reached the summit.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0407.jp2"}, "408": {"fulltext": "322 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\ndoing great execution with their bayonets, and capturing the en-\\ncampment, with guns, equipment, prisoners, cattle and sheep. The\\nentire position was carried, the cavalry, consisting of the Ninth\\nLancers and mounted infantry, pursuing the flying Boers.\\nGeneral Methuen s force numbered 7000 men and the Boers\\nhad 5000 men. The latter held an exceedingly strong position on a\\nseries of hills, extending a dozen miles. They were strongly en-\\ntrenched, and their cannon were posted advantageously, and were\\nexcellently served. The battle began at 7 o clock, and raged for\\nseveral hours. The Boers held their positions with great stubborn-\\nness and splendid courage. The British riflemen forced the attack\\nunder a raking fire, and carried position after position with superb\\ndash, driving the Boers with great slaughter. The engagement was\\nreally a series of battles, during which the Boers were constantly\\ncarrying off their dead and wounded.\\nPRISONERS AND WOUNDED.\\nThe War Office issued the following advices on the 24th\\nGeneral Methuen further reports that the wounded are doing well.\\nThere are over fifty prisoners, including a German commandant\\nand six field cornets. Nineteen of these prisoners are wounded.\\nThe prisoners say that yesterday s attack was a surprise, and it\\nis the only beating they have had. A large amount of correspond-\\nence has been secured.\\nIt seems that the entire Western Division moved on the Orange\\nRiver and bivouacked at Witteputs. Two companies of mounted\\ninfantry and a detachment of lancers were sent to hold Thomas\\nFarm. Their pickets prevented the Boers from advancing. The\\nBoers fired cannon, and the British artillery arrived on the scene\\nand silenced the Boers fire. At two in the morning the Guards\\nBrigade moved steadily forward to a hill a few miles east of Belmont\\nStation. The Scots and Grenadiers advanced to within fifty yards\\nof the base, when the Boers poured in a scathing fire, staggering\\nthe Guards momentarily. But, quickly recovering, they returned a\\ndeadly hail into the Boers. The duel was continued for half an\\nhour. When the artillery commenced the Boers evacuated their", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0408.jp2"}, "409": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES. 323\\nfront position, and tlie Scots Guards rushed the hill with the bayo-\\nnet, amid lusty cheers.\\nThe Ninth Brigade then moved forward in extended order, and\\nthe Boers started a terrible cross-fire from the surrounding hills.\\nThe Coldstreams, supported by the Scots, Grenadiers, Northumber--\\nlands and Northamptons, stormed the second position in the face of\\na constant and effective Boer fire. The Ninth Brigade then ad-\\nvanced the artillery, in the meantime maintaining excellent practice.\\nThe British infantry never wavered, and when a tremendous cheer\\nnotified them of the charge the Boers fled and succeeded in gaining\\na ridge of hills in the rear, in spite of the Lancers flanking\\nmovement.\\nHOT PURSUIT BY BRITISH CAVALRY.\\nThe infantry again gallantly faced the fire, and the naval\\nbrigade came into action for the first time, at a range of 1800 yards.\\nThe infantry was well supported by the artillery, and the Boers,\\nunable to withstand the death-dealing volleys, retired, and were\\nagain forced to abandon some minor positions. The British cavalry\\ncharged the Boers and pursued them for five miles. Possession was\\ntaken of the Boer encampment, and the Boer stores were destroyed.\\nThe Boers hoisted a white flag over their second position,\\nwhereupon Lieutenant Willoughby, of the Coldstream Guards, stood\\nup, and was immediately shot down. The Boers twice repeated the\\nsame tactics.\\nThe following graphic description of the fight at Belmont is\\nfrom an eye-witness General Methuen s superb force attacked a\\ncommando of 4000 Boers in a position which the British troops\\nwould hold against almost any force. The Boers, shielded by\\nboulders, held the crests of four rocky hills with dauntless courage.\\nThe men of the King s Own, Yorkshire Light Infanty, First\\nNorthumberland Fusileers, the Northamptonshires and a battalion\\neach of the Scots Guards, Grenadiers and Coldstreams, threw them-\\nselves like so many onrushing billows against the hills, poured up\\nand finally flowed over them. Splendid assistance was given by the\\nNaval Brigade and the field artillery, although the infantry occupied", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0409.jp2"}, "410": {"fulltext": "324 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\nmany of the best positions before their guns could be brought into\\nplay.\\nOur victory is complete. The enemy were put to flight and\\ntheir fortified encampment destroyed, but only after three hours of\\nincessant rifle fire, by which the rocky field of combat was pelted as\\nif by hail. The Grenadiers suffered badly, their losses reaching\\nnearly half of the total casualties.\\nADVANCING THROUGH A STORM OF BULLETS.\\nThe whole force of the fearful fight was borne by the infantry,\\nwho had to climb upward 500 feet, straight into a terrific stream of\\nmissiles. The Ninth Lancers pursued with great vigor, but the\\nBoers, being well mounted and familiar with the hills, melted before\\nthem. Possibly, though, the victory would have been more decisive\\nhad we had more cavalry.\\nGeneral Methuen s column continued to encounter opposition\\nas it pushed forward with all possible speed to raise the siege of\\nKimberley. On Saturday, November 25th, he moved at 3.30 a.m.,\\nwith the Ninth Brigade, the Mounted Corps, the Naval Brigade and\\ntwo batteries, the Guards following with the baggage. Near Gras\\nPan (about ten miles north of Belmont, on the railway line to Kim-\\nberly) 2500 Boers, with six guns and two machine guns, opposed\\nhim. The action began at 6 a.m. The British batteries fired shrap-\\nnel very accurately till the heights seemed clear.\\nThen the Naval Brigade and infantry advanced to the assault.\\nThe fighting was desperate until 10 A.M., when the heights were\\ngained. The Boers retreated on the line where the Ninth Lancers\\nwere placed to intercept them. The artillery took immediate advan-\\ntage of the enemy s retirement.\\nEarly in the action 500 Boers attacked the British rear-guard.\\nThe brigade met this and also protected the flanks. The Naval\\nBrigade acted with conspicuous gallantry and suffered heavily. The\\nBoers showed the greatest stubbornness and met with heavy losses.\\nMore than fifty horses were found dead in one place. One battery\\nfired 500 rounds. The British troops worked splendidly, and were\\nprepared to overcome any dif culty. The Naval Brigade, the Royal", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0410.jp2"}, "411": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES. 325\\nMarines, tlie Light Infantry and the First Battalion of the North\\nLancashire Regiment especially distinguished themselves.\\nAnother battle, fierce and bloody, was fought on the Modder\\nRiver by General Methnen on November 28th. The story is told in\\nhis own brief dispatch, as follows Reconnoitered at 5 A. m.\\nenemy s position on Modder River and found them strongly en-\\ntrenched and concealed. No means of outflanking, the river being\\nfull. Action commenced with artillery, mounted infantry and\\ncavalry, at 5.30. Guard on right, Ninth Brigade on left, attacked\\nposition in widely extended formation at 6.30, and, supported by the\\nartillery, found themselves in front of the whole Boer force, 8000\\nstrong, with two large guns, four Krupps, etc. The Naval Brigade\\nrendered great assistance from the railway.\\nDESPERATE FIGHTING FOR TEN HOURS.\\nAfter desperate, hard fighting, which lasted ten hours, our\\nmen, without water or food, and in the burning sun, made the\\nenemy quit his position. General Pole-Carew was successful in\\ngetting a small party across the river, gallantly assisted by 300\\nSappers. I speak in terms of high praise of the conduct of all who\\nwere engaged in one of the hardest and most trying fights in the\\nannals of the British army. If I can mention one arm particularly,\\nit is two batteries of artillery.\\nGeneral Methuen s dispatch to the Queen after the battle of\\nModder River, said The battle was the bloodiest of the century.\\nThe British shelled the enemy out of the trenches and then charged.\\nThe result was terrible.\\nGeneral Methuen s advance from the Orange River was a most\\nnotable achievement. In the course of a week he marched his\\ncolumn nearly fifty miles, fought three battles and won three\\nvictories. The fight at Belmont was fierce enough, with its deplor-\\nable loss to the Guards. The engagement at Bnslin or Gras Pan\\nhad melancholy notoriety for the terrible execution wrought among\\nthe naval brigade, but the Modder River battle was the hardest\\nfought and bloodiest of the three.\\nThis combat, which was waged under great difficulties by the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0411.jp2"}, "412": {"fulltext": "326 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\nBritisli troops, and for many hours was carried on with great deter-\\nmination against a strongly entrenched enemy, possessed features\\nwhich will make it live in military history. After Saturday s battle\\nat Gras Pan General Methuen s force rested on Sunday. It advanced\\nfifteen miles northward on Monday, and at night the column found\\nitself close to the Modder River and confronted by a Boer army of\\n8000 men strongly entrenched.\\nEarly Tuesday morning the attack began. The Boers were\\nposted on the north side of the Modder River, which was running\\nat full flood. The British attacked from the south side. As there\\nwas no opportunity for outflanking the enemy s position owing to\\nthe high river, they made a frontal attack and forced the Boers to\\nquit their position by the superiority of their artillery and rifle fire,\\nthe retirement being accelerated by the fact that General Pole-Carew,\\nlate in the engagement, had succeeded in getting across the river\\nwith a force. No pursuit of the Boers was possible.\\nCONGRATULATIONS FROM THE GENERAL.\\nThat General Methuen expected dogged resistance on his\\nnorthward march is shown by the speech which he made to his\\ntroops after the battle of Gras Pan. After reading a telegram from\\nSir Alfred Milner, congratulating the troops and sympathizing with\\nthe w^ounded, General Methuen personally congratulated the troops\\non the work done, and expressed appreciation of the way in which\\nthey had endured the hardships.\\nThe work, he said, was the most severe encountered by the\\nBritish Army for many a long day. They had in front of them,\\nhe added, an enemy to whom they could not afford to give a single\\npoint. Their tactics had been excellent, and he recognized and\\nadmired their courage. General Methuen added that when called\\nupon to fight for his country he preferred to fight a foe worthy of its\\nsteel rather than savages, whose sole recommendation was bravery.\\nHe then expressed the hope that he and his men had gained\\neach other s confidence, and would all do their duty to their\\ncountry, as Englishmen should. General Metheun described as\\ndastardly the conduct of the Boers in firing on ambulance wag-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0412.jp2"}, "413": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES. 327\\nons, tlie shooting of a British officer by a wounded Boer, and the\\nBoers use of dum-dum bullets. But he refused to believe that\\nthese acts were characteristic of the Boers. He gave them credit\\nuntil convinced to the contrary, that they, like the British, wished\\nto fight fair and square.\\nFIERCE BATTLE OF MODDER RIVER.\\nUnder date of November 30th, one of our American newspapers\\ncommented as follows\\nLord Methuen appears to have won at Modder River the\\nmost important battle thus far of the war. It plainly outranks\\nGlencoe, Blandslaagte and the battles around Lady smith in point of\\nnumbers engaged and losses sustained on both sides. It certainly\\nsurpasses them in importance of results. For they were followed\\nby retreat and confinement within besieged Lady smith, while this\\nopens the way for further advance toward Kimberley, and goes far\\nto assure the relief of that city from the state of siege it has long\\nendured.\\nLord Methuen has certainly made good progress. He is more\\nthan 600 miles from Cape Town, fifty miles beyond the Orange\\nRiver and about twenty miles from Kimberley. The successive\\npoints taken by him after crossing the Orange River are Belmont,\\nGras Pan, Honey Nest and Modder River, where there is an\\ninsignificant village and railroad station at the junction of a small\\nstream of the same name with the scarcely larger Riet River.\\nBeyond it the stations and villages are closer together Merton,\\nSpytfontein, Wimbledon then the considerable town of Beacons-\\nfield, which is practically a suburb of Kimberley, with 10,000 inhab-\\nitants and containing the Du Toit s Pan and Bulfonteiu diamond\\nmines and then Kimberley itself.\\nIt is understood that Beaconsfield is still in British posses-\\nsion, standing siege along with Kimberley and defended by the\\nsame general force. The railroad from Modder River to Beacons-\\nfield is not in a condition to be used. That does not matter, how-\\never, as the distance is so short and as there is a good road running\\nparallel with the railroad just to the east of it.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0413.jp2"}, "414": {"fulltext": "828 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\nWlietlier a clearing of the line to Mafeking, or even to Bula-\\nwayo, is the sole mission of this daring and masterful commander\\nis, however, an open question. Some reinforcements are on their\\nway up to join him. It will not escape notice that he is not only\\nnearest of all British commanders to Bloemfontein, but nearest to\\nPretoria, too. And he is on the most direct road thither we might\\nsay almost the only practicable road. For an advance across the\\nDrakensberg from Natal would be most difficult. One from Coles-\\nberg by way of Norval s Pont and Bloemfontein would be easy if\\nthe railroad were to be utilized.\\nLONG AND DIFFICULT MARCH.\\nBut the Boers will make sure that the railroad shall not be\\nutilized. In that case the march from the Orange River would be\\nmuch longer and more difficult than from the western border.\\nThere is no good wagon road running directly from the Orange\\nRiver to Bloemfontein, and none from Bloemfontein to Pretoria.\\nBut from Kimberley there is a fine great highway running parallel\\nwith the Vaal River and leading right up to Johannesburg and\\nPretoria, and there is another, and not a long one, from Mafeking.\\nThus Lord Methuen s army was the advance guard of the\\nwhole movement upon the Boer States, and to him was intrusted\\nthe coveted task of leading the invasion. He was known to be a\\nbrave commander, fertile in resources, courageous in the face of the\\nenemy, equipped with long experience and heroic fortitude, and\\nnothing was felt to be wanting to insure complete success in the\\nendeavor to raise the siege of Kimberley.\\nA detailed account of the hard fight at Modder River is fur-\\nnished by an eye-witness of that terrible battle\\nThe severest engagement our column has yet had, and\\nprobably the severest of the whole campaign, was fought November\\n28th. The battle was waged fiercely for nearly fourteen hours. The\\nenemy occupied a strongly entrenched position, their front extend-\\ning five miles along the bank of the stream. They were well\\nsupplied with artillery, and fought desperately.\\nOur force consisted of the second battalion of the Coldstream", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0414.jp2"}, "415": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES. 329\\nGuards, tlie first battalion of the Scots Guards, tlie third battalion\\nof the Grenadier Guards, the first battalion of the Northumberland\\nFusileers, the second battalion of the Yorkshire Light Infantry\\n(the King s Own), a part of the first battalion of the Loyal North\\nLancashire Regiment, the Ninth Lancers, the mounted infantry,\\nthree batteries of field artillery and the first battalion of the Argyll\\nand Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise s).\\nAN AW^FUL HAIL OF BULLETS.\\nThe latter reinforced us from General Wauchope s brigade,\\nand arrived just in time for the fight. The battle started at day-\\nbreak, our guns shelling the Boers left. The enemy replied with\\nartillery, Hotchkiss and Maxims, and the artillery duel lasted some\\nhours. Then there was a brief lull in the enemy s operations, of\\nwhich the general immediately took advantage. Our infantry ad-\\nvanced across the plain towards the river in two brigades.\\nThe Guards, on the right, were met by an awful hail of bullets\\nfrom the enemy s sharpshooters, posted close to the river on the\\nopposite bank. Ours had no cover whatever, and were simply\\nmowed down. It seemed impossible to live through the terrible\\nfire, but the brave fellows did not retreat an inch. The Boer fire\\nwas horribly accurate, and they must have had a large force.\\nThe Scots Guards advanced 600 yards before they were fired\\non. Then they had to lie down to escape the deadly fusillade which\\nlasted, without intermission, throughout the day. The High-\\nlanders made several attempts to force a passage of the river, but\\nthey were exposed to such a murderous enfilading fire that they\\nhad to retire after they had suffered terribly. Subsequently a party\\nof the Guards got over and held their own for hours against a vastly\\nsuperior force.\\nThe general opinion of the staff is that there had never been\\nsuch a sustained fire in the annals of the British army as that\\nwhich our troops had to face. Our men fell in dozens while trying\\nto rush the bridge. Among the many heroic deeds, one of the\\nmost conspicuous was that of Lieutenant-Colonel Codrington, of\\nthe Coldstream Guards Captain Sellpein, of the Queensland con-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0415.jp2"}, "416": {"fulltext": "330 BRITISH VICTORIES.\\ntingent, and a dozen members of the Coldstream Guards, who\\njumped into the river and swam nearly to the other side in the face\\nof a steady fire, but who were forced to retire, and, joining hands,\\nswam back, two of their number being nearly drowned in the\\nretreat.\\nThe British guns kept up a heavy fire all day and fearful\\nhavoc was wrought on the Boer positions, the enemy being forced\\nto fly from their entrenchments. Night put an end to the terrible\\nbloodshed. The infantry brigade was dreadfully cut up.\\nTHE FIGHT BEFORE REACHING MODDER RIVER.\\nFurther details of the battle at Gras Pan showed that the British\\narms achieved a brilliant victory. The enemy, strongly entrenched,\\nheld a range of hills commanding both sides of the railway at Rooi\\nLaagte, near Gras Pan. The Lancashires, under Lewis, recon-\\nnoitered in an armored train. The Boers shelled the train, killing\\nLewis and a private.\\nGeneral Methuen then advanced. His column made a detour\\nand bivouacked for the night at Swinks Pan, three miles from the\\nBoer position. At dawn the advance began, the Guards forming\\nthe reserve. The column debouched on the plain eastward of the\\nBoer hills. The Boer guns opened fire. Two batteries of British\\nartillery, posted on each side, shelled the Boers, the aim being good\\non both sides.\\nThe Boers stuck tenaciously to their positions, firing steadily\\nand accurately. The duel, which constantly became hotter, lasted\\nthree hours. The Boer shells wounded several men of the Naval\\nBrigade. Finding it impossible to displace the Boers with artillery.\\nGeneral Methuen resolved upon an infantry attack. A brigade of\\ninfantry, including the Yorkshires, the Northamptons, the North-\\numberlands and the Lancashires, with the naval brigade on the\\nright, gallantly stormed the Boer positions, in the face of a wither-\\ning fire, and carried hill after hill, the brigade under Colonel Money\\ncapturing the main position against a terrific fire, but suffering\\nseverely.\\nCommandant Rossik aided in leading the Boer forces. Many", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0416.jp2"}, "417": {"fulltext": "BRITISH VICTORIES. 331\\nof tiie Boer forces voluntarily surrendered. THe Boers were shelled\\nduring tiie final retreat, and must Have lost heavily, but they\\nsucceeded in getting away northward with their six guns. The\\nBritish were badly in need of more cavalry. Among the Boer\\nprisoners were Alderman Jeppe and Commandant Rossik, who led\\nthe Boer force.\\nGeneral Methuen, who commanded the British forces, is one of\\nthe most distinguished captains in the British service, and has had\\nextensive experience in the field. He was ordered to Africa at the\\noutbreak of hostilities, and raised to the rank of lieutenant-general,\\nthe intention of the War Ofi ce being to make him second in com-\\nmand to General Sir Redvers Buller. Brave, accomplished, educated\\nfor the army, and a man of excellent discretion and great ability\\nfor organization and administration of affairs, he is looked upon as\\none of the best generals in the army.\\nDECORATED FOR BRAVERY.\\nIvord Methuen received a medal for bravery at the battle of\\nAmoaful, in the Ashantee war of 1873-74. In the Egyptian expedi-\\ntion of 1882 he was present at Mahuta and Tel-el-Kebir, was men-\\ntioned in the Gazette, and received a medal with clasp, bronze\\nclasp and third-class Osmanieh decorations. He was honorably\\nmentioned for his services as commander of the mounted rifles in\\nthe Bechuanaland expedition of 1884-85. He was military attache\\nat Berlin for three years, 1878-81. He entered the army as ensign\\nin the Guards in 1864.\\nThe march of events under General Methuen was swift. To\\nhim was committed the task of relieving Kimberley and he did not\\nlinger on the way. On Wednesday, November 2 2d, he had got\\nacross the Orange River and began his advance towards the\\nbeleaguered city. On Thursday he attacked the Boers at Belmont\\nand defeated them. On Saturday, as we have seen, he fought\\nanother engagement with them at Gras Pan, ten miles north of\\nBelmont, and again defeated them. He continued to advance and\\nat Modder River he fought the most serious engagement of the war\\non Tuesday, with brilliant results,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0417.jp2"}, "418": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXI.\\nCurious Sights in the Land of the Boers.\\nWHAT a great press agent war is A few montlis before the]\\nwar broke out South Africa was comparatively an unknown\\ncountry, except to the few people whose interests or friends\\nwere there, but soon the whole outside world had its eyes upon this\\nquarter of the globe, and Durban, Ladysmith, Pietermaritzburg,\\nGlencoe, Dundee, Colesburg, Kimberley, Colenso, Belmont, Gras\\nPan, Modder River Bridge and Mafeking are household words, and\\nhave all been studied carefully and located upon the map. This\\nsame agent brought the West Indies into prominence during our\\nwar with Spain, and the Philippines have used it most effectively.\\nThe political situation in the Transvaal, or South African\\nRepublic, has been greatly strained for over a decade, and the feel-\\ning between the British and Boers has been very hostile for a long\\ntime. All have met the type of man who is continually looking\\nfor a fight, and, it seems to an outsider, that this has been the state\\nof these two nations for years, and at last the climax was reached\\nin the outbreak of hostilities.\\nSouth Africa is a wonderful country, and at the end of the war\\nwill open up opportunities and present advantages to the young men\\nof to-day unequalled by any other. The political atmosphere of the\\ncountry has been written about and discussed so much that we can\\nhere pass it by, simply comparing it with the atmosphere of Johan-\\nnesburg and Cape Town, where dust-storms are frequent, darkening\\nand obscuring the air and often suspending business for hours at a\\ntime.\\nA few words about the country, its people and their customs.\\nThe southern part of Africa has a fertile fringe around its coast,\\ngrowing all the products of our own country, and, on the east coast,\\nall the varieties of the tropics. The interior is a barren and desolate\\nwaste, known as the Karoo, scarcely producing suf cient forage\\n332", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0418.jp2"}, "419": {"fulltext": "CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS. 333\\nfor stock-raising purposes, tlie principal pursuit of tlie Boers. One\\nplateau is above another until an altitude of 9000 feet above tbe sea\\nis reached at Johannesburg. Very few rivers flow therein, and\\nthese go out of business in the dry season, and as the great rivers\\nof Africa are too far distant to warrant building artificial waterways,\\na system of irrigation is quite out of the question. Why Oom\\nPaul s people settled and remained in this part of the country can-\\nnot be understood, unless we believe the oft-told story that they love\\nthe veldt (plain) and its loneliness, as it is most unattractive and\\ngrows exceedingly monotonous to the average man.\\nCHARACTER OF THE BOERS.\\nThe Boers are a sturdy, sluggish and lazy race, but at the\\nsame time subjecting themselves to hardships of the worst kind.\\nSince they have always lived in the open, they are physically per-\\nfect, hardened, sacrificing and are marksmen of the best ability.\\nThese combinations make the type of soldier who fights to win, and,\\nowing to their previous victories over the British and this individual\\nmotto We declare before God, who knows the heart, and before\\nthe world, that the people of the South African Republic have\\nnever been subjects of Her Majesty, and never will be, the\\nBritish do not find their task an easy one.\\nSuch are the men, young and old, who left their homes, wives,\\nfamilies and sweethearts and went to the front in defense of their\\nRepublic, with a hope that they would be victorious, but the odds\\nagainst them appeared so great as to cause the universal prediction\\nthat after the smoke of the heavy firing cleared away the Transvaal\\nand the Orange Free State would be painted British red.\\nIf there can be such things as hermit families they are to be\\nfound among the Boers. They do not live in settlements, but\\nbuild their houses far back from the regular transport roads, to keep\\ntheir cattle free from passing teams, in order to avoid cattle diseases\\nand then they like to be out of sight of their neighbor s smoke\\ntwenty miles apart is a preferable distance to build. The Boer home-\\nstead is as plain as its owner, usually a low, one-story structure, with\\nsteep tile roof and a small annex in the rear, which is used as", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0419.jp2"}, "420": {"fulltext": "334 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS.\\na kitchen. The door is on a level with the ground, and four win-\\ndows afford all the light that is required in the four square rooms in\\nthe interior.\\nA dining-room and three bed-rooms suffice for a family, how-\\never large. The best of the latter is always ready for the stranger\\nwho may stop for the night, besides the best food the kitchen holds\\nand a goodly supply of fodder for his horses, provided he is un-\\ntainted with British blood. The floors are hardened clay, liberally\\ncoated with manure, which is used to ward off the pestiferous insects\\nthat swarm over the plains. Houses are built in a valley, in close\\nproximity to a stream, and nearly always devoid of trees. Native\\ntrees are such a rarity that travellers may go many miles without\\nbeing able to rest in the shade of a single one.\\nHOW THEY BEGIN THE DAY.\\nThe Boer rises with the sun, and after the chores are done the\\nfamily meet at breakfast and an hour is spent in reading the Bible,\\nwhich guides them in everything. When the meal is finished, the\\nmen start with their flocks, and are gone until the sun sets. This\\nlife is followed in winter and summer, except in the dry season,\\nwhen the whole family desert the home, and, with bok-wagen\\n(travelling wagon), become nomads and wander around, allowing\\ntheir flocks to graze, returning to their homes in the winter.\\nAll are thoroughly religious, and some families have special\\nchurch wagons, with long and roomy bodies for a katce or hang-\\ning-bed, in which to travel to their nearest church, a trip which often\\nmeans three days from home, to church and back again. Of all\\nthat has been written about the Boers, the writers have commented\\nupon their uncleanliness, which is quite true, but at times water is\\na scarce article in their country. Many stories are related of the\\nseltzer-water baths indulged in by the early pioneers of Johannes-\\nburg, costing from $5.00 to $10.00 each. It is related that on one\\noccasion a shower-bath was taken in the Gold City at a cost of\\n$18.00.\\nThe Boers have their city cousins, who are smart, shrewd\\nand industrious, being able to cope successfully with the financiers", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0420.jp2"}, "421": {"fulltext": "CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS. 335\\nof the different nations whose representatives have drifted into\\nJohannesburg and Pretoria.\\nJohannesburg, the Gold City, as it is rightly called, is a Mid-\\nway Plaisance in a greater sense than the one to which we were\\nintroduced at the World s Fair in Chicago. Allow your mind to\\nimagine a city of over 100,000, made up of men and women from\\nEngland, Ireland, Wales, France, Scotland, Germany, .America,\\nPortugal, Spain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, China, Japan, Russia,\\nAustria, Sweden, Turkey, India, Arabia, Australia, New Zealand,\\nall the countries of South America, Mexico, British North America,\\nAlaska, and, in fact, every country under the sun, all wearing their\\nnative costumes and head-dress, speaking their own language,\\nfollowing their own customs, but all seeking gold and diamonds in\\nthe mines by hard work, and you have a fair representation of the\\nonly city in South Africa noted for business and hustling en-\\nterprise. Other towns are slow and stagnant.\\nMEN FROM EVERYWHERE TRYING THEIR LUCK.\\nIt is a disappointment that the inhabitants of Mars are not\\nthere, and if passenger communication were in use between the two\\nplanets, Martians would surely be found there, trying their luck.\\nIf they could reach this fascinating city, to coin a new word, would\\nthey be Outskyers, inasmuch as the aliens are Outlanders\\nAll of the other cities except Kimberely are dependent upon\\nJohannesburg, which is like a wealthy brother generously support-\\ning all of his brothers and sisters. Cape Colony and Natal furnish\\nall the grain, fruits and vegetables, and a duty is imposed on all\\ngoods imported into the Transvaal through the ports of these\\ncolonies, and a heavy railroad charge is also incurred. These\\ncharges are also applicable in the Orange Free State, making double\\ncustoms and railroad charges.\\nIt is the most expensive city in the world to live in. The main\\nportion is thoroughly modern and up-to-date, but once outside of the\\ncentre, it becomes a typical mining camp, with low corrugated iron\\nshanties which are the sleeping quarters of the thousands of Out-\\nlanders, and all the accessories which go to make up a mining", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0421.jp2"}, "422": {"fulltext": "336 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS.\\nsettlement. Gambling finds plenty of followers. Four lottery-\\ncompanies are established in tbe city and all have quarterly draw-\\nings, when thousands of pounds change hands. The three-shell\\ngame and other devices of the sort are often encountered on the\\nstreet corners. Even the women and children speculate in gold\\nshares.\\nThe goal which the people who are temporary residents there\\nseem to aim for is to accumulate, in any manner, a sufficient\\namount of money to enable them to return to their homes and live\\nquietly after their busy life of a few years at this city that was built\\nin a day in the centre of South Africa. It is the stopping place of\\nthe multi-millionaire and the beggar, and, in the constant flow of\\ncosmopolitan life, each man makes the biggest show possible.\\nHOTEL LIFE AT JOHANNESBURG.\\nHotels are plentiful and expensive. The cheapest $5.00 an(\\nthe best $10.00 per day. The Goldfields Hotel is strictly aj\\nbachelors hotel and is well patronized. All is built on the ground\\nfloor and everything conducted in a go-as-you-please manner. In\\nthe dining-room which is always crowded at noon and in the even-\\ning, it is a common sight to find men in evening dress and sitting\\nopposite or next to them will be found others in mining garb of a\\nflannel shirt and trousers stuck in boot tops. After the meal is _\\nfinished pipes are filled and the scene changes to a smoker, f\\nSeventy-five per cent, of the Outlanders sleep in iron shanties and\\nhave coffee and rolls served in their rooms in the morning.\\nLuncheons and dinners are taken at the different hotels in the\\ncity.\\nCab fares are five times as high as in New York. Drinks ex-\\npensive and largely consumed. Two theaters and five music halls,]\\nprize fights, pony and bicycle races furnish the amusement. English\\nrepertoire companies cover the circuit in South Africa, and English,\\nFrench, American and German artists are brought out by the music\\nhall managements. Barmaids have birthdays every month and a|\\ndance is given in celebration. Tickets to dance cost $5.00 each andj\\nare sought after by their many friends.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0422.jp2"}, "423": {"fulltext": "CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS. 337\\nCape Town is known as tlie front door to South Africa.\\nFully one-half of the money seekers who arrive in this country enter\\nby this port, although it is not the shortest route to the gold fields,\\nwhich are in the Transvaal and up-country districts. But, after a\\npassage of twenty-one days, a change from the deck of the steamer\\nto the land is a most agreeable one and the tourists are willing to go\\nashore. The usual plan is for travellers to remain at Cape Town\\ntwo or three days and then take a train for their up-country destin-\\nation- Upon the arrival of a mail stamer Cape Town is crowded\\nfor several days, until the people get started upon the last lap of\\ntheir journey, and then the place settles down to its normal state.\\nThe next port to Cape Town is Port Elizabeth, 480 miles dis-\\ntant. This is known as the back door to South Africa, and it is at\\nthis port that all of the cargo for the up-country is unloaded from\\nthe steamers. For this purpose a jetty or pier, has been built into\\nAlgoa Bay, extending over 300 feet from the land and costing\\nthousands of pounds.\\nNOVEL WAY OF GETTING ASHORE.\\nEast London is the port of entry for the Orange Free State.\\nWhen the steamer reaches this place the tourist is introduced to a\\nnovelty, in the manner of transferring passengers from the steamer\\nto the tender which is to convey them ashore. It is called the\\nbasket trick. The water in this port is so rough that in unload-\\ning the passengers to the tender there would be great danger of\\nloss of life, so an immense wicker-basket is suspended to a derrick\\non the deck of the steamer. Three persons are placed in it at a\\ntime. The signal is given and the passengers are let out of their\\ntemporary prison and the basket is returned for another load. This\\nmethod of disembarking passengers is also in use at the port of\\nDurban.\\nDurban is then reached by the East Coast route, and, once\\ninstalled, you come to find this the only desirable place in which to\\nlive. The whole colony is garden-like. Stately palms and flowing\\nbamboos surround banana groves, cane-fields, pine-apple planta-\\ntions, tea and coffee estates. Pretty little farmers cottages are", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0423.jp2"}, "424": {"fulltext": "338 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS.\\ndotted throughout the country and open-eyed and humorous natives\\ntogether with solemn and thin-faced coolies lend picturesqueness to\\nthe scenes.\\nPretoria, the capital of the South African Republic, is thor-\\noughly a Dutch city filled with a young and floating population\\ndrawn from the Republic, the Orange Free State, Natal and Cape\\nColony. The life there is similar to that found in Washington.\\nKimberley is termed a slow show, as everything is owned\\nand controlled by the DeBeers Mining Syndicate. The Kimberley\\nClub is located here and it is the swellest club in South Africa.\\nCecil Rhodes, Alfred Beit, J. B. Robinson and other famous South\\nAfricans hold forth there. The late Barney Barnato spent much\\nof his time at this club.\\nMOST FAMOUS SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBE.\\nOf the natives the most interesting are the Zulus, the four\\nhundred of the South African tribes. In the the Transvaal all\\nnatives must wear a tag, bearing a number, which is registered,\\nupon their coat sleeve or arm and displayed conspicuously at all\\ntimes. They are not allowed to walk on the pavements or to ride\\nin public cabs or tram-cars. At 9 o clock in the evening, a curfew\\nbell is rung and all natives must be in their kraals, and if found\\non the streets after this hour they are liable to arrest and a fine.\\nThe native police of Natal are the most interesting characters\\na writer could find in his travels in South Africa, and volumes\\ncould be written about their characteristics and customs. They\\nseem to be at every point in the colony and almost numberless in\\nthe cities. The work they have to perform is to keep the natives\\nstraight and to act as watchmen at night, and they are not allowed\\nto arrest the whites. They take great pride in their uniforms in\\nfact, as much as the police of our country do and they always look\\nneat. They will ogle the nurse girls in the parks and the squares;\\nso, naturally, some might say, they make good police.\\nThe ricksha boys of South Africa are famous the world over.\\nThey are found in Durban, Pitermaritzburg and Johannesburg.\\nThere are over 800 rickshas on the streets of Durban, and they", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0424.jp2"}, "425": {"fulltext": "CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS. 339\\ngreatly enhance tlie picturesqueness of this semi-tropical city.\\nThese vehicles are used principally by the business men in going\\nfrom their offices to the different parts of the city. Although\\nemployed for distances of four, five and six miles, and -with two pas-\\nsengers, the boys will keep on a trot the entire distance, which is\\nreally remarkable when you consider the work.\\nOn the short drives around town they develop great speed.\\nAll the boys are Zulus and head-dress is one of their customs.\\nHorns, feathers and wings are used in this decoration and even dis-\\ncarded creations of Worth are worn by the more fortunate ones.\\nThe boots around the ankles are made of reed and contain small\\ngravel stones, which rattle while the boy is in motion and make con-\\nsiderable noise. Very few speak or understand English, and\\npassengers must know the streets thoroughly if they wish to reach\\na certain point quickly.\\nHOW^ THE RICKSHA IS GUIDED.\\nYou start the boy in the direction you wish to go, and, if\\nnecessary to turn any corners, you simply extend your leg and\\ntouch the boy s back, and he then turns his head and you point\\nwith your finger to the road you wish him to take and when you\\nreach your destination, by simply using the Zulu word ponda,\\nwhich means down, the shafts are lowered and you can easily dis-\\nmount. The fares are fixed according to the distance, and ricksha\\nstands are located in the different parts of the city.\\nIt is quite amusing to watch them solicit fares. A guest of the\\nRoyal Hotel will walk to the gates and hold up his hand, and every\\nboy who may be waiting at this particular stand will jump with\\nalacrity and pull his ricksha to the entrance of the hotel and solicit\\nhis patronage in pigeon English, using the expressions Me fast\\nrunner, boss; Me go quick, boss; Me taka soon, boss, and\\nmany others. Say twenty are at the stand, only one can be utilized,\\nhence nineteen must be disappointed but it apparently makes no\\ndifference, as they laugh and jump and seem to be as pleased as if\\nthey had been successful in securing the passenger. The boys are\\nver}^ playful and in starting off they curve their necks and neigh", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0425.jp2"}, "426": {"fulltext": "340 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS.\\nlike horses and also imitate locomotives. A ride in a ricksha will\\ncarry one back to his boyhood days of playing horse with a small\\nexpress wagon and a boy to draw it.\\nThroughout South Africa are many Hindoos and they are par-\\nticularly plentiful in Natal. They are brought out from India on\\naccount of their Empire being over-populated, and are distributed\\namong the farmers, under the care of an emigrant agent or inspec-\\ntor. They work as slaves for three years and then become free and\\nreceive the regular wage of a laborer. Quite a few are established\\nas traders, importing silks, laces and silverware from India. The\\nwomen decorate themselves to the extreme with silver and gold\\njewelry. This also applies to the poorer classes, as the men have\\ncoins of the different denominations melted and made into jewelry\\nof all kinds for their wives and sweethearts. This was one of their\\nmodes of saving money until the money basis of India was changed\\nfrom silver to gold.\\nCURIOUS DWELLINGS OF THE KAFFIRS.\\nKaffir Kraals, the homes of the different South African tribes,\\nare built in settlements. The framework is made of striplings and\\nthen thatched, making them water-proof. There are no windows or\\ndoors excepting one small opening as a means of ingress and egress,\\nand this is quite low and adults have to crawl in on their hands and\\nknees, as the height will not permit them to enter in an upright\\nposition. A family of twenty will occupy a kraal, which is simply\\none room, there being no partitions. They are devoid of beds and\\nthe ground is used for this purpose. From all indications the occu-\\npants are as happy as people who reside in castles.\\nHotel life is both interesting and novel. Interesting in the\\ncities where modern hostelries are found, copied after the style oi\\nthe English inns. The Royal Hotel, at Durban, is worthy of spe-\\ncial mention. It is built and conducted upon the Oriental plan.\\nHindoo waiters, attired in immaculate white suits with turbans to\\nmatch, move noiselessly around the dining-room with bare feet.\\nWicker furniture and tropical plants grace every nook and corner,\\nand with guests in evening dress, which is the custom, make\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0426.jp2"}, "427": {"fulltext": "CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS. 341\\nan exquisite dinner scene. Tiiis hotel ranks favorably with the\\nworld s best, and is used as officers headquarters during the war.\\nIt is one of the best that the collaborator found in his travels.\\nNovel are the country parts where the old Dutch customs are\\nretained. One of the queer experiences in stopping at an inn,\\nwhich is the post-cart station, is going to bed in a room with five\\nmen, for the rooms contain as many beds as they will hold, often\\nfive and six, and never less than two. Five out of the six room-\\nmates may be booked for the post-cart, due at midnight. The cart\\narrives and deposits four or five passengers and takes on the five\\nwho are booked. The incoming passengers take the places of the\\noutgoing passengers, and in the morning you arise with five dif-\\nferent men from those you retired with.\\nIMMENSE FREIGHT WAGONS.\\nTransportation is done by the railways, owned by the different\\ngovernments, travelling wagons, Cape carts, American spiders,\\ncabs, automobiles and rickshas. The train service is a most excel-\\nlent one when the travelling population is considered. Two\\ndepartures each way between the centres daily. The bok-wagen,\\nor travelling wagon of the Transvaal, is a great sight. All of the\\nheavy mining machinery of the Transvaal and Rhodesia was\\ntransported on these freight wagons. The bodies are twenty feet\\nlong by seven between the wheels, and are drawn by fourteen, six-\\nteen or eighteen trained bullocks spanned in pairs. In the\\nfront of all this snake-like outfit walks the voor-looper leading\\nthe front pair by their reims, which he has so hitched in a loop\\nthat he can hold it and walk before them out of horn s reach.\\nThen Hawt-yeh, yells the driver, with a smack of his whip as\\nloud as a rifle shot, and the great freighter begins its steady crawl.\\nNature has caused this steady influx of people to South Africa,\\nbut not that part of nature which shows itself above ground, for\\nThe rivers of Soutii Africa have no waters,\\nThe birds no song, the flowers no scent,\\nbut that which is hidden deep below shining gold and glittering\\ndiamonds is a world-wide attraction.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0427.jp2"}, "428": {"fulltext": "342 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS.\\nPeople grew tired of tlie Midway Plaisance at tlie World s\\nFair, and perhaps the patient Boers have become tired of the one\\nthat has been holding forth in Johannesburg for fifteen years, and\\nthey have shouldered their modern guns of the best make, wives\\nand mothers have placed biltong (a piece of beef dried in the\\nsun) and a few biscuit in their pockets, and they have crossed the\\nlonely veldt to join forces and crush their annoyers, who, no\\ndoubt, were v/orse than the noisy tom-toms at our Chicago Fair,\\nand which we revolted against.\\nThe Capitol of the Transvaal is a noble pile of buildings,\\nstately, imposing and dazzlingly white in the blatant sunshine,\\nagainst the bluest of blue skies. The Volksraad, or Parliament\\nbuilding, fronts on Market square, Pretoria, and looks directly into]\\nthe church which is less imposing almost humble in its modest I\\nabsence of any particular order of architecture, save the practically\\nutilitarian. To the right of the government buildings is a great\\nsquare block of four or five stories in height, each with a verandah.,\\nBUSINESS QUARTER OF PRETORIA.\\nThis is the Grand Hotel, and stands on the site of what was\\nonce the comparatively humble dwelling of Mr. Lys, one of the old-\\nest and most resolutely honest and reputable Transvaal burghers.\\nHe is now dead, and his son lives elsewhere. To the left of the\\nbuildings is a queer wedge-shaped block of offices, behind which is\\nthe theatre, and in front of which are two or three gnarled old oaks,\\nthe appointed centre of the weekly auctions which take place on the\\nMarket square.\\nBvery Saturday, in the piping times of peace, the square is full\\nof hucksters, buyers, wagons, carts, horses, oxen and stray stalls,\\nwhere almost anything may be bought, from a rifle to the latest comic\\nsong. It is a very ordinary thing to see sales advertised in the Pretoria\\npapers as taking place under the oaks. The summit of the Raad-\\nzaal or government buildings is surmounted by a bronze female\\nfigure, which is intended to typify the Spirit of Liberty. Incredu-\\nlous Boers, however, always agog to spy out some hidden taunt or\\nallusion, insist that it is a statue of Queen Victoria.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0428.jp2"}, "429": {"fulltext": "CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS. 343\\nThere is a great portico, and a flight of steps that give access to\\nthe inner halL The doors are guarded by artillerymen in jackboots,\\na blue coat, a white helmet, a revolver slung across their shoulder, and\\na carbine in the hand. From the hall a staircase, wide, well-propor-\\ntioned, and handsomely appointed, leads up to the first floor, where\\nthe great Raadzaal, or House of Commons, is situated.\\nA fine, large, lofty hall, well decorated in sombre colors, on the\\nwalls portraits of past presidents of the South African Republic.\\nGalleries for the press and the public. A great dais, on which sit\\nthe chairman of the First Raad, the vice-chairman and Paul Kruger.\\nBelow them sit the secretaries and clerks, and below them again are\\nthree concentric horseshoes of desks, each with its own armchair.\\nHere the members sit. There are not thirty of them, all told.\\nHere and there, between the Raadsleden, or members, are bottles of\\nwater and glasses, which are much used by intending speakers.\\nMOTTO OF THE TRANSVAAL.\\nAbove the chairman s head is the Transvaal coat-of-arms, sur-\\nmounted by the vierkleur, or four-colored national flag red, white,\\nblue and green below which is the country s motto, Bendraagt\\nmaakt magt (Union makes strength).\\nRound about the horseshoe tables sits a medley of more or less\\nsmooth farmers. Nearly all have fine, striking, picturesque heads\\nand by a curious freak of reversion to the original type, despite all\\ntheir terrible degeneration for nearly a century, the heads in the\\naggregate distinctly suggest the same type as in Rembrandt s\\nStates-General at the Hague. And no wonder, for the Boer of to-\\nday and the burghers of that date are directly related by descent in\\nthe fourth and fifth generations.\\nThe speaking is hoarse, gruff, guttural, hesitating, rarely\\nfluent, unless one of the leaders and known orators gets up to pour\\nforth his views. The president is a poor speaker as to manner, his\\nmatter on the controversy is often excellent, convincing, full of apt\\nsimiles, and exactly calculated to the mental capacity of his audience.\\nNow and then the ever wily Oom Paul simulates anger or disgust,\\ntalks about resigning, and stalks out of the Council Chamber. But", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0429.jp2"}, "430": {"fulltext": "344 CURIOUS SIGHTS IN THE LAND OF THE BOERS.\\nit is mere bluff, and has occurred too often for even the youngest\\nmember to be taken in by his periodical cry of wolf.\\nThe sittings of the Raad take place in the mornings occa-\\nsionally, in times of stress, in the afternoons, but never in the\\nevenings. Very often a secret session takes place. All strangers\\nand the press are excluded, and the debates are said to wax very\\nhot and personal. Bach hour an adjournment takes place for\\nsmoking, and pipes are produced, which are promptly loaded up\\nwith the curiously dry, but very fascinating, Boer tobacco from\\nMagaliesberg.\\nThe pile of Government buildings is new in appearance.\\nFormerly the Raad sat in a tumble-down shanty with a thatched\\nroof just across the church square. During the building of the new\\nedifice their honors met in the theatre, and it is said that the\\ndramatic surroundings were not without their effect upon the\\nspeeches.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0430.jp2"}, "431": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXII.\\nRemarkable Features of the British Campaign.\\nWHILB no great advantage liad so far been gained by tbe\\nBritisb forces, they were engaged in very active operations,\\nthe final outcome of which was awaited with great interest.\\nIt is possible to give a clear statement of the situation at this stage\\nof the campaign.\\nThe renowned General Methuen, noted not only as a success-\\nful strategist, but also as a brave fighter, started with his column\\nto relieve the diamond town of Kimberley. He had a railroad\\nbase and open lines behind him. He was expected to push rapidly\\nforward to his terminus, sixty miles from Bloemfontein, ready to\\nthreaten the very centre of the Orange Free State. From Belmont\\non he had now fought ten days. He had with him about 7000\\nmen, a picked force selected of the best that could be brought\\ntogether, including the Guards Brigade, the Naval Brigade and\\nregiments of tried character. He lost in killed and wounded 1002\\nmen, one-seventh of his total force.\\nHe successively placed in action each of the brigades of which\\nhis division was composed. His men fought with unflinching\\ngallantry. They were rammed against unshaken infantry under\\ncover, occupying strong positions. He made progress, but cap-\\ntured few prisoners, except those too seriously wounded to retreat.\\nHe had not taken a gun or a wagon, neither captured nor broken\\nup a single one of the enemy s organizations, and, except among\\nthe wounded, he captured no officer of rank. Military men know\\nonly too well the condition in which two weeks of fighting of this\\ncharacter leaves any army, however determined. Nothing so takes\\nthe edge off of an advancing force as a succession of assaults which\\nwin only empty positions, a bit of trodden ground, a breastwork\\nstrewn with empty cartridges and desperately wounded men, here\\n345", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0431.jp2"}, "432": {"fulltext": "346 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nand there a skulker under cover, and all else withdrawn in good\\norder and in position on the hill beyond.\\nIf, after an opening of this sort, Lord Methuen and his men,\\neven with reinforcements, were still able to force their way to\\nKimberley, all agreed that they would display qualities of the\\nvery highest character as leader and led. At that point they would\\nmake a junction with a force of 2760 men (of which about one-third\\nwere regulars in the North Lancashire Regiment) nine Maxims\\nand twelve field-guns.\\nThe purpose of the British plan of campaign was clear. If\\nLord Methuen reached Kimberley he could threaten Boer communi-\\ncations and make a demonstration against the capital of the Orange\\nFree State, while two British forces were operating, one for the relief\\nof Ladysmith and the other along the lines of railroad which reach\\nfrom De Aar Junction, Naauwpoort and Stormberg.\\nTHE SITUATION AT LADYSMITH.\\nSir George White, at Ladysmith, when he began operations,\\nhad four cavalry regiments, ten infantry battalions, six field-bat-\\nteries and one mounted battery, with about 1400 local troops, mak-\\ning about 12,000 men. Of these about one-half were shut up in\\nLadysmith, beleaguered by the Boer forces, which could not have\\nbeen much over 8000 to 10,000, though English estimates were\\nmuch greater. When a junction was effected at Ladysmith the\\nEnglish force there must have outnumbered the Boer force.\\nThis was also the case in the approach from the south toward\\nBloemfontein, and it transpired that Lord Methuen s force was to\\nhis opponents about in the proportion of 7000 to 5000 it must,\\nhowever, be remembered that, while Lord Methuen started with\\n7000 men from his railroad base, he was more fortunate than most\\nmen in campaign if, after a month of operations under this dogged\\nfighting, he had over 4500 men to put in line for a general action.\\nThis was the situation General Methuen moving to Kimberley,\\nGeneral Gatacre concentrating on the lines of converging railroad\\ntoward Bloemfontein and General Clery approaching Ladysmith.\\nThe campaign had passed out of its first stage. In the ten\\nt", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0432.jp2"}, "433": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 347\\nweeks after tlie ultimatum was issued the Boers Had every possible\\nadvantage whicH their prompt action could give them. The period\\nof the offensive was over for them, and from this time on they would\\nbe occupied in defending the three points just mentioned at which\\nthey were massed in force. The results which the Boers won dur-\\ning these ten weeks were amply suf cient to justify their action.\\nSIZE OF THE BOERS ARMY.\\nWhile English estimates of the force opposed to them would\\nmake in the aggregate a Boer force of from 28,000 to 30,000 in the\\nfield, the actual population of the Transvaal, the ordinary condi-\\ntions of civil life, which has to be continued during war by some-\\nbody, and the possible military force which can be raised by any\\ngiven population, rendered it impracticable that the Boers should\\nhave a force of over from 22,000 to 25,000 all told. This was the\\nextreme limit. Deducting guards, men needed to watch frontiers,\\nwhich, both to the northwest and the northeast, were threatened by\\nsavage tribes, and the inevitable attrition of military operations,\\nand the Boer force on the fighting line, which extented in an irregu-\\nlar oval of nearly 500 miles, was from 16,000 to 18,000 men.\\nThe figures given in dispatches were much larger, but so dur-\\ning our own war were the uniform estimates of the Confederate\\nforces. Like the Confederate forces, the Boers have the advantage\\nof a large colored population, which can be used for camp purposes,\\nwhile the English forces, organized like our own, have to reduce\\ntheir military effective in order to provide for cumbrous trains and\\ncamp work. This force of the Boers, of from 16,000 to 18,000 men,\\nhad at the opening in October opposed to it about 11,000 regular\\ntroops, which various volunteer British forces raised to between\\n16,000 to 18,000 men.\\nRoughly speaking, this English force had about 1200 men in\\nMaf eking, 2760 in Kimberley, about 1000 without artillery at De\\nAar Junction, which was made a depot of supplies, and about 6000\\nunder Sir George White, with a base at Ladysmith. The remainder\\nwere dispersed along the coast, covering communications and in\\nother ways removed from the actual field of hostilities.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0433.jp2"}, "434": {"fulltext": "348 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nIn ten weeks the Boer force took from tHe Britisli about 1500\\nprisoners. It inflicted a loss in killed of about 500 and in wounded\\nof about 1400, or in all about 3400. The Boer loss in the same\\ntime it is difficult even to estimate. The English statements of a\\nlarge Boer loss after every battle may have been in the main\\ncorrect. Putting together, however, the statements issued from\\nPretoria, the actual number of prisoners reported and the killed\\nburied, the Boer loss must have been in the neighborhood of from\\n1000 to 1200.\\nFAILED IN OFFENSIVE WARFARE.\\nMeanwhile, the Knglish force was raised by successive\\narrivals to about 56,000 men. What the Boers accomplished,\\ntherefore, was to inflict a loss of a little less than ten per cent,\\nof the force opposed to them at a cost to their own force of a loss\\nof about five per cent. They gained a moral advantage which it\\nis impossible to overestimate, as it enabled them to harden, to con-\\nsolidate and to train their raw levies. Their capture in equipment,\\nin horses, in food and in material was also considerable. Their\\nfailure, and it was a most serious one, was in initiative. Military\\nhistory has established as a principle, which is as incontrovertible\\nas a problem in Euclid, that irregular troops cannot be trusted, ex-\\ncept when in greatly superior numbers, to make hazardous assaults\\nor effective ofiensive operations.\\nThe very large depot of English ammunition at De Aar Junc-\\ntion was for nearly three weeks under guard of a single regiment,\\nunprovided with artillery. It was never attacked, much less de-\\nstroyed. No one of the three positions invested was even seriously\\nassaulted. The one risk at any one of them was of the lack of\\nammuintion, and there was evidently, at Ladysmith, some reason\\nfor leading the Boers to feel that its fall was possible, or there would\\nnot have been the constant succession of rumors which emanated\\nfrom Boer sympathizers in Europe.\\nThe three points of superiority which marked the Boer campaign\\nthus far were the great skill with which they, at every stage, in\\ncarrying on offensive operations, forced a British attack the range\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0434.jp2"}, "435": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 349\\nof their artillery, wiiicli exceeds by nearly a mile tlie range of the\\nBnglish arm, as it would also of our own, and their success in\\nmoving to Lady smith a field-gun intended for seige purposes, of\\ngreat range and power.\\nSuch a gun offers great technical difficulties in its transporta-\\ntion, in providing for its mount, the recoil being too great to be\\ntaken up by the carriage of an ordinary field-piece, and in the supply\\nof its ammunition. But for the 5-inch navy guns thrown into\\nLadysmith by the energy and on the personal responsibility of a\\nnaval captain, the British position would have been completely com-\\nmanded by the heavy Boer artillery. The Boer campaign, if it did\\nnothing else, demonstrated that a strong artillery service can be\\norganized with material which has hitherto been supposed to pre-\\nclude an effective use of this weapon.\\nCOUNTRY AFFORDS STRONG DEFENSIVE POSITIONS.\\nThe Boer offensive was concentrated about North Natal, deter-\\nmined by the presence there of a large English force. The Bnglish\\noffensive was determined by the character of the country. South\\nAfrica consists of a low and very narrow plain of an elevation of\\n100 to 500 feet. Above this runs for from 200 to 400 miles inland\\na rainless plateau of from 1500 to 2000 feet high. Where this\\nreaches its highest level it comes to the more elevated plateau,\\nsloping from mountains of 6000 feet on the east, with some peaks\\nstill higher, of the two republics to the river valleys which leave it\\non the west, and having an elevation of about 3000 feet.\\nThis plateau consists, as does so much of our own country on\\neach side of the Alleghanies, of a broad expanse of saddle-back\\nhills, separated by deep valleys in which run streams that have cut\\nprecipitous channels. It v/as over such a region that Lord Methuen\\nwas fighting. It offered ideal possibilities for defense. The streams\\nare narrow ditches and the saddle-back, rolling-top hills furnish\\nspace for manoeuvre, for cover and for dogged defense.\\nThe Modder River, where General Methuen crossed it, in its\\nsteep bank, the slope beyond and the level, rolling plateau beyond,\\nclosely resembles the conditions General Burnside faced at Freder-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0435.jp2"}, "436": {"fulltext": "350 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nicksburg. Like General Bnrnside, General Metkuen crossed and\\nassaulted at a terrible loss. His movements and action were prompt.\\nThe Englisk reserves turned out with great rapidity. Nothing\\ncould be finer than the success with which Great Britain succeeded\\nin gathering an army and in equipping its infantry regiments.\\nTheir one deficiency was in officers, and Boer marksmanship greatly\\naided the English difficult}^ at this point. With us our regiments\\ngrow their own officers in the field. Hnglish officers are and must\\nbe drawn from a class, and the English service has never yet been\\ntried at this point by the rapid attrition of modern warfare.\\nDEFICIENCY IN CAVALRY AND ARTILLERY.\\nA misplaced economy has left English guns two horses short,\\nand the cavalr}^ remounts deficient. The result has been that, while\\nthe English infantry has gone on in rapid shipments, the cavalry and\\nartiller} have been deferred to the last, and English operations began\\nwith a most serious deficiency in both arms. The disaster at Lady-\\nsmith showed what untrained horses and mules may do in battle. It\\nis a sad fact that our own militarj^ establishment is sj stematically\\nunhorsed in its artillery and cavalry. It was generally conceded\\nthat if the English campaign opened with a serious disaster it would\\nundoubtedly be because, against the advice of militar}^ experts, a\\nfew thousand pounds were saved during the preceding twenty years\\nin horse flesh.\\nThe large number of British officers killed in battle in Natal\\nbrought out strenuous protests from manj- quarters against the\\nancient custom of British officers in refusing to take cover when\\nunder fire.\\nFrom figures at Glencoe it is apparent that one out of every\\nfour men killed was an officer, whereas the organization exists upon\\nthe principle that to every twenty-five men there is one officer. It\\nis evident that if the same ratio of mortality were kept up the\\nBritish forces would become seriousl} underonicered. Among the\\nenlisted men at Glencoe the proportion of killed to wounded w^as\\nthirty to 156, while ten officers were killed to twenty-two officers\\nwounded. The diffierence in the percentage led to the conclusion", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0436.jp2"}, "437": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 351\\ntliat many of the officers were Mt more tlian once and kept on lead-\\ning their men after the first wound.\\nThe feeling in the army itself is that, though the regulations\\ndo not say the officers must not lie down, it is such an old-established\\nprinciple that it would take a brave man to inaugurate a change,\\nand the adage of the British soldier, Follow wherever an officer\\nleads, is held still to be intensely true, for, though the officers be-\\nlieve the personnel of the army is as good as ever, it has been the\\nhistory of Great Britain that Tommy Atkins needs more leading\\nthan any man in the world so the spilling of Great Britain s best\\nblood is in this way accounted for.\\nHEAVY LOSSES IN BATTLE.\\nThe proportion of the casualties as a whole caused a thrill of\\nhorror and sympathy throughout Great Britain, for the people now\\nbegan to realize what a fight with a civilized enemy means. Old\\nsoldiers pointed out that at the Alma, one of the bloodiest battles in\\nGreat Britan s annals, the casualties totaled only six per cent.,\\nwhereas in the Boer engagements they considerably exceeded that\\nfigure.\\nThat the war was bound to come in process of time was the\\nalmost universal opinion of those who noted the trend of events\\nand studied the situation. To show the bitter feeling between the\\nBnglish and Boers, we insert here an extract from a letter written\\nby Mr. J. H. Aiken, just before the war began. Mr. Aiken returned\\nto London, Ontario, and delivered a series of most interesting lec-\\ntures on South Africa, where he lived for some years. It will be\\nseen, therefore, that he is well qualified to treat the subject on\\nwhich he writes, addressing his letter to a well-known publishing\\nhouse in New York\\nGentlemen, I am just in receipt of your welcome letter. In\\nthis letter you express the very pretty sentiment as to the terrible-\\nness of war, especially in the closing period of the nineteenth cen-\\ntury, which is all very true. But you also say in your letter We\\nfeel that the world ought not to allow a war in South Africa to\\ntake place, at the present time. Really, gentlemen, there has been", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0437.jp2"}, "438": {"fulltext": "352 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nSO mucli agitation here, and tlie feeling is so bitter, and is running\\nso high, among both Dutch and English, that to express the above\\nsentiment, in either English or Dutch territory here, would be risky\\nin the extreme, and almost render one liable to a charge of high\\ntreason.\\nAs you know, in my business, I am daily meeting with\\nclasses of people in this city, the capital of Natal. I am meeti.\\nwith clergymen, lawyers, doctors, merchants in fact, all classes-\\nand I can assure you that, one and all, they are bent upon war, and\\nare determined to have it. One of my friends the other day was\\ntalking about a leading clergyman, and exclaimed, in speaking of\\nof the minister: Oh, my! but he was bloodthirsty! Now, this\\nclergyman is one of the most devout men of the cloth on this\\nsub-continent, and I can assure you he is only voicing the feeling\\nof nearly every Britisher in South Africa.\\nBOERS BITTER HATRED OF ENGLAND.\\nOn the other side the Dutch side the feeling is ever so much\\nmore bitter and intense. Now, you know, there must be a reason\\nfor such a state of things. I realize, of course, that the saints are\\nnot all on one side, nor are the sinners all on the other but there\\ncan be no question that the Dutch of this country determined for\\nyears to undermine British supremacy, and have been planning and\\nscheming to this end for quite as many years. They think that\\nthey are now in a position to boss the show, and are anxious to try\\ntheir strength, but this is where they are making a great mistake.\\nYou will remember my telling you how well I got on with the\\nDutch in Pretoria, and how nicely they treated me, and I can honestly\\nsay that, individually, I like them very much but, taken collec-\\ntively, they certainly do not know how to run a modern and pro-\\ngressive republic. A few 3^ears ago the Dutch of South Africa\\nthe wealthiest of them were nearly as poor as the proverbial\\nchurch mouse, and the republic was practically bankrupt. British\\nor, more properly, Anglo-Saxon brains, money and enterprise,\\nhave made the South African Republic what it is to-day financially.\\nTo digress, about a year ago I was traveling in Dutch terri-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0438.jp2"}, "439": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 353\\ntory, and liad occasion to stay over-night at a Dutcli farmhouse.\\nThere was a large family, about fifteen or sixteen (their families are\\nabnormally large, as a rule), and just before the evening meal was\\nplaced on the table, the whole family went through its ablutions,\\ncommencing with the old man, then his vrow, and the fourteen or\\nso children, all using the same small bowlful of water on the table,\\nand using the same rag of a towel, the hair combing, etc., being all\\nattended to at the same time. Now, I do not wish to say anything\\nagainst the old farmer, for he was very kind and hospitable, even\\ngenerous, for though they kept me, my horses and driver, for the\\nnight, he would not charge a single penny in fact, he said, speak-\\ning through an interpreter, as he could not speak English Tell the\\ngentleman, that though in the Free State the towns are not free, yet\\nin the country things were yet free to the stranger but what I\\nwish to convey is that such people as the above farrner are the voting\\npower the only voting power in the republic.\\nNO VOICE IN RULING THE COUNTRY.\\nThe men of brains, the financiers, the leading bankers, and\\nall the other leading classes, who have made the country what it is,\\nwho have built the great city of Johannesburg, developed the mining\\nindustry, and made wealthy men of the satellites of the government\\nat Pretoria, have no voice in the taxation or the ruling of the\\ncountry, but have been compelled to stand passively by while a\\ncorrupt government made themselves rich with the ill-gotten\\nspoils of ofi ce.\\nNow, you can see that this sort of thing cannot be permitted\\nto continue in this nineteenth century. Trouble is bound to ensue,\\nand we are assuredly living in most troubled times here at the\\npresent moment. Whole volumes could be written upon the trou-\\nbles, suffering and anxieties that the poor women and children, to\\nsay nothing of the husbands and fathers, are passing through at\\nthe present time. The whole country is completely upset; people\\nare fleeing in open trucks, walking or riding, in every direction for\\nsafety; in a general way business is almost entirely suspended, and\\npeople are thinking and speaking of nothing but war.\\n23", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0439.jp2"}, "440": {"fulltext": "354 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nTlie latest report this morning is to tlie effect that the Dutch\\nintend marching at once upon Maritzburg. In this connection\\nI think I should say that, while we in Africa are not so hardened\\nand bloodthirsty as not to realize the true terribleness of war, yet\\nwe feel that there is no other way out of it, that there will never be\\npeace and prosperity in this country until we have a good, big\\nfight, and until it is definitely decided who is boss.\\nThen, again, you must bear in mind that we have the native\\nelement to consider. In Natal there are about ten natives to every\\nwhite person and if the British do not thrash the Dutch now\\n(after seeing the Bnglish fleeing in thousands from the Transvaal)\\nwe could never make these natives believe that the Bnglish are not\\ncowards, and afraid to fight, and the result would undoubtedly be\\nat least, such is the opinion of those who are best informed on the\\nsubject that within a year or two we would have a native rising,\\nwhich is simply too horrible to think of. I might say that the\\nnatives, to a man, hate and loathe the Dutch, and are simply scream-\\ning with delight at the prospect of the English being about to lick\\nthe Dutch.\\nSEVERE REPULSE OF GATACRE S COLUMN.\\nGeneral Gatacre s column, which had been moving toward\\nStormberg, in Cape Colony, where it was known there was a formid-\\nable force of Boers, met with a serious repulse on December loth.\\nThe British were misled by guides as to the enemy s position, and\\nmet with sharper resistance than was expected. General Gatacre\\nleft Putters Kraal by train for Molteno and then proceeded by forced\\nmarch twelve miles toward Stormberg, his force including the North-\\numberland Fusileers, the Royal Irish Rifles and two batteries of_\\nfield artillery, with other troops.\\nThe British were unmolested by the Boers until the Boer posi-\\ntion was reached, when a hot fire was unexpectedly opened upoi\\nthe advancing column. The engagement began at 4.15 a.m. At\\nA.M., after a sharp artillery duel, the British retired and marched\\ntoward Molteno. General Gatacre found the enemy s position im-\\npregnable. It was impossible for the British infantry to get at the\\n|i", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0440.jp2"}, "441": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 355\\nBoers. The movement may be termed a reconnoissance in force. Its\\nobject was to ascertain the strength of the position of the Boers who\\nwere strongly entrenched along the Stormberg Range.\\nDetails of the engagement show that the column arrived safely\\nwithin a couple of miles of its destination, the only incidents of the\\nmarch being an occasional sudden call of Halt, under the belief\\nthat the Boers were near. Suddenly a terrific fire opened simulta-\\nneously on the British front and right flank. The Royal Irish\\nRifles, which formed the advance, sought shelter behind a neighbor-\\ning hill, and were speedily joined by the remainder of the column.\\nIt was soon found, however, that this position was also covered by\\nBoer guns, which were more powerful than had been supposed.\\nThe troops, therefore, sought a safer position about half a mile away,\\ntwo batteries in the meantime engaging the Boers and covering the\\ntroops in their withdrawal.\\nRUSHING INTO A TERRIBLE FIRE.\\nThe action now became general at long range, and a detach-\\nment of mounted infantry moved northward with a view of getting\\non the enemy s right flank. Suddenly a strong commando was\\nseen moving from the north and the Royal Irish Rifles and the\\nNorthumberland Regiment were sent out to meet it. It was soon\\ndiscovered, however, that the Boers had machine guns well placed,\\nand the British were compelled to face a terrible fire.\\nFinding it impossible to hold the position in the face of an\\nenemy apparently superior in positions, numbers and artillery, the\\nBritish retired on Molteno, the Boers following up the retirement\\nclosely and bringing two big guns to bear on the retiring column.\\nAdvices received at the War Office in London from Cape Town,\\ndated December 9th (before the engagement above described), were\\nas follows\\nThe position of the enemy in Stormberg district last night was\\nthe following At Stormberg six encampments at Dordrecht, 800\\nmen; twenty-three miles south of Sterkstroom, 220 men. Major\\nElliott reports that Dalgetty, with a force, has gone toward Dord-\\nrecht to co-operate with Gatacre. The railway bridge at Modder", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0441.jp2"}, "442": {"fulltext": "356 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nRiver was completed December 7th. Metiiuen reports that lie made\\na demonstration up the line of the railway at daylight to-day with\\nartillery. The enemy did not respond. Methuen is receiving the\\nremainder of his reinforcements and supplies. He has established\\ndetached posts on his lines of communication. Mafeking reports\\nall well on November 30th.\\nSir William Forbes Gatacre, commander of the British force\\nthat operated against Stormberg, won a great reputation in the British\\narmy in the campaigns in India and the Soudan, where he com-\\nmanded brigades, and received many war medals for services in the\\nlower grades of rank. He is a member of Distinguished Service\\nOrder. The private soldiers in the barrack-room bestowed on the\\nGeneral the nickname of Bill Backacher, on account of his capa-\\ncity for hark work. In the Soudan his brigade was recognized as\\nthe best marching force in the country, and General Gatacre him-\\nself tramped cheerfully through the desert on the way to Khartoum.\\nRECEIVED THANKS OF PARLIAMENT.\\nFrom the time he entered the army in the Duke of Cambridge s\\nOwn Middlesex, he passed a most active military career. Having\\ngone through the Staff College, he filled administrative posts at\\nAldershot and Madras, and later on filled the positions in India of\\nassistant quartermaster-general on the headquarters staff, and adj u-\\ntant-general at Bombay. In the Chetral campaign of 1895, with\\nhis brigade forming part of the relief force, he conducted the action\\nof Marragai, and had fierce fighting in the passages of the Janbatai\\nand Lowarai passes. At the end of the 1898 campaign in the Egyp-\\ntian Soudan, for his services at the battles of Atbara and Omdurman,\\nhe received the thanks of Parliament, and was made a Knight\\nCommander of the Bath.\\nAnother desperate engagement between General Methuen s\\ncolumn and the Boers occurred north of Modder River, in which the\\nBritish troops met with serious check and suffered great losses.\\nTheir artiller} shelled a very strong position held by the enemy in\\na long, high kopje (hill), from 4 until dusk on Sunday, December\\nloth. The Highland Brigade attacked at daybreak, on Monday,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0442.jp2"}, "443": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 357\\nthe soutli end of tlie kopje. The attack was properly timed, but\\nfailed.\\nThe Guards were ordered to protect the Highlands right and\\nrear. The cavalry and mounted infantry, with a howitzer artillery\\nbattery, attacked the enemy on the left, and the Guards on the right,\\nsupported by field and howitzer artillery. They vigorously shelled\\nthe position from daybreak. At 1.15 o clock, General Methuen\\nsent the Gordons to support the Highland Brigade. The troops\\nheld their own in front of the enemy s entrenchments until dusk,\\nthe position extending, including the kopje, for a distance of six\\nmiles toward the Modder River.\\nGREAT BRAVERY OF BRITISH TROOPS.\\nGeneral Methuen held his position and threw up entrench-\\nments. His loss was heavy. Under date of December nth, an\\nofficial report was issued by the Boers, as follows A battle at\\nModder River began on the loth with cannon firing, heavy fighting\\nproceeding from 3.30 o clock in the morning until 9.30 o clock, with\\ncannon, Maxim guns and rifles. A balloon has just arisen above\\nthe British positions, where it remained ten minutes and descended.\\nThere were heavy rains during the night.\\nAt 9 o clock this morning a further report was received from\\nModder River. A dispatch rider brought word that all the Boer\\npositions had been maintained, and that forty-one British prisoners\\nhad been taken. At 9.30 o clock it was reported that the heavy\\ncannon fire had somewhat abated. The British are constantly using\\ntheir balloon. The fighting was still going on at noon.\\nFrom complete accounts of the engagement it appears that,\\nearly in the evening, the Guards of the Highland Brigade moved\\nfrom the Modder Camp, marching in the night in a northeasterly\\ndirection. The objective of the Highlanders was the eastern spur of\\nthe Boer position, the Guards following the bank of the river, while\\nthe Yorkshire Light Infantry moved along the riverside. Just be-\\nfore daybreak, the Highlanders arrived within 200 yards of the Boer\\nentrenchments at the foot of a hill.\\nUnsuspecting that the Boers were in the vicinity, the British", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0443.jp2"}, "444": {"fulltext": "358 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nwere still marcliing in quarter column, in close order, when they\\nmet a terrible fire from the flanks and were forced to retire with\\nheavy loss. The troops reformed under the shelter of some rising\\nground and gallantly held their position. Later, the Gordons\\narrived. The troops gradually worked their way until within 300\\nyards of the Boer positions, displaying the greatest gallantry. In\\nthe meanwhile, a naval gun at the Modder River, the Howitzer bat-\\nteries and the Horse Artillery opened a terrific fire, enfilading the\\ntrenches and searching every portion of the Boer position. The\\nBoer guns were entirely silent.\\nIn the meanwhile the Boers, on the open ground directly in\\nfront, moved with the object of making a flank attack. But this was\\nfrustrated by the Guards and artillery. The Boers recommenced\\nshelling in the evening, but no damage was done. The British\\nslept on their position. The losses on both sides were very heavy.\\nAmong the killed on the British side were the Marquis of West-\\nminster and General Wauchope. The death of General Wauchope\\nwas widely deplored. A pathetic circumstance was that his wife\\nwas among the inquirers at the War Office in London a few minutes\\nbefore the telegram announcing his death was posted.\\nA VALIANT GENERAL.\\nWounded in three campaigns-^once very severely during his\\nsoldier s life, General Wauchope fell as he wished, leading his own\\nregiment, the Black Watch, to the attack. The position he had\\ncoveted was his. As Brigadier of the Highland Brigade, in which\\nthe Scotch Highland regiments of the First Army Corps were\\ngrouped, he was in the line of succession to Sir Colin Campbell,\\nLord Clyde, under whom some of the sternest fighting and most\\nbrilliant feats of arms were accomplished in the Crimea and the\\nIndian mutiny.\\nAndrew Gilbert Wauchope, of Niddry Marischal, Midlothian,\\ncame of a family long settled near the Scottish capital, the heart\\nof the county. As a magistrate and deputy lieutenant he possessed\\nconsiderable county influence, and for this reason was chosen as the\\nconservative candidate to oppose Mr. Gladstone in what was a for-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0444.jp2"}, "445": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 359\\nlorn hope at tHe general election of 1892. Mr. Gladstone held the\\nseat by an enormous majority, and it was with no prospect of oust-\\ning the aged statesman in his last electoral contest that Lieutenant-\\nColonel Wauchope came forward.\\nBut it was one of the significant incidents of that general elec-\\ntion that Mr. Gladstone s majority was greatly reduced by the simple\\nsoldier, who had no political pretensions. His life was passed in\\nmilitary service with but brief interruptions, and he devoted himself\\nassiduously to maintaining the traditional fame of the Black Watch,\\nthe second battalion of which, the old Seventy-third, he joined on\\nentering the army.\\nIN THE FOREFRONT OF BATTLE.\\nHe married, in 1882, Alethea, daughter of Sir Thomas Hrskine.\\nAccompanying his regiment, he fought with it in the Ashanti cam-\\npaign of Sir Garnet Wolesley, in 1873-74, and gained a mention in\\nthe dispatches. At Tel-el-Kebir he was in the front, in 1882, and\\nin the Gordon relief campaign two years later was severely wounded.\\nHe was selected for the command of a brigade in 1898, in Lord\\nKitchener s expedition to Khartoum.\\nAt the battle of Omdurman, when the advance from the Zariba\\nto the city began, his brigade gave timely help to Macdonald s\\nBgyptians. His services in this campaign brought him promotion\\nto a Major-General s rank, and he received the thanks of Parlia-\\nment. Like Sir William Penn Symons, he was a typical regimental\\nofficer of the British army, with prospects of selection to an inde-\\npendent command, and his loss was all the greater blow.\\nDetailed accounts of the sortie made from Lady smith by the\\nBritish in an effort to capture the Boer position on Gun Hill,\\nshowed that all the men taking part in it were on foot. Some wore\\nrubber-soled shoes and carried no bayonets. When they had\\nsilently mounted the rocks, passing the sleeping Boer picket, they\\nsuddenly heard the challenge, Who comes there No reply was\\nmade, and the challenge was repeated.\\nThen the Boers cried out several times: The Redcoat! Shoot!\\nAn officer of the Light HorseVolunteers thereupon shouted in Dutch:", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0445.jp2"}, "446": {"fulltext": "360 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nThe Redcoats witli bayonets Run The British cheered and\\ncharged. The enemy s fire broke out in front and rear, and the\\nBritish in front thought their comrades were firing on them. Gene-\\nral Hunter ordered cease fire to be sounded, and the next minute\\nthe Boers bolted. Some thirty were surprised asleep. One of the]\\nsergeants, amid the confusion, seized General Hunter by the throat,\\ncrying, Who the devil are you\\nThere was a hurried search by the British for the big guns.\\nFor a moment the horrible thought seized them that there might bej\\nno guns at all that the enemy, as had often been the case, hac\\nsomehow got wind of the projected attack and removed their cannoi\\nto a safe distance; but at last, to the delight of everybody, the Lon[_\\nTom itself was discovered snugly ensconced behind a parapet oi\\nsand-bags thirty-one feet thick. A 4.7-inch howitzer was found ii\\nan emplacement hardly less strong, with a Maxim gun between the\\ntwo, posted apparently for the purpose of repelling an assault.\\nDESTRUCTION OF BIG GUNS.\\nLieutenant Turner, with two sappers and six artillerymen, at\\nonce took charge of the Long Tom, and with crowbars and ham-\\nmers smashed the breach and elevating gear. Two charges of gun-\\ncotton were then placed in the breech and muzzle and connected\\nwith fuses. While the Long Tom was thus being provided for,\\nsimilar attention was bestowed on the howitzer by Captain Fowkc\\nand other sappers and gunners. The preparations being completed,\\nGeneral Hunter ordered the men down the hill.\\nThe fuses were lit with the burning ends of officers cigars.\\nEverybody fell back with the exception of Captain Fowke, who re-\\nmained midway between the two big guns, and after a couple of\\nminutes of suspense a loud report showed that the object had been\\naccomplished. Captain Fowke hastened to examine the debris. He\\nfound the 6-inch gun with two gaping holes in the muzzle, which\\nwas badly bulged, and the breech rifling had been destroyed beyond\\nall chance of repair. The howitzer was in even a worse plight, the\\nexplosion having wrecked the carriage as well as the gun. The\\nMaxim was seized and carried off.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0446.jp2"}, "447": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 361\\nTlie men returned to camp across tlie plain unmolested.\\nOther trophies of the sortie were an Bnglish song book that was\\nfound in a cave underneath the parapet, where the gunners evidently\\ntook refuge, and a private letter, in which it was said that the\\nburghers were not a bit frightened.\\nIn the desperate fight at Magersfontein, the Highlanders did\\nall that the most gallant troops in the world could do, but it was\\nimpossible to face the terrible fire of the Boers. The British artil-\\nlery again saved the situation, and divided the honors of the day\\nwith the Scotchmen. The batteries worked for hours under a\\ngalling rifle fire. The Boers suffered a heavy loss. A single lyd-\\ndite shell killed or wounded more than seventy Boers, and two other\\nshells burst over two bodies of Boers ensconced behind the range,\\ndoing fearful damage. The Boers fought throughout with the\\nutmost gallantry. Their sharpshooters seldom missed the mark.\\nBURSTING SHELL AT A PRAYER MEETING.\\nA Boer, faultlessly dressed, with polished top-boots, a shirt\\nwith silk rufiles, and a segar in his mouth, was seen walking among\\nthe ant hills, picking off the British. This Boer was quite alone,\\nand it was apparent from his frequent use of field-glasses that\\nhe was singling out of cers. A lyddite shell, fired on Sunday, fell\\nin the middle of an open-air prayer meeting, held to offer supplica-\\ntions for the success of the Boer arms.\\nAll the wounded were full of praise for the treatment they\\nreceived from the medical department on the battlefield. While the\\nGuards were advancing on the plain, which the Boers were shelling\\nfrom the adjoining ridges, they encountered and cut up a strong\\nBoer picket, posted on a hill for purposes of observation. All the\\nmembers of the picket were either killed, wounded or taken\\nprisoners.\\nConcerning the engagement at Magersfontein, General Cronje,\\ncommander of the Boers, reported that there was desultory fighting\\nfor* several hours, when heavy cannon fire was resumed. The\\nScandinavians stormed a difficult position, but it became untenable\\nand they suffered severely. General Cronje was unable to send", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0447.jp2"}, "448": {"fulltext": "362 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nhelp. The British were in overwhelming force, but their losses\\nwere very heavy.\\nAnother official report from Captain Finnhart stated that\\nthere were no signs of surrender, the burghers fighting with con-\\nspicuous bravery and maintaining their positions under heavy\\nBritish fire. The Boer cannon were of very little use. The British\\nwere greatly assisted by balloons. Twenty-four ambulances worked\\nbackward and forward between the fighting line and the enemy s\\ncamp, and were kept busy caring for the wounded.\\nFIERCE BATTLE AT TUGELA RIVER.\\nOn the 15th of December General Buller attempted to force a\\npassage of the Tugela River in order to afford relief to Ladysmith,\\nand met with a serious reverse. He moved in full strength from\\nhis camp near Chieveley at 4 o clock in the morning. There are\\ntwo fordable places in the Tugela River, and it was his intention to\\nforce a passage through at one of them. They are about two miles\\napart.\\nHe planned to force one or the other with one brigade, sup-\\nported by a central brigade. General Hart was to attack the left\\nford, General Hildyard the right road, and General Lyttleton was\\nto take the centre and to support either. Early in the day Buller\\nsaw that General Hart would not be able to force a passage and\\ndirected him to withdraw. He had, however, attacked with great\\ngallantry, and his leading battalion, the Connaught Rangers,\\nsuffered a great deal. Colonel I. G. Brooke was seriously wounded.\\nBuller then ordered General Hildyard to advance, which he did,\\nand his leading regiment, the East Surrey, occupied Colenso station\\nand the houses near the bridge.\\nAt that moment Buller heard that the whole artillery he had\\nsent to support the attack the Fourteenth and Sixty-sixth Field\\nBatteries and six naval 12-pounder quick-firing guns under Colonel\\nLong, had advanced close to the river in Long s desire to be within\\neffective range. It proved to be full of the enemy, who suddenly\\nopened a galling fire at close range, killing all their horses, and the\\ngunners were compelled to stand to their guns. Some of the w^agon", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0448.jp2"}, "449": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 363\\nteams got shelter for the troops in a donga (hollow) and desperate\\nefforts were made to bring out the field-guns. The fire, however,\\nwas too severe, and they only were saved by Captain Schofield and\\nsome drivers.\\nAnother most gallant attempt with three teams was made. Of\\nthe eighteen horses thirteen were killed, and, as several drivers were\\nwounded, the commander would not allow another attempt, as it\\nseemed that they would be a shell mark, sacrificing life to a gallant\\nattempt to force the passage Unsupported by artillery, he directed\\nthe troops to withdraw, which they did in good order. Throughout\\nthe day a considerable force of the enemy was pressing on his right\\nflank, but was kept back by mounted men under Lord Dundonald\\nand part of General Barton s brigade. The day was intensely hot\\nand most trying even on troops whose condition was excellent.\\nSERIOUS LOSS OF GUNS.\\nThe British abandoned ten guns and lost by shell-fire one.\\nThe losses in General Hart s brigade were heavy, although the pro-\\nportion of severely wounded was not large. The Fourteenth and\\nSixty-sixth Field Batteries also suffered severe losses. The British\\nretired to their camp at Chieveley.\\nThe Tugela River flows from close to Van Reenen s Pass to\\nthe Indian Ocean, about forty miles above Durban. It lies north of\\nColenso and immediately south of Ladysmith, and in the winter\\nseason is a turbulent stream. Both banks at and for miles along\\nthe front where General Buller attempted to cross in pontoons, as\\nthe bridge had been destroyed, are steep, and, on the north side\\nespecially, are backed by a mountainous country. For weeks the\\nBoers had been entrenching themselves on the north bank of the\\nriver, as it was realized that there the advance of the British for the\\nrelief of Ladysmith could be most stubbornly resisted.\\nThat the fight was a desperate one it is needless to say. The\\nissue at stake was tremendous, and it can readily be understood that\\nthe British retired only after a succession of plucky efforts to cross\\nthe river. This was the first engagement in which General Buller\\nfigured. All England looked forward to him to retrieve British", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0449.jp2"}, "450": {"fulltext": "364 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nprestige, and that his initial battle proved to be a defeat was a bitter\\ndisappointment.\\nAll the British commanders in South Africa Gatacre, Methuen\\nand Buller had now been discomfited and repulsed.\\nOn the 15th the British bombarded some of the Boer positions\\nat Colenso, but the burghers did not reply. This concealment of\\ntheir positions was in line with Boer tactics. It is only when\\na British cavalry charge is ordered and made that the artillery and\\nrifle fire of the Boers disclose where they are.\\nGeneral Buller reported to the War Office in London that his\\nlosses in the engagement with the Boers at the Tugela River, near\\nColenso, December 15th, were 1150 men. The revised list of the\\nBritish casualties in the battle of Magersfontein, on the 12th, showed\\nthe total to be 963, of which number seventy were officers. In\\nthese two encounters with the Boers, therefore, the British lost\\n21 13 men. The Boers fought generally under cover.\\nDEATH OF A BRILLIANT OFFICER.\\nCaptain Roberts, son of General Lord F. Roberts, was severely\\nwounded in the Tugela River fight while leading some men in an\\nattempt to rescue the guns. Professor MacCormac, President of the\\nRoyal College of Surgeons, extracted the bullet, but Captain\\nRoberts died from the effects of his wound. The War Office issued\\na list of the casualties in the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)\\nRegiment in the battle of Magersfontein. There were forty-one\\nkilled, 163 wounded and iii missing.\\nMutual arrangements were made by the British and Boer com-\\nmanders by which the British dead were to be buried on the 14th\\nand 15th. The Boers stipulated, however, that only a clergyman\\nof the Reformed Church should officiate, and that the British should\\nnot come within 600 yards of their lines. Mr. Robertson, the\\nPresbyterian chaplain of one of the Highland regiments, who had\\npreviously been of great help, was selected to conduct the burial\\nservices. He took twenty engineers with him and started for the\\nscene of the battle of Magersfontein. The engineers, who acted as\\nlitter-bears, were blindfolded when they reached the Boer outposts.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0450.jp2"}, "451": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 365\\nGeneral Cronje, tHe Boer Commandant, sent a message regret-\\nting that lie could not come personally to receive tlie burial party,\\nbut he said that other affairs engaged his attention at the time.\\nHe sent Commandant Vermaas, Intelligence Officer Draper and\\nField Cornet Wills to assist Mr. Robertson in locating the dead.\\nAfterward Colonial Doctor Grogan joined them and found he knew\\nmany of the slain. Chaplain Robertson said that what seemed\\nlike deserted kopjes and ridges swarmed with men as his party\\napproached. Commandant Vermaas treated him in the kindest\\nmanner. He returned twice to see if he could be of any further\\nassistance and shook hands with Mr. Robertson on parting.\\nMET WITH A TERRIBLE HAIL OF BULLETS.\\nBoer prisoners said that if the Highland Brigade had massed\\nand stormed the trenches after the first surprise the British loss\\nwould have been heavier, because the Boers from the kopje on the\\nside were ready to enfilade the trenches if they had been captuted.\\nThe Gordon Highlanders were held in reserve till lo o clock the\\nmorning of the fight, when they went forward in wide order toward\\nthe base of the east kopje. They got within 500 yards of this\\npoint without any casualties worth mentioning, when they suddenly\\nencountered a strong cross-fire. The Boers had allowed them to\\nreach the point where they were concealed in the trenches and then\\nthe burghers infiladed the Highlanders. Karly in the fighting the\\nHighland Brigade demolished the Scandinavian contingent of about\\ntwo hundred.\\nThe Boer Intelligence Officer reported that great quantities of\\nBritish weapons were on the field at Magersfontein. There were\\nany number of Lee-Metford rifles, bandoleers, cases of ammunition\\nand bayonets scattered in all directions. Attempts were made to\\ncount the English losses, but the task was given up as hopeless.\\nSo great was their loss that the English ambulance corps, large as\\nit was, was unable to bury their dead and attend the wounded. After\\nattending to our own men we assisted the British with our few\\nambulances.\\nThirty-one burghers were buried at Bisset s Farm, where our", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0451.jp2"}, "452": {"fulltext": "366 REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN.\\nwounded are. The losses in horses were very great. The sappers\\nmust have suffered heavily. The burghers expressed undue rejoic-\\ning at our great victory. Very few of our men were engaged.\\nThe field is a dreadful sight. It was a great victory and our men\\nhave new spirit.\\nThe Black Watch were moved close to our lines in the\\nnight for an attack in the morning before sunrise. The Boers shot\\nthem all except thirty-one, who were taken prisoners. These thirty-\\none men of the Black Watch said they were all who survived.\\nScottish prisoners stated their brigade was about 4000 strong, and\\nthat they were terribly punished. General Wauchope was killed.\\nENGLAND AROUSED TO THE SITUATION.\\nAmid the gloom and grief which overwhelmed England on\\nreceiving intelligence of General Buller s repulse, the confidence in\\nthe final triumph of the British arms throughout South Africa re-\\nmained unshaken. The determination to win regardless of the cost\\nwas, however, coupled with another grim resolve, namely, to fix and\\nenforce the responsibility for the disasters which brought the darkest\\ndays Great Britain has known within the memory of living man.\\nThis purpose was not directed so much against the incompetency of\\nthe commanders in the field, but against some of the officials who\\nplunged the country into a war which it was not prepared to meet.\\nThe British authorities, both at home and in Cape Colony, con-\\nfessed that they were surprised at being obliged to fight both the\\nSouth African Republics instead of one, and also at the strength of\\nthe Boer armament. The one feature whereof they could fairly\\nplead excusable surprise was the size of the rebellion in Cape Colony\\nitself. This had now reached appalling proportions. No cable\\ninformation concerning it was allowed to reach London, but there\\nwas abundant intelligence in the many mail advices received, show-\\ning that Cape Dutch Afrikanders in thousands had been joining\\nthe Boer standards in the preceding few weeks.\\nThis was the most serious feature of the situation, and the\\none which most alarmed England. The campaign was practically\\nended in the discomfiture of the British arms. An entirely new", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0452.jp2"}, "453": {"fulltext": "REMARKABLE ENGLISH CAMPAIGN. 367\\ncampaign, on a new basis, would liave to be undertaken. All\\nmilitary men recognized tbis, altbougb tbe public did not. Not a\\nsingle Britisb column was in condition to act offensively except at\\ndesperate risks. Tbe new situation of virtual civil war above\\ndescribed cbanged everytbing.\\nPEOPLE OF CANADA VERY PATRIOTIC.\\nTbe resolute spirit tbat animated tbe motber country was\\nCxbibited in all tbe Britisb Colonies, particularly in Canada. Tbe\\nCanadian contingent of troops for service in Soutb Africa landed at\\nCape Town November 30tb, and were given an entbusiastic recep-\\ntion. Tbey were greeted witb continuous cbeers, and tbe beartiest\\nwelcome. Tbey sbowed tbat tbeir long bome training and colonial\\ncampaigning experience was not lost on tbem, and tbey received\\ntbeir reward by being pusbed rapidly to tbe front.\\nTbe disaster of General Buller at Tugela River was everywbere\\ndiscussed in Canada as an imperial calamity, but wbile soreness and\\nbumiliation were rife, tbe reverse to Britisb arms served to stir\\nanew tbe imperial patriotism of tbe people. Tbis was sbown in tbe\\nrenewal of tbe offers of service made to tbe government. Tbat\\nCanada must send a second contingent was accepted as an inevitable\\noutcome of tbe situation, and tbe militia department of Ottawa\\nreceived from officers of tbe city corps alone offers of about 5000 men.\\nTbe ardor of tbe Canadian anilitiamen to enlist for service\\nin Soutb Africa was fully evidenced. Tbe officers of tbe Second\\nField Battery, one of tbe smartest artillery corps in Canada, waited\\nupon Major-General Hutton, wbo commands tbe Canadian militia,\\nand urged acceptance of tbe battery s services, offered at tbe out-\\nbreak of tbe war. Tbey pointed out tbat artillery, next to cavalry,\\nfor scouting purposes, was tbe arm in wbicb tbe Britisb force\\nin Soutb Africa is most deficient. It was also strongly presented\\nto tbe government tbat a welcome addition to tbe Britisb forces\\nwould be a detacbment of 500 of tbe mounted police, wbo are\\nexcellent borsemen, expert sbots and well drilled in scouting and\\nvidette duty. Supplemented by a contingent of field artillery sucb\\na brigade would be of inestimable service.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0453.jp2"}, "454": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXIII.\\nAdditional Account of the Canadian Contingent.\\nTHE i6tli chapter of this volume, page 238, contains a graphic\\ndescription of the organization and equipment of the Canadian\\ntroops who enlisted for the war in Sonth Africa. A full account\\nis given of the great public demonstrations with which they\\nwere greeted in the several towns through which the} passed, and\\nof their departure from Quebec by the steamship Sardinian.\\nThe facts to be added in this connection only emphasize the\\nfeeling of Canadian lo3^alty and the splendid patriotism which\\nanimated the people everj^where.\\nThroughout the lower provinces more men desired to become\\nthe soldiers of the Queen than could be accepted, and great was\\nthe disappointment of those who had to remain at home. Offers\\nfor service came pouring in from Saint John, Fredericton, Wood-\\nstock, Saint Stephen, Newcastle, Chatham, Moncton, Sackville,\\nand other places in New Brunswick from Halifax, Truro, Yar-\\nmouth, Pictou, and elsewhere iji Nova Scotia, while such was the\\nfeeling in little Prince Edward Island that the whole contingent\\nmight have been obtained there Avithout much difficulty. In Saint\\nJohn, the City of the Loyalists, where many of the leading citi-\\nzens are the descendants of that sturdy stock, the New Brunswick-\\ners, numbering nearly one hundred strong, had a magnificent\\nsend-off.\\nThe line of march from the parade grounds to the railway\\nstation, a distance of about one and a half miles, was crowded with\\nenthusiastic thousands, who were evidently determined that this\\nold cit}^ should not be outdone by any one in its appreciation of the\\nreadiness of the boys in red and blue to uphold the national honor.\\nFrom windows, roofs and ever}^ point of vantage cheer after cheer\\nwent up as, with swinging stride and true soldierly mien, they\\nswept along.\\n868", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0454.jp2"}, "455": {"fulltext": "THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT. 369\\nFrom one of tlie windows of the Fusiliers clubroom there\\nstreamed out an immense British, flag, which called forth the most\\ntumultous cheering, while the playing by one of the bands of\\nThe Soldiers of the Queen, called forth round after round of\\napplause. As the procession swept along Charlotte, down King,\\nand up Dock street it seemed as if the entire population was out-\\ndoors, and, as the familiar strains of Auld Lang Syne floated\\nout upon the evening air, for the shadows were now beginning to\\ngather, the excitement knew no bounds.\\nAN IMPOSING PAGEANT.\\nThe scene at the depot was one to be remembered, but not\\ndescribed. The immense building was packed with the represen-\\ntatives of all classes, ages, and sexes, while thousands were out-\\nside and around, anxious to have a part in the imposing pageant.\\nThe soldiers were to enter by a side door, and a strong force of\\npolice were on hand to keep open a narrow path to the cars. But\\nwhen the band struck up the National Anthem, and the cheers\\nfrom without indicated the arrival of the boys, the surging crowds\\ncame together with a rush, the pathway was closed, and band\\ninstruments, policemen s batons, ladies hats, and soldiers uni-\\nforms were one wild medley of confusion.\\nSons of the Sovereign have been royally entertained here,\\nregiments of the line have been warmly welcomed, and many a\\nscene of wondrous interest has been witnessed here, but never\\nbefore were the people of this city so profoundly moved as on this\\noccasion. There was no abatement of the enthusiasm until the\\ntrain had slowly crept out of the station, and, as the crowds slowly\\ndispersed, the prayer went up from many a heart that we might\\nhave the privilege of welcoming the brave lads home again when\\nthe war is ended. That they would acquit themselves like men\\nwas not doubted by anyone.\\nA similar send-off was given the members of the second con-\\ntingent, with the addition of a mass meeting in Mechanics Insti-\\ntute, presided over by Mayor Sears, when, as in the case of the\\nfirst contingent, each man was presented with a five-dollar gold\\n24", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0455.jp2"}, "456": {"fulltext": "370 THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT.\\npiece and a package of sundries tliat will be found useful wHen\\nin camp or on tlie marcli.\\nNor were the Saint Jolin men tlie only ones to be welcomed\\nand cbeered, for wben the men from Woodstock passed tbrougb\\ntbe city there was an impromptu gathering at the station which\\nwas greatly appreciated by the men in question. Similar enthu-\\nsiasm was manifested in Halifax in connection with the departure\\nof the second contingent from that city. On the evening of\\nJanuary 19th the greatest crowd that ever gathered under one roof\\nin this city was that jat the new armory, the occasion being the\\ncivic reception to the second contingent. It is estimated that at\\nleast 10,000 persons were present, and at least 2,000 were turned\\naway. The whole proceeding was a grand blaze of patriotic\\nenthusiasm, the equal of which was never witnessed in this old\\nmilitary city. Speeches were delivered by Mayor Hamilton, Sir\\nMalachy Daly, Lieutenant-Governor General Lord William Sey-\\nmour, Hon. W. S. Fielding, and Hon. Dr. Borden. The scene\\nwas one of dazzling brilliancy, the decorations being on an elabor-\\nate scale, bright uniforms of military adding to the effect of hun-\\ndreds of electric lights. Military bands played patriotic airs,\\nand the rendering of patriotic songs evoked tremendous enthu-\\nsiasm.\\nGREAT OUTPOURING OF THE POPULACE.\\nThe day was dark and dreary, rain fell in torrents, and a thick\\nfog hung over all. But despite these discouragements the anxious\\nthousands were early on the move to see the departing troops.\\nWith quick elastic step, with swing and life and jauntiness in every\\nstride, the men marched through the centre of the city. The\\nstreets and sidewalks along the line of march swarm with people.\\nSome forty thousand witness the scene. Cheer upon cheer comes\\nswelling on the air, faces peer from every window. Men rush along-\\nside for the last hand clasp with departing comrades. At last the\\ndockyard is reached and the last man is on board. The steamer\\nis now ready to start and scores of boats are waiting to escort the\\ntransport down the harbor.\\nA local writer, referring to the departure of the first contin-\\nI", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0456.jp2"}, "457": {"fulltext": "THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT. 371\\ngent from Saint Jolin, and his remarks apply equally to all, thus\\nvoices the public feeling: From the City of the Loyalists and\\nfrom the province they founded under the aegis of the flag for\\nwhich they sacrificed so much, there went out yesterday a soldier\\nband. The flag their fathers planted on these shores in years\\nagone is their flag. It beckons them now across the seas, where\\nloyalists on another continent are called to arms in its defense.\\nWe give of our best, and they go to fight if need be in the battles\\nof the empire. Our hearts and hopes go with them, and we are\\nassured that whether in war or peace the honors and traditions of\\ntheir native land will bravely be upheld.\\nAnd so they went the sons of Great Britain and soldiers\\nof the Queen. They went, these lads that we have known and\\nloved, with a little sinking of the heart, it may be, at the moment\\nof severing the ties of home and friendship but animated by the\\nsame stern spirit that has tracked the wilderness and bridged the\\nseas, toiling upward through the centuries and outward through\\nthe regions of the earth, upbuilding that imperial fabric whose\\nstrength is freedom, and into whose texture time for a thousand\\nyears has woven the imperishable fibre of a Briton s loyalty.\\nALL HEARTS BEAT AS ONE.\\nAnd so they went and some at home will count the cost,\\nand some will weep and pray. But over the sea and over the\\nveldt, with these lads that go a-soldering, will go the message to\\nour kindred that, whether beneath the Southern Cross or beside\\nthe northern sea, in the hour of need heart answers heart in\\nBritain s realms throughout the wide, wide world.\\nAs already stated in a preceding chapter, the first Canadian\\ncontingent arrived at Cape Town November 30th. The magnifi-\\ncent welcome the troops received is thus described by a correspond-\\nent who was a witness of the inspiring scene\\nAt noon we anchored in the spacious bay; at 6 o clock we\\ndrew up alongside the wharf Cheers from the crowds, salutes\\nfrom the steamers which thronged the anchorage, marked our slow\\njourney inwards from the outer roadstead. Our voyage, tedious", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0457.jp2"}, "458": {"fulltext": "372 THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT.\\nenongli in its monotonous lengtli, had a beginning and an ending of\\nniar\\\\^elous and romantic beautj^ What impressions our departure\\nfrom Quebec produced upon us you already know. Yesterday we\\ndrew into a harbor set amongst might}^ hills, a ship-thronged sheet\\nof water encircled by mighty mountains. The hills have a steep-\\nness of outline, a hard bareness of aspect foreign to our own loved\\nland, but the airs which greeted us were the national anthem,\\nRule Britannia, and Soldiers of the Queen. Four weeks voy-.\\nage, and we are still in the empire.\\nTable ]\\\\Iountain loomed ahead of us early in the morning,\\nand for hours it grew larger in front of us. The day was hazy^\\nand the purple shadow, with its level, clear-cut top, lay like a cloud\\nhigh above the horizon ahead. Larger and larger it grew, and we\\nwere suddenl}^ aware of a low-lying land to our right and a long\\nstretch of coast to our left.\\nPICTURESQUE SCENERY AT CAPE TOWN.\\nThe land to our right was Robbers Island, a low-lying patch\\nof land, with an evil reputation as a leper settlement. To our left\\nwas a long line of land, breakers rushing high into the air along\\nthe shore, dim, precipitous peaks showing ominously in the back-\\nground. But embayed as we were in a wide sweep of coast, the\\nonl}^ land for which we had eyes was the mountain cluster right\\nahead.\\nReared high above us, the flat top of Table Mountain over-\\nbore the scene. To the right, a conical peak to the left, a rugged\\npeak. The size of it all had a strangel}^ minimizing effect. We\\nwere a strangel}- small entity, running into a to}^ harbor, enringed\\nb}^ stage mountains. The long stretches of the shore to the left,\\nthe low island to our right, fell into insignificance we were heading\\nfor the sheet of water which those towering hills encircled. Strange\\nis the dwarfing effect which bulk itself produces.\\nCape Town seemed a spattering of roofs clinging to the roots\\nof the square-topped hill, the basin to which we were heading a\\nsmall enough sheet. But when we landed it was a wear}- walk\\naround that basin, and the town extended over many a high-built", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0458.jp2"}, "459": {"fulltext": "THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT. 373\\nstreet. But still tliat purple mountain overbore us, rising in tlie\\nair whenever we raised our heads. Tlie Lion s Head to our right,\\nwith its outline of a human face upon its front, the conical top of\\nSignal Hill to our left, beset us we were in a city set about with\\nhills. From a score to a score and a half of steamers lay in the\\nouter anchorage, ships and steamers lay in close-packed rows along\\nthe docks yet the huge overhanging hills dwarfed all this wide\\nexpanse of water, these mighty works of man.\\nAmid the cheers of the men the anchor chain rattled out,\\nand our four weeks voyage was over. When we were approach-\\ning, the towering semicircle of hills made the sheet of water which\\nwas our destination seem of small account when we were in it a\\nscore and a half of big ocean steamers lay scattered over it, and\\nthere was room for hundreds more. The blue ensign hung over\\nnearly every stem the harbor was filled with transports. Over\\ntowards the docks was a thicket of masts and funnels. The docks\\nwere crowded and we would have to wait.\\nTHE CANADIAN COLONEL WELCOMED.\\nIt was about noon when we anchored it was about 6 when\\nwe docked. We filled in the time by waiting. The sun was\\nbrilliant, the day cloudless, the harbor surface glassy smooth, and\\nyet our ship, no longer ploughing forward, from time to time\\nrolled heavily. We flew the yellow flag, which demanded a quar-\\nantine officer, and the doctor came and passed us. It was against\\norders for anyone to leave the ship before Colonel Otter, and it\\nwas well into the afternoon before he set foot upon the soil of\\nAfrica. A broad side-wheel tug brought aboard Sir Alfred Mil-\\nner s representative, a fresh, pleasant-faced lad of an officer, natty\\nin khaki, with the brilliant scarlet collar-patch which denotes a\\nstaff officer, and he extended a welcome to Colonel Otter.\\nAn army service corps officer in blue and white came\\naboard, and there was a shout from the quarterdeck of Duffus\\nLieutenant Frank Duffus it was, a Halifax man, an old college\\nfriend of several of our officers. Business with Colonel Otter\\ncame first, for he was transport officer then he fell into the arms", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0459.jp2"}, "460": {"fulltext": "TiTl itiK CANADIAN CONTINGENT. ^^^^^^H\\nof old friends. Anotlier visit from tlie side-wheeler, just as Col-\\nonel Otter was about to embark in a skiff it was tbe Mayor and\\nHarbor Board of tbe cit}^, come to give us a municipal welcome.\\nIt was a practical welcome, for tbey gave bim a lift to tbe wbarf\\nColonel Otter and Major Drummond, witb Sergeant Reading,\\nwere tbe landing party, wbile Captain Todd was given a passage\\nasbore. It was good-b3^e to Captain Todd, and we cbeered bim\\nwitb all our bearts and as tbe men forward saw departing tbe\\nof cer wbo bas been superintending tbeir quarters for tbe past\\ntbree weeks it was again tbree cbeers for Captain Todd!\\nNOISY GREETINGS IN THE HARBOR.\\nTben we waited for a wbile longer. Tbe Warwera, wbicb\\nbad come in tbe day before witb tbe Australians and New Zea-\\nlanders, swung near us, and a megapbone man at ber stern\\nsbouted bits of tbe montb s news to us, wbile we devoured tbe\\nfew newspapers wbicb bad drifted asbore. Tben we found\\ntbat a notable favor bad been sbown us. Tbe steamer Cbesbire\\nbad beaten us in by some bours and was lying near us. Sbe bad\\non board tbe ist Gordon Higblanders, tbe Dargai battalion.\\nWord went around tbat we were going into dock at once abead\\nof tbe Higblanders. Up came our ancbor, in we moved^ As we\\ncame into motion our welcome began. We crossed first tbe bows\\nof tbe Cbesbire, and ber wbistle boomed incessantly, wbile ber\\nbows and upper works were dense witb kbaki and kilts, as tbe\\nGordons cbeered and cbeered again. Wbistle after wbistle\\nevery one of tbe sbips seemed to be saluting us wbenever we\\npassed near enougb for tbe voice to reacb, cbeers rang out across\\ntbe water, and were roared back from our decks.\\nA long dock and a crowd upon it was before us. Tbrougb an\\nopening in it we passed, and were in a steamer-crowded basin,\\napproacbing a slip, on tbe otber side of wbicb lay a mauve-painted\\nCastle liner. Tbe liner s band played us in, and tbe first air we\\nbeard was God Save tbe Queen. Rule Britannia and\\nSoldiers of tbe Queen were otber numbers in tbis dockyard\\nconcert. Tbe crowd on tbe dock cbeered us wildly and sang God", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0460.jp2"}, "461": {"fulltext": "375", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0461.jp2"}, "462": {"fulltext": "376 THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT.\\nSave the Queen. We clieered back, and showed tliat we knew tke\\nsong. We drew alongside, and another Canadian stood on tlie\\ndock Captain Kennedy, Royal Engineers, well known to many\\nof us. Tken tke gang-plank fell and we were at Cape Town.\\nLast nigkt our men stayed aboard, very few, indeed, leaving\\nber. All nigbt tbe disembarkation of baggage went on, and at\\n8 o clock tbe regiment formed on tbe dock and marcbed away for\\nSea Point, a suburb about four miles out, wbere tbe prisoners and\\nwounded are. Tbe Australians, wbo preceded us so closely, are\\nat Maitland, anotber suburb. Active service at once sucb is our\\nfortune.\\nOur readers will be interested in an account of tbe departure\\nof tbe Manitoba troops for Soutb Africa. Tbey went out witb tbe\\nfirst Canadian contingent and left for Quebec on Tuesday, Oct.\\n24. Never since tbe 9otb Battalion went to tbe front in 1885 was\\ntbere sucb a demonstration of loyalty as wben tbe brave boys wbo\\nvolunteered to figbt in Africa for tbe Empire marcbed to tbe\\nCanadian Pacific Railway station and entrained for Quebec.\\nDENSE MASS OF CHEERING PEOPLE.\\nMany of tbe stores and places of business were closed down,\\nand tbe route of marcb was lined from beginning to end witb\\ncitizens, wbile from tbe drill ball to tbe station tbe troops marcbed\\ntbrougb a lane of cbeering people, wbo at times waxed so entbu-\\nsiastic tbat tbe brass bands could bardly be beard. Tbat Winni-\\npeg is proud of ber contingent was sbown in several ways, and\\nwell sbe bad reason to be. Tbe Manitoba men were all of splendid\\npbysique, and as smart in tbeir drill as regulars.\\nIt was not curiosity nor affectation wbicb drew fortb sucb an\\nimmense gatbering, but tbe true loyalty and esteem of tbose\\nyoung men wbo eagerly sougbt and accepted tbe opportunity of\\nbearing Her Majesty s arms and wearing ber uniform in a strife\\nwbicb, tbougb still in tbe same realm, is nevertbeless upon tbe\\nopposite side of tbe globe. A rumor was circulated tbat a fire was\\nin progress a few blocks from tbe spot, but no one displayed tbe\\nfaintest interest in tbe report wbile bistory was making. Tbe", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0462.jp2"}, "463": {"fulltext": "THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT. 377\\nCity Hall steps were occupied by a crowd of brightly dressed, pretty-\\nfaced scbool-girls, while their brothers of the senior classes stood\\nshoulder to shoulder, like a miniature army, under the command\\nof their drill-instructor, Captain Billman, awaiting the military\\ncommand to take their place upon the flank of their senior Volun-\\nteers. Such short notice of the day and hour of departure had\\nbeen given that but scant opportunity was afforded for the display\\nof bunting or other ornamentation, but from every flagstaff within\\nthe range of vision floated the emblem of the Bmpire, and a myriad\\nof little flags had been secured by the populace to wave in the face\\nof the honored ones.\\nThe contingent was greeted by enthusiastic crowds at every\\nrailway station of importance across Canada, cigars, food, drinks,\\netc., being thrust by willing hands into the cars, and even in the\\nmiddle of the night the men were welcomed by bands and bunting.\\nTwo days afterwards the British Columbia contingent passed\\nthrough Winnipeg, their arrival and departure being the cause of\\nnearly as much excitement as the farewell to the Manitoba boys.\\nThere was little doubt of the loyalty of Canada.\\nLIFE ON BOARD A TROOP SHIP.\\nThe Allans steamship Sardinian, chartered by the Domin-\\nion government to convey the Royal Canadian Special Service\\nRegiment to Cape Town, was not new to this kind of work, having\\nbeen employed before in trooping during the Egyptian war. She\\nwas looked upon as a most serviceable boat for this service, as she\\nis easily converted into a transport. The Canadian troops were\\nfortunate in having so good a troop ship.\\nBefore troops embark on a troopship, a lot of rules, must be\\nobserved, for the comfort and welfare of Tommy Atkins. Accord-\\ning to the English War Ofiice regulations, an inspection of the\\nfittings and all the arrangements for the accommodation, victual-\\ning, and health of the men, has to be made by a Board, consisting\\nof the Assistant Quartermaster-General, an of cer of the garrison,\\nsenior medical officer, and a naval officer, and the medical officer\\ngoing in charge of the troops. Another inspection by a like Board", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0463.jp2"}, "464": {"fulltext": "378 THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT.\\nis also made after tlie troops are on the ship, the haggage stowed,\\nand ever3 thing ready for sea.\\nThe object of this inspection is to ascertain whether the\\narrangements for berthing, etc., have been faithfull}^ carried out.\\nAll the heavy baggage is supposed to be on board the day before\\nsailing, and all kinds of lucifer matches are strictly prohibited on\\nboard ship, and all embarkations take place under the immediate\\nsuperintendency of the general or other of6.cer commanding the\\nstation. When embarked on board, it is the duty of the colonel and\\nthe company officers to see that the men are allotted to berths,\\ndivided up into small messes, and instructed in the proper method\\nof rolling up bedding and slinging hammocks that their arms,\\nammunition and accoutrements are properly disposed of in the\\nplaces reserved for them and sea necessaries when served out are\\nmarked, the hammocks and canvas bags numbered, and the orders\\nrelative to smoking and the use of lights on board ship are read\\nand explained to every soldier as soon as practicable.\\nRECREATION AND FUN.\\nAfter the usual guard has been provided, the troops are divided\\ninto three watches, one of which is constantly on deck in charge of\\na junior officer, and in fine weather, except those on duty below,\\nare also up on deck. The watches generally put in twelve hours,\\ngoing on at 8 A. M. and 8 p. m. All bedding and clothing is\\nbrought up on deck every morning, weather permitting, and well\\naired. The decks and berths are supposed to be swept, scrubbed,\\nand scraped daily in fact, great care is taken of the sanitation of\\nthe ship, and the troops are turned out early, about 5 A. M., for\\na morning sea bath, in canvas baths rigged up on the main deck.\\nThe officer of the day is supposed to be present on all these\\noccasions, and when free watered grog is served out. In every\\ntransport the doctor, in common with all lAuks, has his daily\\nroutine work to do. Immediately after breakfast he visits the\\nsick bay, the miniature hospital, goes round his cases, and then\\ngives his attention to the new-comers who require his services. A\\nforetopman s black draught is the common prescription for", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0464.jp2"}, "465": {"fulltext": "THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT. 379\\nTommy s ailments. Two or ttiree times a week lie goes tlie\\nrounds of tlie ship with the captain, and a rigid scrutiny is\\nmade in every comer for any dirt or uncleanness, and if they find\\nit, it s a bad quarter of an hour for the officers of the mess. The\\ndoctor has a good deal of work cut out for him, more than most\\npeople imagine, especially with troops in the tropics. Bvery day\\nhe must inspect the troops, who parade about lo A. M. (without\\nshoes or stockings and trousers rolled to the knee in warm climates).\\nThe soldiers are supposed to be exercised for a few hours\\ndaily in drill and shooting at targets, and parade one day in the\\nweek in marching order, when officers must see that their kit is\\ncomplete and arms and appointments in good order, so that on\\nlanding they can march at once into action. Smoking is only\\nallowed on the upper deck, and then at reasonable hours. All\\nlights are out at 8 P. M., when at sea, and all fires in the galleys\\nat 8.30 p. M., except when required for the sick.\\nREGULATIONS ON BOARD.\\nWhile it is most necessary to enforce the strictest discipline,\\nfor the health and safety of all, the officers are looked upon by the\\nGovernment to do all in their power to provide recreation and\\namusement on a long voyage. Generally after supper, in the\\nevening, the officers get the men together near the hatchway aft,\\nnear the saloon, when an impromptu concert takes place, con-\\nsisting of warlike and humorous songs, recitations of a local\\ncharacter generally by the regimental poet, jig and hornpipe\\ndancing, and a touch of the manly art with the gloves.\\nWhen minstrels costumes can be extemporized, then the fun\\nnever wanes a moment. As there is always plenty of vocal and\\nhistrionic talent in every British regiment, there is no weariness\\nin a long voyage in a British troopship. Every one goes on to\\nmake the time pass pleasant to all around, and with a good band\\nand the drums and fifes playing each evening a trip in a troopship\\nis one to be remembered. Our gallant soldiers and sailors are\\nextremely fond of dancing, but their terpsichorean evolutions are\\nnot usually of the kind which find favor in crutch and toothpick", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0465.jp2"}, "466": {"fulltext": "380 THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT.\\nsociety. They are notHiiig if not vigorous, and tlie performer\\nwlio can keep Tiis feet moving to tlie twang of tlie fiddle for tlie\\ngreatest lengtli of time is tlie liero of tlie lionr. As it is a\\nphysical endurance feat, tlie dancer takes off kis sweater, rolls up\\nkis skirt-sleeves and pounds awaj^ upon tke deck until ke is\\nbatked in perspiration, wkile kis admiring comrades watck every\\nstep, and applaud kim witk kearty kand-clapping and loud\\nckeering.\\nDelinquent soldiers are punisked in several waj^s, but tkose\\nwkick cause tke most ckagrin are tke stoppage of grog, and\\nfacing tke bulwarks during smoking kours and being not allowed\\nto smoke. Soldiers may, if tkey like, assist in tke general duties\\nof tke skip on deck, but are never to go aloft, and are not to be\\nemplo3^ed as stokers or coal trimmers, unless tke}^ volunteer and\\nreceive extra pay. Witk regular exercise and drill, good food,\\nwitk a taste of salt junk once or twice a week, plenty of books\\nto read and games to pla}^ at, and concerts and dancing in tke\\nevening, tke Canadian regiment did not find tke vo3^age long or\\ndull, and tke men were in first-class fettle on landing at Cape Tomti,\\nto advance and tackle witk Kruger and kis Boers.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0466.jp2"}, "467": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXIV.\\nAttempts to Raise the Siege of Ladysmith.\\nT HB Britisli General Wliite and his army, nnmbering accord-\\ning to tlie most authentic accounts eight or nine thousand\\nmen, were shut up in the town of Ladysmith, and for many weeks\\nhad resisted the attempts of the Boers to capture the place. The\\nsituation gave great anxiety to the War Ofi5.ce in London. It was\\nfeared that General White would be compelled to surrender his\\ncommand before relief could reach him.\\nFrom the opening of the war down to December 15 the British\\noperations consisted of a series of frontal attacks, all of which were\\nrepulsed with a loss in all of about 8000 men. The last and most\\nsevere of these disasters at Colenso left General Buller with a loss\\nof 1 100 men, eleven guns, and the three most important brigades\\nof his command, under General Hildyard, General Hart and Gen-\\neral Barton, shattered and depressed by heavy loss. This had the\\neffect upon the morale of the troops of these brigades which is\\nalways caused by losses that are fruitless in result, and which\\nthemselves result from a faulty plan on account of insuf cient\\ninformation prior to the attack as to the position of the enemy.\\nAfter this disaster General Buller addressed himself to the\\ntask of reorganizing his forces and preparing for another cam-\\npaign. Three weeks passed in this work. At the end of that\\ntime he deemed his transport sufficiently well organized to begin\\na movement intended to dislodge the enemy around Ladysmith.\\nGeneral Buller was in command of the strongest force of pure Bn-\\nglish troops ever assembled in the field. He had in his army twenty-\\nnine battalions of infantry, or, asweshoudsay, regiments divided into\\nbrigades. These were supported by a cavalry force, consisting of\\nthe First Royal Dragoons, the Thirteenth Hussars, two squadrons\\nof the Fourteenth Hussars, six squadrons of the Imperial Light\\nHorse, and three regiments of mounted Colonial Horse.\\n381", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0467.jp2"}, "468": {"fulltext": "382\\nTHE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH.\\nThe artillery comprised nine batteries of tlie royal artillery,\\nor fifty-fonr guns, a howitzer battery, a mountain battery and the\\nNatal or Colonial Field Battery, making eighteen guns more, or\\nseventy-two in all, of which eleven were afterward lost. There was\\nin addition a naval brigade with several 4.7-inch guns and quick-fir-\\ning i2-pounders, which force had, judging from the rank of its com-\\nmander, about the same force as an infantry battalion. In all,\\nas will be seen, this was a force of all arms of over 30,000 men,\\nwhich had been in service\\ntogether\\nm\\nthe field for\\nnearly two months, and\\nwhich had been under the\\nimmediate command of\\nGeneral Sir Redvers Bul-\\nler for nearly two months\\nand a half\\nHis field service had\\nbeen in steady operation,\\nand his base was supplied\\nby railroad, and he had at\\nDurban as complete a sup-\\nply as the British com-\\nmand of the seas could\\nfurnish. A strong naval\\nbrigade at Durban, and the\\nfriendly character of the\\nEnglish population of Na-\\ntal relieved General BuUer from the necessit}^ of detaching any\\nconsiderable portion of his force in order to guard his communica-\\ntions or protect his marine base. There was probably no military\\ncritic in the world who would have hesitated to predict the certain\\nsuccess of such a force operating against the Boer intrenchments,\\nmanned by farmer levies never drilled, disposed around Lad}^-\\nsmith, which contained the additional British force of from 8000 to\\n9000 men.\\nIn all, the Boer force, which must have been very considerably\\nGENERAL GEORGE WHITE,\\nWHO COMMANDED THE BRITISH AT LADYSMITH.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0468.jp2"}, "469": {"fulltext": "THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH. 383\\nreinforced by the inaction of General Methuen and General\\nGatacre, was probably in all from 20,000 to 25,000 men. This\\nforce, however, had two lines of front to keep, one surrounding\\nLadysmith in a circuit of nearly twenty miles, and the other\\nfacing a superior force under General Buller.\\nGeneral Buller had before him the choice of two routes. He\\ncould move to the east of Weenen s Ford, and, marching from\\nthere, strike on the Boer communication by railroad at Elands-\\nlaagte. This involved leaving his flank unprotected from the\\nBoer position on Inhlawe Mountain, and the entrance, after leav-\\ning Weenen s Ford and passing through a comparatively level\\ncountry on defiles beyond, easily defended. It also tended to\\nseparate his force from the force of General French and General\\nGatacre, about 150 miles away. He was left also with only one\\nobjective on the Boer line of communications, and his attack could\\nonly be delivered from the left.\\nTHE KEY TO THE SITUATION.\\nBy moving westward up the Tugela river it was possible,\\nsince the Boer positions were principally north of the Tugela\\nriver, to push forward on its southern bank over ground whose\\nseparation from the chief Boer force by a rapid river, fordable at\\ntwo or three places, rendered it feasible to carry a very consider-\\nable force sufficiently far to the west to be able, above the j unction\\nof the Great and Little Tugela, to have a choice between any one\\nof the several passes, the most northern of which was the railroad\\nentrance to the Orange Free State. Its possession would force\\nthe precipitate retreat of the Boer army around Ladysmith. It is\\nnot surprising that under these conditions General Buller selected\\na western movement.\\nOn Thursday, January 11, General Buller pushed forward his\\ncavalry force under General Lord Dundonald, amounting to about\\n4,500 men, of whom about 3,000 were cavalry and about 1,500\\nmounted riflemen. This force during the next three or four days\\neasily swept away the Boer outposts which were at Springfield,\\nand which made no defense, pushed to the river supported by", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0469.jp2"}, "470": {"fulltext": "384 THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH.\\ninfantry, crossed at Potgieter s Drift, a ford which, at this season\\nwhen the river was high is crossed by a rope ferry, and established\\nitself on both banks of the river. The engineers came up with\\nthe infantry, built a pontoon bridge, and within a week the British\\ntroops were established with their depot of supplies at Springfield,\\ntheir artillery massed in field works at Swartz Kop, and their\\ninfantry disposed on both banks of the river.\\nNECESSITY FOR QUICK MOVEMENT.\\nThis initial movement must have informed the Boers of the\\nplan of offensive operations intended by General Buller. The\\none condition on which his success depended was an immediate\\nmovement, which would carry the infantry in sufficient force and\\nwith sufficient rapidity to seize some one of the passes west of\\nthe Boer army. The infantry force was neither small nor ill-\\nselected. It consisted of General Woodgate s brigade. General\\nHildyard s and General Hart s, each with four regiments, or\\ntwelve regiments, in all. This was the advance division under\\nLieutenant General Francis Clery, Lieutenant General Sir Charles\\nWarren being in command of the whole movement. This force,\\nwhich was in round numbers about 12,000 men, and which artil-\\nlery and cavalry brought up to about 16,000 men, was moved\\nforward to the west, following the cavalrj-. The movement of the\\ninfantry began on January 13. These brigades and their supports\\nwere moved forward in two divisions along the Frere and Bnners-\\ndale roads, the road through Springfield being by this time fully\\noccupied mth the supply of General Lyttleton s brigade, Irish\\nand Scotch, four battalions, and other troops on the river at Pot-\\ngieter s Drift. One week elapsed from the time these troops\\nstarted until they first met the enemy on three days, January 18,\\n19 and 20.\\nMeanwhile a depot had been established for Bridsh supply at\\nZunckles, and this appears to have formed a second base, while aj\\npontoon bridge crossed the river at Trichand s Drift. Lord Dun-\\ndonald, immediately after crossing the river at Potgieter s Drift,\\npushed forward with commendable rapidity and occupied Actonj", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0470.jp2"}, "471": {"fulltext": "BOER ARTILLERYMEN SIGHTING A GUN.\\n25\\n385", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0471.jp2"}, "472": {"fulltext": "S86 THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH.\\nHomes, a place at tlie opening of a valley wliose road leads across\\ntlie water-shed to tlie liigli road from Ladysmitli to Van Reenen s\\nPass. General Lj^ttleton s brigade was moved westward in his\\nrear and lield tlie Tugela, bnt no infantry force seems to liave\\npushed on to occupy and entrench the ground taken by the\\nmounted troops.\\nWhen General Warren, therefore, after a week s march, cov-\\nering some thirty to thirty-five miles, had brought his force of two\\nbrigades and a half, or ten regiments, which seems subsequently\\nto have been reinforced by another brigade, or Barton s, of four\\nregiments, all Irish, he found the heights just north of the Tugela\\nriver, about Spion Kop, fully occupied by the Boers. The Boer\\ndespatches indicate that this was a new position which had been\\ntaken as the Bnglish movement developed itself during the pre-\\nceding week. The forces there consisted principally of Orange\\nFree State troops.\\nHARD TASK FOR BRITISH TROOPS.\\nThe English turning movement under General Warren had,\\ntherefore, resulted in establishing two bodies, one a small one,\\nheavily supported by artillery posted on Swartz Kop, and the\\nother the moving column which was intended to complete the\\nflanking operation, which was under General W^arren, and which\\nhad before it the task of carrying the heights beyond the Tugela.\\nThe rise in level in some twenty miles from Ladysmith up to\\nActon Homes is nearly looo feet.\\nThe Upper Tugela at this point flows past broad river terraces,\\nbeyond which rise the steep bluffs of a former river bank, of which\\nSpion Kop is the conspicuous landmark. The British troops had,\\nin other words, traveled some thirty miles to find themselves on\\nthe upper Tugela in a position somewhat more difficult than that\\nwhich existed when, on December 15, they attempted the passage\\nof the Lower Tugela. It appears that on Fridaj^, January 19, the\\nenemy was first met, on Saturday their grand guards driven in\\nand the Tugela river successfully crossed, and that on Sunday a\\nposition was successfully occupied on the plateau beyond.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0472.jp2"}, "473": {"fulltext": "THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH. 387\\nAn attempt was made Tuesday night to take Spion Kop, and\\nduring the next three days there succeeded the battle which\\nended with the meeting of the Council of Military Defense in\\nLondon, and the determination to send additional reinforcements\\nto South Africa.\\nWhat occurred was simple. The original plan plainl}?- looked\\nto cavalry clearing the way, to a force at Swartz Kop to guard the\\nexposed flank of Warren s advance, and a steady forward march,\\nthe flanking force on the river protecting the advance to Bethany,\\nand beyond, as General Dundonald could at Acton Homes. In\\nthe midst of this advance, after having moved to the base of the\\nhills which rise to the mountain range. General Warren found\\nridges he could not hope to carry. He swung off to his right to\\nlook for a weak place. He hoped to find it at Spion Kop,\\ndelivered a night attack, and was forced to withdraw. Spread out\\nas his troops were, a mobile force would tear up Buller as Lee and\\nJackson tore up Hooker at Chancellorsville.\\nTROOPS WIDELY SCATTERED.\\nThe British troops were left, therefore, after three weeks of\\noperations, dispersed in three separate masses over a stretch of\\nsome thirty miles General Warren, with some twelve to sixteen\\nbattalions of infantr}^ on the upper Tugela General Lyttleton,\\nwith about six battalions around Swartz Kop, and General Buller\\nwith the remainder of his force at Chieveley. Lord Dundonald s\\nforce lay before Acton Homes, to the north of the Boer position,\\nbut was apparently unable to move in any direction. The Boer\\nforce on the hills around Spion Kop, at Blaauw Bank, and in the\\nnatural bastion around Onderbrock, occupied positions of whose\\nassault the British force in front of them were at no point equal.\\nLord Dundonald s cavalry finally succeeded in crossing to- the\\nsouth side of Tugela river.\\nThis disastrous close of a turning movement, which in theory\\nwas admirably conceived, added one more to the numerous exam-\\nples in war in which defeat and failure have come solely because\\nthe commanding general had not the ability to insure rapid move-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0473.jp2"}, "474": {"fulltext": "388 THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH.\\nment. Tlie Britisli forces in Soutli Africa were mo^dng vnth all\\ntlie cumbrous equipage of an Anglo-Indian campaign, Eacli\\nbattalion bad witb it fourteen wagons, of wbicb nine required\\nteams capable of mo\\\\T[ng 4000 pounds, in all therefore, as a mere\\ncamp equipage, General Warren bad a train of 400 to 500 wagons,\\nadded to tbe regiment s wagons, tbe brigade and staff complement.\\nTbe supply of commissar}^ was on the same lavish scale, and\\nthis expedition, wbicb called for a swift marcb, bad a train, accord-\\ning to one despatch, amounting in all to 3000 wagons. Tbe\\nextraordinary bealtb of tbe British troops in South Africa, and\\ntheir remarkable freedom from disease, was no doubt secured by\\nfurnishing the men ever3 comfort in the field, but this could only\\nbe done at a sacrifice of mobilit}^ and in war, in the long run, it is\\nbetter to risk fever and disease from men insufficiently provided\\nfor, than b} over-provision to insure the delays which in the end\\nlead to the abject failure of a campaign.\\nRAPID ADVANCES IMPOSSIBLE.\\nClogged with 3000 wagons, with a staff iinequal to its duties\\nunder it, as one English correspondent declared, it has been the\\nmost frequent occurrence for the same battalion to strike its tents\\nand recamp on the same site two and three times in a day. It\\nwas impossible for General Buller to advance with sufficient rapid-\\nity to seize the points essential to the success of his operation\\nbefore the} were occupied hy the Boers.\\nGeneral Buller s despatch, stating that he had withdrawn his\\nforces to the south bank of the Tugela, and the accounts of the\\nfighting at Spion Kop on Januarj^ 24, which came through Boer\\nsources, showed the British disaster in all its serious aspects.\\nLadysmith s relief was as far removed as when Buller first started\\nto White s assistance, and it was thought that it might j-et be\\nnecessary for the garrison, abandoning the sick and wounded, to\\nmake a last sortie and tr^- to fight their wa}- through the Boer\\ncordons.\\nBuller signally failed in his attempt to turn the Boer position\\nand with the force at his command could not hope to outflank", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0474.jp2"}, "475": {"fulltext": "THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH. 389\\nthem in anotlier direction, as tiie mobility of tlie Boers enabled\\ntbem to change front at any moment.\\nIt was subsequently known that Spion Kop was not, as first\\nreported, the key of the Boer position. When the British attacked\\non the night of the 23d, they secured one kop, but in the morning\\nthey discovered that there were two others commanding the one\\nthey held. These positions the Boers reinforced, and then began\\ntheir counter attack, the British trying to capture the other kops\\nand the Boers defending them, and at the same time trying to\\nretake the one they had lost. What had great effect on the result\\nwas the fact that the hill on the British side was very steep and\\ndif cult to approach, whereas on the Boer side it sloped gently.\\nThis hampered the British.\\nDESPERATE FIGHTING ALL DAY.\\nThe British appear to have at once entrenched themselves\\nstrongly, and fighting of the most desperate description continued\\nall Wednesday. The battle oscillated along the northern slope,\\nnow the British and now the Boers attacking. Then came the\\nend. The Boers were smashing the British with a heavy shell\\nfire and cutting them down with a deadly hail of Mauser bullets,\\nwhile there appeared no indication that the British had been able\\nto get any artillery up.\\nThe Boers captured some British trenches, according to their\\naccount, and 150 men. According to Buller s report, the British\\nheld the position until nightfall, when General Woodgate having\\nbeen wounded, the ofScer who succeeded him decided to abandon\\nthe position. General Buller s despatch to the War Of ce stated\\nthat Spion Kop was abandoned on account of lack of water,\\ninability to bring artillery there and the heavy Boer fire. His\\nwhole force withdrew south of the Tugela river, with the evident\\nintention of reaching Ladysmith by another route as soon as the\\narmy could be reorganized.\\nFollowing is the text of General Buller s despatch, which was\\ndated Spearman s Camp, Saturday, January 27, 6.10 p. m. On\\nJanuary 20 Warren drove back the enemy and obtained possession", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0475.jp2"}, "476": {"fulltext": "390 THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH.\\nof tlie soutliern crests of tlie liigli table land extending from the\\nline of Acton Homes and Honger s Poort to tlie Western Lady-\\nsmitli hills. From tlien to January 25 lie remained in close\\ncontact witli the enemy.\\nThe enemy held a strong position on a range of small kop-\\njes, stretching from northwest to southwest, across the plateau\\nfrom Acton Homes, through Spion Kop, to the left bank of the\\nTugela. The actual position held was perfectly tenable, but did\\nnot lend itself to an advance, as the southern slopes were so steep\\nthat Warren could not get an effective artillery position, and water\\nsupply was a dif6.culty.\\nOn January 23 I assented to his attacking Spion Kop, a\\nlarge hill indeed, a mountain, which was evidently the key of the\\nposition, but was far more accessible from the north than from the\\nsouth.\\nPOSITION HELD AGAINST HEAVY ATTACKS.\\nOn the night of January 23 he attacked Spion Kop, but\\nfound it very dif cult to hold, as its perimeter was too large, and\\nwater, which he had been led to believe existed, in this extra-\\nordinary dry season was found very deficient.\\nThe crests were held all that day against severe attacks and\\nheavy shell fire. Our men fought with great gallantry. I would\\nespecially mention the conduct of the Second Cameronians and\\nthe Third King s Rifles, who supported the attack on the moun-\\ntain from the steepest side, and in each case fought their way to\\nthe top and the Second Lancashire Fusiliers and Second Middle-\\nsex, who magnificently maintained the best traditions of the\\nBritish army throughout the trying day of January 24, and\\nThorny croft s mounted infantry, who fought throughout the day\\nequally well alongside of them.\\nGeneral Woodgate, who was in command at the summit,\\nhaving been wounded, the of cer who succeeded him decided on\\nthe night of January 24 to abandon the position, and did so before\\ndawn, January 25. I reached Warren s camp at 5 A. m. on Jan-\\nuary 25, and decided that a second attack upon Spion Kop was", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0476.jp2"}, "477": {"fulltext": "THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH. 391\\nuseless, and tliat tlie enemy s rigHt was too strong to allow me to\\nforce it,\\nAccordingly I decided to withdraw tlie force to the south of\\nthe Tugela. At 6 A. m. we commenced withdrawing the train,\\nand by 3 A. M., January 27 (Saturday), Warren s force was concen-\\ntrated south of the Tugela without the loss of a man or a pound\\nof stores. The fact that the force could withdraw from actual touch\\nin some cases the lines were less than a thousand yards apart\\nwith the enemy in the manner it did, is, I think, suf cient evidence\\nof the morale of the troops and that we were permitted to withdraw\\nour cumbrous ox and mule transport across the river, eighty-five\\nyards broad, with twenty-foot banks, and a very swift current,\\nunmolested, is, I think, proof that the enemy has been taught to\\nrespect our soldiers fighting powers.\\nSTUBBORN DEFENSE OF THE BRITISH.\\nThe following description of the capture of the Boers posi-\\ntion is from Winston Churchill, the gallant son of Lady Randolph\\nChurchill, who took up arms for his country in South Africa\\nOn the morning of January 24th the force under General\\nWoodgate marched on Spion Kop, which is the predominating\\nfeature and centre of the whole Boer position, which is shaped\\nI ike a note of interrogation, the curve before Potgieter s Drift and\\nthe line before Triegarde Drift, with Spion Kop at the junction\\nand angle, commanding and enfilading both. At 3 o clock Wood-\\ngate surprised the Boers holding the trenches, who volleyed with\\ntheir magazine rifles and fled, pursued with great cheering. At\\ndawn there was a fierce shelling by the Boers, who were striving\\nto regain the vital position.\\nA stubborn defense was made by the British troops, in spite\\nof severe loss. At 10 o clock they received strong reinforcements\\nfrom the corps of troops below, including the Imperial Light\\nInfantry. The position was completely secured, but was heavily\\nshelled continually, the British artillery replying furiously. The\\nBoer guns were difiicult to locate. At noon the Boers made sev-\\nf^xil attempts to retake the position, bringing men from the extreme", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0477.jp2"}, "478": {"fulltext": "892 THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH.\\nright aud sliOM iug that tliey regarded it of the utmost importance.\\nAll attempts to retake the position have been so far repulsed.\\nThe position was, however, recaptured b}^ the Boers, and the\\nsacrifice of life on the part of the gallant Woodgate and his arni}\\nwas fruitless. Some Vryheid burghers from the outposts on the\\nhighest hills of the Spion Kop group rushed into the laager, say-\\ning that the kop was lost, and that the English had taken it.\\nReinforcements were ordered up, but nothing could be done for\\nsome time, the hill being enveloped in thick mist. At dawTi the\\nHeidelberg and Carolina contingents, supplemented from other\\ncommandoes, began the ascent of the hill. Three spurs, precipi-\\ntous projections, faced the Boer positions. Up these the advance\\nwas made. The horses were left under the first terrace of rocks.\\nFIELD SWEPT BY SHRAPNEL.\\nScaling the steep hill the Boers found that the English had\\nimproved the opportunity aud entrenched heavily. Between the\\nlines of trenches was an open veldt, which had to be rushed under\\na heavy fire, not only from rifles, but of lyddite and shrapnel from\\nfield guns. Three forces ascended the three spurs co-ordinately\\nunder cover of fire from the Free State Krupps, a Creusot and a\\nbig Maxim. The English tried to rush the Boers ^^^th the baj o-\\nnet, but their infantrj^ went doA\\\\ n before the Boer rifle fire as before\\na sc^ the.\\nThe Boer investing party advanced step by step until 2 o clock\\nin the afternoon, when a white flag went up and 150 men in the\\nfront trenches surrendered, being sent as prisoners to the head\\nlaager. The Boer advance continued on the two kopjes east of\\nSpion Kop. ]\\\\Iany Boers were shot, but so numerous were the\\nburghers that the gaps filled automaticall} Toward tA\\\\41ight\\nthey reached the summit of the second kopje, but did. not get\\nfurther.\\nThe British IMaxims belched flame, but a wall of fire from the\\nIMausers held the English back. Their center, under this pres-\\nsure, gxadually gave way and broke, abandoning the position.\\nThe prisoners captured b} the Boers spoke highly of the bravery", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0478.jp2"}, "479": {"fulltext": "THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH. 398\\nof the burghers, who, despising cover, stood against the sky-line\\nedges of the summit to shoot the Dublin Fusiliers, sheltered in\\nthe trenches. Firing continued for some time, and then the\\nFusiliers and Light Horse, serving as infantry, threw up their\\narms and rushed out of the trenches.\\nThus General Buller s flank movement to reach Ladysmith\\ncame to naught. Repulsed in his first attempt to cross the\\nTugela by a frontal attack at Colenso, he was now compelled to\\ngive up his attempt to pass around the left of the Boer line. His\\nnew repulse was equally disastrous in casualties and certainly\\nmore damaging to British hopes.\\nGENERAL BULLER S PLANS MADE KNOWN.\\nAfter Sir George White had succeeded in beating off the\\ndetermined attack of the Boers at Caesar s Camp the development\\nof Buller s new plans became inevitable. His preparations had\\nbeen deliberate, but nothing was allowed to become known as to\\nhis real intentions until a despatch from the General himself\\nannounced that he had seized Potgieter s Drift, on the upper\\nTugela, and was getting his force across. Four or five days fol-\\nlowed, in the course of which General Lyttleton placed his brigade\\non the north side of Potgieter s Drift ready to attack a Boer posi-\\ntion at Brakfontein commanding a road to Dewdrop, while General\\nWarren was preparing to throw his division against the extreme\\nright of the long line of Boers.\\nWarren had crossed at Trichard s Drift, some five or six\\nmiles to the west of Potgieter s. He had met with more opposi-\\ntion, but his cavalry under Lord Dundonald were able apparently\\nto reconnoitre for a considerable distance in the direction of Acton\\nHomes, working round on Warren s far left.\\nSo deliberate was this whole movement of Buller s army, as\\nif the General were intent on throwing away no chances or taking\\nany risks, that the Boer generals had ample time to concentrate\\nany number of their troops at any point they wished. General\\nJoubert was at the front, with Generals Botha and Cronje.\\nWarren found himself at once confronted with an opposing army", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0479.jp2"}, "480": {"fulltext": "394 THE SIEGE OF L.\\\\DYSMITH.\\nthro\\\\\\\\Ti right across liis patli. A long ridge ran fonr miles to tlie\\nnorthwest of Tricliard s Drift, ascending from the river. The\\nridge runs into spnrs of the mountains, making the boundary of\\nNatal and the Orange Free State.\\nOn the right of Warren as he advanced lay the mountain of\\nSpion Kop, facing the river, with precipitous sides, but more\\naccessible from the north by a series of summits leading to its\\nreal head. The country on either side swarms ^rith hills favor-\\nable for guerilla warfare, and the Boer intrenchments extended\\nalong to Brakfontin and eastward to Colenso and the Tugela.\\nEight Boer camps were located by the British along this line of\\ndefense.\\nThe main position of the Boers, however, which was the scene\\nof the fighting, la} to the west of Spion Kop, and it is clear that\\nGeneral Warren was unable to get sufficiently to his left to make\\na reall} flanking movement. There was nothing for it but\\nto force his way through the barrier. So, ha\\\\dng got up his\\nartillery, he sent forward, under cover of his long range fire, the\\nbrigades of Generals Hart and Clery.\\nBOERS CONTEST EVERY FOOT OF GROUND.\\nOn Saturday, the 20th inst., an action began at six in the\\nmorning and continued till the evening. Ridge after ridge was\\ncaptured, but the advance was slow, the Boers stubbornly con-\\ntesting every foot of ground. Hart s troops wheeling round on\\nthe left along the rocky spur on to the semi-circular position of\\nthe Boers came under a heav}- fire from three directions, but the\\nBritish bivouacked on the ground they had won, though this was\\n^rithin the fire distance of the Boer lines. The loss so far had not\\nbeen heavy, but only three miles progress had been made, and in\\nfront was an open glacis.\\nIn a despatch from Frere Camp, dated Januar} 26th, the\\nwriter savs I have just ridden here, ha\\\\-ing left General\\nBuller s forces in the new positions south of the Tugela, to which\\nthey retired in consequence of the reverses at Spion Kop.\\nThe fighting, before and after the occupation of the moun-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0480.jp2"}, "481": {"fulltext": "THE SIEGE OF LADYSMITH. 395\\ntain, was of a desperate character. Spion Kop is a precipitous\\nmountain, overtopping tlie whole line of kopjes along tlie upper\\nTugela. On tlie eastern side the mountain faces Mount Alice and\\nPotgieter s Drift, standing at right angles to the Boer central posi-\\ntion and Lyttleton s advanced position.\\nThe nek was strongly held by the Boers, who also occupied\\na heavy spur, parallel with the kop, where the enemy was con-\\ncealed in no fewer than thirty-five rifle pits, and was thus enabled\\nto bring to bear upon our men a damaging cross fire, the only pos-\\nsible point for a British attack being the southern side, with virtu-\\nally sheer precipices on the left and right.\\nAPPALLING FIRE FROM UNSEEN ENEMY.\\nA narrow footpath, admitting men in single file only to the\\nsummit, opens into a perfectly flat table land, probably of three\\nhundred square yards area, upon which the Boers had hastily\\ncommenced to make a transverse trench. Our men were able to\\noccupy the further end of this table land, where the ridge descended\\nto another flat, which was again succeeded by a round, stony emi-\\nnence, held by the Boerw^ in great strength.\\nThe ridge held by our men was faced by a number of strong\\nlittle kopjes at all angles, whence the Boers sent a concentrated\\nfire from their rifles, supported by a Maxim-Nordenfeldt and a big\\nlong range gun. With the rifles, the machine gun and the big\\ngun, the summit was converted into a perfect hell. The shells\\nexploded continually in our ranks, and the rifle fire from an abso-\\nlutely unseen enemy was perfectly appalling.\\nReinforcements were hurried up by General Warren. They\\nhad to cross a stretch of flat ground, which was literally torn up\\nby the flying lead of the enemy. The unfinished trench on the\\nsummit gave very questionable shelter, as the enemy s machine\\nguns were so accurately ranged upon the place that often sixteen\\nshells fell in the trench in a single minute. Mortal men could\\nnot permanently hold such a position. Our gallant fellows held\\nit tenaciously for twenty-four hours and then, taking advantage\\nof the dark night, abandoned it to the enemy.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0481.jp2"}, "482": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXV.\\nThrilling Stories of the Battles in South Africa.\\nBY far the most interesting account of tHe condition of affairs in\\nPretoria, tlie capital of the Transvaal, was brought by a\\nrefugee named D. Storran, who reached Cape Town on December\\n15th, after being detained in Johannesburg and confined with the\\nBritish military prisoners at the race-course on suspicion of being\\na spy. In telling his story, Mr. Storran said\\nI left Pretoria on November 12. On that date there were at\\nleast 1,400 British prisoners of the rank and file and fifty-two\\no\u00c2\u00a3B.cers. Some were prisoners from Dundee, many from Lady-\\nsmith, after the Nicholson s Nek affair fifteen from Mafeking\\n(the armored train) and some from Crocodile river. We learned\\nin Pretoria that these latter were part of one of Colonel Plummer s\\npatrol of twenty-five men, which was surprised and cut off, several\\nbeing killed and wounded. They had tethered their horses for\\nthe night, and were surprised, but held their own for three hours.\\nThe prisoners numbered eight.\\nOne of the Mafeking party was a telegraphist, named Little,\\nwho was captured after eluding the Boers for many days. They\\ntried to induce him to help them blow up the railway bridges, but\\nhe refused at all costs.\\nThe of cers are accommodated in the school house and are\\nallowed all reasonable liberty, including the obtaining of food\\nfrom the hotels. The men live in lean-to sheds, hitherto used for\\nthe horses, but clean and fairly comfortable the men have as\\ngood food as if they were with their fellows in the field in fact,\\nthey are fed upon the provisions which were taken at Dundee\\nafter it was evacuated. There were two months supplies there.\\nThe men are pretty cheerful. I have heard of one or two cases of\\nsciirvy in the camp. When it rains there is some dif culty with\\nthe sheds, but the rainy season does not set in until the new year.\\n396", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0482.jp2"}, "483": {"fulltext": "BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 897\\nThe Britisli wounded are in a separate building, whicli is\\nbeing used as a hospital, and wben we were tbere tbey were being\\nattended by an Knglisb doctor one of the prisoners and a\\nnumber of men of tbe Red Cross Society as nurses. Tbere were\\nno female nurses available.\\nPresident Kruger, wbo is looking extremely well in bealtli,\\nis preparing for eventualities. Tbe race-course is being prepared\\nas a laager to be used in case of a siege. At present tbe fort guns\\nare trained upon it in case tbe prisoners should try to escape, and\\na searcbliglit plays upon it at night. There is a Maxim mounted\\nat the gate.\\nBOERS CONCEAL THEIR LOSSES.\\nI could only estimate the Boer losses approximately I\\nshould place them at about a thousand, of whom probably half\\nwere killed. The first official reports after Blandslaagte estimated\\nthe killed and wounded at 400. Afterward the numbers were\\nreduced. It is practically impossible to get at Boer casualties,\\nbecause care is taken to conceal them, and the wounded, instead\\nof being treated at hospitals, are taken to the nearest farms.\\nMost of the men lost at Blandslaagte were Hollanders, Germans\\nand Irish. They are despised by the Boers and, therefore, are\\nalways put well in front.\\nFrom the President downward the Boers are fighting, and\\nthey boast that they have won all along the line, pointing to their\\nannexations and the beleaguered towns and the prisoners as proof\\npositive. The burghers who are left are enrolling in crowds and\\nmen are being given burgher rights with this object. There are\\nmany Bnglish names. The flag of the South African Republic is\\nalready to be had in Pretoria. It is the Vierkleur, with an orange\\nstripe running across it in the shape of a cross. I have seen these\\nflags. President Steyn has ordered some, but I think they were\\nstopped at Port Blizabeth.\\nI may say that the Boers have a most complete plan of cam-\\npaign and an admirable intelligence department. The whole\\nthing has been worked out for months before the war broke out.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0483.jp2"}, "484": {"fulltext": "398\\nBATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\nI cannot estimate tlie Boer forces in tlie field. I believe tliere are\\nabout 43,000 altogether, 35,000 of wbom are Transvaalers, tbe\\nremainder Free Staters. Tbeir reserves only number 3,000 or\\n4,000, at tbe outside.\\nFrom Boer sources came interesting stories of tbe figbting\\naround Ladysmitb. It seems tbat tbe remnants of German and\\nHollander corps returned to Jobannesburg to reorganize, and indi-\\nvidual members gave de-\\ntails as to tbe circum-\\nstances wbicb led to so\\ndisastrous a result among\\ntbe Boers at Blandslaagte.\\nTbey said tbat tbe Ger-\\nmans, under Captain\\nSbeil tbe Hollanders,\\nunder Commandant Lom-\\nbaard, and tbe Jobannes-\\nburg burgbers, led by\\nCommandant Ben Viljeon,\\nwere told off to bold a cer-\\ntain kopje and remain in-\\nactive until furtber orders.\\nAs a matter of fact tbe}^\\nseem to bave located tbem-\\nselves on a kopj e consider-\\nably nearer tbe Britisb\\nlines, and to bave attracted\\ntbe attention of tbe troops by firing on tbem. As a result tbey\\ngradually became surrounded by tbe Britisb and were raked by\\nsbot and sbell.\\nReinforcements could not well be sent to tbeir aid, as tbey\\nwere too far witbin tbe Britisb lines, and tbe detacbment of a\\ncommando to tbeir assistance would bave interfered witb tbe gen-\\neral plan designed by tbe commandant General Joubert. Con-\\nspicuous individual courage was displayed by Dr. Coster, Captain\\nSbeil, Count Von Zeppelin, Lieutenant von Boreas and otbers,\\nCAPTAIN SHEIL,\\nTHE GERMAN ARTILLERIST CAPTURED BY THE\\nBRITISH AT ELANDSLAAGTE.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0484.jp2"}, "485": {"fulltext": "BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\n399\\nbut most of tliem Had to pay tlie penalty of tlieir recklessness.\\nCount Von Zeppelin rode straight for tlie British lines, armed with\\nrevolver and riding whip, and was at once shot dead. It is extra-\\nordinary that any of the corps escaped. They had to run the\\ngauntlet of the British line, and were pursued by the lancers.\\nGeneral Joubert addressed the men before they left for Johan-\\nnesburg, and assured them that the disaster would have been\\naverted had they obeyed orders. He stated that he had been\\nagainst the formation of separate German, Hollander and Scandi-\\nnavian corps from the beginning, and held that it would have been\\nbetter to have distributed the\\nmen among the commandos, so\\nthat they could have become\\ninitiated in Boer methods of\\nwarfare. He impressed on the\\nmen that the object of the war\\nwas not the seeking of indi-\\nvidual honor, nor the making of\\nindividual names for themselves,\\nbut the defense of the independ-\\nence of the country.\\nAn eye-witness furnished\\nthe following picturesque ac-\\ncount of the battle of Magers-\\nfontein\\nOur troops extended over\\nmany miles of country. Bvery\\nmove had to be made in full view of the enemy upon a level plane\\nwhere a collie dog could not have moved unperceived by those\\nfoemen hidden so securely behind impregnable ramparts. During\\nthe whole of Sunday our gunners played havoc with the enemy\\nthe shooting of the Naval Brigade being of such a nature that\\neven thus early in the fight the big gun of the bluejackets, with its\\n42-pound Lyddite shell, struck terror into the hearts of the enemy.\\nBut the Boers were not idle. Whenever our infantry, in manoeu-\\nvering, came within range of their rifles, our ranks began to thin\\nGENERAL R J. JOUBERT,\\nCOMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE BOER FORCES.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0485.jp2"}, "486": {"fulltext": "400 BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\nout, and tlie blood of our gallant fellows dyed tlie sun-baked veldt\\nin ricliest crimson.\\nDuring tbe nigbt tbat followed it was considered expedient\\ntbat tlie Highland Brigade, about 4000 strong, under General\\nWaucliope, should get close enough to the lines of the foe to make\\nit possible to charge the heights. At midnight the gallant but\\nill-fated General moved cautiously through the darkness toward\\nthe kopje where the Boers were most strongly intrenched. They\\nwere led by a guide, who was supposed to know every inch of the\\ncountr}^, out into the darkness of an African night. The brigade\\nmarched in line of quarter-column, each man stepping cautiously\\nand slowly, for they knew that any sound meant death. Kvery\\norder was given in a hoarse whisper, and in whispers it Avas passed\\nalong the ranks from man to man nothing was heard as they\\nmoved toward the gloomy, steel-fronted heights but the brushing\\nof their feet in the veldt grass and the deep-drawn breaths of the\\nmarching men.\\nSTARTLING RIFLE SHOT.\\nSo, onward, until 3 o clock in the morning of Monday. Then\\nout of the darkness a rifle rang, sharp and clear, a herald of dis-\\naster a soldier had tripped in the dark over the hidden wires laid\\ndown b}^ the enem}-. In a second, in the twinkling of an eye, the\\nsearcnlights of the Boers fell broad and clear as the noonday sun\\non the ranks of the doomed Highlanders, though it left the enemy\\nconcealed in the shadows of the frowning mass of hills behind\\nthem.\\nFor one brief moment the Scots seemed paralyzed b}^ the sud-\\ndenness of their discovery, for the}^ knew that they were huddled\\ntogether like sheep within fifty yards of the trenches of the foe.\\nThen, clear above the confusion, rolled the voice of the General\\nStead}^, men; stead}^! And, like an echo to the veterans, out\\ncame the crash of nearly a thousand rifles not fifty paces from\\nthem. The Highlanders reeled before the shock like trees before\\nthe tempest. Their best, their bravest, fell in that wild hail of\\nlead. General Wauchope was down, riddled with bullets yet\\ngasping, dying, bleeding from every vein, the Highland chieftain", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0486.jp2"}, "487": {"fulltext": "BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 401\\nraised himself on Ms hands and knees and cheered his men forward.\\nMen and of cers fell in heaps together.\\nThe Black Watch (Royal 42d Highlanders) charged, and\\nthe Gordons and the Seaforths, with a yell that stirred the British\\ncamp below, rushed onward onward to death or disaster. The\\naccursed wires caught them round the legs until they floundered\\nlike trapped wolves, and all the time the rifles of the foe sang the\\nsong of death in their ears. Then they fell back, broken and\\nbeaten, leaving nearly thirteen hundred dead and wounded just\\nwhere the broad breast of the grassy veldt melts into the embrace\\nof the rugged African hills, and an hour later the dawning came\\nof the dreariest day that Scotland has known for a generation\\npast.\\nTHE FLOWER OF SCOTTISH CHIVALRY CUT DOWN.\\nOf her officers, the flower of her chivalry, the pride of her\\nbreeding, but few remained to tell the tale, a sad tale truly, but\\none untainted with dishonor or smirched with disgrace, for up\\nthose heights under similar circumstances even a brigade of devils\\ncould scarce have hoped to pass. All that mortal men could do\\nthe Scots did they tried, they failed, they fell, and there is noth-\\ning left us now but to mourn for them, and avenge them, and I\\nam no prophet if the day is distant when the Highland bayonet\\nwill retrieve this sad disaster.\\nAll that fateful day our wounded men lay close to the Boer\\nlines under a blazing sun over their heads the shots of friends\\nand foes passed, without ceasing. Many a gallant deed was done\\nby comrades helping comrades men who were shot through the\\nbody lay without water, enduring all the agony of thirst engen-\\ndered by their wounds and the blistering heat of the day to\\nthem crawled Scots with shattered limbs, sharing the last drop of\\nwater in their bottles, and taking messages to be delivered to\\nmourning women in the cottage homes of far-off Scotland.\\nMany a last farewell was whispered by pain-drawn lips in\\nbetween the ringing of the rifles many a rough soldier with\\ntenderest care closed the eyes of a brother in arms amidst the\\n26", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0487.jp2"}, "488": {"fulltext": "402 BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\ntempest and the stir of battle, and above it all, Cronje, tbe Boer\\nGeneral, must bave smiled grimlj^, for well be knew tbat where\\ntbe Highland Brigade had failed, all the world might falter. All\\nday long the battle raged scarcely could we see the foe all that\\nmet our eyes was the rocky heights that spoke with tongues of\\nflame whenever our troops drew near. We could not reach their\\nlines it was murder, grim and ghastly, to send the infantry for-\\nward to fight a foe they could not see and could not reach.\\nSUPERB CHARGE OF BRITISH GUARDS.\\nOnce our Guards made a brilliant dash at the trenches, and,\\nlike a torrent, their resistless valor bore all before them, and for\\na brief few moments they got within hitting distance of the foe.\\nWell did they avenge the slaughter of the Scots the bayonets,\\nlike tongues of flame, passed above or below the rifle s guard, and\\nswept through brisket and breastbone. Out of their trenches the\\nGuardsmen tossed the Boers as men in Knglish harvest fields toss\\nthe hay when the reapers scj^thes have whitened the cornfields\\nand the human streams were plentiful where the British Guards-\\nmen stood. Then they fell back, for the fire from the heights above\\nthem fell thick as the spume of the surf on an Australian rock-\\nribbed coast. But the Guards had proved to the Boer that, man\\nto man, the Briton was his master.\\nIn vain all that da}^ Methuen tried by ever}^ rule he knew to\\ndraw the enemy; vainly the Ivancers rode recklessly to induce\\nthose human rock limpets to come out and cut them off Cronje\\nknew the mettle of our men, and an ironic laugh played round\\nhis iron mouth, and still he stayed in his native fastness but\\ndeath sat ever at his elbow, for our gunners dropped the Lyddite\\nshells and the howling shrapnel all along his lines, until the\\ntrenches ran blood, and many of his guns were silenced. In the\\nvalley behind his outer line of hills his dead la}^ piled in hundreds,\\nand the slope of the hill was a charnel house where the wounded\\nall writhed amid the masses of the dead a ghastly tribute to\\nBritish gunnery.\\nFor hours I stood \\\\\\\\athin speaking distance of the great", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0488.jp2"}, "489": {"fulltext": "BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 403\\nnaval gun as it spoke to the enemy, and sucIl a sight as their\\nshooting the world has possibly never witnessed. Not a shell was\\nwasted cool as if on the decks of a pleasure yacht our tars moved\\nthrough the fight, obeying orders with smiling alacrity. When-\\never the signal came from the balloon above us that the enemy\\nwere moving behind their lines, the sailors sent a message from\\nEngland into their midst, and the name of the messenger was\\ndestruction, and when, at 1.30 p. m., of Tuesday, we drew off to\\nModder river to recuperate, we left a host of dead and wounded of\\ngrim old Cronje s men as a token that the lion of England had\\nbared his teeth in earnest.\\nAfter tracing the terrible loss suffered by the Highland\\nBrigade at Magersfontein, the same writer thus depicts the burial\\nof General Wauchope\\nOBSEQUIES OF THE GALLANT GENERAL.\\nThree hundred yards to the rear of the little township of\\nModder river, just as the sun was sinking in a blaze of African\\nsplendor, on the evening of Tuesday, the 12th of December, a\\nlong, shallow grave lay exposed in the breast of the veldt. To\\nthe westward the broad river, fringed with trees, ran murmur-\\ningly; to the eastward the heights, still held by the enemy,\\nscowled menacingly north and south the veldt undulated peace-\\nfully.\\nA few paces to the northward of that grave fifty dead High-\\nlanders lay dressed as they had fallen on the field of battle. They\\nhad followed their chief to the field, and they were to follow him\\nto the grave. How grim and stern those men looked as they lay\\nface upward to the sky, with great hands clenched in the last\\ndeath agony, and brows still knitted with the stern lust of the\\nstrife in which they had fallen.\\nThe plaids dear to every Highland clan were represented\\nthere, and, as I looked, out of the distance came the sound of the\\npipes; it was the General coming to join his men. There, right\\nunder the eyes of the enemy, moved, with slow and solemn tread,\\nall that remained of the Highland Brigade.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0489.jp2"}, "490": {"fulltext": "404 BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\nIn front of tlieni walked tlie cliaplain witli bared liead, dressed\\nin Ms robes of ofB.ce; tben came tbe pipers, witb tbeir pipes,\\nsixteen in all, and bebind tbem, witb arms reversed, moved tbe\\nHigblanders, dressed in all tbe regalia of tbeir regiments, and in\\ntbe midst tbe dead General, borne by fonr of bis comrades.\\nOut swelled tbe pipes to tbe strains of Tbe Flowers of\\ntbe Forest, now ringing proud and bigb until tbe soldiers beads\\nwent back in baugbty defiance, and eyes flasbed tbrougb tears\\nlike sunligbt on steel now singing to a moaning wail like a\\nwoman mourning ber first born, until tbe proud beads dropped for-\\nward till tbey rested on beaving cbests, and tears rolled down tbe\\nwan and scarred faces, and tbe cboking sobs broke tbrougb tbe\\nsolemn rbytbm of tbe marcb of deatb.\\nFACES FRO\\\\VNING WITH VENGEANCE.\\nRigbt up to tbe grave tbey marcbed, tben broke away in\\ncompanies, until tbe General lay in tbe sballow grave witb a\\nScottisb square of armed men around bim. Only tbe dead man s\\nson and a small remnant of bis of cers stood witb tbe cbaplain\\nand tbe pipers, wbile tbe solemn services of tbe cburcb were\\nspoken.\\nTben once again tbe pipes pealed out, and Locbaber No\\nMore cut tbrougb tbe stillness like a cry of pain, until one could\\nalmost bear tbe widow in ber Higbland bome moaning for tbe\\nsoldier sbe would welcome back no more. Tben, as if toucbed by\\ntbe magic of one tbougbt, tbe soldiers turned tbeir tear-damp\\neyes from tbe still form in tbe sballow grave toward tbe beigbts,\\nwbere Cronje, tbe Lion of Africa, and bis soldiers stood.\\nTben every cbeek fiusbed crimson, and tbe strong jaws set\\nlike steel, and tbe veins on tbe bands tbat clasped tbe rifle bandies\\nswelled almost to bursting witb tbe fervor of tbe grip, and tbat\\nlook from tbose silent, armed men spoke more eloquently tban\\never spoke tbe tongues of orators.\\nFor on eacb frowning face tbe spirit of vengeance sat, and\\neacb sparkling eye asked silently for blood. God belp tbe Boers\\nwben next tbe Higbland pibrocb sounds. God rest tbe Boers", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0490.jp2"}, "491": {"fulltext": "H\\n405", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0491.jp2"}, "492": {"fulltext": "406 BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\nsouls when tlie HigWand bayonets charge, for neither death, nor\\nhell, nor things above, nor things below will hold the Scots back\\nfrom their blood feud.\\nAt the head of the grave, at the point nearest the enemy,\\nthe General was laid to sleep, his of cers grouped around him,\\nwhile in line behind him his soldiers were laid in a double row,\\nwrapped in their blankets. No shots were fired over the dead men\\nresting* so peacefully. Onl} the salute was given, and then the\\nmen marched campward as the darkness of an African night rolled\\nover the far-stretching breadth of the veldt.\\nWriting of the battle of Magersfontein a sergeant of the Sea-\\nforth Highlanders said\\nThe Black Watch in front made an attempt to charge the\\nposition, but we had to retire and simply run for it, the enemy\\nblazing at us all the Avay and dropping our fellows like skittles\\nfrom their splendid positions. There was nothing to do but to lay\\ndown and pretend to be dead, and this I did about half-past 5\\nA. M., till, I suppose, 6 p. M., the sun pouring down on me all the\\ntime, and not a drink of water all day, and dare not stir hand or\\nfoot, expecting ever}^ instant to be my last.\\nIN A STORM OF BULLETS.\\nI could hear nothing but the cries, moans and prayers of\\nthe wounded all round me, but dared not so much as look\\nup to see who they were. Shot and shell were going over me all\\nday from the enemy ^nd our side, and plent}^ of them striking\\nwithin a. yard of me I mean bullets, not shell and yet the}^\\nnever hit me.\\nI believe some of the fellows lost their senses and walked\\nright up to the enemy s place, singing till they dropped dead.\\nOne 3 oungster U ing close to me said he would make a dart for it\\nabout 3 P. M, I tried my best to persuade him not to, but he\\nwould go. A couple of seconds after I could hear them pitting at\\nhim, and then his groans for about a minute, and then he was\\nquiet.\\nAbout this time the sun began to get fearfully hot and I", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0492.jp2"}, "493": {"fulltext": "BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 407\\nbegan to feel it in tHe legs, wliicli are now very painful and\\nswollen; besides, I was parched with tbirst. Most of the wounded\\nround me had ceased groaning by this time. As it began to get\\ndark I managed to wriggle my body through the shrub further\\nback, and, after I had been at it some time, on looking up found\\nmyself right in front of another intrenchment of the enemy.\\nThey sent a few rounds at me, but they struck just in front and\\nricochetted over my head. After a bit, it getting darker, I got\\nup and walked back, and there was nothing but dead Highlanders\\nall over the place.\\nA Bulgarian ex-of cer who joined the Boer army relates some\\nof his experiences in the following letter. It is dated Farmer s\\nKopje, Natal, December 2, 1899, and is in these terms\\nLook at the heading of my letter Natal. Can you imagine\\nthat I should write you from South Africa, whereas you thought\\nme to be in Chicago I am now in the intrenchments of the Boer\\narmy before Ladysmith.\\nOFF FOR THE WAR.\\nAs soon as war was declared, I made up my mind to go as\\na volunteer, and at New York presented myself to the Dutch\\ncommittee there, who paid my traveling expenses, and I embarked\\non the Sidonia Fitwe, bound for Madeira. On November 4 we\\nlanded at Lourenzo Marques, on the 6th I was in Pretoria, and on\\nthe 7th already here.\\nI had a company of no soldiers intrusted to me, and as a\\npioneer of cer my task is very important. Bearded, stalwart,\\nhardy fellows are these Boers. I speak English, and that with\\nthe Boers is the universal language. Good people, but how\\nterribly they hate the English. We never hated the Turks so\\nmuch. All of them are good shots, good horsemen and zealous\\nChristians. Those of them who have finished their tasks of\\ndigging sit down to rest with their Bibles in their hands they\\nknow no other book. They believe in God and their rights.\\nOur tactics here and everywhere along the fighting line are\\nkeep in your trenches; we get ourselves intrenched and wait for", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0493.jp2"}, "494": {"fulltext": "408 BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\ntlie enemy. Tlie Bnglisli make their attacks in tlie open, think-\\ning that the Boers are like the Soudanese. We fire volleys at\\nthem and make havoc in their ranks. Hundreds are left on the\\nbattlefield and the others retire. As we are all well mounted, we\\ndo our movements quickly. The hardest things we have to en-\\ndure are the terrible heat, which keeps us in our shirt sleeves all\\nday, and the Siberian cold of the night, the heavy downpours of\\nrain, and the dust storms.\\nA correspondent of Renter s Telegram Company, writing\\nfrom Cape Town under date of December 20, said\\nSLOW OXEN AND MULES.\\nIt has been expected, certainly hoped, that the Boers may\\nbe compelled to assume the offensive, not from any desire to come\\ninto the open quite the opposite is the case but because it may\\nbecome absolutely necessary for them to bring the war to an\\nearly conclusion, if they can. Not only do the Boers find it dif5.\\ncult to keep up their supplies of food, but also of ammunition.\\nTheir transport arrangements are of a primitive kind. The ox\\nwagon, even the mule wagon, is a very slow and cumbrous means\\nof moving heavy goods, such as projectiles and food stuffs, from\\none point to another, with long distances between the base of sup-\\nplies and the army in the field.\\nAgain, the extent to which ammunition of all sorts has been\\nused must have made serious inroads even upon the heavy stocks\\naccumulated in the Transvaal and Free State capitals within the\\nlast two years. A failure in the food supply or the supply of\\nammunition is fatal to any army, and there are some signs that\\nsupplies are falling somewhat short, and that this fact is having a\\ndemoralizing effect.\\nWriting home to his wife in Nottingham, from Sterkstroom,\\na color sergeant in the Second Battalion, Fifth Northumberland\\nFusiliers, said\\nI have been through my baptism of fire, and, my God! what\\na baptism it was On our arrival at Molteno we were given half\\nan hour s rest, and then ordered on our night march, bayonets", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0494.jp2"}, "495": {"fulltext": "BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 409\\nfixed, no talking, no smoking nothing bnt the tramp, tramp of\\nfeet; over kills, through rivers, nullahs, kopjes, laagers, and on,\\non, we marched through the long, weary night.\\nAt last day broke on as bright and sunny a morning as\\never broke on God s earth. Our General s idea was to give the\\nBoers a surprise and carry them at the point of the bayonet, but\\nwe were disappointed. We were betrayed by some villain or\\nother and were led into as nice a trap as ever mortal was led into,\\na veritable slaughter-house. As we commenced to march between\\ntwo large hills to begin operations, both of them became a blaze\\nof shot and shell, and how I am alive to tell the tale is a wonder.\\nWe found it impossible to get at them. They were so strongly\\nintrenched that we had to retire, and, horror of horrors, to do this\\nwe had to run the gauntlet of a terrible fire.\\nHAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES.\\nI hadn t gone a hundred yards when my ankle gave out, and\\nI could only hop. Then I offered up a hearty prayer to God to\\nlook after you and the children, and was about to give up when a\\nbullet tore my trousers. That gave me a fresh lease of life, and\\noff I went again. Awhile after the bullets flew around so that I\\ngave myself up entirely, but still the bullets would not hit me.\\nWe managed to get clear at last, and marched fifteen miles to\\nMolteno. I forgot to mention that a cavalryman lent me his\\nmount, and it ran wild with me, and I again had a narrow escape\\nfrom death. But it was not to be. I must have had ninety lives,\\nto say the least, that day.\\nOne of the war correspondents shut up in Ladysmith sent\\ninteresting particulars of the cheery manner in which the people\\nin the besieged town spent Christmas Day. The children had an\\nespecially good time. Two hundred of the little folk were enter-\\ntained at a feast, at which they had abundance of the customary\\ndainties and even luxuries. The feast was under the chief control\\nof Colonel Dartnell and Major Karri-Davies, who gleefully dis-\\ntributed the good things with their own hands.\\nThere were four Christmas trees, named respectively Britain,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0495.jp2"}, "496": {"fulltext": "410 BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\nNatal, Canada and Australia. Sir George Wliite and General\\nHunter were among tlie numerous company tliat witnessed the\\nfestive proceedings.\\nOne of the men of the Second Cornwalls, writing under date\\nof December 20 to his father and mother at Plymouth, said\\nAfter we disembarked at Cape Town, on November 29, we\\nwent about five hundred miles up country to De Aar. Ten days\\nago we left there for the Orange River Camp, and now we are\\nwaiting hourly and anxiously for orders to proceed to the front.\\nTwo companies of ours have gone to Modder river to join Lord\\nMethuen s column.\\nWe have sent several trainloads of Boers as prisoners to\\nCape Town, and now we have got fifty more here to send on. I\\nwent to Cape Town with a party of twenty-eight Boers. They\\nseem a decent lot of men, and, in fact, could not do too much for\\nthe six of us who were forming their escort. Why, they must\\nhave spent quite Z ($60) on us. But they seemed very glad to\\nbe taken prisoners and thoroughly sick of the war.\\nA BOY SOLDIER.\\nAmong the prisoners we have one boy a Boer boy. The\\npoor little fellow is not more than twelve years of age, and has\\nbeen fighting. He has had both legs broken and shot through.\\nIt is very pathetic but what a pity it is to see the poor little chap\\nsuffering You bet he is being well attended to by us. His\\nfather was killed in the same engagement and he has a brother\\nstill fighting.\\nFurther details of the fierce battle of Spion Kop, near Lady-\\nsmith, revealed the fierceness of the Boer attack and the terrific\\nhavoc wrought by the enemy s shells. When the Boers were first\\nseen they were 1000 yards away. They then descended into a\\nhollow. When next it was possible to see them they were only\\nseventy yards off, and the British foremost line sought shelter\\nbehind the rocks.\\niVt this stage the first Boer shell burst, and the order was\\ngiven for one regiment to retire to the edge of the kopje, where", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0496.jp2"}, "497": {"fulltext": "BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 411\\ntliere was more cover. Tlie order was misconstrued by some of\\ntlie foremost trendies, wiio fell back. Tbe Boers seized tbis oppor-\\ntunity and rusbed tbe trencbes, capturing a few men. Tbis mis-\\ntake was soon observed a bayonet cbarge followed and tbe Boers\\nfled.\\nTwo of tbeir Maxim-Nordenfeldts commenced to drop sbells\\namong tbe Britisb, doing terrible damage. Tbe Boer riflemen,\\nnoticing tbe bavoc wrougbt, attempted to creep close up on two\\noccasions, only to be driven back witb loss. As tbey retreated,\\ntbey appealed to tbe Britisb to surrender. Tbe response was a\\nvolley.\\nTbe formation of tbe billtop is like a table, a mile long and\\na quarter of a mile broad. Tbe sborter side alone was available\\nfor rifle fire. Tbe firing party wbicb responded to tbe Boer\\nattack was necessarily small. Tbe remainder of tbe Britisb force\\nwas scattered about, seeking sbelter.\\nTHREE ATTACKS REPULSED.\\nAfter Britisb reinforcements bad reacbed tbe top of Mount\\nTabanyama, at ii A. M., tbe crest of tbe bill was covered witb\\ntroops lying down and closely packed togetber. Until dark tbese\\ntroops were under a terrific sbell fire from Boer guns on tbree\\nsides. A destructive rifle fire also was poured in from tbe trencbes\\nstill beld by tbe Boers on tbe furtber part of tbe crest. Tbe\\nBritisb replied witb rifles only, as it was impossible to drag guns\\nto tbe summit in time. Tbree times tbe Britisb cbarged tbe\\nBoers trencbes, but were met witb a fierce fire from rifles as well\\nas from Maxim-Nordenfeldts. Tbe Britisb line of cbarge was\\nbroken before tbe men got witbin stabbing distance, and bayonets,\\naccordingly, were useless.\\nTbe day was exceedingly bot, and tbe scanty supply of water\\non tbe bill was barely sufB.cient for tbe wounded. It was not\\npossible until noon to take to tbe rear any of tbose wbo bad been\\nwounded. Tben tbey bad to be carried down tbe steep spur, up\\nwbicb tbe troops bad been compelled to crawl on bands and knees.\\nAt 2 o clock in tbe afternoon tbe Boers cbarged part of tbe", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0497.jp2"}, "498": {"fulltext": "412 BATTLES IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\nBritisli trendies lield by two battalions, and nearly succeeded in\\ncarrying tbem, leaping the slimly defended breastworks. But\\nBritisb supports were liurried up, and the defenders tbus strength-\\nened drove the Boers back with the bayonet.\\nThe fight was fiercely contested until after dark, when the\\nBritish received orders to retire. All the wounded in the field\\nhospitals and the supply column recrossed the Tugela river at\\nTrichard s Drift, the movement being completed in an orderly\\nmanner, without any attempt at molestation on the part of the\\nBoers.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0498.jp2"}, "499": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXVI.\\nScenes and Incidents of the Great Struggle.\\nAN account tliat furnislied an adequate explanation of General\\nBuLler s repulse at tlie Tugela River on December i5tli was\\ngiven by an- eye-witness of tbat bloody encounter who was on tbe\\nground. It appears that tbe battle orders, drawn up by General\\nClery, provided for tbe effective support of tbe artillery by Hart s,\\n.Barton s and Dundonald s brigades. These orders were not carried\\nout as it was expected they would be. General Hart missed bis\\nway, Lord Dundonald failed to support, and General Barton got\\npart of bis forces in an untenable position.\\nColonel Long, witb tbe artillery, outpaced tbe escort of tbe\\nguns, and tbey were lost. Briefly, tbat seems to be tbe story of\\ntbe Tugela River. But, tbrougb grapbic columns, tbere con-\\ntinually recurs tbe discovery of unexpected entrencbments and\\nawful fusillades from bidden Boers and gallantry sucb as bas\\nseldom marked Britisb battlefields.\\nAfter describing bow tbe Britisb force began tbeir advance\\nat daylight and how the Boers left them absolutely unmolested,\\nthe writer says At 6.25 tbere suddenly burst an awful crash\\nof Boer musketry upon the batteries and advancing infantry.\\nThe rattle of the Mausers swelled and was maintained as one con-\\ntinuous roar. From the buildings and lines of trenches south of\\nthe river and from the river bank itself the Boers fired at British\\ngunners and footmen, and from the trenches on the northern side\\nof the Tugela River and from Fort Wylie and elsewhere they\\nsent out a hurricane of leaden hail, and the bullets venomously\\nrained upon the ground in all directions, raising puffs of dust and\\ntearing through the air with shrill sounds.\\nFew have ever seen so heavy and so deadly a fusillade, but\\nneither the British gunners nor the infantry hesitated or winced.\\nCannon were wheeled into position, although many of the horses\\n413", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0499.jp2"}, "500": {"fulltext": "414 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\nand men were sliot down ere tiie manoenvre was completed, and\\nthe indomitable soldiers walked erect and straight onward. Not\\neven Rome in tier palmiest days ever possessed more devoted sons.\\nAs the gladiators marched proud and beaming to meet\\ndeath, so the British soldiers, doomed to die, sainted, and then with\\nalacrity stepped forward to do their duty glory or the grave.\\nAnglo-Saxon soldiers always advance that way. I asked an\\nAmerican who had seen warfare at home, in Cuba and Manila, if\\nhis own countrj^men generally did this, and he answered Yes.\\nIt is marvelous, but wasteful.\\nMARCHING UP TO THE RIFLE PITS.\\nCloser and closer walked the soldiers to the Boer trenches\\nuntil within 400 yards of the nearest rifle pits. Then, lying\\ndown, they returned the fire, but there was little or nothing to\\naim at. By 7.15 the Irish Brigade had driven the Boers to the\\nnorth bank of the Tugela. They found that the enemy had\\nplanted the ground with barbed wire entanglements. Even in\\nthe bed of the river wire was laid down. Into the water went the\\nDublin Inniskillins, Borderers and Connaughts, but it was found\\nat the ford that the Boers had cunningly dammed the river, and\\nthere was ten feet of water where ordinarily it is but knee deep.\\nThey strove to find the crossings, and many a fine fellow, with\\nhis weight of ammunition and accoutrements, was drowned.\\nIt was a desperate and serious situation. The attack upon\\nthe right was making no progress, and the men were disheartened.\\nBut there were furious and angry Irishmen who had resolved to\\nget across somehow. By dint of scrambling from rock to rock\\nand swimming, a number won the other side. Yet, most of them\\nfound that they had but passed across a winding spruit. The\\nTagela still lay in front, and all the while the murderous fire of\\ncannon and Mauser crashed, and comrades fell weltering in their\\nblood.\\nIn the meanwhile Colonel Long had lost his guns, and\\nGenerals Buller and Clery, with their staffs and escorts, had\\nridden to the scene. The spouting hail of lead and iron snapped", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0500.jp2"}, "501": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS. 4l5\\nand spluttered, and tiie dust puffed more tlian ever. Lord\\nRobert s son, witli Captains Sclio\u00c2\u00a3eld and Congrove, volunteered\\nto ride out and endeavor to save tlie two field batteries in the open\\nReadily otber volunteers were found. Corporals from the lines-\\nmen and drivers of tbe ammunition wagons, taking spare teams,\\ngalloped out, and men and borses again began falling on every\\nside.\\nYoung Robert s borse was blown up witb a sbell. Congrove\\nwas bit witb a bullet, and bis clotbes were cut by otber missiles.\\nScbofield alone escaped untoucbed. Across tbat valley of deatb\\nquickly tbe surviving animals were rounded up and tbe guns\\nwere booked and dragged away. Again and again tbat day\\nattempts were made to baul off tbe remaining guns, but tbe Boer\\nfire was incessant and withering. At 4 tbe battle was over.\\nGeneral Buller abandoned tbe guns and retreated.\\nCOLESBURG AGAIN IN BRITISH HANDS.\\nAt tbe beginning of tbe New Year tbe cbief interest of tbe\\nwar situation did not lie either at Natal or the Modder River,\\nwhere things remained practically unchanged, but in the north of\\nCape Colony, vvhere General French had been doing good work\\nfor the British by constantly harassing the Boers and finding\\nout their strong positions, then working round the flank and ever\\nand anon threatening their line of communication. General\\nFrench advanced, retired, manoeuvred and fought until by suc-\\ncessive steps he drove the Boers eastward, and Colesburg was once\\nmore in British bands.\\nGeneral French s successful action was not the only piece of\\nnews from this region. Farther towards the east, and near Dord-\\nrecht, lately occupied by the British, there was some fighting and\\nabundant promise of more. Captain Montmorency, with a recon-\\nnoitering party, fell in with a body of Boers, estimated at 1500,\\neight miles to the north of Dordrecht, on December 30th. For six\\nhours he managed to keep the Boers in check, until the arrival of\\nreinforcements with two guns m.ade him retire.\\nGeneral French s success again emphasized the absolute", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0501.jp2"}, "502": {"fulltext": "416 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\nnecessity of a strong force of irregular cavalry and mounted infan-\\ntry if tlie Britisli were to be able successfully to cope witb the\\nBoers. General Frencb was fortunate enougb to command a force\\nas mobile or more mobile tban tbe Boers, and Having this advan-\\ntage and being a born cavalry leader, be was tbe one Britisli Gen-\\neral wbo did not receive a check. He beat tbe Boers at tbeir own\\ngame, outflanking tbem continually.\\nHis success was immensely significant, showing what was\\npossible when the British could move as quickly as the Boers\\nThis was the first occasion during the war in which the Boers were\\ndislodged by a turning movement. General French was operating\\nin a country which was fairl}^ favorable to the action of cavalry,\\nand his force was mainly composed of mounted men. If the other\\nBritish columns had been as well provided with mounted men less\\nwould have been heard of frontal attacks.\\nGENERAL FRENCH S BRILLIANT STRATEGY.\\nFollowing are the details of the recapture of Colesburg,\\nCape Colony, which had fallen into the hands of the Boers. The\\naccount is by an army ofi cer who was on the ground By a\\nbrilliant strategical movement General French drove the Boers\\nout of Colesburg, to which they had fallen back. We had occupied\\nRensburg siding in strength, and had come into touch with the\\nenemy, who fired on our skirmishers from what appeared to be an\\nintrenched position. We had, however, only one man slightly\\nwounded, but the proximity of the Boers made all eager to advance.\\nA force of cavalry and infantry, with ten guns, the whole\\nunder the personal command of General French himself, occupied\\nsome hills three miles from Colesburg, where the Boers lay in\\nstrength, confident because of the natural aid afforded them by the\\nhills around. The enemy s position extended for six miles round\\nthe entire village,\\nPromptly at daybreak our artillery opened the battle. The\\nBoers, though taken a little by surprise, replied vigorously with\\ntheir guns. The duel went on for two hours without cessation.\\nOur gunners showed marvelous accuracy, and it soon told.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0502.jp2"}, "503": {"fulltext": "27\\n417", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0503.jp2"}, "504": {"fulltext": "4l\u00c2\u00a7 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\nFirst tiie enemy s Hotclikiss collapsed, and then tlie Boers\\nbig gun was silenced, botli earl}^ in tlie action, but tlie otber pieces\\nof artillery beld out until tbey gradually fell back. Tbe Hotcli-\\nkiss was abandoned, and we captured it, but tbe otber guns were\\nremoved to tbe nortb as our cavalry closed in. As tbe guns were\\nwitbdrawn tbey sbelled our cavalry, but caused no damage. Our\\nadvancing guns speedily silenced tbem. Tbe Boers appear to be\\nretreating nortb, but we are harassing them, and our shells are\\ndoing much damage.\\nColesburg is now in our hands. The few loyalists who\\nremain there are jubilant. We have captured many of the enemy s\\nwagons and a considerable quantit}^ of stores. Our losses are quite\\nslight, but the Boers must have suffered heavily.\\nKxtended accounts of the fighting in Cape Colony and Natal\\nshow its desperate character. The following description of Gen-\\neral Gatacre s repulse at Stormberg is by an eyewitness who was\\nwith the British army\\nSHARP FIRE AT SHORT RANGE.\\nWhen General Gatacre ordered the advance it was hailed\\nwith satisfaction by his men, and they were at work by 4 o clock\\nnext morning making preparations. The actual march occupied\\nseven hours, and it is therefore little to be wondered at that the\\nmen were wholly incapable of making a supreme effort when at\\nlast the}^ were surprised by receiving fire at short range while\\nmarching in fours in fancied security.\\nOn receiving the enemj s fire the companies at hand rushed\\nat once against the kopjes from which it proceeded, and, advancing\\nfrom boulder to boiilder, swiftly commenced to ascend. Indeed, it\\nis the fact that a considerable number actually reached within a\\nfew yards of a lower line of defences, which could not, however, be\\nmounted without ladders. But at this juncture our owti artillery,\\nfailing to observe the ascent of the infantry, opened fire upon the\\nenemy, and several shells falling short dealt destruction among\\nthe assailants of the position.\\nA partial retirement instantly ensued, and, having been", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0504.jp2"}, "505": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\n419\\nbrouglit to a standstill, tLe attack gradually melted away until,\\nconvinced that tlie case was hopeless, the General ordered the\\nretire to be sounded. (Had the order been promptly obeyed the\\ntroops might not improbably have been withdrawn without very\\nserious loss, and a fresh attempt might even yet have been success-\\nfully prosecuted.) But it was not to be. Many men were loath to\\nretire, because they were anxious to go on, while not a few were\\nso utterly exhausted that they simply preferred to stay where\\nthey were, at all hazards, than\\nto undertake the ordeal of a\\nrapid retirement over the open\\nground at the foot of the hills.\\nEventually over 500 wounded\\nmen were taken prisoners.\\nSo far as I can under-\\nstand the matter, the causes to\\nwhich this most lamentable\\nfailure must be attributed are\\nas follows\\nThe map of the ground\\nwas utterly misleading and\\nworse than useless.\\nSo far as I am aware, no\\none among the responsible au-\\nthorities had taken any com-\\npass bearings, and conse-\\nquently no one knew where he was being taken in the dark-\\nness.\\nThe Berkshire Regiment, by whom the redoubts now occu-\\npied by the Boeis at Stormberg had been built, and to whom\\nevery inch of the ground was familiar, were left at Queenstown\\ninstead of being employed to recapture the works which they had\\nso unwillingly evacuated about a month previously.\\nOver 500 men, afterwards made prisoners, had fallen into a\\ntrap, from which they failed to extricate themselves. Conse-\\nquently, when the rest of the force had been rallied upon a\\nGENERAL W. F. GATACRE.\\nDIVISION COMMANDER OF\\nBRITISH FORCES IN CAPE COLONY.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0505.jp2"}, "506": {"fulltext": "420 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\ndefensive position in tlie rear, tlie General liad not forces sufficient\\nto warrant a fresh, attempt npon some selected point of attack.\\nIn any case, the men, who had been by this time on the\\nmove for over 24 hours on the stretch, who had just completed\\nseven hours marching through the night, and who had actually\\nbeen under arms for upwards of sixteen hours, were so dead beat\\nthat severe hill fighting was bej^ond their powers. During the\\nactual retirement from the hills men were falling asleep in the\\nopen ground, under fire, after or before using their rifles. No\\nsooner did they halt to fire than the}^ fell forward sound asleep.\\nAn officer told me that he awoke several such men by kicking\\nthem soundly, and thus insisted upon their continuing their\\nretreat to a place of safety.\\nA RETREAT OF TEN MILES.\\nThe guns were at first in the same trap as the infantry,\\nand were compelled to retreat some distance over very difficult\\nground before they could come into action upon, even then, a poor\\nposition, v/ith most inferior command. During this movement a\\ngun was lost in consequence of being stuck fast, and the struggling\\nhorses were shot dov\\\\^n by the enemy.\\nDescribing the retreat from Stormberg to Molteno, another\\narmy officer at Sterkstroom writes\\nThen we had the bumiliating experience of being chased\\nback all those weary ten miles to Molteno, retreating as fast as\\nwe could in small groups, sometimes crouching against the right\\nside of the road the Boers being on our left flank sometimes\\nmaking our way into the cornfields, or along the interminable\\nveldt, or, now and again, falling prone on the ground as a shell\\ncame hissing overhead, waiting with breathless suspense until we\\nheard its dull thud as it struck the ground then, with an excla-\\nmation of thankfulness, as we found the uncanny thing did not\\nburst, up and off again, ravenously hungr}^ and utterly fatigued\\nas we were, harassed and hurried by the Boers, wh-o accompanied\\nus for a distance of eight miles with the attentions of their artillery.\\nAt last, when the majority of our force, which had left", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0506.jp2"}, "507": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS. 421\\nthe niglit before so full of promise and so brimful of eager-\\nness, bad straggled into Molteno, about ii o clock, and wben\\nwe all generally found our feet again, we formed up and\\ngot into line for tbe roll call. Wben name after name\\nwas called, wben silence dead silence was tbe only answer,\\nwben 366 men of tbe sturdy Nortbumberlands were missing, and\\nwben some 294 of our gallant Irisb comrades failed to give\\nresponse, tben tbe grim reality of tbe disaster came bome to us,\\nand we silently tbanked God tbat we were safe, and tbougbt very\\nsadly of tbe comrades, dead, wounded and missing, left bebind in\\ntbe terrible trap at Stormberg from wbicb we bad just escaped.\\nGENERAL BULLER SPARES HIS MEN.\\nA correspondent of one of tbe prominent London journals\\nadds some interesting details to tbe account of tbe battle of\\nColenso. General BuUer, be declared, is a stern figbter, an\\nindomitable man, of more tban bulldog pertinacity. Once\\nlauncbed into a figbt, it is gall and wormwood to bim to let go.\\nI bave seen bim often in battle and recognized bis many admir-\\nable qualities as soldier and leader. How great, tben, bis courage\\nmust be courage wbicb subjugated bis own temperament wben\\nseeing (at Colenso) tbat as tbings bad sbaped tbemselves tbe con-\\ntest must drive from bad to worse, be, witb bold resolution, decided\\nto stop tbe action. Men were being sacrificed, more would fall,\\nand tbe Boer position could not be taken before nigbtfall.\\nDealing once more witb Colonel Long s daring but unfor-\\ntunate artillery movements at tbat battle, tbis writer said Tbe\\nBoer guns began a little later tbrowing sbrapnel, and tbe macbine\\ngun fired solid sbot at tbem. But tbe gunners never flincbed or\\nwinced, buckling to tbeir work like men wbo grip a beavy load.\\nNay, more, some of tbem in derision began to field as at cricket\\nwitb tbe badly aimed, spent sbot of tbe macbine cannon. Run-\\nning aside, tbey would make a catcb, and call, How s tbat,\\numpire Boisterous and bigb, indeed, leaped tbe gunners\\nspirits.\\nBut tbeir guns were all tbe wbile served accurately and botlj,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0507.jp2"}, "508": {"fulltext": "422 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\nand the ridge of Fort Wylie rang and hissed witli tlie rusli, burst\\nand splutter of shrapnel, mightily unsteadying and thinning the\\nBoers fire from there. Captains Goldie and Schrieber fell, struck\\ndead. Within a quarter of an hour Colonel Long, their chief, was\\nknocked over, shot through the arm and body, a bullet passing\\nthrough his liver and kidneys. He was carried aside 200 yards\\ninto a shallow ravine where lay several of the Devons and others.\\nThere, wounded as he was, Colonel Long sent for help to over-\\ncome the enemy s rifle fire. But it did not come, for there was a\\ndifficulty about quickly finding either General Buller or General\\nClery.\\nColonel Hunt next fell, shot through both legs, and he also\\nwas carried to the ravine. As the men were being shot down very\\nrapidly for the Boer fire was by that time increasing Colonel\\nHunt advised that it would be better to abandon the guns, but\\nLong s characteristic reply was, Abandon be hanged. We never\\nabandon guns. Subsequently Colonel Hunt called attention to\\nthe fact that it was no use firing. There was scarcely any men\\nleft, and next to no ammunition. After that an order was given\\nto abandon the guns, which, for over an hour, had fought in the\\nface of the fiercest fusillade a battery ever endured.\\nGUNNERS WHO FELL AT THEIR POSTS.\\nYet, even then, all was not over, for four men persisted in\\nserving two guns and remaining beside their cannon. One of\\neither pair carried the shell, the others laid and fired their beloved\\n15-pounders. But two men were left. They continued the unequal\\nbattle. They exhausted the ordinary ammunition, and finally\\ndrew upon and fired the emergency rounds of case, their last shot.\\nThen they stood at attention beside the gun and an instant later\\nfell pierced through and through by Boer bullets. These, I say,\\nby the light of all my experience in war these gunners of ours\\nare men who deserve monuments over their graves and even Vic-\\ntoria crosses in their coffins.\\nFor many weeks Ladysmith resisted the siege of the Boers,\\nGeneral White and his intrepid garrison standing by their", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0508.jp2"}, "509": {"fulltext": "L \u00e2\u0080\u00a2-i\u00c2\u00bbl.^ Li\\n\\\\\u00c2\u00bb.:\\\\i\\nV\\nr-.\\nMwwiWiWUii-iiiifffif-i^fiii-h\\nIV i l Jill I\\n,|ll I.\\n423", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0509.jp2"}, "510": {"fulltext": "424 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\ndefenses witla unflincliing firmness. Tiie assault of tlie Boers\\nupon tlie town, on January 6tli, was of a most determined\\ncharacter. They had evidently gathered and massed their best\\nstrength for an attack which had been carefully planned, and\\nwhich they confidently expected to result in the overthrow of the\\nBritish defenses and the capture of the beleagured town.\\nThe first main assault was made in the middle of the night,\\nupon two positions to the southwest of the town, known as Csesar s\\nCamp and Wagon Hill, from which, if the Boers had been able\\nto seize and hold them, they could have poured a deadly fire into\\nLady smith. Caesar s Camp, held by the first battalion of the\\nManchesters, was the first object of the enemy s attack. Making\\ntheir way under cover of darkness through the thorn brush which\\nfilled the ravine at the foot of the kopje, the Heidelberg commando\\nof the Boers succeeded in evading the British pickets and reaching\\nthe foot of the slope.\\nRUSHING TROOPS INTO ACTION.\\nBefore the extent of the danger had been realized by the\\nBritish, the outlying defenses had been rushed and their defenders\\nslain. Two companies of the Gordon Highlanders went to the\\nassistance of the Manchesters, and as soon as the force of the\\nattack was realized other troops were brought into action.\\nLieutenant Col. Dick Cunyngham, who was leading the Gordons\\nout of the camp, fell mortally wounded by a stray bullet while\\nstill close to the town. At daybreak artillery was brought to bear\\neffectively upon the enemy. The Boers fought with most\\ndesperate courage, being evidently determined to take the camp\\nor to die in the attempt. But their impetuous bravery was out-\\nmatched by the disciplined courage of the defenders, and the\\nBoers were finally driven back with heavy loss. Meanwhile a\\nstill more exciting conflict had been in progress in the direction\\nof Wagon Hill.\\nAt 2 o clock a storming party of the enemy crept slowly and\\ncautiously along a ravine in the valley which divided the British\\nposts from the Boer camp, killing the pickets with a few well-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0510.jp2"}, "511": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS. 425\\naimed sliots, and then, gradually reaching the crest of the heights,\\nwhere they encountered a body of the British Light Horse, which\\nthey forced to retire, and continued to advance until they reached\\nan emplacement where they encountered a working party of the\\nGordon Highlanders and the 6oth Rifles, who made a brave\\ndefense but were overpowered by numbers. Here it was that\\nLieutenant McNaughton and thirty Gordons were captured,\\nthough not until every man of them was wounded. The British\\nartillery was now brought into play, and prevented the storming\\nparty from being reinforced from the Boer camp.\\nBut the enemy succeeded in making good the foothold they\\nhad secured, and held their ground with the utmost determination\\nagainst the efforts of the British to dislodge them. At length a\\ncharge of the Gordons, under Major Walnutt, drove them back,\\nbut they returned to the attack, and though repulsed were able\\nstill to maintain a murderous fire.\\nDARING CHARGE THROUGH A GALLING FIRE.\\nThe final blow was struck when three companies of the\\nDevonshires, led by Captain Lafone and Lieutenants Field and\\nMasterson, made a brilliant charge across the open ground, under\\na terrific fire, and fairly hurled the enemy down the hill at the\\npoint of the bayonet. In this charge Captain Lafone and Lieu-\\ntenant Field were killed, and Lieutenant Masterson received no\\nfewer than ten wounds. The result of the battle was thoroughly\\ndisheartening to the Boers, who had been confident of their ability\\nto capture the town.\\nAccording to the of cial report, the battle raged for seven-\\nteen hours. It began at 2.45 Saturday morning, January 6th,\\nand did not end till 7.30 in the evening. Some British entrench-\\nments on Wagon Hill were taken three times by the Boers, and\\nas often regained by the defenders. One point of the British\\nposition, which General White did not specify, was occupied by\\nthe Boers during the whole day, but at nightfall, under cover of a\\nheavy rain-storm, the Devonshire Regiment succeeded in turning\\nthem out at the point of the bayonet.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0511.jp2"}, "512": {"fulltext": "426 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\nTlie cliief Boer attack was directed at Caesar s Camp and\\nWagon Hill, and defended by tlie Mancliester Regiment and tlie\\nGordon Highlanders. Coming np from tlie south, perhaps by\\nFouries Spruit, the Boers assaulted three times with the greatest\\nobstinacy and vigor, sometimes obtaining a foothold and again\\nfalling back before the British bayonet charge. Meanwhile the\\nbattle, as commando after commando came up from Colenso to\\nreinforce the fighting lines, gradually spread itself over the whole\\ncircle of entrenchments, including the great Boer forts at Isim-\\nbulwhana and Lombard s Kop. The result, as already stated\\nwas that Ladysmith held out gallantly and its defenders beat\\nback the stubborn enemy.\\nDRESSED IN A PECULIAR COLOR.\\nThe British War Of ce did all in its power to provide for the\\nsafety and success of the defenders of the empire. Clothing was\\nfurnished of a peculiar color a color resembling the vegetation in\\nSouth Africa in order to present as little distinction as possible\\nbetween the men and their surroundings. This color was called\\nkhaki. In the British portions of South Africa it finally became\\nactually monotonous. Kven the horses were dyed the popular hue\\nby means of a mixture of permanganate of potash and water, so\\nthat Boer sharpshooters should be puzzled to distinguish between\\nthe ghostly steed and the veldt on which he stood. Barrels of\\npaint were used in taking the shine off swords, scabbards, lances,\\naccoutrements and buttons. A touch of paint on a button might\\nmean the saving of a wearer s life, for that little piece of polished\\nmetal had the power to attract a Mauser bullet. In this adoption\\nof neutral color the British showed commendable caution.\\nIt is safe to say that had the forces fighting the Boers been\\nmade up of an equal number of colonists, well-mounted and able to\\nshoot straight, as were the men comprising the gallant little band\\nat Mafeking, the war would have been ended in the defeat of the\\nBoers. Ordinary tactics are of little account when giddy heights\\nhave to be scaled in the face of a sleet of bullets. Gallant Tommy\\nAtkins does his best, but he is not seen at his best in this kind", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0512.jp2"}, "513": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS. 427\\nof figliting. Tlie Boers are foemen wortliy of Tommy s steel,\\nbut unfortunately for Tommy tke steel liad few opportunities to\\nget in its fine work. Here are tlie personal accounts of some of\\ntlie men themselves, giving a graphic andlife-likeaccount of mod-\\nern figliting that no descriptive writing of a historian, however\\ntalented his pen, can equal.\\nSpeaking of the terrific fighting with General Methuen s\\ncolumn, an officer of the Guards says We had no cover except\\nlittle scrub brushes, about six inches high, and the ground sloped\\ngently down to the Boers from about two thousand yards. I don t\\nsuppose troops have ever been in a more damnable position. I sat\\nup occasionally to see how things were going, but only for a\\nmoment, as it was always the signal for a perfect storm of bullets.\\nMy ammunition bearer had his head blown to bits by a one-pound\\nshell from a 37-millimetre Maxim, a most infernal gun. I hap-\\npened to be in the line of it just before dark, and they pumped six\\nrounds at me. The first four pitched in a line about twenty, ten\\nand fifteen, and the fourth four yards in front of me, and threw\\ndirt all over me, and the next two just pitched behind me.\\nHE HAD ENOUGH FIGHTING.\\nI didn t like it a bit. It was the worst day I have ever\\nspent in my life. Twelve hours under a constant and heavy fire\\nof Maxims, 12-pounders, and other quick-firing guns and rifles, a\\nhot sun, no cover, no water, and no food, is more than enough for\\nyours truly. The guns yesterday fought magnificently, and I\\nbelieve fired more rounds per gun than have ever been fired in a\\nbattle before. We had a much-needed wash this morning. I\\nwashed shirt and drawers, besides myself.\\nDescribing the storming of the Boer entrenchments at Belmont\\nand Modder River, a corporal of the Coldstream Guards said In\\nour fight at Belmont we charged a hill three times with the bay-\\nonet. It was almost impregnable. The Boers lost a number of\\nkilled and wounded, and we captured all their stores and camp.\\nWe burned the camp and took about one hundred prisoners. They\\nare afraid of the bayonet. As soon as they saw us they flew fol", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0513.jp2"}, "514": {"fulltext": "428 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\ntheir lives some dropped on tlieir knees and cried for merr^y.\\nYon slionld have seen ns go at tliem with a real British cheer. We\\nlost a lot of men the fight lasted fonr and a half honrs.\\nOnr next fight was at Gras Pan it was all long-^Jv^tance\\nfiring abont i,ooo yards nntil the Naval Brigade came up mth\\ntheir gnns, and then we advanced nnder cover, and we. cleared\\nthem ont and killed a lot of them and got two of their chief\\nofiicers prisoners. The Naval Brigade loss was fift}^ killed and\\nwonnded. Yon cannot tell the real nnmber of Boers ki [led. As\\nsoon as any one of them falls the}^ pick him np and gallop off to\\ntheir hospital with him.\\nHARD STRUGGLE AND HEAVY LOSSES.\\nOur next fight was at IModder River one of the greatest\\nfights in British histor3\\\\ We attacked the Boers, abont 2,000\\nstrong, in trenches. The}^ had six guns with them. We were\\nunder fire thirteen hours and had no food for nearly forty-eight\\nhours. It was a stubborn fight it hung on a thread for a long\\ntime. The river was full of dead horses and men. There was a\\nheav} loss on our side. We had our colonel killed, poor fellow.\\nWe had to wade through the river up to the waist. It was dark\\nwhen we got them our of their trenches. How we did batter them\\nThey are not half so good shots as they are made out to be.\\nHere is an interesting item from the camps of General Gatacre\\nthat did not find its ^vay out of South Africa by cable We have\\na lot of Boer prisoners in camp here, and over the hill in front of\\nus a number of Boer Avomen are searching for their husbands.\\nThe}^ say they are told that their losses are small, and that ours\\nare great but the}^ cannot find their husbands and believe they\\nare killed. The women think that the Boer commanders are con-\\ncealing their losses, and I think this is about the truth of the\\nmatter. The Boer prisoners are a ragged lot, but the}^ look like\\nmen who can do a good da3 s work.\\nPrisoners are continually arriving here in small batches,\\nprizes taken during the little skirmishes in which it is give and\\ntake, with honors about even. One batch, nine in number, arrived", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0514.jp2"}, "515": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS. 429\\nyesterday by tlie transport Servia from Frere Camp. Tlie men\\nwere of the baclc-veldt type, wearing slovenly clothes and slouch\\nhats adorned with the usual crape. One of them had an enormous\\nRed Cross badge sewn on his hat, and this caused much laughter\\namong the small crowd who witnessed the landing although it\\nmust be said there were some ugly murmurs about the Red Cross\\nmen with rifles. The prisoners were marched under armed escort\\nto the Breakwater Convict Station.\\nIn the latter part of December, England called Sir Horatio\\nKitchener and Lord Frederick Sleigh Roberts to her aid in the\\nTransvaal. Bach in his own fashion is a remarkable man. Bach\\nhas seen more fighting, more bloodshed, more facings of death in\\ncombat than ever Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley dared to dream of\\nIt is something more than opportunity which makes a man. The\\nmother s milk which sustained him in infancy must have had\\ncertain potential qualities for him to be genuinely great in after\\nlife.\\nCAME FROM A STURDY STOCK.\\nKitchener and Roberts both came from old English stock,\\nwith a fair mixture of Irish. Kitchener was born in Ireland,\\nwhile Roberts was born in India of English parents. They call\\nthe Sirdar the man of certainties. In India Roberts is called\\nBobs Bahadur, that is, Bobs, the hero or champion. Kitch-\\nener is more than six feet in height, a strapping big fellow, with\\nphenomenal endurance and a will power that knows no master.\\nRoberts is small, wiry, nervously energetic, more of a diplo-\\nmat than the other, but none the less a fighter. This was the\\nsecond time he had been supreme in command in South Africa.\\nWhen General George Colley was killed at Majuba Hill in 1882\\nRoberts was ordered out to succeed him, but saw no fighting, as\\npeace came quickly. He was now to be commander in chief of all\\nthe English forces in South Africa, and Kitchener was to be his\\nchief of staff. What each has accomplished in the past for Eng-\\nland falls little short of the marvelous.\\nRoberts was 67 years old when he was ordered to South\\nAfrica Kitchener was 48, and his glory rests on his exploits in", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0515.jp2"}, "516": {"fulltext": "4S0 SCENES ANID INCIDENTS.\\ntlie Soudan. I^^ield Marshal Roberts won His fame at Candaliar\\nin India.\\nGeneral Roberts, in tbe event of tbe deatb. of Sir Garnet\\nWolseley, is in direct line to become tbe bead of tbe Knglisb\\narmy. He is popular witb tbe rank and file of tbe empire tbe\\npeople wbo pay tbe taxes and furnisb tbe figbting private. Tbere\\nwas a time in 1878 wben tbe Afgban uprising appeared to tbreaten\\nas seriously tbe integrity of tbe Britisb Empire as tbe Transvaal\\nwar does now. Roberts was in India, and in tbe campaign against\\ntbe Afgbanistans performed a series of feats wbicb sbowed bim to\\nbe one of tbe ablest commanders and most brilliant soldiers in tbe\\nservice of bis country. He commanded tbe column sent to\\noperate tbrougb tbe Kuram Valley, and, surmounting tbe dangers\\nand dif culties of tbe Peiwar Pass, gained a decisive victory at\\nCbarasiab and entered Cabul.\\nROBERTS PHENOMENAL MARCH.\\nAt tbe end of July, 1880, anotber Britisb column under Gen-\\neral Burrows, wbicb was attacking Ayoob Kabn, was defeated\\nand literally cut to pieces at Maiwand. Burrows barely managed\\nto save a small remnant of bis force, wbo fougbt tbeir way to\\nCandabar, wbere tbey joined tbe garrison under command of\\nGeneral Primrose. Ayoob Kabn prepared to attack tbe city, and\\nif be bad done so on tbe instant probably would bave taken it\\nand caused England greater loss tban sbe bad experienced since\\ntbe Indian mutiny.\\nGeneral Roberts, wbo was several bundred miles away, was\\napprised of tbe danger at Candabar and gatbered a force of 9,000\\npicked men. Tbese be marcbed witb almost incredible rapidity\\nacross tbe trackless region between Cabul and Candabar and\\ndescended upon Ayoob Kabn before tbe latter was aware of bis\\nnresence. Tbe Afgbans received a defeat from wbicb tbey bave\\nnot recovered to tbis day and England a respite from rebellions for\\nmany a montb. Roberts fougbt bis Afgban battles witb weak-\\nened forces.\\nIn order to strengtben a column sent tbrougb tbe Kbyber", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0516.jp2"}, "517": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\n4^1\\nPass many companies were detached from His command, and what\\nlie accomplisHed was witii less men than any other commander\\nin Afghanistan had at that time. It is indicative of the conrage\\nof the man that before he moved his forces he represented to the\\nauthorities that he considered the number of troops at his disposal\\ninadequate to the task they were expected to perform. He did\\nnot receive the re-enforce-\\nments desired.\\nOne must knoAV the\\nmountain fierceness of the\\nPeiwar Pass to appreciate\\nwhat General Roberts con-\\nfronted when with his\\nhandful of men he arrived\\nthere to attack the enemy.\\nThe pass is a rugged,\\nforest-clad elevation rising\\n2,000 feet above Kuram\\nValley and forming a tre-\\nmendous obstacle to ad-\\nvance into the enemy s\\ncountry beyond. The\\nsummit was occupied by\\nan Afghan force consist-\\ning of eight regiments, or\\nfully 9,000 men and eigh-\\nteen guns. The entire\\nforce commanded by Roberts consisted of 5,325 men, of whom only\\n1,345 were British. The remainder consisted of more or less unre-\\nliable native troops.\\nRoberts made no hasty attack upon this high mountain crest.\\nHe halted his men, and two days were spent in examining the\\nmountain front. As a result of this Roberts found a path three\\nmiles north of the enemy by which he could reach their rear, and\\nhe resolved to deliver his attack by this route. He marched from\\nhis camp during the night and reached the poin- of attack at day-\\nFIELD MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS.\\nCOMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE BRITISH FORCES IN\\nSOUTH AFRICA.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0517.jp2"}, "518": {"fulltext": "432 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\nbreak. Mucli anxiety was felt during tlie marcli by the fact tbat\\nsome of tbe native troops were Patbans, two of wbom, wben tbe\\nposition was neared, fired sbots as a warning to tbeir Afgban\\nkinsmen, Tbe warning came too late.\\nTbe Afgban posts, tbougb not surprised, were stormed, and\\ntbe main force retreated in confusion. Tbe Britisb loss was about\\nloo killed and wounded. Tbe coolness wbicb Roberts displayed\\nin making tbis attack, tbe well considered nature of bis plans,\\ngave evidence tbat be possessed tbe higbest kind of generalsbip,\\nand if Wolseley did not recognize tbis, England did.\\nGREW TO BE A HERO.\\nHe is tbe man wbo lived forty-one years in India as an Kng-\\nlisb soldier, rising from tbe position of subaltern to tbat of com-\\nmander in cbief of all tbe Bnglisb forces tbere. He was 20\\nwben be landed at Madras. His fatber for years was commander\\nof tbe Labore division. In tbe Indian mutiny of 1857 be was con-\\nspicuous by being found wberever tbere was beavy figbting. His\\ngallantry was always conspicuous. He bas seemed to lead a\\ncbarmed life. Friends and comrades bave been killed by bis side,\\nbut be bas always escaped.\\nHe won tbe Victoria Cross bj^ recapturing from several Sepoys\\na Britisb flag. In 1892 be was elevated to tbe peerage, and in tbe\\nfollowing year resigned bis Indian command and returned to Eng-\\nland. He was tben placed in cbarge of tbe forces in Ireland. Tbe\\nprivates of tbe Bnglisb army call bim Little Bobs.\\nWben future generations come to read tbe bistory of modern\\nH gypt and tbe story of tbe Soudan, no name will figure in it more\\nprominently tban tbat of Kitcbener, tbe tbird Sirdar of tbe Kgypt-\\nian army. His fatber was a colonel in tbe Britisb army, and tbe\\nson cbose soldiering for bis profession. He was educated at Wool-\\nwicb and entered tbe Royal Engineers as a lieutenant in 1871.\\nIvove of adventure caused bim to leave tbe army in 1874 to join in\\ntbe survey of Western Palestine, under Major Condor, but after tbe\\nattack on tbe party at Safed, be returned to London. Tbe roving\\nlife of surveying and exploring suited Kitcbener s nature admira-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0518.jp2"}, "519": {"fulltext": "SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\n433\\nbly, and he went on to tlie Holy Land on surveying expeditions\\nthree times, on the last occasion as sole commander of the expedi-\\ntion for the survey of Galilee.\\nIn 1888 he defeated Osman Digna at the siege of Suakin. He\\ncommanded only native Sudanese battalions, but his faith in them\\nwas unbounded. He led them within 200 yards of formidable\\nbreastworks without firing a shot, but when he did give the word\\nto go they poured a wither-\\ning hail of lead in the\\nArabs position and then\\ncarried the trenches with a\\nrush that would have done\\ncredit to the Guards, com- .,^1^\\npleting with their bayonets\\nthe destruction of the\\nenemy.\\nKitchener fought again\\nat Gamaizah, at the battle of\\nToski and at Dongola. He\\nhas been twice shot at by\\nBedouins, nearly murdered\\nin Palestine, narrowly es-\\ncaped being hanged as a\\nspy, besides the ordinary\\nrisks in a dozen different\\nbattles.\\nAt Omdurman, in his\\neagerness to get where he could see the progress of the fight,\\nhe came a trifle too near the lines of fire of his own men,\\nand a bullet cut through the sleeve of his coat. The scene\\nafter the battle, which he won, is described by eyewitnesses\\nas frightful. The dead of the Dervishes lay around in thickly\\npiled masses. The Martini bullets and the quick-firing guns had\\ncut them down in such heaps that the ground was white with the\\nflowing robes where it was not dyed with blood. No quarter\\nGENERAL LORD KITCHENER,\\nCHIEF OF FIELD MARSHAL ROBERTS* STAFF.\\nwas given.\\n28\\nA wounded Dervish is more dangerous than one", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0519.jp2"}, "520": {"fulltext": "484 SCENES AND INCIDENTS.\\nnot wounded, especially if lie is wounded to tlie deatli and\\nknows it.\\nThis victory of Kitchener left him the controlling power of\\nthe region that comprises the bases of the Niger, Lake Tchad and\\nthe branch of the Nile that is called Bahr-el-Ghazal. His sphere\\nof influence covered an area of 950,000 square miles, with a popu-\\nlation of over 10,000,000. The highest praise paid Kitchener is\\nthat he never neglects the condition of his men but when they\\nfight they must fight as men never fought before. It is said\\nthat men serving under him are better cared for than if they\\nwere the pampered pets of a wealthy household but that when\\nthey go into battle he compels them to take chances from which\\nless daring commanders would shrink. An English authority,\\nAvriting of him, said: The military genius of Kitchener is simply\\nbeyond criticism.\\nThe same apparently may be said of General Roberts. It is\\nto- be distinctly remembered, though, that neither man has ever\\nbeen pitted against white men in his fighting career. Wolseley\\nwas in the Crimea, but Lord Roberts has made his reputation\\nfighting Sepoys and Afghanistans, while Kitchener s battlefield\\nrecord rests upon the slain bodies of howling Dervishes. Pitted\\nagainst the talents of these two were the mountain walls of a\\ncountry as rugged as India, the science of German artillerymen,\\nthe skill of Frenchmen in the trenches, the tactic alability of\\nAmerican of cers, and the unyielding obstinacy of Boer generals.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0520.jp2"}, "521": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXVII.\\nThe British End the Siege of Kimberley.\\nT^HB London War Office received intelligence on February 15,\\n1900, wliicli indicated tliat the long series of disasters suf-\\nfered by tbe Britisb bad ended and tbe tide of battle bad turned.\\nTbe news produced general rejoicing tbrougbout Great Britain\\nand tbe Colonies.\\nIt was known tbat Lord Roberts upon bis arrival in Soutb\\nAfrica at once formed bis plan of campaign. Tbis included opera-\\ntions in connection witb General Metbuen s army and tbe relief\\nof Kimberley at tbe earliest possible moment. Tbere was intense\\nsuspense in view of tbe preparations made for a Britisb advance.\\nGeneral Cronje, in command of tbe Boers investing Kimberley,\\nwas prepared to dispute every incb of ground and oppose a stub-\\nborn resistance to bis enemy, sucb as bad bitberto been successful\\neverywhere in repelling tbe Britisb advance.\\nOn February i5tb it was learned tbat Lord Roberts bad begun\\nthe attack on tbe Boer army between tbe Modder river and Kim-\\nberley by initiating a flanking movement, which up to that date\\nhad proved successful. The drifts referred to in Roberts official\\nmessages are marked on but few maps. They are all to tbe east\\nof the point where tbe British camp was located on the Modder\\nand within tbe Free State territory.\\nFor tbe information of tbe reader it should be stated that a\\ndrift is, in tbe Boer language, a ford. In making these fords\\nthe Boers showed great ingenuity. Usually in the widest and\\nshallowest part of a river, they are made by spreading bed stones\\nright across tbe stream to tbe width of about thirty feet. Thus the\\nwater running over tbe drift may be about two and one-half feet\\ndeep, while on each side it may be much deeper. So much, by\\nway of explanation, and we will now return to the history.\\nThe first move made by tbe mounted infantry brigade, under\\n435", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0521.jp2"}, "522": {"fulltext": "436 END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY,\\nColonel Hannay, was to Ramdam on February i2tli. On tlie\\nsame day General Frencli took Dekil s Drift, clearing tlie way for\\nthe Sixth and Seventh Divisions. On Tuesday, the 13th, French\\nforced a passage of the Riet at Klipt Drift, occupying the hills to\\nthe north, while General Gordon seized Rondeval Drift and another\\nbetween it and Klipt. In the meantime, the Sixth Division, which\\nwas supposed to be in the neighborhood of Colesburg, appeared on\\nthe north bank of the Riet, at the Waterval Drift, moving to the\\nsupport of the cavalry.\\nRamdam is ten miles almost due south of Jacobsdal. With\\ntwo divisions and the cavalry division threatening the Boer left on\\nthe position stretching from Spytfontein by Magersfontein to\\nJacobsdal, Roberts forced Cronje to decide whether to retire or\\nstay. If he elected to go, Kimberley would be relieved if he\\nchose to stay, he would have to entrench in the rear, or his works\\nwould be carried. If the rear was entrenched he would be held\\nwhile Kimberley was relieved.\\nIMPORTANT DESPATCH FROM LORD ROBERTS.\\nGeneral Methuen, with the First Division, was left to hold the\\nentrenchments on the Modder, but Roberts had three infantry\\ndivisions, the Sixth, Seventh and Ninth, some ten batteries and\\n6,000 or 7,000 mounted men altogether, the force mustered\\nabout 37,000.\\nThe War Of ce in London received a message from Lord\\nRoberts, giving details of his brilliant strategy which resulted in\\nrelieving Kimberley. It was as follows\\nDekil s Drift, Feb. 14, 8.10 A. M. General French left this\\npoint at 11.30 yesterday morning with three brigades of cavalry,\\nhorse artillery and mounted infantry, including several colonial\\ncontingents, in order to seize a crossing of the Modder, distant\\nabout twenty-five miles. He reports, by despatch, dated 5.35 p.m.,\\nthat he has forced a passage at Clip Drift, and occupied the hills\\nnorth of the river, capturing three of the enemy s laagers, with\\ntheir supplies, while General Gordon, of the Fifteenth Hussars,\\nwith his brigade, who had made a feint at Rondeval Drift, four", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0522.jp2"}, "523": {"fulltext": "^_jvj_ it^ y\\n437", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0523.jp2"}, "524": {"fulltext": "438 END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\nmiles west, lias seized it and a second drift between that and Clip\\nDrift, together with two more laagers.\\nGeneral French s performance is brilliant, considering the\\nexcessive heat and a blinding dust storm which raged during the\\nlatter part of the day.\\nOwing to the rapidity of his movements, General French\\nmet but slight opposition, and his losses were small. Lieutenant\\nJohnson, of the Inniskillig Dragoons, is the only officer reported\\nseverely wounded.\\nMonday, Feb. 12, the cavalry division under General French\\nseized the crossing of the Reit river at Dekil s Drift, on the east\\nbank of which the Sixth and Seventh Divisions are encamped.\\nThe casualties were two troopers killed, and Captain Majendie, of\\nthe rifle brigade, wounded. He has since died. One trooper was\\nwounded.\\nATTACK RESULTING IN CASUALTIES.\\nThe General commanding at Rensburg reports that on\\nMonday, February 12th, he was attacked in force by the Boers.\\nLieutenant Coningham, of the Worcester Regiment, was wounded,\\nand has since died. There were other casualties. The Sixth\\nDivision was last night on the north bank of the Reit, at Water-\\nval Drift, and is moving to support the cavalry. The Seventh\\nDivision is here, and will go on this afternoon. Four officers and\\nfifty-three men had to be sent last evening in ox wagons to the\\nrailway prostrated by heat and exhaustion.\\nThe following despatch was received at the War Office in\\nLondon from General Roberts, under date of Reit River, Febru-\\nary 13th\\nColonel Hannay, in command of a brigade of mounted\\ninfantry, marching from Orange River to Remah, had a slight\\nengagement February nth (Sunday) with the Boers holding the\\nhills and threatening his right flank. With a detached part of\\nhis force Colonel Hannay detained the enemy while he pushed\\nhis baggage and main body through to Remah. The object of\\nthe march was successfully carried out. Four men were killed,\\ntwenty-two wounded, and thirteen are missing.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0524.jp2"}, "525": {"fulltext": "END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY. 439\\nOn tHe i3tli tHe column continued its marcli to Klip and\\nRondaval Drifts on tlie Modder river, wliere again a short engage-\\nment ensued, General FrencH shelling tlie Boers vigorously and\\nforcing a passage. Tlie Boers precipitately retired, leaving five\\nlaagers, or depots of supplies, in tlie liands of the British, besides\\na great quantity of cattle and 2000 sheep. The rapidity of Gen-\\neral French s march and the overwhelming nature of his force\\nenabled him, in spite of the difficulties of water transportation, to\\nthoroughly accomplish his object.\\nAn announcement that thrilled the British people everywhere\\ncame to London February i6th, being contained in a telegram\\nfrom Jacobsdal, near Kimberley, and stating that on the evening\\nof that day General French, with a force of artillery, cavalry and\\nmounted infantry, reached Kimberley, and that the siege of the\\ndiamond city was practically raised. This was the most\\nimportant success that had attended the British arms up to this\\ntime. General French s report from Jacobsdal under date of Feb-\\nruary 1 6th was as follows\\nCAPTURE OF AMMUNITION AND SUPPLIES.\\nI have completely dispersed the enemy from the southern\\nside of Kimberley, from Alexanders fontein to Oliphantsfontein,\\nand am now going to occupy their ground. Have captured the\\nenemy s laager and store depot supplies and supplies of ammuni-\\ntion. Casualties, about twenty of all ranks wounded.\\nKimberley cheerful and well.\\nI have good reason to believe the Magersfontein trenches\\nhave been abandoned, and that the Boers are endeavoring to\\nescape. General French is scouring the country north of Kim-\\nberley. One of General Kelly-Kenny s brigades of infantry is\\nin pursuit of a large Boer convoy moving towards Bloemfon-\\ntein.\\nMuch gratified on arrival here to find admirable hospital\\narrangements, made by the German ambulance corps under Drs.\\nKaettner and Hildebrand, who, with their staffs, have shown the\\ngreatest kindness to our wounded, as they have to the Boer", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0525.jp2"}, "526": {"fulltext": "440 END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\nwounded. Some of our wounded liave been liere since December.\\nSome were brougbt in yesterday.\\nTbe following despatch, from General Roberts fills tbe gaps\\nin tbe earlier despatcbes\\nModder River, February i6. Tbe Sixth. Division left\\nWaterfall Drift early on tbe morning of tbe i5tb, and marcbed\\nbere, going on tbe same evening to Rondeval Drift, to bold tbe\\ncrossing of tbe Modder river and leave General Frencb free to\\nact. Sbortly after arriving bere tbe mounted infantry visited\\nJacobsdal and found it full of women and children, witb four of\\nour wounded men, doing well.\\nCAVALRY PRESSING ON.\\nOn tbe way back tbe mounted infantry were attacked and\\nnine men were wounded. Colonel Henry and Major Hatcbell\\nand ten men were missing. Botb officers were subsequently found\\nat Jacobsdal, slightly wounded. Tbe cavalry division is moving\\nin a northerly direction, and has apparently already reduced tbe\\npressure on Kimberley, as Kekewich signals the enemy has\\nabandoned Alexanders fontein, and that be has occupied it.\\nFrencb has advanced as far as Abonsdam with slight loss,\\nand is pushing on tbe posts, bis rear being held by mounted\\ninfantry. Clements, having been pressed by tbe Boers, has retired\\nto Arundel to cover Naaupoort.\\n(The termination fontein, which ends so many names of\\ntowns, villages, etc., means a spring. Water being scarce, the\\nplaces where springs abound are given names accordingly.)\\nTbe road between Modder River and Jacobsdal was now open\\nand was available for sending reinforcements and supplies. When\\nthe Boers evacuated Jacobsdal they were obliged to pass over a\\nridge, where they afforded a splendid mark for the British guns,\\nwhich showered shrapnel upon the retreating enemy.\\nThe convoy which was attacked at Riet River had been coun-\\ntermanded, but tbe order did not arrive in time, and the skirmish\\nwas a very warm one, although tbe Boers did little material dam-\\nage. As General Frencb, with the strengthened division, pushed", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0526.jp2"}, "527": {"fulltext": "END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY. 441\\nforward toward Kimberley, lie found the beleaguering Boers\\ndeserting tlieir position at Alexanders fontein, thus allowing a\\nportion of the Kimberley garrison to occupy and entrench the\\nplace.\\nJacobsdal was now in possession of the British. A small\\ncavalry patrol entered the place and found it full of wounded,\\nincluding several British from Rensburg. The place was only\\noccupied by a small force, which fell back before the patrol, after\\na series of small skirmishes. A battery of artillery shelled the\\nenvirons and drove out the last of the Boers.\\nGeneral French s division seized three drifts on the Modder\\nriver. At the third drift the Boers were fairly strongly entrenched.\\nGeneral French bombarded them and drove them off. He then\\nmoved rapidly in the direction of Kimberley. The Boers left\\nAlexandersfontein, and the British at once occupied it.\\nThe hardships and rapid marching appeared to agree with the\\nwhole British army, who were in splendid spirits under the lead-\\nership of General Roberts.\\nGENERAL CRONJE IN RETREAT.\\nOn February i6th General Kelly-Kenny s brigade captured\\nseventy-eight wagons laden with stores, two wagons of Mauser\\nrifles, eight boxes of shells, ten barrels of explosives and a large\\nquantity of stores, all belonging to Cronje s laager, which was\\nstill being shelled by British artillery.\\nGeneral Cronje, with ten thousand men, was in full retreat\\ntoward Bloemfontein. General Kelly-Kenny fought a rear guard\\naction and harassed the retreat. The Boers left Spytfontein,\\ngoing in a northwesterly direction. They captured a large con-\\nvoy as a result of the fighting at Riet River. The British casual-\\nties were comparatively slight, in view of the tremendous bom-\\nbardment. Less than thirty men were wounded and but one\\nkilled.\\nLord Roberts combinations for the movements of the corps\\ndovetailed with precision, although obstacles that had not been\\nforeseen had to be overcome. The execution of his design began", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0527.jp2"}, "528": {"fulltext": "442 END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\nat 3 A. M. on Sunday, the nth.. General French rode into Kim-\\nberley Thursday afternoon, just when he was due according to\\nField Marshal Roberts time table, having, in four and a half\\ndays, marched ninety miles with artillery and having fought two\\nengagements.\\nThe relief of Kimberley was accomplished with the loss of\\nonly fifty men. Twenty thousand infantry made splendid\\nmarches under a sub-tropical sun and through a dust storm to\\nhold the positions which General French took. Lord Kitchener\\nwas with General Tucker s division. In consequence of his\\ntransport arrangements, the four divisions moving over the sandy\\nveldt were fed and watered. It is hardly possible to appreciate\\nadequately the mathematical precision with which every part\\nof the transport department worked, marching through the day,\\ntoiling almost sleeplessly throughout the night, victualling the\\narmy and evolving every hour results from seeming chaos.\\nA WEARISOME MARCH.\\nEverybody did what was expected of him cheerfully, though\\nenduring frightful fatigues. Few slept more than three hours.\\nThe battalions, hour after hour, toiled through the heavy sand\\nuncomplainingly, and when now and then a man fell out of the\\nranks exhausted, he would rejoin his company later after he had\\nrested. Some fifty or sixty were overcome by the heat and had\\nto be sent to the rear in the backward defile of empty wagons.\\nThe rapidity of Lord Roberts movements away from his base\\nsolved one of the problems, perhaps the chief problem, of the war.\\nHe and Lord Kitchener created a mobile force, able to move in\\nexterior lines and to outflank the Boers, themselves so wonder-\\nfully mobile and quick in movements.\\nFurther details of the Boer retreat show that Cronje s army\\nfought a good rear guard action, and occupied successive kopjes\\n(hills), in order to allow the moving of the convoy, which, how-\\never, went at a very slow pace, the animals apparently being\\nexhausted.\\nGeneral French s magnificent march was the subject of admi-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0528.jp2"}, "529": {"fulltext": "END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\n443\\nration, especially in view of tlie dust storms and thunder storms\\ntliat all experienced. The work of shelling the Boers proceeded\\nvigorously. Owing to the style of the action, the Boers were\\nbound to show in the open field, whenever they were obliged to\\nleave the kopjes or hills where they could get behind rocks and\\nother natural defenses.\\nEnthusiastic demonstrations followed the announcement at\\nCape Town of the relief\\nof Kimberley. Govern-\\nment House was sur-\\nrounded by great crowds,\\nand the Governor of Cape\\nColony, Sir Alfred Mil-\\nner, received an ovation.\\nThe house which Lord\\nRoberts occupied on his\\narrival at Cape Town\\nwas similarly feted, there\\nwere parades through the\\ncity, cheering for Bobs\\n(Lord Roberts), flag fly-\\ning, and hostile demon-\\nstrations outside the\\nnewspaper o\u00c2\u00a3B.ces sympa-\\nthetic to the Boers and\\nbefore the residences of\\nMinisters supposed to be\\nin sympathy with the\\nburghers. The relief of Kimberly was similarley celebrated in\\nother towns of Cape Colony.\\nThe War Office in London was highly pleased at the receipt\\nof cabled congratulations on the relief of Kimberley from the\\nMayor of Toronto, Canada, in behalf of the corporation and\\ncitizens of that city.\\nThe siege of Kimberley was begun really when the war in\\nSouth Africa opened in October, 1899. At that time General\\nMAJOR ALBRECHT,\\nIN COMMAND OF BOER ARTILLERY.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0529.jp2"}, "530": {"fulltext": "444 END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEV,\\nCronje, tiie commander of tlie Boer forces under General Joubert,\\narranged a line of entrencliments around Kimberley in the form\\nof a complete circle, and all tlie efforts of General Frencli to\\nbreak tbrougb were unavailing. It is understood tbat 5,000\\nwere locked up in Kimberley, and various reports came out of\\ntke suffering in consequence of the scarcity of food. Tbe siege\\nwas in force 123 days.\\nThe inspiring motive which prompted the Boers to make\\nsuch a desperate effort to get into Kimberley was the hope of\\ncapturing Cecil Rhodes. President Kruger of cially said the\\nTransvaal Republic regarded Rhodes as being responsible for all\\nthe trouble in South Africa. The movement to relieve Kimberley\\nbegan on Monday, February 12th, when General French swooped\\ndown on Dekil s Drift, and having crossed, moved his forces twenty\\nmiles in a little over six hours, capturing three Boer laagers at\\nKlip Drift, on the Modder river. The march was accomplished\\nduring a severe sand storm and while the heat was terrific.\\nHARDSHIPS OF THE SIEGE.\\nAmong the twenty thousand people cooped up in Kimberley\\nthroughout its siege of 123 days were two or three who could\\nrecall their personal experiences of the siege of Paris. Beside\\nthe terrible privations endured in the hard winter of 1870-71, the\\nhardships of the Kimberley besieged sink into insignificance.\\nYet there were some strange vicissitudes in the prolongation of\\nthe investment. Nobody would have hazarded a prediction that\\nthe town would have lain almost helpless under the shells of the\\nBoer guns for seven or eight weeks with a British army immov-\\nable only twenty-five miles away. Such was the case, however,\\nfor Kimberley, after Lord Methuen withdrew from the fatal rifle\\ntrenches of Magersfontein to intrench himself at Modder river,\\nwas condemned to a monotonous period of waiting.\\nThe garrision was not strong enough to make a divertise-\\nment, while the Boer besieging force contented itself with the\\nexpectation of being able to starve the place into submission.\\nMethuen s intrenchment at Modder river, however, had the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0530.jp2"}, "531": {"fulltext": "\u00c2\u00a3ND of the siege of KIMBERLEY. 445\\nimportant effect of preventing General Cronje from weakening\\nhis line to exert pressure on tlie town. As time went on tlie\\nconfidence expressed at the beginning of tlie war, that Kimberley\\nconld defy the Boers for any length of time, was seen to be\\ncompletely justified.\\nThe investment began in October, when Kimberley was\\nisolated, the Boers cutting the Bulawayo Railway north and south.\\nThe garrison had been organized by Colonel Kekewich, aided by\\nCaptain O Mara and Lieutenant Maclnnes, both of the Royal\\nKngineers. Major Scott-Turner was a fourth of cer, responsible\\nfor the defence in the early days. He lost his life in a sortie from\\nthe town. Under these officers were placed four companies of the\\nLoyal North Lancashire regiment, a battery of Royal Garrison\\nartillery, under Major Chamier, and a detachment of Royal\\nEngineers. Some troops of Cape police, the Kimberley Light\\nHorse and the town guard were welded into a compact force,\\nwhich showed itself eager in keeping the Boers at a distance from\\nthe town. The garrison thus consisted of about seven hundred\\nimperial troops, and with the colonial and other forces reached a\\ntotal of about twenty-seven hundred. A detachment of the Royal\\nArmy Medical Corps, with ambulances, was also included in the\\ngarrison and gave effective service.\\nA RENO\\\\VNED COMMANDER.\\nLieutenant Colonel R. G. Kekewich, the Colonel of the Lan-\\ncashire regiment and commandant of the town, gained a reputa-\\ntion on the staff in Egypt from 1884 to 1890, and has been\\nmilitary secretary to two commanders in chief of Madras. A few\\ndays before the formal declaration of war by the Republics,\\nColonel Kekewich held a review of his garrison. The brave show\\nput heart into the inhabitants. The town was well supplied with\\ncattle and provisions, and elaborate defences had been constructed,\\nwith earthworks made out of the rubbish heaps of the mines, sixty\\nfeet high, and with miles of barbed wire.\\nFor the Boers, Kimberley was a prize worth almost an}? cost.\\nThere were the diamond mines to begin with, and the loot to be", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0531.jp2"}, "532": {"fulltext": "446\\nEND OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\nobtained in tlie most important town of Upper Cape Colony.\\nFrom a military point of view its capture would be the prevention\\nof its being utilized as a base for any Britisb army operating\\nagainst tbe Orange Free State. More piquant interest, However,\\nwas given to tbe siege by tbe fact tbat almost tbe last arrival in\\ntbe town before its isolation, in October, was tbat of Mr. Cecil\\nRbodes, in company witb Mr. and Mrs. Rocbfort Maguire.\\nMr. Rbodes bad determined to cast in bis lot witb tbe town\\nso closely identified witb bis\\nfortunes. Rumor was busy\\nwitb tales of tbe fate in store\\nfor one regarded by tbe Boers\\nas tbeir arcb enemy, sbould\\nbe fall into tbeir bands. It\\nwas said tbat President Kru-\\nger bad set a price on Mr.\\nRbodes bead witb a reward\\nof a large grant of land to tbe\\nfortunate captor. To avoid\\nsucb a fate Mr. Rbodes, so\\ntbe story went, bad provided\\nbimself witb a balloon as a\\nmeans of escape at tbe last\\nmoment. Wbatever basis of\\ntrutb lay in tbese picturesque\\ndetails, Mr. Rhodes set bim-\\nself to aid tbe defence witb cbaracteristic energy. He raised\\nand equipped a corps of Kimberley ligbt borse.\\nTbe wbite employes of tbe De Beers Company were specially\\narmed and drilled for tbe defence of tbe mines. Tbe machinery\\nwas utilized for tbe manufacturing of shells, and a great cannon\\nwas actually cast. It was named Long Cecil, and the first shot\\nwas fired by its namesake. The Boers made special rejoicing\\nwhen its career was cut short by its bursting. The thousands of\\nKaf rs in the compound were given work, and a Siege Avenue\\nand other public improvements were executed under the direct\\nGENERAL LORD METHUEN.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0532.jp2"}, "533": {"fulltext": "\u00c2\u00a3Nt) OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY. 447\\npetsonai supervision of tlie former Premier of Cape Colony and\\nfounder of Rhodesia, Cecil Rhodes.\\nDuring the first few weeks sharp fighting took place between\\nthe garrison and the investing Boers. The reconnoissances and\\nsorties were successful in preventing the enemy approaching the\\ntown too closely, though they were found to be somewhat expen-\\nsive luxuries. But they served to dissipate the apprehensions\\nthat the place might be rushed before the arrival of the relief\\ncolumn. They were renewed as Lord Methuen approached the\\nModder River, twent3 ^-five miles south of Kimberley, and on the\\ndays of the battles of Belmont, Gras Pan and the Modder severe\\nlosses were inflicted by the garrison on the besiegers. On\\nNovember 23, simultaneously with the defeat of the Boers by\\nLord Methuen, the Kimberley garrison captured a laager, but\\nlost a gallant leader in Major Scott-Turner of the Black Watch.\\nCHRISTMAS BANQUETS IN KIMBERLEY.\\nHopes now ran high in the town, as Colonel Kekewich was\\nin constant communication with the advancing army by means of\\nthe electric flashlight. The battle of Magersfontein, early in\\nDecember, with its unwelcome check and the withdrawal of Lord\\nMethuen to an intrenched position at the Modder River, dispersed\\nthese expectations, though Colonel Kekewich was soon informed\\nof the reasons for the enforced delay. Lord Methuen s settled\\nposition served to occupy the attention of General Cronje, and no\\ndeliberate attack was made on Kimberley. The shell fire, though\\noccasionally heavy, did little damage. At Christmas the priva-\\ntions were not extreme, though typhoid and scurvy were on the\\nincrease.\\nMr. Rhodes again came to the rescue with the distribution\\namong the various camps of plum puddings, cooked at his resi-\\ndence, the Sanatorium. At the end of the year the Mayor and\\nCouncil dispatched a message to the Queen, sending New Year s\\ngreetings and assuring Her Majesty that the trouble they had\\npassed through and were still enduring only tended to love and\\nloyalty toward her throne and person. An answer reached the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0533.jp2"}, "534": {"fulltext": "448 END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\ntown in wliicli Queen Victoria said sTie watclied witli admiration\\nthe determined and gallant defence of tlie inhabitants, tliongli slie\\nregretted the unavoidable loss of life incurred.\\nThere were still six weeks of tedium to be passed before any\\nindications were made that the British were to assume the offen-\\nsive, with Kimberley again as the immediate objective. Karly in\\nthe siege the military authorities had put an embargo on all the\\nstores. No storekeeper was allowed to take advantage of the siege,\\nand the community was thus enabled to live at normal prices, so\\nfar as the absolute necessaries of life were concerned, though\\nfamine prices ruled in the case of fowls, vegetables and fruit. A\\nstatement that the garrison had been reduced to a diet of horse\\nflesh probably required qualification. Large herds of cattle are\\nknown to have been grazing in the outskirts of the town.\\nTHE HIGHLAND BRIGADE IN ACTION.\\nAt length there must have been a stir in the air foretelling\\nthe end. On February 8th General Hector Macdonald, with the\\nHighland Brigade, made his reconnoissance to Koodocs Drift, a\\nmovement which it is clear was merely a feint to draw the Boers\\nto the westward while the way was left open for French to cut\\nthrough between Cronje s intrenchments at Modder River and\\nJacobsdal on the eastward. On Lord Roberts arrival at the\\nModder everything was in train for the execution of the neat\\npiece of strategy which completely circumvented the Boers.\\nGeneral French, once in motion, swept his squadrons onward,\\nand, brushing aside the parties of Boers who attempted to bar his\\nprogress, rode into Kimberley from the southeast on February i6th.\\nThe forces investing Kimberley were under command of the\\nfamous Boer General, Cronje, some account of whom may fitly be\\ngiven in this connection.\\nWith Field Marshal Lord Roberts advance into the Orange\\nFree State, General P. A. Cronje became the most important of\\nthe Dutch commanders, for he was the supreme chief of the\\nwhole Boer force engaged in the siege of Mafeking and Kim-\\nberley, and in the other operations in the Orange River region", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0534.jp2"}, "535": {"fulltext": "END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY. 449\\ntlie force tiiat tlie Britisli invaders had to encounter. Cronje is\\ndescribed as a typical Boer, but, at tbe same time, if all tbat lias\\nbeen said of liim be true, lie is of a different type from Kruger\\nand Joubert. These two men, uncoutb in appearance thougli\\nthey are, may be described as gentlemen.\\nCronje, on the other hand, has the appearance, and, if what\\nis said of him by his Knglish detractors be even in a measure\\ntrue, the habits and manners of a savage. He is a heavy, thick-\\nset man of stolid countenance, with bushy eyebrows, a stern, set\\nmouth, scarcely concealed by a grizzled moustache, and dark,\\nthick beard streaked with gray. As he appeared on one historic\\noccasion the capture of the Jameson raiders in January, 1896\\nhe was thus described by an Bnglishman who was present, and\\nmust be taken as prej udiced\\nTHE GENERAL S GROTESQUE APPEARANCE.\\nAt the head of the advancing horde rode a burly figure in a\\ndirty slouch hat, stooping in his saddle, unclean and unkempt,\\neverything about him betokening neglect the wretched-looking,\\nungroomed horse, the antiquated saddlery, the rusty steel trap-\\npings. Yet one could see that his was the master mind directing the\\nhordes which were gradually enveloping the unfortunate body of\\nmen lying at their mercy. In arrogant, truculent tones he dicta-\\nted the terms of surrender.\\nThe animus of this description is manifest, but it is equally\\nmanifest that there is some substantial foundation for the personal\\ndescription of the hero of Dornkop. Before the surrender an inci-\\ndent occurred which revealed the fatalistic creed to which Cronje\\npins his fate. When the bullets were whistling rather too loudly\\naround the spot where the Dutch commander was seated, a Field\\nCornet suggested that he retire to a more sheltered place. No,\\nsaid Cronje; I m in the hands of God, and if I have to be shot\\nI shall be hit just as soon in one place as in another.\\nHis creed is as merciless as it is fatalistic, and the man is\\nutterly relentless, even if not unscrupulous, as his enemies have\\ncharged, in all his dealings with the foes of his country and his\\n29", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0535.jp2"}, "536": {"fulltext": "4S5 END Of -THE SIEGE OE ICIMBERLEY.\\nrace. He is as brave as lie is burly, aud as a tactician in gnerilla\\nwarfare is not surpassed even by bis old mentor, Slim Piet\\nJoubert, bimself.\\nCronje lives on a farm near Potcbefstroom, a town just beyond\\ntbe Vaal River, about sixty miles soutbwestof Jobannesburg. He\\nis fairly worsbipped by bis neigbbors, wbo tell wonderful stories\\nof tbe courage and resource wbicb be displayed in tbe old days,\\nwben tbe Boers were trekking nortb, figbting tbeir way tbrougb\\nswarms of bostile savages and defending tbe camp against tbeir\\nfierce onslaughts. Cronje bas been a soldier from bis youtb. He\\nbegan bis military career in tbe ranks, and worked bis way up to\\ntbe second place in tbe Boer army solely by bis merits as a figbter\\nand tactician.\\nCHARGED WITH BRUTAL MURDER.\\nHe was already a Field Cornet at Laing s Nek in 1881, and\\nwas second in command to Joubert in tbe notable affair of Majuba\\nHill. His cbief distinction in tbe Boer war of independence was\\ngained, bowever, in tbe siege and capture of Potcbefstroom, tbe\\ntown near wbicb bis bomestead is situated, as already stated. Tbe\\nplace was defended by a small Britisb garrison under Colonel\\nWinslow. Cronje led tbe Boer forces to tbe attack, and, according\\nto fairly reliable accounts, resorted to devices wbicb bave justly\\ngiven bim an unsavory reputation. It is said tbat be ordered\\nseveral non-combatant Britisbers to be arrested, and afterwards\\nbad tbem sbot as spies on wbolly insufficient evidence.\\nHe is also accused of baving, in tbe Potcbefstroom campaign,\\ncaused prisoners of war to be placed in tbe forefront of tbe besieg-\\ning force, and compelled to work tbere in trencbes, wbere tbey\\nwere exposed to tbe fire of tbeir friends, it is said, witb fatal effect.\\nHe is also accused of baving refused Colonel Winslow s request to\\nallow one or two ladies, wbo were in poor bealtb and bad suffered\\ngreatly during tbe attack, to pass tbrougb tbe Boer lines in searcb\\nof food and medical attendance, and one of tbem is said to bave\\ndied in consequence.\\nIt will be recalled, bowever, tbat during tbe earlier stages of", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0536.jp2"}, "537": {"fulltext": "END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\n451\\ntlie siege of Kimberley, Cronje allowed two Bnglisli women to\\nenter tlie Boer lines to attend their husbands, wlio liad been\\nwounded and made prisoners. It was at the close of the siege of\\nPotchefstroom that the Dutch commander s conduct was most\\nreprehensible. He deliberately withheld from the beleaguered gar-\\nrison the news that an armistice had been arranged between the\\nBritish and Boer forces, and threw fresh energy into his assaults\\nupon the place, compelling Colonel Winslow finally to surrender.\\nCronje s behavior in this re-\\nspect was bitterly denounced,\\nand the Transvaal govern-\\nment, at the demand of Sir\\nKvelyn Wood, permitted a\\nBritish regiment to march up\\nfrom Natal, on the conclusion\\nof peace, and re-occupy Pot-\\nchefstroom as a formal ac-\\nknowlegment of this repre-\\nhensible action.\\nAs time passed, Cronje\\nrose in rank, and when the\\nJameson raid occurred, in the\\nclosing days of 1895, he was\\nplaced in the responsible posi-\\ntion of commander of the Boer\\nforce which was sent to head\\nit off. This he did most effect-\\nually, and again earned the detestation of the British by his relent-\\nless dealings with filibusters. Cronje rounded up Dr. Jameson and\\nhis followers in the little village of Dornkop. He had no artillery,\\nbut his whole force was armed with rifles, and was made up of first-\\nclass marksmen. By their commander s orders the Boers picked off\\nthe British artillerists, thereby rendering their guns useless, and\\nbringing the raid to a premature close.\\nDr. Jameson surrendered on condition that, if the raiders paid\\nthe expenses of their suppression and gave up their arms, their\\nGENERAL W. P. SYMONS,\\nKILLED AT THE BATTLE OF DUNDEE.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0537.jp2"}, "538": {"fulltext": "452 END OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY.\\nlives would be spared. To tliese terms Cronje subscribed in\\nwriting, but it is charged against bim tbat be afterwards repu-\\ndiated them on the plea that his promise held good only until the\\nfilibusters were handed over to Commandant-General Joubert. On\\nthe ground of this action, also, Cronje has been accused of treach-\\nery only less heinous than that which marked his conduct at the\\ncapture of Potchefstroom.\\nAs a reward for his masterly management of the Jameson\\naffair Cronje was appointed to succeed General Joubert as Super-\\nintendent of Native Affairs. Immediately upon the declaration of\\nwar, in October, 1899, he was made second in command of the\\nunited forces of the two Dutch republics, and was assigned to the\\ndistrict on the western border of the Transvaal and Orange Free\\nState. It was by the forces under his command that the little\\nBritish garrisons in Mafeking and Kimberley were shut in.\\nBut General Cronje s operations were not confined to the\\ninvestment and occasional bombardment of these two British towns.\\nWhen General Lord Methuen started to the relief of Kimberley,\\nin November, he encountered Cronje s force at Gras Pan on the\\n25th of that month. The resulting encounter was practically an\\nundecisive battle. Three days later there was another and more\\ndesperate encounter on the Modder River, which Lord Methuen,\\nin his despatch to the Queen, described as the bloodiest battle of\\nthe century. This encounter brought Methuen s advance to a\\nhalt, and two weeks later on December 12 Cronje defeated Lord\\nMethuen in the decisive battle of Magersfontein, in which the\\nHighland Brigade was almost annihilated, and its commander.\\nGeneral Wauchope, killed. In the two months and more which\\nfollowed, the British advance to the relief of the beleaguered garri-\\nson was not only kept at a standstill, but time and time again por-\\ntions of the relieving force were defeated in set encounters.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0538.jp2"}, "539": {"fulltext": "f^\\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\\nSurrender of General Cronje and His Entire Force.\\nGENBRAIv CRONJB, the stubborn Boer commander, con-\\ntinued bis frantic efforts to escape from Lord Roberts and\\nretreat toward Bloemfontein, tbe capital of tbe Orange Free State.\\nHis retreat began wben it was apparent that General French was\\nmaster of tbe situation and it was no longer possible for the Boers\\nto threaten Kimberley with capture.\\nAlthough the rapid march of General French s division was\\nmarked by a number of conflicts, his actual entry into Kimberley\\nwas unopposed. When the British were still eight miles off the\\nSignaling Corps intercepted a heliograph message from the belea-\\nguered garrison to Modder river, saying: The Boers are shell-\\ning the town.\\nThe advancing column replied: This is General French\\ncoming to the relief of Kimberley.\\nThe garrison was incredulous and thought the message was a\\nBoer ruse, and flashed the query: What regiment are you?\\nThe reply satisfied the defenders of Kimberley that the\\nanxiously awaited succor was at hand, and a few hours later Gen-\\neral French, at the head of a column, made a triumphant entry\\ninto the place, the people surrounding the troops and interming-\\nling with them, cheering wildly, grasping the soldiers hands,\\nwaving flags, hats and handkerchiefs, and exhibiting in a hundred\\nways the intensity of their joy. The inhabitants had been on\\nshort rations for some time, eating horse flesh and living in bur-\\nrows under heaps of mine refuse. Diminishing rations were served\\nout daily, at ii o clock, in the market square, under the shell fire\\nof the enemy, whose guns opened on the square whenever the\\ninhabitants assembled. No horse food was left.\\nThroughout the siege Cecil Rhodes provided the natives with\\nwork and food, and thus kept them quiet. The miles of convoy\\n453", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0539.jp2"}, "540": {"fulltext": "454 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nbearing provisions for tlie relief column and tlie town, slowly wind-\\ning its way across tlie plain in the direction of Kimberley, was tlie\\ngladdest siglit wliicli greeted the eyes of the besieged for four\\nmonths. General French s march was so rapid and the heat so\\nintense that many of his horses died of exhaustion.\\nAt the crossing of the Modder river the Boers bolted, leaving\\ntheir tents, guns, oxen, wagons and large quantities of ammunition\\nin the hands of the British. Moving northwards, the Boers again\\nattempted to stem the advance, but General French turned their\\nflank and reached his goal with insignificant losses seven men\\nkilled and thirty-five wounded during three days from Wednesday\\nFebruary 14, to Friday, February 16. After a night s rest at\\nKimberley General French s column pursued the Boers to Bront-\\nveld, surrounded the hillocks on which they were posted and\\nshelled them till nightfall, when the Boers fled, leaving many\\ndead.\\nGeneral Cronje left a gun, his tents, food and clothes at\\nMagersfontein.\\nAn of cer who was on the ground thus describes General\\nCronje s retreat with the Boers at Magersfontein, on learning of*\\nGeneral French s success\\nHURRYING TO ESCAPE.\\nOn Thursday at midnight, headed by General Cronje, 5,000\\nBoers, with their heavy guns and ox wagons, evacuated the\\nMagersfontein lines. At dawn on Friday the retreating Boer\\narmy was seen from the British naval gun station on Klip Drift\\nKopje trekking eastward across the British front, at a distance of\\n5,000 yards. Our guns opened upon them, and a force of mounted\\ninfantry, crossing the river, made a dashing charge in the attempt\\nto cut off the head of the enemy s column. But in half an hour\\ntheir whole force had gained shelter under a line of hillocks.\\nMeanwhile two of our batteries had come up. Our infantry\\ncrossed the drift, and for three hours were engaged with the enemy\\nwhile our batteries shelled his position. The mounted infantry\\nkept hard at work. Unable to stand our galling fire, the enemy", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0540.jp2"}, "541": {"fulltext": "m", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0541.jp2"}, "542": {"fulltext": "456 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nretired, disputing every incli of tlie way, and took up a second\\nposition on tlie hills to the eastward. It was a magnificent spec-\\ntacle to see the Boer army thus at bay. Their rear guard, 2,000\\nstrong, fought us, while the main bod}^ trekked (moved) farther\\neast, and then brought their guns into action, while the rear guard\\nretired.\\nThe action lasted through the day. Our infantry fought\\nsplendidly, but the enemy held his ground under the continued\\nbombardment. Later on the Boer commander ventured on a bold\\nstroke. Leaving 2,000 of his men under cover he withdrew the\\nrest from his main position and headed for Klip Kraal Drift, six\\nmiles to the east. The movement was soon discovered. Our\\nmounted infantry came back across the drift and marched along\\nthe south bank to endeavor to head off the enemy. When they\\nreached the neighborhood of Klip Kraal Drift night had fallen,\\nand half the Boers were already across to the south side. Our\\nmounted infantry harassed their movements.\\nDESPERATE FIGHT BY REAR GUARD.\\nMeanwhile the Boer rear guard, having covered the crossing\\nof the main body, retired slowly and successfully passed the drift.\\nThe rear guard fought desperately, and as it fell back to the river\\nit was harassed on the flank and rear by the British. Having\\nthus passed the Modder under cover of darkness, the Boers\\ntrekked throughout the night in the direction of Bloemfontein.\\nGeneral Kelly-Kenny, with the Sixth Division, pursued them at\\ndaylight, General McDonald, with the Highlanders, following\\nhim. McDonald reached Klip Kraal Drift by forced marches\\nSunday. General Kelly-Kenny, moving from Klip Kraal Drift,\\nendeavored to outflank the enemy, and to cut them off from\\nBloemfontein, so as to drive them back into General McDonald s\\nhands.\\nUnder date of February 2 2d, it was reported that a great\\nbattle was raging along the line of the Modder river, between\\nPaardeberg and Koodoosrand, and had been for four days. The\\ngenius of Roberts was pitted against the strategy of Cronje. No", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0542.jp2"}, "543": {"fulltext": "SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE. 457\\nofficial accounts of tlie engagement were received in London,\\nexcept an incomplete list of casualties among the officers, whicli\\nwas exceedingly lieavy, and indicated fierce fighting. Despatches\\nfrom Cape Town stated that the Boers had been surrounded, and\\ntheir discomfiture was assured but the official messages pub-\\nlished from Pretoria, the Boer capital, stated that Cronje was\\nholding his own, and had repulsed all the British attacks so far,\\ninflicting heavy loss while suffering only slightly himself. In\\nthe absence of definite news from Roberts and Kitchener, and the\\ncorrespondents with them, the result of the fighting was enveloped\\nin doubt.\\nGENERAL CRONJE S UNEXPECTED STRENGTH.\\nFrom the scattering despatches from both British and Boer\\nsources, it appeared that Roberts plan worked excellently so far\\nas his troops were concerned, but that Cronje, who had been rein-\\nforced from Natal and Northern Cape Colony, was also to put up\\na much stronger resistance than was expected. When the Boers\\nmarched east from Kimberley towards Bloemfontein, Kitchener\\nand Kelly-Kenny started to head them off, and succeeded in doing\\nso by reaching Paardeberg first. Cronje then turned toward\\nKoodoosrand Drift. It appears that McDonald forestalled him\\nthere, but the appearance of De Wet with a force of burghers,\\nprobably on the Highland Brigade s flank, gave the Boers a\\nchance.\\nThe fighting, which seems to have begun at Koodoosrand,\\njust north of the Modder and due south of Boshof, was transferred\\nto the south by the Klip Kraal Drift. Cronje held his own with\\nan inferior force. It was confidently stated that he had not more\\nthan 8000 men with him from Magersfontein, but was reinforced\\nfrom Spytfontein and also from Colesberg. It was conceded that\\nno reinforcements could make long headway against the three\\nBritish divisions of infantry and one of cavalry. But he made\\nthe British pay severely for getting him in this trap.\\nOne of the costliest actions of the war occurred at Paardeberg\\nDrift Sunday, February i8th. General Kelly-Kenny, in his pur-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0543.jp2"}, "544": {"fulltext": "458 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nsuit of General Cronje, cauglit His rear guard at Klip Drift, and\\nfollowed tlie burghers to tlie Boers laager at Koodoosrand. Tlie\\ndrift action began at daybreak, the mounted infantry driving tlie\\nBoer rear guard up tbe river towards tlie main body, wbile another\\nbody of mounted infantry manoeuvred on the right front and flank\\nof the Boers. The British main body advanced to outflank the\\nBoers on the north bank of the river. General Kelly-Kenny hav-\\ning seized two drifts, found the Boers strongly enclosed, and\\nordered an attack, with the Highland Brigade on the left and\\nGeneral Knox s Brigade on the centre and right, while General\\nSmith-Dorien s brigade crossed the river and advanced along the\\nnorth bank. On both the north and south banks the ground is\\nlevel, and the advance across this was deadly, and the British\\nlosses were heavy.\\nHEAVY LOSSES OF THE BOERS.\\nThe battle was an exact duplicate of the Modder river. The\\nsoldiers were under fire all day long, and all the fighting had no\\ndefinite result, as the Boers were well barricaded. The British\\nguns shelled them vigorously, and the Boers confessed to a loss\\nof over 800 men. General Cronje s magnificent night march from\\nMagersfontein now appeared likely to end in disaster. The main\\nbody of the Boers was enclosed in a terrible death trap. They\\nwere hiding in the bed of the Modder, commanded by the British\\nartillery, and enclosed on the east and west by the British infan-\\ntry.\\nSunday witnessed a gallant stand on the part of the retreat-\\ning foe. Tired, harassed, they still maintained a bold front. It\\nis somewhat dif cult to explain the Sunday action, in which all\\nthe British force was engaged, and in which General Cronje, under\\ndif cult conditions, managed to hold his own. On Saturday night\\nthe British mounted infantry came into touch with Cronje s rear\\nguard, driving them back on the main body. On Sunday morn-\\ning the action was renewed, but the Boers, who had entrenched\\nthe river bed during the night, prevented a further advance of the\\nmounted infantry in this direction,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0544.jp2"}, "545": {"fulltext": "SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE. 459\\nMeanwiiile tlie Higliland Brigade, consisting of tlie Seaforths,\\nthe Black Watch and tlie Argylls, advanced from tlie soutH bank,\\nand tlie Essex, Welsh and Yorkshires formed a long line on the\\nleft, which rested on the river, the extreme right being the Welsh.\\nThe whole line was ordered to envelop the Boers, who lined both\\nbanks of the river. The firing soon became heavy. The Boers,\\nholding a splendid position, covered the left of the Highland\\nBrigade, which advanced partly up the river bed and partly in the\\nopen, while the rest of the brigade, with the other regiments,\\nswung round the front of the Highland Brigade on the level, cov-\\nerless ground, exposed to a terrible fire, which obliged the men to\\nlie upon the ground, as they did for the remainder of the day, suf-\\nfering from hunger and thirst.\\nCANADIANS IN THE THICK OF THE FIGHT.\\nThis began at half-past 7 in the morning. Through the\\ndreadful heat and a terrible thunderstorm the British hung to\\nthe position, answering the Boer fire and shooting steadily. In\\nthe meantime the rest of the infantry completed the enveloping\\nmovement, the Welsh regiment having succeeded in seizing the\\nDrift, thus closing in the Boers, who had fought throughout with\\nsplendid courage. General Cronje s laager, full of carts, ammuni-\\ntion and stores, could be plainly seen near the north bank.\\nGeneral Smith-Dorrien collected a large body of men, includ-\\ning the Canadians, and crossed the river by Paardeberg Drift,\\nadvancing toward the laager, which was being vigorously shelled.\\nThis force make a gallant attempt to charge into the laager, but\\nfailed. Before seizing the western drifts the Boers occupied a\\nhillock on the south bank, running down the river. Therefore\\ntheir force was cut in two. The Boers hold the hill.\\nToward evening the battery on the south side opened, co-op-\\nerating with the battery on the north side. A wonderful sight\\nfollowed. The shells fell with amazing precision along the river\\nbed, opposite the laager, which was shelled thoroughly, damaging\\neverything it contained. One shell set on fire a small ammunition\\nwagon, which burned nearly all day. Many other wagons were", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0545.jp2"}, "546": {"fulltext": "460 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nset on fire, and the glare was visible at a considerable distance far\\ninto tbe nigbt.\\nTbe infantry also maintained a terrible fire, wbicb was\\nanswered vigorously. Tbe scene toward nigbtfall was terribly\\npicturesque, witb tbe blazing wagons, tbe roaring artillery and tbe\\ncrackling rifle fire.\\nTbe terrific sbelling was resumed Monday, February i9tb,\\nwben, at 8 o clock A. m.. General Cronje asked an armistice of\\ntwenty-four bours, wbicb was refused. Later be sent a mes-\\nsenger to say tbat be would surrender. Tbe Britisb General\\nsent a reply, telling bim to come into camp. Cronje refused, say-\\ning tbere bad been a misunderstanding, and tbat be would figbt\\nto tbe deatb. Tbe bombardment was tben reopened, and Britisb\\nlyddite sbells set fire to tbe Boer wagons. Tbe Britisb contin-\\nued sbelling tbe laager tbrougb tbe nigbt, and in tbe morning\\nresumed witb Maxims and rifles, principally from tbe nortb side.\\nA POPULAR BRITISH GENERAL.\\nOn Sunday tbere was mucb waste of life in attacking. Dur-\\ning Monday nigbt seven Boers made an attempt to break tbrougb\\ntbe Britisb lines, but tbey were captured and tbeir leader was\\nkilled. Four were carrying letters. Otber prisoners said tbat\\nGeneral Cronje marcbed from Magersfontein, a distance of tbirty-\\ntbree miles, witbout baiting men or teams. Had be succeeded in\\nescaping it would bave been one of tbe flnest performances in tbe\\nannals of war. Tbe Canadians made a gallant cbarge at tbe\\nlaager, but were driven back witb loss. General MacDonald and\\nGeneral Knox were sligbtly wounded.\\nTbe wounding of MacDonald produced a painful sensation\\ntbrougbout Great Britain. Hector MacDonald to tbe multitude is\\ntbe man of tbe war. Tbe public surrounds bim witb a balo of\\nberoism. It considers bim lion bearted and invincible, and,\\nabove all, one of its own; for MacDonald is a self-made man.\\nTbe populace talk of bim proudly as baving been a draper s\\nassistant. People tell one anotber bow, wben be occupied a\\nminor position in an Inverness establisbment, be was fired witb", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0546.jp2"}, "547": {"fulltext": "SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE. 461\\ntte entliusiasm of martial ardor, liow lie learned his drills there\\nfrom a retired corporal, and liow gradually lie worked himself to\\nperfection in all matters relating to drill tactics and manoeuvres.\\nThen he started out and enlisted in the ranks. So when the\\nplacards, especially of half penny papers, in all the large English\\ntowns came out with flaring type that Fighting Mac had been\\nseriously wounded, the man in the street was very much dis-\\ntressed. When the Boers wounded Fighting Mac they hurt\\nthe British public keenly, for they disabled the people s man.\\nCRONJE S STUBBORN RESISTANCE.\\nThe War Of ce in London received from Lord Roberts the\\nfollowing message, dated Paardeberg, Wednesday, February 21*.\\nYesterday afternoon I was satisfied, by a careful reconnoissance\\nin force of the enemy s position, that I could not assault it without\\nvery heavy loss, which I was most anxious to avoid. Accordingly,\\nI decided to bombard him with artillery, and turn my attention to\\nthe enemy s reinforcements. The result was most satisfactory.\\nThe Boers were driven off in all directions, losing a good many\\nkilled and wounded, and about fifty prisoners, who say they\\narrived from Ladysmith two days before by railroad. They also\\nsay it was our artillery fire which caused them to abandon the\\nkopje they were occupying.\\nThe following graphic account of the terrific conflict on Mod-\\nder River is from the pen of an eye-witness, who was within the\\nlines of the British army. It is dated Tuesday, February 20th\\nThis was the third day of General Cronje s imprisonment\\nand grim resistance. Barly this morning the infantry engaged\\nthe enemy in the bed of the river, driving him back a short dis-\\ntance. The morning sun disclosed the Boers toiling li^e ants on\\nentrenchments around their laager. A few shells were fired to pre-\\nvent them from continuing the work, but most of the day was\\nquiet. General French s artillery was heard off to the east, pre-\\nsumably engaging the Boers reinforcements.\\nEvery opportunity was given the Boers to surrender, but\\nwhen towards afternoon there was no sign of any such intention,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0547.jp2"}, "548": {"fulltext": "462 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nLord Roberts determined to crusli General Cronje s resistance.\\nOn the sontli bank of the river, at a range of about 2000 yards,\\ntbree field batteries and two naval 12-pounders were positioned.\\nOn tbe nortb bank, enfilading tbe whole river, one howitzer, three\\nfield batteries and three naval guns were placed.\\nThen followed the most wonderful scene it was ever my lot\\nto witness. Once before, in Thessaly, I had seen no guns in\\naction, but never such a number of powerful guns concentrating\\ntheir fire upon a spot about a mile square. The exploding lyddite\\nshells raised great clouds of green smoke, completely filling the\\nbed of the river.\\nDREADFUL EXECUTION BY ARTILLERY.\\nThe shrapnel burst on the edge of each bank, except for a\\nshort space, where the proximity of the British infantry made it\\ndangerous. Our shells searched every bush and every ravine of\\nthe river bed. The enfilading guns must have done terrible exe-\\ncution. The roar was deafening, yet with a spirit of desperate\\nmadness, now and again, the Boers would attempt to capture the\\nnaval guns, which were firing at a range of 1000 yards. The\\nlong line of three batteries belched forth death, while on each side\\nlay two battalions of infantry, whose Maxims sounded petty\\nbeside the roaring big guns. What loss the Boers suffered is not\\nyet known. I am writing in the middle of a sleeping camp. Not\\na sound disturbs the heavy slumber of tired soldiers. Down the\\nriver bed not a fire is seen not a cry heard.\\nThere is something tragic in the stern resistance which\\nGeneral Cronje is hopelessly offering. It is impossible not to\\nadmire his pluck, but all condemn the wickedness of uselessly\\nsacrificing the lives of his brave followers. Monday morning\\nbroke finding the Boers in the same place, they having during\\nthe night constructed entrenchments around the laager, which\\nwas still threatened by General Smith-Dorien. The infantry\\nrested after the terrible hard day s fighting on Sunday.\\nThe mounted infantry and a battery of horse artillery\\nstarted to observe the enemy, who was holding a hillock but", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0548.jp2"}, "549": {"fulltext": "463", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0549.jp2"}, "550": {"fulltext": "464 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nwhile riding around tiie southern side of the hill they received a\\nheavy fusillade and were obliged to move further out. They sus-\\ntained no casualty, another proof of the bad Boer marksmanship.\\nPushing on, the detachment found that the hill extended a con-\\nsiderable distance west, sloping gradually to the plain. They\\nseized a good defensive position, which was garrisoned. They\\ncontinued the movement and completely turned the Boers, whose\\nleft was held strongly by a farmhouse, which was vigorously\\nshelled. The detachment returned to camp at nightfall, leaving\\na garrison on the ridge. Meanwhile a desultory bombardment of\\nthe Boer position was kept up, and a good deal of rifle fire concen-\\ntrated where the Essex was attempting to rush up the river.\\nAbout midday the cry that General French had arrived was\\npassed down the ranks, but his division operated out of sight of\\nour force. When Lord Roberts arrived, he addressed several\\nregiments and was vigorously cheered.\\nCRONJE ASKS FOR AN ARMISTICE.\\nEarly in the day. General Cronje asked for a twenty-four\\nhours armistice, in order to bury his dead. Lord Kitchener\\nrefused, and a little later came another messenger with word to\\nthe effect that if the British were inhuman enough to refuse an\\narmistice for the purpose of burying the dead. General Cronje\\nsaw no other course but to surrender. Upon receipt of this mes-\\nsage. Lord Kitchener proceeded to the Boer laager, in order to\\narrange the capitulation, but he was met by a messenger, who\\nannounced that General Cronje said that the whole thing was a\\nmistake; that General Cronje had not the slightest intention of\\nsurrendering, but would fight until he died.\\nGeneral Kitchener returned and ordered a bombardment of\\nthe Boer position. Three field batteries and a howitzer battery\\ntook position directly in front of the laager and began a terribly\\naccurate fire, the howitzers using lyddite shells freely. The\\nBoers were seen retiring from the trenches to the river bed, in\\norder to seek cover, but no cover could protect them from such\\naccurate and deadly fire. The howitzers especially dropped 1yd-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0550.jp2"}, "551": {"fulltext": "SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE. 465\\ndite sliells witTi marvelous precision into tlie very bed of the river,\\nand the trendies were soon filled witH terrible fumes and green\\nsmoke, but again the enemy beld on.\\nAgain during tbe nigbt deserters arrived. Tbey were\\nterribly frigbtened and sbaken by tbeir awful experience. Tbey\\nreported that tbey bad water in abundance, but were only able to\\ndraw scant}?- supplies from tbeir laager during tbe nigbt.\\nAt Magersfontein tbe Boers demonstrated tbe fact tbat given\\na level battlefield, field glasses, modern magazine rifles and quick-\\nfiring small guns, and tbe wbole Britisb army itself could not\\ndislodge tbe 65,000 men of tbe two Boer republics by a frontal\\nattack on tbose grass-edged trencbes. Not 50,000 Britisb could\\nbeat 15,000 Boers, except at sucb a sacrifice of life as no com-\\nmander would require or could be pardoned for occasioning.\\nDANGERS OF ATTACKING THE FRONT.\\nFor a frontal attack tbe old military manuals declared tbat\\ntbe attacking force must be tbree times tbat of tbe defending\\nforce, but at tbe present time, witb tbe new weapons, ten men\\nmust attack one. One of tbe most formidable new conditions of\\nwar is one tbat we bave never, or next to never, kno^vn before, for\\ntbere were men in tbe Britisb army wbo bad never seen a Boer in\\nbattle.\\nTbe Britisb tbrew tbemselves upon tbe ground and fired for\\nbours at a time at tbe noise or flame at tbe trencbes of tbe enemy,\\nwbom tbey could not see. At Modder river tbere were wbole\\nbattalions tbat did not know at tbe end of tbe day wbetber tbe\\nenemy was nortb or soutb of tbe river.\\nA Buropean army figbting under European rules is a clumsy\\nweapon against tbe Boer, wbo opposes witb weapons wbicb render\\none man as good as ten, and all ten invisible. We remember tbe\\nold saying tbat an army moves upon its belly, and we parapbrase\\nit to make it read a modem army must figbt upon its belly. If\\ntbe Britisb got in a trencb tbat could not be turned, all tbe world\\ncould advance and be slaughtered, but not all tbe world could oust\\ntbe Britisb from tbat trencb.\\n30", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0551.jp2"}, "552": {"fulltext": "466 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nTlie essential qualities of tlie army of twenty years ago are\\nno longer the supreme necessities for success. The man behind\\nthe gun stands more supreme than ever. Dig a trench and line\\nit with good shots, supported by modern artillery, and no enemy\\ncan advance in the face of them. They may be outflanked or\\nstarved, but, while their ammunition holds out, none can oust\\nthem, for they can fill the whole plain over a radius of at least\\nfour thousand yards with such a withering blast of shrapnel and\\nrifle bullets that no troops can stand in the open before it.\\nBut the fighting east of Kimberley turned in favor of the\\nBritish and their success electrified Great Britain and the Colonies.\\nThe War Office in London received the following despatch from\\nLord Roberts\\nAN UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.\\nPaardEberg, Feb. 27, 7.45 A. M. General Cronje and all\\nhis force capitulated unconditionally at daylight and is now a\\nprisoner in my camp. The strength of his force will be communi-\\ncated later. I hope that Her Majesty s Government will consider\\nthis event satisfactory, occurring, as it does, on the anniversary\\nofMajuba.\\nIn the War Office lobbies, when a clerk posted the news of the\\nsurrender, quite a crowd was waiting, and the tidings were hailed\\nwith enthusiasm, and in an incredibly short space of time the\\nnews had spread to all parts of London. At the Mansion House\\nthe news posted was read with great excitement by the crowds of\\nbusiness men hurrying to their offices, and cries of Bravo, Rob-\\nerts and Majuba! were heard.\\nThe Lord Mayor of London said that while the surrender of\\nGeneral Cronje had been a foregone conclusion, the news was\\nreceived with a great sense of relief, and the result of the capitu-\\nlation, he thought, would be the rapid conclusion of hostilities.\\nAt the Stock Exchange there was much excitement and cheering,\\nbut this quickly subsided when the house opened.\\nLate despatches from Paardeberg, dated previous to the time\\nof Roberts s despatch announcing Cronje s surrender, indicated", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0552.jp2"}, "553": {"fulltext": "SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE. 467\\nthat the Boer army whicli, entrenclied in tlie river bed, liad held\\n50,000 Britisli soldiers at bay for ten days, bad been so decimated by\\ntbe rain of British shells, Maxim gun fire and rifle balls that only\\nabout half of them remained alive and unwounded when the white\\nflag was hoisted over their earthworks.\\nWith a force placed by English correspondents at 8000 to\\n9000 men, Cronje began his last stand. About 4000 men, it was\\nestimated, surrendered to the British. Even then, it seems likely\\nthat surrender was brought about by the exhaustion of the Boer\\nammunition. Otherwise, the Federal forces probably would have\\nfought it out until none was alive to fight. This idea is based upon\\nCronje s defiant reply to Kitchener s demand for surrender and on\\nthe indomitable courage and tenacity exhibited by the Boers all\\nthrough the war.\\nBOER COMMANDER REPULSED AT MAFEKING.\\nThe first repulse which Cronje met with in the war was at\\nMafeking, where Colonel Baden-Powell from the first set him at\\ndefiance. In the middle of October Cronje assaulted the town in\\nforce, but was driven off at all points. Neither his summons to\\nthe garrison nor the shells which he threw into the town had the\\neffect he desired. He was joined by his son, fresh from the cap-\\nture of Vryburg, and the younger Cronje, impatient at his father s\\nwant of success, persuaded him to let him lead an assault on Mafe-\\nking. In this attack his son lost his life. It is one of the melan-\\ncholy coincidences of the war that the two generals confronting\\neach other at Paardeberg should have met with the same bereave-\\nment by the fortune of war.\\nThough, like other Boer commanders, Cronje failed in his\\nattempt upon a fortified position, Modder river, Magersfontein,\\nand particularly the masterly retreat from the Modder to his last\\nposition, where he fought a desperate rear guard battle, redound to\\nhis credit as a military leader of a high order. He failed to cap-\\nture Kimberley, but his defeat of the British at Magersfontein\\ncondemned the most famous regiments of the British army to\\nseveral weeks of inglorious inactivity.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0553.jp2"}, "554": {"fulltext": "468 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nAt tlie beginning of tlie war lie was intrusted witli tlie main\\ncommand of tlie Boer forces on tlie western border, and made\\nMafeking bis first point of assault. Wben tbe Britisb relief\\ncolumn of Lord Metbuen began its marcb to Kimberley be moved\\nsoutb personally to oppose bis progress, and, after Magersfontein,\\nremained at Modder river until forced by Lord Roberts to beat\\na retreat into tbe Orange Free State.\\nTben near Paardeberg be began one of tbe bopeless and won-\\nderful defenses in military bistory. Hemmed in by General\\nFrencb on tbe nortb and east, by Kelly-Kenny and Kitcbener and\\nRoberts and Metbuen on tbe otber sides, be took bis position in\\ntbe dry river bed near tbat point, dug entrencbments, and endured\\ntbe united continuous fire of tbe Britisb beavy artillery and more\\ntban 40,000 riflemen be beld out till overwbelmed, and surren-\\ndered only wben annibilation stared bis sturdy warriors in tbe\\nface.\\nGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF FIGHTING BY ROBERTS.\\nLater in tbe day on February aytb tbe War Office in London\\nreceived tbe following despatcb from Lord Roberts\\nFrom information furnisbed daily to me by tbe intelligence\\ndepartment it became apparent tbat General Cronje s force was\\nbecoming more depressed, and tbat tbe discontent of tbe troops and\\ntbe discord among tbe leaders were rapidly increasing. Tbis feel-\\ning was doubtless accentuated by tbe disappointment caused wben\\ntbe Boer reinforcements wbicb tried to relieve General Cronje were\\ndefeated by our troops on February I3tb. I resolved, tberefore, to\\nbring pressure to bear on tbe enemy.\\nBacb nigbt tbe trencbes were pusbed forward toward tbe\\nenemy s laager so as to gradually contract bis position, and at tbe\\nsame time I bombarded it beavily witb artillery, wbicb was yester-\\nday materially aided by tbe arrival of four six-incb bowitzers wbicb\\nI bad ordered up from De Aar. In carrying out tbese measures a\\ncaptive balloon gave great assistance by keeping us informed of\\ntbe disposition and movements of tbe enemy.\\nAt 3 A. M. to-day a most dasbing advance was made by tbe", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0554.jp2"}, "555": {"fulltext": "SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE. 469\\nCanadian regiment and some engineers, supported by tlie First\\nGordon Highlanders and Second Siiropsliires, resulting in our\\ngaining a point some six hundred yards nearer to the enemy\\nand within about eighty yards of his trenches, where our men\\nentrenched themselves and maintained their positions till morning,\\na gallant deed worthy of our Colonial comrades, and which, I am\\nglad to say, was attended by comparatively slight loss.\\nThis apparently clinched matters, for, at daylight a letter\\nsigned by General Cronje, in which he stated he surrendered uncon-\\nditionally, was brought to our outposts under a flag of truce. In\\nmy reply I told General Cronje he must present himself at my\\ncamp, and that his force must come out of their laager after laying\\ndown their arms.\\nGENERAL CRONJE S REQUEST GRANTED.\\nBy 7 A. M. I received General Cronje and despatched a tele-\\ngram to you announcing the fact. In the course of conversation\\nhe asked for kind treatment at our hands, and also that his wife,\\ngrandson, private secretary, adjutant and servants might accom-\\npany him wherever he might be sent. I reassured him, and told\\nhim his request would be complied with. I informed him that a\\ngeneral officer would be sent with him to Cape Town, to insure his\\nbeing treated with proper respect on the way.\\nHe will start this afternoon under charge of Major General\\nPrettyman, who will hand him over to the general commanding\\nat Cape Town. The prisoners, who number about 3,000, will be\\nformed into commandos under our own of cers. They will also\\nleave here to-day, reaching the Modder river to-morrow, when\\nthey will be railed to Cape Town in detachments.\\nThe above despatch was read in both the House of I^ords and\\nthe House of Commons to-day. The reference to the Canadians\\nevoked immense and prolonged cheering. The gallantry and\\nheroism that had been expected from the Canadian troops were\\nshown to splendid advantage at a critical moment, and a large\\nshare of the glory of the victory must be awarded to the hardy\\nsons of Canada who went to South Africa to defend the empire.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0555.jp2"}, "556": {"fulltext": "470 SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE.\\nThe news of General Cronje s surrender was received with\\nunbounded satisfaction at Windsor. The Queen immediately\\ntelegraphed her congratulations to Lord Roberts and the troops.\\nIt would be difficult even with the most eloquently inspired\\npen to convey adequately or give sufficient realism to the feeling\\nthat prevailed in London over the news that Cronje and his forces\\nhad capitulated. The first symptom was that shown by one who\\nhas thrown off a great nightmare. A vast sigh of relief, as if the\\nsufferer had been suddenly released from great pain, ran from\\none end of the capital to the other. Those not in London during\\nthe progress of the war can little realize the strain which had\\nbeen upon all Englishmen despite their calm exterior.\\nPUBLIC ANXIETY RELIEVED.\\nAt a quarter past lo o clock the news first reached the clubs.\\nFor a week Cronje had been lying low, like a partridge in the\\nstubble. An intolerable stench arose, owing to the number of\\ndead carcasses of oxen and horses and decomposing bodies of men,\\nand the British troops surrounding the Boers had suffered more\\nfrom that than from anything else.\\nUp to the very last moment there lurked a fear of the out-\\ncome, based upon the realization of the great wiliness of the Boer\\nleader and a dread that he might escape in some extraordinary\\n!nanner. Thus, while the news of the surrender was expected by\\nmany, it came as a surprise to all. It was the news of the war,\\nand was immediately accepted with a full appreciation of its great\\nimportance. Good, old Bobs! Bravo, Bobs! were the gen-\\neral expressions. The service clubs were very soon crowded with\\nmembers, who turned away from the news boards, their faces filled\\nwith delight.\\nThe first thing most of the clubmen seemed instinctively to\\ndo was to sit down and write telegrams to relatives and friends\\nout of town. Club pages were kept on the run to the telegraph\\noffices. At a telegraph office in St. James street there was a\\nscene remarkable to look upon. Girls whose duty it was to take\\nin telegrams were simply overwhelmed, and the aid of all the", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0556.jp2"}, "557": {"fulltext": "SURRENDER OF GENERAL CRONJE. 471\\notHer assistants was called in. Tlie office itself was crowded witli\\npeople, forming a line like tliat seen outside a theatre wlien a\\npopular piece is being played. The scene also reminded one of\\nthat at the Bpsom telegraph office j ust after the Derby winner is\\nknown. This rush lasted for a couple of hours.\\nMeanwhile a great roar of excited newsboys had risen outside.\\nRunners and bicyclists raced one another to get ahead, but all\\nwere yelling, yelling, yelling, and bore placards in big type\\ntelling of Cronje s fall. At the War Office the attendance beat\\nall previous records. All felt like cheering, but decorum and the\\nbig policemen forbade such indulgence in sentiment. Ladies\\ncame by the scores. Many an eye was dimmed with tell-tale tears\\nof joy.\\nIt was not so quiet in the business part of the city. There\\ngreat occasions are usually celebrated by vocal accompaniments.\\nSo it was in this case. At the side of Mansion. House, where the\\ntelegrams were posted up, a crowd cheered and sang scraps of\\nGod Save the Queen. In the Stock Exchange there was a\\nlarge attendance of members, who sang the national anthem.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0557.jp2"}, "558": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XXIX.\\nBrave Garrison at Ladysmith Saved by General\\nBuller s Army.\\nA FTBR four montlis of fighting with Boers, and with disease\\nand starvation toward the last, General White s brave gar-\\nrison at Ladysmith greeted the vanguard of their rescuers on\\nFebruary 28th. London and the British Empire generally went\\nwild with joy upon the receipt of the news. For four months\\nLadysmith had been besieged and General White s garrison,\\ntogether with the populace, was reduced to terrible straits. The\\nwelcome intelligence of relief was conveyed to the War Office in\\nLondon by the following despatch from General BuUer:\\nLyttleton s Headquarters, March i 9.05 morning. Gen-\\neral Dundonald, with the Natal Carbineers and a composite regi-\\nment, entered Ladysmith last night. The country between me\\nand Ladysmith is reported clear of the enemy. I am moving on\\nNelthorpe.\\nLater General Buller cabled from Nelthorpe:\\nI have just returned from Ladysmith. Except a small\\nguard north of Surprise Hill the whole of the enemy lately besieg-\\ning the town have retired in hot haste, and to the south of the\\ntown the country is quite clear of them. The garrison were on\\nhalf a pound of meal per man a day and were supplementing the\\nmeat ration by horses and mules. The men will want a little\\nnursing before being fit for the field.\\nIn this connection the following despatch from the war corre-\\nspondent, Richard Harding Davis, is of interest as showing the\\ndifficulties encountered by the British army\\nThe attack of the Inniskilling Fusiliers on Friday night,\\nFebruary 23d, on Railway Hill and the stand made throughout\\nthe night was one of the most gallant and stubborn effiDrts yet\\nmade toward the relief of Ladysmith. For several days the battle\\n472", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0558.jp2"}, "559": {"fulltext": "GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED. 473\\nwas continiious, by niglit as well as by day, and this was one of\\nits supreme moments. Tbe Inniskillings joined tbis column witb\\ntwenty-four officers. Tbey bad five remaining. Tbat tells tbe\\nstory.\\nNo map, no penned account, can give a correct idea of tbe\\ndifficulties of tbese bills and ridges, wbicb succeed eacb otber like\\nwavds in a beavy sea. One gives way only to anotber. Bacb can\\nbe enfiladed, and until one is taken it is impossible, even witb tbe\\nkeenest scouting, to know wbat fortunes lie beyond it. Tbe mili-\\ntary problem cbanges as tbe column advances, eacb kopje refusing\\nto give up its secret until tbe troops bave toucbed its crest.\\nIN MUD AND SLUSH.\\nTo add to tbe difficulty, tbe tropical rainy season bas set in.\\nFor twelve bours tbe uniforms of tbe men clung to tbem like wet\\nseaweed, mud caugbt tbem under foot, mist closed down and sbut\\nout tbe position of tbe enemy. Tbis discomfort was borne by all\\nalike. Buller and bis staff are virtually living tbe life of tbe\\nprivate. Tbere bas not been even a tent to cover tbe commanding\\ngenerals. Tbey eat from tbeir knees witb tbeir sboulders against\\na rock. Tbey sleep wbere tbey can, and tbeir field work is carried\\non under a transport wagon.\\nOne of tbe tbousands wbo were besieged in Ladysmitb and\\nsuffered all tbe borrors of war, kept a diary of tbe principal events\\ntbat transpired during tbe siege, from wbicb it will be seen tbat\\ntbe courage and endurance of tbe garrison and populace were a\\nmatcb for tbe stubborn and persistent warfare of tbe Boers\\nRelief came to Ladysmitb in tbe nick of time. Anotber\\nfew days, perbaps, and sickness migbt bave accomplisbed wbat\\nneitber sbort rations nor Boer sbells could avail. Fevers of all\\nkinds bave wrougbt more devastation tban tbe engines of war.\\nWitb singular craftiness, tbe Boers used tbe river towards ac-\\ncomplisbing tbeir ends. First we were warned tbat it was to be\\ndammed and Ladysmitb s garrison drowned out. Tben, wben our\\nguns prevailed against tbis engineering, we found tbat tbey\\nsougbt, virtually, to poison our only adequate supply of water.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0559.jp2"}, "560": {"fulltext": "474 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED.\\nAll tlie impurities of tHe Boer encampment were drained into tlie\\nKlip river, with, immediate effect. There is little wonder that\\nLady smith went mad with j oy wlien Buller s advance galloped in\\ntlie town.\\nThis summary of our sufferings a diary of daily doings in\\ntlie beleaguered town will sliow what we have been through. It\\nis an incomplete record, written as chance dictated, but it does\\ntell the story.\\nOctober 29 The enemy has closed in. We are besieged.\\nWith a good glass one can easily make out the Boers gathering on\\nevery bill witbin range of tbe town. They bave mounted two big\\nguns at Tinta Ingoni only 4500 3^ards from the British lines.\\nWe are all virtually under martial rule, and khaki is the prevailing\\nstyle. The outposts were driven in by the enemy, and reported\\nthat the Boers were dragging the two guns to emplacements\\non the hill. We are all waiting now for the first crasb tbat will\\ntell us they are in action. After that what\\nMEN STANDING AT THE GUNS.\\nA pitcbed battle is imminent. All our men are at tbe guns.\\nFrom what we have heard we know the Boers are congregating at\\nElandslaagte. Within Ladysmitb we are all on our nerves. Sus-\\npicion seems pointing a finger in every direction, and many\\nimportant civilians bave been warned to leave. There is no fooling\\nnow. Later news tells us tbat Joubert s army corps, advancing in\\ntwo columns, has effected a junction nearby, and that his force is\\nin full communication with the Free Staters.\\nOctober 30 A scouting party having reported the Boers in\\nforce on tbe Helpmakaar road, an advance was made by our forces\\nthis moniing. It was General White s object to shell the Boer\\nposition, but on arriving at the point where tbe Boers were believed\\nto be intrenched, we found it evacuated. On attempting to advance,\\nthere was a strong flanking movement on our right, and artillery\\nwas brought up in a hurry.\\nThe column charged, and the engagement became general.\\nA brief view of tbe situation showed that our forces were beavily", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0560.jp2"}, "561": {"fulltext": "475", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0561.jp2"}, "562": {"fulltext": "476 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED.\\noutflanked, a ratlier disquieting discovery. General Wliite ordered\\na withdrawal, and the British retired on Ladysrrith. Six officers\\nkilled, nine wounded, fifty-four non-commissioned officers and men\\nkilled, and 250 wounded. Our first interview with the Boers dis-\\nplays the fact that they are fighters. One of our big guns got the\\nrange of a field battery on a nearby hill, and with a glass\\nwe could see the Boers flying into the air as each of our shells\\nburst.\\nOctober 31 Fuller reports of yesterday s fight show that\\nLieutenant Colonel Carleton s column, sent out to turn the Boer\\nflank, has been captured. Consternation is visible everywhere in\\nLadysmith. Military activity prevails everywhere. Soldiers and\\nofficers are on every side. There is hardly a moment when the\\nsound of firing does not beat upon the air. If the Boers really be-\\ngin to shell the town we are in for a hot time.\\nBOERS FIRE FROM HIDING PLACES.\\nNovember 3 We are in the midst of war. Yesterday s\\nbattle showed the Boer strength. The rocks we had persistently\\nshelled crackled and hammered from end to end with rapid fire.\\nThe Boers had hidden behind the ridge, and now crept back again.\\nPerhaps no infantry could have taken that position only from the\\nfront. I watched the volunteers advance upon it in extended lines\\nacross a long, green slope studded with ant hills. I could see the\\npuffs of dust where the bullets fell thick around their feet. It\\nwas an impossible task. Some got behind a cactus hedge, some\\nlay down and fired, some hid behind ant hills or little banks.\\nSuddenly that moment came when all is over but the run-\\nning. The men began shifting uneasily about. A few turned\\naround, then more. At first they walked and kept some sort of\\nline, then some one began to run. Soon they were all running,\\nisolated or in groups of two or three. And all the time those\\npuffs of dust pursue their feet. Sometimes there was no puff or\\ndust, and then a man would spring in the air or spin around, or\\njust lurch forward, with arms outspread, a mere yellowish heap,\\nhardly to be distinguished from an ant hilL", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0562.jp2"}, "563": {"fulltext": "GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED. 477\\nI could see many a poor fellow wandering hitlier and tMtlier,\\nas though lost, as is common in all retreats. A man would walk\\nsideways, then run back a little, look around, fall. Another came\\nby. The first evidently called out, and the other gave him a hand.\\nBoth stumbled on together, the puffs of dust splashing around\\nthem. Then down they fell and were quiet. A complacent cor-\\nrespondent told me afterward, with the condescending smile of\\nhigher light, that only seven men were hit. I only know that be-\\nfore evening twenty-five of the Light Horse alone were brought in\\nwounded, not counting the dead, and not counting the other\\nmounted troops, all of whom suffered.\\nIt was all over by a quarter past 2 o clock. The Dragoon\\nGuards, who had been trying to cover the retreat, galloped back,\\none or two horses galloping riderless. Under the Red Cross flag\\nthe Dhoodies then began to go out to pick up the results. For\\none hour or so that work lasted, the dead and dying being found\\namong the ant hills where they fell. Then we all trailed back,\\nthe enemy shelling our line of retreat.\\nCOMPLETELY HEMMED IN.\\nNovember 9 Dawn discovered to us to-day that the Boers\\nhad moved in their works. We are more tightly beleaguered than\\never before. It looks like a fight to the death. As soon as the\\nlight showed, the Boers made an attack in force. We repulsed\\nthem at every point. They have a complete line about the town,\\nand it is dif cult to get either in or out without falling into their\\nhands. Food is plentiful, cheerfulness is supreme, and we eagerly\\nawait Buller s coming. We have had no explanation or apology\\nfrom the Boers for their shelling of the convent. Fortunately it\\nhas not been resumed, and the damage done by the two shells\\nthat struck it has been repaired. The wounded in the convent\\nare progressing favorably. To-day s demonstration was against\\nthe western defenses.\\nNovember 14 There was another big skirmish to-day,\\nthirteen guns being out with the forces. We routed the burghers\\non a small kopje, and could have held the position. Shortly after-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0563.jp2"}, "564": {"fulltext": "478 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED.\\nward the Boers opened on ns witii a big gun, so all tlie troops\\nhunted cover. The sensation of being bombarded is still new\\nenough to give one quivers. One can tell by the shriek of a shell\\nwhere it comes from, and from what sort of a gun. We usually\\ndodge.\\nNovember 17 Hurrah! the relief column has arrived at\\nEstcourt. We can note already a different method in the\\nmanners of the Boers. Joubert, we hear, has gone south.\\nThe Boers are doing their little best to scare us out of our sleep.\\nThey have begun plumping shells into the town at midnight.\\nBut no harm done. The daily battering is only desultory.\\nSHELLS FELL THICK AND FAST.\\nNovember 25 Heaven knows how many shells the Boers\\nhave fired into Ladysmith. The result from the casualties, how-\\never, are meagre. All told the number is eighty-three killed and\\nwounded, including civilians. Eleven men, however, were\\nwounded yesterday in the Gloucester battalion. Bicycling has\\nalmost come to a standstill. It used to be the regular thing to ride\\nout to the front, but the shells and artillery have spoiled the\\nroads.\\nNovember 28 Artillery practice still seems to be the thing.\\nOtherwise everything is quiet. A gun on Middle Hill keeps on\\nbanging away. It is only 2000 yards off, but never hits anything\\nbut the landscape. We are too bored to fire back, as long as it\\ndoesn t get wicked. The Gordons continue to play football, to the\\ngreat scandal of the town, many shells falling into the game.\\nPoor Stark, the naturalist, seems to have been most unfortunate.\\nA warning cry told a shell was coming, but Stark was out looking\\nfor his cat. The shell tore off both his legs just as he caught his\\npet. Mind my cat, he cried, and the next instant was dead.\\nNovember 30 We have been attacked again. The whole\\nBoer force turned out at 7 A. m. and began a terrific bombardment.\\nAt the same time there was an attack in force from the north.\\nThey stayed outside the dead line, however, and we never got a\\nchance at them inside 900 yards. Our los.s was nothing to speak", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0564.jp2"}, "565": {"fulltext": "GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED. 479\\nof, but tlie way the Boer ambulances have been trundling about we\\nmust have accounted for some of the beggars. Lombard s Kop\\nlias a new gun. We bave discovered tbat Long Tom Has been\\nwrecked by one of our naval shells Tbey have retaliated by\\nwrecking our streets. The pavement is full of boles, and it s worth\\none s leg to walk around.\\nDecember 2 Three big Creusot guns are being brought to\\nbear on us from neighboring hills. There is one big gun 4000\\nyards awa}^, three six^inch rifles at a greater distance, four 4.7-inch\\nhowitzers at the edge of their works, and two batteries of big field\\nguns at their left. The shops are beginning to close up. Trade\\nis dull, and provisions not plentiful. The authorities have grabbed\\nall provisions for the common good, and the last tin of milk on\\nrecord brought seventy-five cents. Bggs are a dollar and a half\\na dozen, meat is rather shy, and a quart of champagne is worth a\\nshare of Rands.\\nMACHINE GUN CAPTURED.\\nDecember 8 General Hunter and a hundred men have just\\ncovered themselves with glory and Lombard s Kop with wreckage.\\nThey destroyed a six-inch Creusot, a 4.7-inch howitzer and a\\ni2-pounder, and captured a machine gun. Our casualties were\\none man killed and Major Henderson wounded.\\nDecember 11 Whiskey is $5 a bottle. Last night Colonel\\nMetcalfe and 500 of the Second Rifle Brigade sortied to capture a\\nBoer howitzer on a hill. They reached the crest without being\\ndiscovered, drove off the enemy, and then destroyed the howitzer\\nwith gun-cotton. When returning Metcalfe found his retirement\\nbarred by the Boers, but he forced his way through, using the\\nbayonet freely.\\nDecember 16 Buller tried to cross the Tugela yesterday and\\nwas defeated. It is a sad day in Ladysmith.\\nDecember 25 This is a slim Christmas here. Very few\\nwere fortunate enough to get turkeys or geese, and they were pop-\\nular persons. Most of us had to be content with stringy beef and\\nworse goat s flesh. On Saturday the town turned out to the pro-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0565.jp2"}, "566": {"fulltext": "480 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED.\\nvision auction. Potatoes brouglit twenty-five cents eacli, eggs\\nwere a shilling, carrots seven pence, ducks a lialf guinea and cig-\\narettes sixpence a pack. Whiskey sold at $35 a bottle. Three of\\nthe Boer shells that fell into the square were opened and found\\nfilled with plum pudding. More guns are being mounted by the\\nBoers. Cricket, foot-ball and dodging shells were the principal\\nYuletide amusements. General White had a narrow escape from\\na shell that hit the house where he was lying ill.\\nGUNS ALL BANGING.\\nJanuary 6 The enemy tried to capture Caesar s camp\\nand Wagon Hill to-day, and got defeated. There was an awful\\nbanging. Nearly every gun and almost all the troops were en-\\ngaged. Major Bowen and Lieutenant Tod were killed in a heroic\\ncharge of the Gordons. Lord Ava was mortally wounded, and\\nColonel Dick Cunningham is also reported to be dying if not\\nalready dead. The Boer loss was heavy. We eagerly await Bul-\\nler, and are hard pressed.\\nJanuary 17 We have heard Buller s guns, and are wild\\nwith joy. We can see his shells bursting occasionally.\\nJanuary 21 General Buller s advance from the west is\\nplainly visible. We can see nearly every one of his shells\\nbursting.\\nJanuary 28 It is almost a certainty here that BuUer has\\nagain been repulsed, but we can still hear his guns, and hope\\nruns high.\\nFebruary i Twenty deaths from disease to-day. Food is\\ngetting scarce and fever plenty.\\nFebruary 3 Another attack. Beat them off as usual.\\nFebruary 4 We can hear Buller s guns again.\\nFebruary 6 Saw one of Buller s shells burst an ammuni-^\\ntion wagon. The Boers are beginning to get out. We have heard\\nof Buller s two reverses at the Tugela, but we have still not lost\\nheart. Although sickness is increasing in camp, we are de-\\ntermined to hold out to the last man.\\nFebruary 15 The Boers are trying to dam the Klip river.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0566.jp2"}, "567": {"fulltext": "GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED. 481\\nOur guns are now being moved to sliell tlieir engineering works.\\nThe siege is relaxing and the garrison is growing hopeful. Horse\\nand mule meat appears on every menu, and we are growing tired\\nof eating man s best friend. Dr. Jameson is very ill with enteric\\nfever.\\nFebruary i8 A heliograph says that Buller is again ad-\\nvancing. We can hear his cannonading, and the message tells us\\nthat he is making way. Relief is confidently expected this week.\\nOne hundred and thirty Boer wagons were seen treking northward\\nthis afternoon.\\nFebruary 19 We can see Buller s troops. They are occupy-\\ning the crest of Monte Cristo, and are a fine sight.\\nWELCOME RELIEF IN SIGHT.\\nFebruary 21 We fear that Buller has again withdrawn.\\nThere is no news, and communication by heliograph is almost im-\\npossible.\\nFebruary 26 Relief is in sight. Buller s men can be seen\\nplainly. His advance is only six miles away. There is heavy\\ncannonading at the southward. Our naval guns are co-operating\\nwith Buller s advance.\\nFebruary 28 General Dundonald galloped into Lady smith\\nthis evening. We are relieved at last. The town has gone mad\\nwith joy.\\nThe foregoing graphic account of what went on at Ladysmith\\nduring the siege conveys a distinct impression of the dangers by\\nwhich the town was beset, and also of the resolute courage and\\ncheerfulness of those whose lives were in constant danger. No\\nwonder there was great rejoicing when Buller s army arrived and\\nthe pangs of starvation were subdued.\\nEarly on the morning of March ist, the Queen received with\\nfeelings of joy and thankfulness the happy news of the relief of\\nLadysmith, accomplished by the troops under the command of\\nSir Redvers Buller. Her Majesty telegraphed her congratula-\\ntions to him and to Sir George White.\\nThe following was the text of Her Majesty s despatch to\\n31", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0567.jp2"}, "568": {"fulltext": "482 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED.\\nGeneral Buller I thank God for the news you have tele-\\ngraphed me, and I congratulate you and all under you with all\\nmy heart.\\nThe despatch to Sir George White read thus I thank\\nGod that you and all those with you are safe after your long, try-\\ning siege, borne with such heroism. I congratulate you and all\\nunder you from the bottom of my heart. I trust you are all not\\nvery much exhausted.\\nSir George White sent the following reply Your Majesty s\\nmost gracious message has been received by me with the deepest\\ngratitude and with enthusiasm by the troops. Any hardships and\\nprivations are a hundred times compensated for by the sympathy\\nand appreciation of our Queen and your Majesty s message will\\nwill do more to restore both of cers and men than anything else.\\nThe Queen received the following despatch from General\\nBuller: The troops much appreciate Your Majesty s kind tele-\\ngram. Your Majesty cannot know how much your sympathy has\\nhelped to inspire them.\\nLORD ROBERTS TO VICTORIA.\\nTelegraphing from Osfontein, thanking the Lord Mayor of\\nLiverpool for his congratulations. Lord Roberts said\\nI trust Her Majesty s soldiers in this country will gain such\\nfurther success as will speedily restore the freedom and prosperity\\nof South Africa.\\nLady White, wife of Sir George Stewart White, commander\\nof the garrison which for four months was penned up in Lady-\\nsmith, in reply to messages of congratulations, said: All the\\nworld is in sympathy with me to-day, and I am in sympathy with\\nall the world. I am delighted at the joyful news of the relief and\\nam happy at the intelligence that my husband is well and safe at\\nlast. As a wife I can say no more. What happy wife could say\\nless?\\nColonel Rhodes, the brother of Cecil Rhodes, describing the\\nentry into Ladysmith of Lord Dundonald and three hundred men\\nof the Imperial Light Horse and Natal Carbineers, said", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0568.jp2"}, "569": {"fulltext": "GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVEU\\n483\\nIt is impossible to depict the enthtisiasm of tlie beleaguered\\ngarrison. Cheer upon cheer ran from post to post, and staff\\nofficers, civilians and soldiers flocked to greet them. At the ford\\nof the Klip River women with children in their arms tearfully\\npressed forward to grasp the hands of the gallant band. Sisters\\nand brothers, friends and relatives met again. It was the most\\nmoving scene I have ever witnessed. The contrast between the\\nrobust troopers of a dozen battles and the pale, emaciated\\nARMORED TRAIN USED BY THE BRITISH IN SOUTH AFRICA.\\ndefenders of Ladysmith was great. The hour for which we had so\\npatiently waited had come at last.\\nGeneral White and his staff met the troops in the centre of\\nthe town. He was cheered with heartfelt enthusiasm. He addressed\\nthe civilians, and thanked them and the garrison for their mag-\\nnificent support through trials which we alone can realize. We\\ncould possibly have hung on for six weeks longer, but sickness\\nand the paucitj^ of our ammunition would have limited the number\\nof assaults we would have been able to resist.", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0569.jp2"}, "570": {"fulltext": "484 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED.\\nWe originally started tlie siege with. 12,000 troops, 2,000\\ncivilians and 4,000 natives. Between casualties and sickness 8,000\\nsoldiers passed througli the hospital. It is impossible to over\\nemphasize the privations of the sick. Since the middle of January\\na man once down was practically lost. The reduced rations of the\\nsoldiers just suf ced for their subsistence. Daily thirt}^ old horses\\nand mules were slaughtered and converted into soup and sausages.\\nFrom January 15 to now (March 2d) there have been over two\\nhundred deaths from disease alone. The last fortnight saw the\\nmajority of the field batteries unhorsed and the guns permanently\\nposted in our defences. The cavalry and drivers were converted\\ninto infantry and sent to the trenches. A line of defences had\\nbeen constructed with a view of possible final contingency, if the\\nwaterworks should be carried b}^ the investment.\\nLONDON WILD WITH JOY.\\nWhen the news of the relief of Ladysmith became generally\\nknown London literally went mad with joy, and throughout Bng-\\nland the scenes witnessed had no parallel in the memories of this\\ngeneration. The pent up jubilation at the relief of Kimberley\\nand the defeat of Cronje could no longer be controlled, and with\\nthe crowning triumph the national trait of self-restraint was\\nthrown to the winds. The Lord Mayor of London immediately\\ntelegraphed his congratulations to Generals White and Buller.\\nWhen the Queen received the news at Windsor the bells on the\\ncurfew tower of the castle were rung in honor of the event.\\nThis storm of jubilation centred around the Mansion House\\nin London, and by noon thousands of persons blocked the many\\napproaches to that grim building. It was a dense, black mass,\\ncomposed chiefly of business men, the majority of them carrying\\nlittle union jacks. Never before was there such a sale of flags as\\non that day. Through this cheering throng there was only one\\navenue open to traffic, and this was utilized b}^ the busses going\\nfrom east to west. All traffic in other directions was stalled for\\nhours.\\nThe only way to get past the Mansion House was by mount-", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0570.jp2"}, "571": {"fulltext": "GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED. 485\\ning the busses, wliicli soon began to resemble cbariots in a tri-\\numpbal pageant. Stockbrokers, bankers, clerks and workingmen\\nclambered on top, and as the busses lumbered past tbe Historic\\nbuilding, stood up, waving flags, bats and bandkercbiefs, and call-\\ning for cheers for Buller and Roberts. A migbty sbout answered\\ntbem from tbe crowds tbrougb wbicb tbey were passing.\\nTbe procession became continuous, yet tbe crowd never tired\\nof cbeering every time tbe name of White, Buller or Roberts was\\nmentioned, and off came bats and up went tbe little flags. Grave\\nold financiers waved and yelled as frantically and as often as tbe\\nurcbins wbo bad clambered tbe Mansion House steps, by reason of\\ntbe news tbat England s honor had been saved. The strain that\\nfor ii8 days had kept the nation in terrible anxiety was removed.\\nThe Lord Mayor showed himself at a window, out of which hung\\na huge City Imperial Volunteer flag, and the crowd yelled itself\\nhoarse. Staid magnates grabbed flaring posters from newsboys\\nand brandished Ladysmith Relieved to the roaring throng.\\nAll thought of business was forgotten.\\nBROKERS SING NATIONAL ANTHEM.\\nNothing could be done on the Stock Kxchange except sing\\nGod Save the Queen and cheer. Business closed at i o clock.\\nNo one wanted to trade on such a day as this. The stores put up\\ntheir shutters and gave their employees a holiday. Great ensigns\\nfloated in the sunlight from hundreds of buildings and little union\\njacks lit up the murky city windows.\\nThe Lord Mayor telegraphed Lady Buller as follows\\nMy sincerest congratulations on yonr gallant husband s achieve-\\nment.\\nHe also ordered a holiday for the city schools. Later, he an-\\nswered the demands of the crowd, that increased as the day wore\\non, by a speech, in which he said: This news makes our hearts\\nleap with joy. We are now satisfied that our sacrifice of blood\\nand treasure is not in vain.\\nThe reports which came through from Ladysmith showed that\\nthe relief was effected not a day too soon. With ammunition", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0571.jp2"}, "572": {"fulltext": "MAR 29 1900\\n486 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED.\\nand stores at tlieir lowest ebb, witb troops worn and exbausted by\\ndisease and from want of nonrisbing food, bad tbe Boers made\\nanotber attempt to storm tbe garrison in balf as determined a\\nmanner as tbat at tbe beginning of January, tbere is little question\\ntbat tbe fall of Ladysmitb would bave resulted. Fortunately for\\nWbite s force, Joubert did not know tbat and kept at a respectful\\ndistance. One of tbe most patbetic incidents of tbe Boers burried\\nfligbt was tbat many cbildren were found in tbe trencbes lost, if\\nHot forgotten by tbeir parents.\\nCHURCHILL S TELEGRAM.\\nMr. Winston Cburcbill, wbo accompanied tbe Ladysmitb re-\\nlief column, telegrapbing bis experience said:\\nDuring tbe afternoon of February 28 tbe cavalry brigade\\npressed forward under Colonel Burn-Murdocb toward Bulwana\\nHill, and under Lord Dundonald in tbe direction of Ladysmitb.\\nTbe Boers fired on botb witb artillery from Bulwana. About\\n4 o clock Major Gougb s regiment, wbicb was in tbe advance,\\nfound tbe ridges surrounding and concealing Ladysmitb appar-\\nently unoccupied. He reported tbe fact to Lord Dundonald, wbo\\ndetermined to ride tbrougb tbe gap witb tbe Ligbt Horse and\\nCarbineers.\\nTbe rest of tbe brigade was sent back to General Buller s\\npicket line. It was evening wben we started to enter tbe town.\\nAbout an bour of dayligbt remained. We galloped on swiftly, in\\nspite of tbe rougb ground, up and down bill, tbrougb scrub and\\nrocks, and dongas, until we could see tbe Britisb guns flasbing\\nfrom Wagon Hill; but on we went faster, until suddenly tbere\\ncame a cballenge from tbe scrub, Wbo goes tbere Tbe Lady-\\nsmitb relieving army, we replied, and tben tbe tattered and al-\\nmost bootless men crowded around, cbeering very feebly. Kven\\nin tbe gloom we could see bow tbin and pale tbey looked but bow\\nglad tbey were\\nTbe once dasbing Britisb cavalry brigade practically ceased\\nto exist. At tbe beginning of tbe year tbe Britisb bad 5,500\\nborses and 4,500 mules. Before tbe end of January tbey could", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0572.jp2"}, "573": {"fulltext": "GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED. 487\\nonly feed i,ioo horses, tlie others liad either been converted into\\njoints, soups and sausages, or had been left to forage for them-\\nselves. These poor, emaciated animals mere phantoms of horses\\nwere among the most painful sights of the siege.\\nHad the besieged possessed an unlimited amount of heavy\\nguns and ammunition, they might have made the position more\\nbearable, although not a shot was fired except in dire necessity.\\nThere were on February ist only forty rounds left for each naval\\ngun, while the supply for the field artillery would have been ex-\\nhausted in a couple of minor engagements. Fortunately, the\\nBoers were ignorant of the true state of affairs. Had they known\\nthe real weakness of the town they might have displayed greater\\ndaring. The British were victorious solely because of masterly\\ninactivity.\\nTONS OF DEADLY EXPLOSIVES.\\nThe bombardment was heavy, but on the whole ineffective.\\nIt is estimated that during the investment about 12,000 shells\\nwere thrown into the town, an average of three tons of explosives\\ndaily. Yet comparatively few were killed and wounded. The\\nlargest losses were from disease.\\nFurther accounts of the relief of Ladysmith state that at\\nnoon on Tuesday, February 27th, the firing of General Buller s\\narmy seemed to recede, instead of approach, and the garri-\\nson was consequently depressed. Everybody was startled\\nto hear the garrison s 4.7-gun firing. It had not been\\nused much of late, owing to the diminishing ammunition. On\\nhurrying out it was found that the Boers were trying to remove the\\nbig gun on Bulwana by the erection of a derrick. This proved\\nthat something extraordinary was happening. The other garrison\\nguns then directed their fire on Bulwana, and the Boers were\\ncompelled to abandon the attempt with the derrick.\\nLater on they placed the gun on a wagon, which capsized in a\\ndonga (ravine). During the afternoon, whenever the Boers were\\nseen approaching, the British resumed the shelling on Bulwana.\\nAbout four o clock a terrific thunder storm broke over the town,", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0573.jp2"}, "574": {"fulltext": "488 GARRISON AT LADYSMITH RELIEVED. Z.^..\\nI 4.\\njust after a message liad been Heliograplied from Wagon Hill tliat\\ntlie Boers were in full retreat. Officers said they believed tbey\\ncould descry British cavalry, but most people supposed that the\\nwish was father to the thought. As soon as the storm ceased the\\nBritish guns re-opened on Bulwana, gradually concentrating the fire\\non the left, and driving the Boers before them, with the object of\\npreventing the enemy from hampering any British approach.\\nAn hour later a party of British horsemen could be seen\\ncrossing the flat below Bulwana at a distance of some miles. It\\nis impossible to describe the excitement and enthusiasm among\\nthe troops that followed. Most of the town s people had been\\ndriven into the houses by the storm and did not learn the good\\nrews until later. The storm began again at seven o clock in the\\nevening and continued until two o clock the next morning. It\\nseriously hampered the retreating Boers. The British gunners\\nkept a sharp watch to prevent any further attempt to remove the\\nBulwana gun. The British naval gun was fired at intervals through\\nthe night and in the morning a force was sent out to look after the\\ngun and to occupy Bulwana.\\n/VkV2?\\nM^ty^", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0574.jp2"}, "575": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0575.jp2"}, "576": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0576.jp2"}, "577": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0577.jp2"}, "578": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0578.jp2"}, "579": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "2241", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0579.jp2"}, "580": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3529", "width": "2273", "jp2-path": "britishboersinso00birc_0580.jp2"}}