The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-11-11

INTERESTING EVENTS.
| BasatolaaA and Its People.
| BAsuTor.AND may be described as the Wales
| Of south Africa. It h q little province fitted
in ct the northeast corner Of Cape Colony, be.
tween the Grunge Free State, the Cape Colony
and Natal. It IL about one hundred and fifty
! miles long by fifty broad, its length running
parallel to the Orange Free State, or, roughly
| speaking, yearly parallel at some distance
inland with the coast line. Some Of its table
lands are nearly five thousand feet above the
| sea, while its loftiest mOuntain Is credited
with . height of ten thousand feet. The cold
| throughout the whole of BasutOland Ia very
| severe IN the months of June. July, August
and even September. One of the wings Of the
Cape Mounted Rifles marching up from
KOkstad, in Hriqualand East to Mas
| CRU, the chief station in Basuto-
| land, was delayed some days by
heavy fall Of snow, which blocked the passes
| and rendered marching slow and tedious.
Though Basutoland may be said to be one
hundred and nifty miles by nifty miles in size.
| the eastern side Of its breadth is scarcely in
habited on account Of the extreme cold and of
| the inaccessible character of the mountains.
The most thickly populated districts of the
little country extend along its whole length,
but are of breadth of about thirty miles only
the thirty miles to the northwest-and lying
| next to the Orange Free State. 1t is from the
Free State, then, that Basutoland can be most
easily entered, and its CHIEF stations, which lie
within few hours of the Free State border,
most safely and easily reached. There are
other routes from the south, but they present
great difficulties to the march of troops, and
are open to grave objections from a military
point of view.
The Basutos are mostly remnants of tribes
who were driven before the Kaffirs. Early in
the century they took refuge in the mountain
Businesses of Basutoland to escape the pitiless
soldiery of the Zulu conqueror, Chaka. 1t was
on the steep and rocky hill Of Thaba Bosigo
that Moshesh, the first paramount chief of the
BasutOs, rallied the starved and desperate
men Of the different clans OF his race made a
successful stand against the Zulus, and laid
the foundation of the Basuto nation. To
speak of the Basutos as equal or nearly equal
to the Zulus in fighting qualities las is some
times done) is q mistake. The Basutos lack
the discipline, the reckless bravery and the
taste for fighting possessed by the Zulu sold
iers. The BasutOs have no military Organiza-
ton, merely turning out or being turned out by
their chiefs for fighting by tribes or clans.
They are not soldiers like the Zulus were be-
fore the Zulu army was broken up, but are
merely hardy mountaineers. Unlike the Zu-
lus, the BasutOs fight, as a rule, mounted,
possessing hardy and active ponies, which
make light of the difficulties of the mountain
tracks of their country. Almost all the Basu-
tos have taken to clothing, partly from their
progress in civilization, partly from the severe
climate of their land. The military trait to be
remarked in the Basutos is their aptitude for
terrifying or ensclOncing themselves, and the
intelligence with which they strengthen any po-
sitiOh they may desire to hold. Indeed, the col
onists' chief difficulties will probably COM
mence when the Basutos, worsted in the open,
betake themselves to their mountain strong
holds. Thaba Bosigo, the stronghold now held
by the Chief MaSupha, is a good example of
BasNto position. 1t is an isolated hill about
four hundred feet high, with a Hat or table
top, and with sides scraped away by natural
causes. The table is only accessible by three
or four paths. Some Of these paths are said
TO have been rendered inaccessible, others to
be barred by lines of schanzes, or stone barri-
cades, loopholed and possessing thanking de.
Tense. On the mountain is good pasture to
Craze the cattle, plenty of water and stores of
grain and ammunitiOn.-Ch Chicago Times.
An Engraver's Confession.
WASHINGTON, d. c., October 81.
The text of the confession of Charles n.
Smith, the engraver who was under the tyran-
ny of Brockway, and who engraved the plate
upon which the bonds in the possession of
Doyle were printed, has been received at the
Treasury. 1t was taken at New York-curious-
~ enough, in the third person-in the pres
ence of Mr.. Castelar,, of the Bureau of Engrav-
ing and Printing, and of MIR. Charles Coon,
Assistant Chief Of the Loan Division. The fol-
lowing is the text:
"Smith states that he engraved all of the
work ON the 40 note, namely: all OF the
square lettering, all of the scrip, vignette and
initiated lathe-work. counters, borders and
coupons, with his tinted plate printed in green
ON the face of the note, and the back of the
plate printed in green on the back Of the note;
also, the seal printed in red on the face of the
note. He also said that he engraved the plates
in or about the year 1855 or 1867.
He states that h" zach a.s OF the coupon arter
which the whole counter was made by electro
tipping. The imitation of cycloid was traced,
and cut with graver. He also states that he
engraved the 81 900 old legal-tender, originally
engraved by the American Bank-Note Com
pany of New York. He engraved the face
plate, back plate and tint plate: also the seal
that Is printed on the face of the nOte-all of
which is counterfeit. He also engraved the
head Of Hamilton on the $50 iegaltender note,
first series, originally engraved by the Nation
al Bank Note Company of New York.
Sc He states that he engraved the 800 Ma
tiOnal-currency plate in skeleton; the face
plate, with viRnette and lettering, counters,
100 and c.
HE also engraved the title of National
banks to print upon skeleton face plate-viZ.:
National Revere Bank, Boston; Merchants
National Bank, New Bedford, Mass; Pitts
burgh National Bank, Pittsburgh; Second Ma
tiOnai Bank, Wilkesbarrc. Pa; Pittsburgh
National Bank of Commerce.; and National
Exchange Bank Of Baltimore-al of which he
engraved for Brockway, with the tint plate
seal printed on the face of the note. He also
states that he engraved a $1,000 bond plate
with coupons, acts of July II and August 5,
1851, with vignettes and bordering, count
ers, square lettering and scrip, and
the imitation lathe-work border. The
initiated border he cut with graver,
and furnished the section of bed
piece to BrOckway. He also states that the
original counterfeit vignette, with sections of
initiated table-wOrk and lettering, furnished
by him to BrOckway, were manipulated in
such q manner that the result when finished
formed a series of electrotype plates from
the caption Of the skeleton and titles engraved
for the National-currency note, which were
engraved on copper by him for Brockway."
CHARLES H. SMITH.
This was subscribed and sworn to before a
United States Commissioner in New York City,
October 70, 1880
Thanksgiving Day.
WASHINGTON, November l.