National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-01-08

cusing SIP Bartle Frere with being the instigator
and tool II the annexation OF the TransSaal.
ton, he had nothing whatevert to do with the an
neXatfoU.
Potchefstroom, the scene of the recent lombard
of the Diamond Fields and one hundred miles
south of Pretoria The district is the most thickly
settled of any in the Transvaal, being the most
| IS the he S'~'' ''''-f''' wa 0-'''
LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY,
rises in this district, in the immediate neighbor-
hood of the city. Potchefstroom has population
of perhaps fifteen hundred inhabitants, mostly
Dutch; has several large stores churches, schools,
town halls, and two or three hotels The ety N.Y.: Is
well watered by sluices running through the town
on each side Of the streets, which is brought rom
the Moot good River beautiful stream that forms
few miles away The city is situated almost in the
square, and hemmed in on ali Sides By high foot
mountains rea1i ANS HE Climate ' is healthy and
delightful In the extreme. The Dutch OF
this place, like those of all other portions OF South
pie. with little care for anything in the way of i'm
provement or change. The men are all good morse
men and frst-cIass marksmen with their old
fashioned rifles. have often seen them on morse
back chasing drove of buck across the Veidts
(plains and shooting from the horses back, going
at a breakneck speed, and bringing their game
down, even at distance of five or six hundred
yards.
Their manner of fighting the natives has always
been on horseback, i'll q sort of bushwhaek1ng
manner, and probably that will be their tactics in
the present war with the English.
They have an advantage over British soldiers IN
the use of firearms, inasmuch as they have cor
rect eye for range and distance at all times, Whle
one not accustomed. to the various refractons OF
the atmosphere OF the country, which is most pc
cullar IN Its changes, may at any one time Try 10
bring down an object a mile away with a 500 YARD
elevation, or rice rerSd. l remember once made
bet that could hit O certain object in given
number of trials though knew of the refractlons.
lost finding afterward that the object was half
once peppered away
AT AN ANT BEAR.
less than 200 yards off, with all elevation of 500
"karOo," an extensive desert i'll the north of Cape
Colony, have seen in the far distance beautiful
lakes OF water, green groves, and even pictures OF
magnificent mountains, all so wildly portrayed by
mirage rs To cause even the poor beasts 10 prlck
up their ears and hurry forward in fond anticipa-
tons.
There is an American at PotchefStroom by the
name OF Cameron, who took out a lot OF American
mill machinery, &C., bought at the Centennial
Exhibition. i understood that he took SS1 600 out
OF two claims at the Pilgrims Rest gold fields, in the
Transvaal-hiS wife owning and personally opeTdt
ing one claim. The war will probably ruin him.
though his sympathies, understood, were with
the English.
Middleburg, the scene of the skirInish between
the Ninety eighth and the Beers, is exactly mid
way between Pretoria and the Gold Fields. TWAS
of the Berlin mission of South Africa. Near this
place Il large deposit of cobalt was discovered
few years ago, and q company was organized to
work 1t, but il was abandoned for some reason.