The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-01-26
THE FIGHTING BOERS.
How They Slaughtered the
British i'm the First War.
LED THEM INTO AMeUscaDEs.
Marvellous sharpshooters, These Bursh-
Whenever One of Them shot
at an Engiishman He Fell.



feat Of Cetewayo and his p .oag piucky fol-
lowers. the TrsnsFaal republic was IN a
bad way. Harassed by the natives on their
northern and northeastern frontiers. b.
the ZulBs on the south ana southeast. sd
paying tribute % their powerful allies the
6wazis. the B0er government was almost
at the end Of its resources. Tired Of the
perpetual border warfare. the Beers had
refused 70 answer the conscF.rtlye call.
cOnteatlng themselves with arm nR their
servants and dependents and holding them
o. reaG.neEH 20 Tepei individually any at
tack on their bones. There was no money
g. the public treasury. and the Connie
ciai bank, 81 Cape Town. with q brarco a,
Pretoria. was pressing for the payrnent
OF advances made during the previous
years Of depression The border trt3es
were becoming more and moro aggressive,
and a feeling OF impent.Eg disaster per-
vaded the land. IN these straights Prssi-
aent Burgess turned for a!d 70 the TEEN ng
population o. the Gr.guEland West dia-
moBd mines OF Kimberley Du Tots Pan
aud DE Beers.
IN the early days Of the dlarnena fields.
1904, m0ney-nalzng was comparatively
easy, but machinery became necessary
poor miners were frozen out. companies
were formed by the wealthy dealers. and
the individual digger became memory OF
the past For miles around the country is
a desert waste and an to the Wall river
was neither water nor shelter. The pe3-
pie IN Europe knew even Jess OF the condi-
ton Of things there than the Inhabitants %
New York city generally know today Of the
conditions a. Cripple creek. and thousands
OF wellsbOrn. well educated Young men
thronged 10 the diamond fields VIA Cape
Colony and Natal. expecting 20 find for
tunes awaiting them. Needless &c say they
were mistaken, and those who were with
out capital or influential friends saw hard
times
The years ls75-7s we're particularly hard.
The kafirs. Zuus SWazis Bastarls
Bushmen and Hotientots had begun to rec
ognize the value % the white mans money
and We're applying for work. In that dry.
hot climate for any continued physical ef-
fort native is az least equal 10 a white
man. and the rate Of pay be demanded was
only s. month and rations Of three pounds
of meal day az against 81 or $50 a week
absolutely necessary for the white man.
who had board and lodging to pay. As a
consequence. many white men. strong.
able and willing. were walking the uu-
paved streets IN idleness. The majority OF
them were anxious 10 return home but
lacked means TO travel. opportunity TO
earn anything and the moral courage 10
apply TO friends and confess the failure Of
their aspirations
Those were the conditions that prevailed
IN Kimberley and the adjacent camps a:
AAif k4iiif AllAt 7 tFStAfIt tlufEs&h anu MS
voiksraad tparEamenD We're casting
around for some way Of alleviating the dis
tresscd condition of the TransvaaI The
history OF the world shows that with the
necessity comes the man Conrad Won
schlictmann. a n0bleman with a rumored
history Of political trouble and exile from
Germany. had met Mr. Burgess at Potch-
efsiroem. a village about midway between
Kimberley and Pretoria. early IN 1874 ana
Impressed hiT favOrably. when the Boer
hurshers intlmatcd that desultory warfare
with the predatory Kafslrs was becoming
unpieasantiy mnnotonous. Mr.. Burgess
conceived the idea of a regiment Of mer-
eeuaries who would take pay in treasury
notes and occHpy the border forts until
better times came. With the unanimous
consent OF the volksraad he called upon
Won Schlictmann. appointed him COM
manier az regiment of cavalry to be re-
cruited. and authorized him 10 levy on his
Hire ~ march for supplies for the troops
As Criqualaud West was then. as now
British territory. recruiting was Illegal
end Won Schlictmanu was compelled 10 do
the work sub rosa. a trusting place on the
Free State border was t!pped OF and ON
tho appointed night nearly 400 able-hod!ed
young men shook hands with Won Schlct-
mann and agreed 10 fight for the Trans
Naaf governmsn Mt for 81 a month IN cash
AMI grant Of 2.ooo morsen tabout 1880
aercs) each, 10 he laid ont from the terri
Tho men marched 20 Pretoria hv easy
STAGES. obtaining supplies from the stores
and farms on the road. the acting quarter
master paying for them With orders on tho
bankrupt government by the time the
president reviewed the men AZ The canital
they were = presentahle LOT Of well-huIlt
healthy. well-drgled troopers. good riaors
good shots and pluckv enough 20 follow
their leader. one of the Quickest men who
ever diea with his face - the foe. 10 a sec
onl Balaklava. The writer was acting
duartermaster ~ the squadron. and was
wounded six months later withlg ten Yards
% where Won Schllctmann mot his death
Arms AMI horses were issued In Pretoria.
then a iittle bit Of a town WITH one bank
one hotel. one church, state house. a
blacksmith forge ana five trading STA
fious. all built along the side OF the market
square that is the distinguishing mark Of
all Dutch settlements ECvolyers ana car
hines were given 10 the officers. and car
hines only 20 the troopers The less satI
about the horses The better. Most or
them We're exchanged without the con-
sent or the farmers from stock found graz
ing on the farms during the SAa-mle march
90 Levdenhurc The guns were mixed
Tot. old condemned Snvders apparently
purchased IN bulk ar some naval sale in
Natal and useless French naval br1ss-
handled reV divers Very few OF them were
~ for use AMI the mon discarded them and
carried their own
Al Pretoria President burgess made \
speech ana tc'1 the men the, were. 20 he
stationed ar Fort Burgess. a DAYS ride he
yCnd Isev8euturg He repeated tho Drau1-
Uses made by Won Schlictmsnn. ana cm-
phasixed the hope that their restra lnlnr
presence. nv enabling the Beers o. attend
20 their farms. would restore prosperity 10
the country.
Lcydenhurg VAS a smaller edition o., Pre-
fora. except tt}at u Vas rs English a s. Pre-
toria was Dutch y was base or supplies
for the Pilgrim Rest gold "eils. ana pos
sesse1 tao branch hankS. che cane Com
South Africa Fort burgess MAS cou,o3s a
of eorthwcrks TEN Feet hrh. surrounded
w deep ditch ana protected rs a thick
fence ~ ne va't-a->it thorn Thar grows
pr0fusclv therca bouts No man o~ other
animal that ever lived can penetrate "A
w3jt-a-ht 'hcro fence without an aN
The pr kles - the thorn grow 20 he rs 90
inchcs long. 00d are strong enough O.
T,ercs leather
Won Sch1ctmaun decided 80 earn tire
Erat'tute of thr Beers hv wasting r9 time
W.ihn a month of his arrival az ihe fars
h. planned am attack 20 surprise the
STRONGHOLD ~ Sssukuui the hostile Na-aE.
tesc King The attack was p failure ou- e.-
% the trcacherv of the Eu ie. 8rt No9
Srhictwa0n a0f -four others efonvl s-~
tNc rashuess - thr enterprises with tna-
lives Sevcateeu others were WOUNDED T.
was 'earnrf 7frr-Nard -hat eo ktafr.
were h.t bv bullets Tha wounded ma
dead 81 the white fo--ss we've carried sly ,-
~ back 20 the f'rt under fhc gpueralssia
- gentleman row "a eiyI engineer ir
thiS city and dispatches Ne-a sent ;a p-s.
tortG fos authority 20 ,.elt new com