The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-01-26


OF sd on bis reporting in Leydsnourg. on
/ return OF the officer sent 20 Pretoria wIfh
the news OF Won Schiiefrnann's death the
/ regiment disbaneed. -Four days later Mai.
! Clark assisted b the clerks Of the stand
+, are bank. paid them on That ~as the aTst
| appearance OF British military authority
, ia the Trznsvaal. and u occurred about the
middle % Is77
What the English did for that country -
a matter OF history. She annexed ihe
TransvaaI Sekukuni was killed and has
Qualifications were stormeG hy the re4eaats
and naval brigafe the SWazls. already
friendly. helping with a corps ~ toe.9 as
gallant men as ever handed assegsis. The
Zuius. after nearly q years resstance. sl--
cumbed. late 10 1873 % the British guns a.
Uluudl
The BORDERS being free from disturhance
the British set about tine internal Affairs 81
the land. The banks advanced money "a r.
turn for concessions The collection or
taKes vas enforced inc.ud.ng new and re-
muuerauge hut tax from The conquered
EEflrs. Roads were made by the enforced
labor o. delinquent tax payers, stores and
trading stations were established and the
farusr resumed ln peace has interrupted
occupation. Public confidence was restored
and tho country vas fairly started on the
rOa4 10 prosperity. Small garris9ns were
placed IN al the towns. the few soldiers
acting As police pending the organization
o. a mounted force. To the ordinary Tesi-
dent every one appeared 10 be conientsd4y
earning their living. and there was no sign
OF Installation among the Beers. Ihtt
was in the spfing OF isso
Those Of Won SchEctmanns fEbusters
who had not returned 10 the diamond fields,
hoping for better times. had become pros
pectCrs Il vas well known that gold vas
20 % found in the UndeyeloDed countries
watered by the Zambesi, and many tired IN
eiTectualiy To traverse the country doEnI-
neeFed by I.obeug ala. Others had settled
in Swaziland. or were trading between the
gold fields and Delagoa bay. Coiors OF sold
were everywhere. and although just then
no new paving fields had been located, far
seeing men knew that great possibilities
lay before the little country whose notes
FIVE years before could not have been oiS-
counted al any price.
LeydenDuTg is nearly at the extreme
eastern edge of the Transyaal proper. The
garrison early IN 1850 consisted Of six COM
paBies of the Ninety-fourth light infantry,
commanded by Col. Anstruther For some
reason or other not made public at the time
he was ordered TO leave only enough men 10
hold the camp and &c report with
the remainder of his command 20
Headquarters at Pretoria. few
DAYS march from Ley1enDurg, mdrcn-
ing at ease with their arms stacked on the
baggage wagons, the troops were halted oy
four Beers. on horseback, at Bronck9rs
spruit ANY stream that in dry weather nay
he lcaped over and that in the rainy season
becomes an almost impossible torrent IS
"spruit' in South Africa The Beers dis
played a flag OF truce and informed Col.
Anstruther that the burghers had decided
10 expel the English from the TransVaal
and TO re-establish the Old government.
They demanded that the soldiers surrender
their arms and ammunition and leave the
country.
Col Anstr,Ither declined the proposal, and
ordered his men to form. The Beers rode
to the brow OF a small incline beyond tie
spruit and disappeared. Within five min
utes a muFderous fire was opened on ne
British Many We're killed, among them
three women. and 50 per cent of the others
were wounded. Nearly all the horses and
trek oxen were rendered unfit for duty by
the rain OF lead. Col Anstruther was
wounded IN five places. Three thousand
Beers Il was said. composed the ambas-
cade. The wounded were loaded on the
baggage and ammunition wagons ana the
unin iured soldiers harnessed themselves TO
the yokes and dragged them 10 Standerton,
a British camp Just over the Naal from M
tai The arrival Of the wounded was the
first authentic news received IN Natal or
che extent OF the outbreak. The man who
carried the flag of truce 70 Col. AnsTutaer
was Pet Joubert, now commander-in-chtef
panlons was Paul Kruger. the present
president Of the republic.
An Natal was aghast. Members or the
troops OF volunteers. disbanded after the
Zulu war. offered their services by hum
drods Gen. SIR George Pomeroy Cooley, n
command Of the forces in South AFRICA re-
fused ali offers and hurried TO Newcastle,
the extreme frontier town. with the lew
regulars he could command.
ANY map OF British South Africa viii
show the topography OF the country. Dur
ban Is the seaport OF Natal. About fifty
four miles inland is Pietermaritzourg. the
capital Perhaps 100 miles further Is TuSe-
Ia. where are the famous falls. $50 feet
sheer. Thence passing through two or three
small villages the road runs nearly straight
80 miles 10 Newcastle. Twenty miles or
therpabouts on the road 10 the Naal s. CT
was. a trading station. Skene's HcogJe.
ea1 wards from Maiuha hill and about the
same distance from Lang's neck. long H.
cuued path. the only possible road 20 The
Naal river ford. some twelve mil,> away.
Snnderton. on the main line 20 Pretoria,
los a few miles beyond the NaaL New
castle had been the chief military post dur
ing tho Zulu war and was quite a pret"nt-
Gus little town Of eco or 5000 haottantS-
wiz, the news OF the slaughter AZ BrOn k
er's sprult came rlmors OF The invest ament
81 Pretoria. Heidelberg and Standertou, and
the surrender after nine days OF starva-
ton. % the little garrison of Potchefstrcem.
| All communications were interrupted, and
| it was impossible TO verify those and the
many other distressing accounts that
| reached the royal headquarters.
Thv Beers took up a strong position en-
| the summit OK Iang's neck. built skances r
| boul lcrS. and defiei the soldiers 10 force
| passage Gen Cooley. from the advance
| camp M Sksue's Hooetje ordered an at
| tack. Intending 90 open the road and hold :;
| until troops arrived from Durham 10 suih
| rienf fore. 90 march 20 the relief ~ the te-
| ieacfrcd garrlsous The Beers from behind
| their shelter picked OF the officers aud re-
| pulsed FIVE assaults. A. uighjfan Gen. coll
! lev decided to take possession Of NAHUM
| hiH ana with artillery d.slodgc the Boers
| from their commanding position Mataaa
| was scaled all right. and when morning.
| broke Orders were given On shell che Eoer
/ defeuses Unfortunately before the cUu-
/ n,r. haa succeeded in finding the range
| they discovered that they had ueg'lgted -
/ SUNNY themselves with ammunition f3r
/ th,, hiE guns Cor. Co'.cy was on thc l..l
! I'm command ana he ordered she Rifles u
| hold the pos tion uutil dark. q, Wosld have
| Nern Impossible owing go the WoaterfI. ac-
! curacv ~ the l'oor Shsrpsaootevs. % carry
| heavy ammunition mp that hin 3u layNSht
! The Eocr 8, mwauter early discovered the
! might az tho British Eunu.Fs AMI started 10
! assault The h.i Re w.s rcpHlsei tV.er. ae-
1 sp.fe ths rs-k Is-~ E.lautr> of E.s followers.
/ Tho british. CARRYING oUiN thirty rounds
/ rg- man. soon exhausted tar.- cartridges
/ ana d.- .lasai ths.r weakness ty hsaE Hr
| rocks az tht assal,g~. Il took Ar 8V-ra@a
/ 81 81 EoEl ~n bullets o. disable Eotr.
! while the Rrcrs ca the contrary knocked
| over an eurw3 nearly every time they uret