The Portland daily press., 1896-09-07


soldiers. who could have been driven
out by assault. The committee relied
confidently on the Immediate services
of at least 20, 600 of the Inhabitants Of
Johannesburg and on the help of many
who would join them when they saw
that it was safe to do SO. With these
men fully armed, with the town pro-
yisioned for two months siege, they felt
they would be in position by the 9th OF
January to send their ultimatum to the
government at Pretoria. The conditions
of this ulti;n alum were to be that unless
the Beers gave them the reforms for
which they had petitioned without sue
cess they would, at the end OF three
days, set up a provisional government
and
DEFEND JOHANNESBURG
against all corners.
1t was, them at this point, whom the
minds of half the people in the country
would be wavering as to whe ther it was
better to Join the reformers or to uphold
| to have come In With his 1900 police,
| like Flying wedge and bring tie
wavering ones, both Uitlanders and
Beers, from ranches, farms; and villages,
and deliver this triumphant addition
to his own well organized force into the
DanuS Oh bno proHisloudi RofernnoAp 81
Johannesburg. This is what was to have
happened.
Mr. Davis then describes how on the
99th of December, instead Of waiting
until his friends we're ready Jameson
started. Continuing MI. Davis says:
Such a contingency had not occurred
to them. They Snew he was perfectly
dition; they knew that he had been
strictly snjoinod not to appear on the
scene until Hammond gave him the sig
nal. And at once, in the greatest pos
siDle alarm at the possible failure of their
long IN atured plans, they sent two mes
sengers post haste to warn him not to
move from where he was. Major HeaDy,
an American, a graduate of West Point.
and q soldier who has seen service In the
| Portuguese and Kafir wars, was dis
patched by Hammond on special train,
and Edward Holden was sent to Mafek-
| ing on horseback. So well did Holden
understand the necessity Of reaching
Jameson in time to head him of that he
made the $50 miles between Johannesburg
and MafekinR in seventeen hours, chang
ing his saddle to five different horses
He arrived outside the Jameson head
fquarters at O'Clock on Saturday morn
| ing, the 2Sth of December, where be was
met by his friend, Lieut.. Grenfeli Of
the Guards, who conducted him to jane
| SUI, 10 Nuttiu uc QCIltOA O0 AlaidiAOd4 .
| message. Heany and his special train
arrived later on the 2eth, and be handed
Jameson his message. On the day pre-
pious the following telegram had arrived
from Hammond: "Wlre just received.
| Experts report decided adverse. Abso-
lutely condemn further developments at
present.
This was on Saturday morning. 60 be-
fore Jameson left Mafeking, and long
before he had
CROSSED THE BORDER
of the Transvaal, and long before he had
been ordered back By commissioner OF
the Transvaal Republic, and later by
the representative of the High Commits
sioner for Great Britain, he had received
two special messengers from his friends,
telling him be was not wanted, and a
telegram from the man who was to give
him the signal to start, begging him to
stay where he was.
sfThose men are funking it," he said.
l"Pm going to stir them up :" That
speech undoubtedly IS the real expiaIa-
ton for his remarkable action. lie
wanted to play the part they had as
signed him, and he thought the Others
were afraid to play theirs and that the
whole expedition would come to moth
ing. He wanted the acclaim which
would follow his invasion OF the Trans
vaal, ard he thought that the chance Of
! his doing so was slipping FROM him
through the half-heartedness OF the mer
of Johannesburg.
None of the men whose plans he
} wrecked assigns any motive to him othel
than the love Of a fight, the desire to be
in the centre of whatever is goiug : for
ward, and the increased reputation thai
would have come to him. They describe
him as a man who has 20 care for mon
self rich in Mashopaland had he wished
! to do SO, and that in the daily routine OF
life be is unsel6shness itself, but thai
in this case hs failed because he undeE
valued his friends and overyalued his
own strength. The men whom he con-
sidered were "funking it' were in mncl
greater danger for months than wal
Jameson during tho three days OF bill
ride
On the night Jameson was marched
prisoner to Pretoria tho Reform Com
mfttee was all but lynched for not hny
ing gone to bis resoure, and even then /
! could not tell the excited people tina
there were not over !, 500 guns in tn
whole city of Johannesburg. 1t was no
until Jameson's brother stepped out OF
the balcony of the Gold Fields building
! and assured the mob that he had beel
ACQUAINTED with oil that was going TO
2 ward during the ride, and that even ha,
he known that his brothers. life was q
! stake, he WAS satisfied that it,would hav
been impossi Die to have helped him, tina
| the people were quisted and dispersed
Three days later the Reform Commute
was placed IN J1k