The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-01
Lainols Mex. Transyaal's Gateway

I.aing's Mex will be the point Of inter
est in the war between the Transyaal and
Great Britain.
This little corner OF Natal IS the proba-
bic field OF battle. that IS, If the Beers
realize that their favored plan of blowing
up the Kimberly diamond mines and Sc
curing the Cape railway. with the aid OF
disaffected Dutch coIonists. is not Teas
ible. In any case an attempt VII oe
made to seize OF destroy the Charles
town tunnel and so prevent or greatly
hinder the invasion Of the Transvaal oy
troops from Natal Il thus becomes OF
the utmost Importance that the British
garrison at CharlesJown should be strong
enough TO resist any sudden movement
on the part OF the Beers. In order TO IN
derstaud thoroughly the Importance OF
this tunnel II is necessary 10 bear IN mind
the geography Of the district AS news
paper readers cannot fail TO have detect
ed. Charlestown is the frontier town OF
Natal, and the spot 10 which English
correspondents in johannesburg have 10
travel in order 10 dispatch their kilograms
free from sBoer ceusoring. But Charles
town is more than a mere frontier tele-
graph station II commands the northern
{ end Of Laing's Mex. and the railway tun-
mel which runs through Ii. The whole
country is mountainous. The traveller
from Durham has been steadily climbing
I'D hill ever since the train left the mar
/ row belt of coast land. The scenery Is
very striking on the left the DrakenS-
( burg Range. which rises TO a height of
100o0 feet break down towards Natal IN
magnificent precipices; on the right the
TugeIa River runs TO join the waters OF
the Buffalo Beyond Ladysmith-an i'm
, portant garrison town-the valley. Il such
l II can be called. contracts. and becomes
a mere pass through the mountains-we
approach the gateway Of the TransvaaL
/ At last as the railroad rounds a steep
curve. a bold mountain comes in sight.
To the right Of the mountain and con-
Meeting It with a lower hill, is a ridge.
or mex" the mex" being pierced by 4
tunnel. into which the train plunges.
The bold mountain we have passed IS
| Maiuba Hill the ridge IS LanE's Mex,
The mex is 800 feet above sea level. and
rises somewhat steeDIy some 800 feet
above the general level of the country;
hence the line pierces the Hill instead OF
going over II. a feat which can. however,
be easily accomplished by a man on a
bicycle On the Charlestown side the
ridge slopes more gently. the town being
at an elevation Of 5,5S5 feet. lust he
yond Charlestown the railroad crosses
the Buffalo River-here a small stream
and enters the Transvaal. Immediately
opposite 10 Charlestown IS Volksrust, the
Beer frontier post. and not far north Is
Heidelberg. which will be remembered as
the headquarters of the Triumvirate dur
ing the war Of lSS0-Sl From the Natal
frontier to johannesburg the distance by
rail is 10 miles. which distance is cover
Z i1 4urO a u Il
three quarters.
The St James Gazette says: The I'm
portant point to remember is that Lang
Mex is the only practical pass from Ma
tai into the Transvaal, and that Il and
the railroad tunnel are wholly in British
territory. The fact that the disasterou'
enga Pements in 1SSo-Sl were fought OF
British soil gave an additional poignancl
TO our grief. and Il is the bOunden du
ties Of the Notwithstanding and civic
to take such measures as viii ehectI
ally prevent the recurrence OF any SINH
lar disasters. The Beers are loudly pro
claiming their unpreparedness FOR war
In view Of the remarkable story recent;
told by our Pretoria correspondent as =
their ammunition being too large To-
their Nauser rifles we need not doub
that this unpreDaredness exists. This
however, would render much more PROB
able an attempt on the part Of the Beers
to seize or blow up the tunnel through
Laing's Mex, and thus materially delay
the advance Of the British troops or -
hannesburg and Pretoria The likelihood
~ such action being attempted is. o
course being considered by the mlitar'
authorities. and precautions have. II J
asserted been taken to prevent the tun
mel falling into the hands OF the enemy
An engineer officer from Ladysmith ma
r been at Charlestown on special service
, and troops have been moved MP 70 Nc"
, castle which is less than twenty mile
so,,,b of tho Mex. The question j
. whether force twenty miles away ,
: - any practical value in preventing
= sudden attack on the tunnel W nat !"
, / ebouId like 10 see would be I'VE thouSali
, / redcoats at Charlestown not only
, guard I,aings Mex. but 10 DE fe@''
7 soiza voIksrust. and as far as possiul
nrevent the Beers tearing Up '"t %"
20, line an their side IN order 70 de.a
- ADVANCE on johannesburg. Fo
r,srv DAYS past travellers 10 ara lF"i
tba Rand have noticed mysterious io'h
o tng railway wagons at VOlksrust s'a'i"'
? ,Ltcb wagons. according 10 rum"F' a'
d, ,oaaod with dynamite intended 70 nc Use
& A., the blowing M ~ the tunnel IA
Q Poers are also credited WIN the me
> tom Of dropping bombs fitted with I'm
i fuses from passing trains IN w -.
8 ,ic,,,a- way the attempt on me
i uo,,,d he made does not 50 much matte
- F,,t the thing that does matter b. 70 mar
f s oIr that the attempt shall fall . ..L'.
il already Bner commando al -,
6 a,d the railway Officials nave
@ az Win Mausers. Are the British
s,,,,v nrspared AZ ne Beers appear 70 pr
: There 4ie1 comes time when TIE p, d 70
y Of diplomacy are exhausted. ~ . aoa - ~,
49, tl-ne comes in our nesotia'i9n,
: . .ae Peoria o,igarcay. there VII 20 2
. sr[ twenty-four hours on ne Na'.
7, g ssTser The surest defense Is '',.' q,
!, strike swift and ne, aeay 2. 9 ssgverea
=, ,-olksr,,st or ChsrlestoHnF
!. Southern Kansas Business NE
d Adam Andrew. a farmer neaF s'''@'