The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-16
AMONG THE BOERS.
CURIOUS EXPERIENCES OF AN
 ENGLISH CORRESPONDENT
Who Was Captured With n Railway
 Train.

As you will already have learned by
 telegraph, l had the ill-luck to be cap-
 tured by the Boers on my way from
 LadySmith to Dundee, at place named Ilandslaagte, where Gen. French de- feated the BoerS a day or two later, Communication for ordinary passenger and goods traffic had just been stopped by order of the military authorities and the train which was captured was con- veying cattle, forage, and military stores for the camp at Dundee. It had been preceded, an hour previously, by train in which were officers and some civilians having business at Dundee, and who were willing to risk the jour ney. This train arrived at Elandsaagte, about sixteen miles north of Ladysmith, and was standing at the station when party of some fifty Boers suddenly ap- peared from behind one of those hollows which occur so frequently in the un- dulating landscape of this part of the country. The engine driver saw the Boers, and at once started full speed ahead toward them. The Boers fired on the train. but failed to stop it, and one of their number was wounded by ri fle bullet fired from the train. The
 
 stood waving his red flag as signal for the engine driver to stop. The Boers, imagining that the guard was urging the train to be driven at full speed speed, fired a shower of bullets on him. He had remarkable escape, as he was not hit.
 The Boers tore his flag from him. The guard, the station master, and all officials were takenNprisoners, and or dered to carry on the work of the sta tion as if nothing had happened. The signal was set to stop the next train which came from Ladysmith. This train happened to be the goods train in which I was travelling, my horse being in one of the trucks. The only other persons in the rear part of the train were two civilanS and the guard. All unsuspectingly, the driver of the goods train ran alongside the platform. The first intimation he had that the enemy was in possession of the station was the leveling of number of rifles at his head, and the order to get off the train There was no alternative but to com ply. There was no military escort, and there we were, caught like rats in a trap, within sixteen miles of our main camp at Ladysmith. I had ridden over the same ground, from Dundee to Elandslaagte two days before, and not n Boer was then encountered, though there were reports that they were in the neighborhood. On this return journey we had fallen into the hands of their advance guard.
 The Boers were hungry, and their first search was for provisions. Having caused the train to be drawn into siding, they proceeded as quickly as possible to get the cattle and horses out of the trucks. Then they ordered all who had come by the train, together with the station staff, to be taken to hotel close at hand, and there kept as prisoners under guard. The field cornet in charge of the party was MT. Pienaar. He ordered us to be searched for pa pers I had destroyed all mine without being seen while the Boers were footing the train. The Boers were especially bitter against correspondents of TIlt- lander or English newspapers, and it was, perhaps, fortunate for me that l had obtained an opportunity of destroy ing papers which would at once have rel vealed my identity. The field cornet-a swarthy, powerful-looking man, with black peaked beard, thinly threaded with gray-then addressed all the pris- oners. He said the Boers were not bar barans, although, judging by the man. ner in which people had fled from Ma tai, it would appear that they were considered to be akin to savages The contrary was the case. Wherever they , had passed, he said, the few people who had remained in their places had been treated with consideratio The same conslderate treatment would be guaran- teed to the prisoners at Elandslaagte. l If they attempted to go beyond a cer- l tain distance from the hotel they would | be shot; so long as they remained in the | hotel, or it's immediate vicinity, they were safe.
 When the goods train was seized the telegraph line had been cut, and the rails beside the tation buildings were torn up. The Boers, though thirty miles from their own border on either | side of Elandslaagte, did not scurry off, but posted pickets and sent out scouts. It soon became evident that they were awaiting the arrival of stronger force and that they were determined that no one should escape to give immediate in-