The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-11-26
THEY DIDN'T KIDNAP "8oBs. ;
tChicago Inter ocean,

I N0H1Cd&O inter ocean,
! The story OF an American officers raid
( upon the English camp before BlOemfon-
/ TEN was suppressed by the British censor.
and all that was ever published about 1t
Times, saying in a general way that an at
tempt mad Deen made to kidnap Lord
/ Roberts, and that the officer who mad led
I IN the attempt, Captain John Z. Hassen,
! an American, had been captured and shot
at BlOemfontein.
Captain Hassell was not shot He still
! lives TO tell the story of his daring at
! tempt to capture an English general +.
! which only failed because he did not
know the general by sight, and so seized
| Jne wrong man Captain Hassell was in
Chicago last week He escaped from his
captors at Cape Town, and went aboard
a steamer bound for New York.
TT was during Lord Roberts advance
frOm BlOemfOntefu. in the Free State.
ss ai5 maze the attempt to get prize
scouts had done such good service that
/ the commanding general of the Boer
forces compilmented my command highly,
/ ana told me that we might act independ-
ENTITY III the face of the advancing British
and worry them as much possible
The 80 good soldiers in my command
We're Americans. They came from all
parts of the United States. were born
lighters and were ready for any enter
prise l told them there was 4 chance to
make our names famous, and proposed
that we make quick dash into the camp
Of the English brigade nearest us and
capture their general They agreed to
man.
At that time the English army was at
Sand river. about 100 miles north of
BloemfOntein- My command was OppOs-
ing the army lett wing l learned about
the location of the generals tent in the
camp. The general was Ian Hamilton,
not Lord Roberts, as stated in the London
Times. We made the attempt after mid
night one dark night. In open order $50
strong men moved silently toward the
sleeping British, at least 5000 strong. Our
American soldiers were fitted for such
work. They act independently. with in
fall
British sentry on outpost duty did not
see us until we were upon him. His
startled challenge was answered by one
or our boys Who thrust his siXshooter In
the sentry's face with low-spoken COM
mand, Hands up, Tommy.
The sentinel made no OutcTy. We took
him 5lOng, and the second sentinel who
challenged US was easily disposed of. We
were in the British camp and at the tent
which had been described to as the
generals before any alarm was given.
I rushed into the tent and seized a
pOrtly man who had been sleeping on a
cot. Come along, we want you, | said,
as I covered him with my siXshOOteT. lie
came without resistance. and We rushed
him out of camp. We were all away be-
fore the British discovered what had been
done. We thought we had their general
until we were safely away and / took
time to ask my prisoner who he was.
l am the generals adJutant, he re-
piled.
we had failed. but I gave General
Hamilton a scare. for I sent his adjutant
back to camp with my card, and a mes
sage that it was he [ had called to see.
As soon as We were safely away we
opened fire on the British camp. The
reply showed that the whole brigade was
out and we ept up the firing for couple
of hours in the dark. 1t was o clock In
the morning when we withdrew, but we
could hear the British firing for two hours
after that. They must have become con-
fused in the dark and fought among
themselves. The British loss in that fight
was forty men.
''That escapade resulted in an offer by
the British government of $500 for my
apture. but the details of the attack were
carefully suppressed by the censor. When
I was captured I looked through the
papers to see if the story had been pub
iished. but All I could find was the &C
count in the London Times of my capture
and execution for completely in an al
legged plot to capture Lord Roberts
Captain Hassell is q down east Yankee,
small in stature. but full of the fighting
spirit of the original New Engfanders, and
is still devoted to the BOeT cause. At
present he is engaged in forming chap
tiers of the TransVaal league.