The Forrest City times., 1900-09-28
.B|)ER DEBAC|E COMPLETE.
Thorough Disintegration of the
Burghers on the Portuguese
Frontier.
SUPPLIES DESTROYED BY WHOLESALE,
Arms. Ammunition. Cannon. Wag-
ops. Furniture and Provisions
Burned or Otherwise Rendered
acknowledgements Clamorins
for Pay they Don't Get.

patch from Bennett Burleigh to the
Herald from Lorenzo Marquee says:
The Boer debacle is complete.
BY dint of hard riding from Barber
ton, managed to overtake. first. Gen
Ian Hamilton's division. then that OF
Gen. Pole-Carew. | finally entered
komaatipoort with our scouts.
Monkcyish Destrsctiv~ncss.
Not shot was fired. nor was q
Boer seen during the march. Evi
dences of the enemy's monkeyish de
structiveness was everywhere TO be
seen, however.
The bridges had been dynamited
the stores, buildings and homesteads
looted and burned, as has been also
the railway property. all the stations
being mere masses of smoking ruins
among them Kaap Miriden, Hector
Spruit and komaatipoort.
At the last place there is an enor.
nous area over which the Beers have
wrought destruction.
The Devastation.
The devastation includes hundreds
of wagons, trucks and carriages
which have been burned, together
with all kinds of stores of clothing
ammunition, forage and provisions
such as sugar, coffee, rice, -four anc
stationery.
Thousands of tons, indeed, are still
burning.
Gen. Pole-Carew has secured hun.
| dreds of locomotives.
The whole of the Selati railway line
is simply blocked with rolling stock.
BOer GUNS and stores.
On my way from Barberton l saw,
| at Hector Spruit, the Boer guns and
| the destroyed stores.
In the Crocodile river there were
| visible, literally, acres of damaged
| gun ammunition, wagons, limbers
| dynamite detonators and war stores
of every sort and description.
| When | passed through Komaati.
poort, saw besides the burning
stores, hundreds of tons of ammuni.
tion-all kinds of caps. gunpowder and
and other explosive ready-fused shells
for guns from the pompon TO the six.
inch, broken rifles and cannon.
| The enemy had left standing MANY
tents.
Great Waste Evident.
The great waste in the effects OF
| the Beers was evident Trunks. fur.
niture, provisions. clothing and other
articles were lying about in every di.
rection.
In the rocky bed of the tumbling.
| foaming river were yet more eucr.
nous quantities of stores, ammuni.
ton, rifles, cannon and foodstuffs
| Any good police force-say one OF
10000 men-can do the rest of the
work of pacfication for security.
Can Not Escape.
| If Cen. Butler and the others move
an to seize the passes neither Ben Vii
| loen, the new commandment general
with Steyn and Schalkburger. nor
hoetze with the rest of the derelicts
from komaatipoort, can escape
through the mountains toward Ly-
| denburg and Petersburg, while to re-
main In the low veldt at this season
OF the year spells deaths for men and
| cattle
The Portuguese have disarmed all
the Boer refugees.
Clamoring for Pay.
The lrishAmerican mercenaries
are clamoring for pay and threaten.
| ing the Boer officials.
The final collapse of the Boer army
may he summarized as follows:
When the Beers, numbering 1000.
evacuated komaatipoort, they took
up positions between the Lobonbo
range and the river
They had good positions, and could
have made capital stand. but owing
TO the disorder and lack of discipline
prevalent they were only half-heart.
ed. Wishing to avoid a conflict and
| unnecessary bloodshed the British
consul general consulted the Portu-
guese governor general. Senior Ma.
ehado, as to the best course to be
pursued TO attain this cnd.
Diplomatic Move.
He asked that emisssries should he
sent up with an address to the Beers
| pointing out the uselessness of CON
tinuing their resistance and the ahso.
lutte needlessness of going on further
Besides, If they continued to fight
there was fear of the natives rising.
Owing TO the fact that the Portu.
| guese had been most kind to the
Roers and as they had guaranteed
their maintenance and repatriation
and promised TO send them back to
their country free of charge. the
scheme succeeded beyond the wild.
est hopes of its originator.
Dipiomacy's Triumph.
Instead of dozens coming down to
Lorenzo Marquez, 1850 arrived in this
| wise.
Diplomacy, therefore. triumphed by
bringing the war TO speedy and
| bloodless close