Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1900-04-19

From Kimberly.
A. Full Description OF the Seige
by 0 Missouri Valley
A Very Interesting Letter.
KIMBERLEY, South Africa, March 8,
I9OO.-R. II. Harris, Esq, Missouri
Valley. Iowa:
Dear Frisnd-I will now endeavor
10 write you . few lines and give you
y trus history Of the siege Of Kimber-
leg and our own personal experience.
which csu assure you were anything
hnf pleasant. What may say will
p-rhspsbe moro than you have read
ass'ut in the newspapers, and seem
almost tinged with exsggeration; but,
believe me, the picture cant be over
drawn The hardsh,ps and privations
THAT the people Of Kimberley end vi
cinity have passed through tho half
will never be told. No doubt our
friends in. the Valley have been anx-
iously waiting to hear from as, per-
haps have gone 40 far as to say that
we: were. vary negligent; but when
they l4asn that there were no trains
run either in or out of Kimberley from
the 18th Of October to the Goth of Feb.
rusfy it Will explain to them that it
has been no fsult Of ours that they
have not heard anything from us.
The great and long expected war in
South Africa is now reality, and L
hope that the us,lrers, capitalists and
mongers Of Great Britain are satisfied
chat their hellish designs agsinst as
fair . republic as the sun shines on are
resping the harvest it so justly de-.
serves. This war has been hatched up
BY capitalists on Lombard street, by
people who have never lived IN tho
country andanever expected to-men
c:amoring for the franchise they did
not want and would never have used
ilad Il been given them; men living in
London asking for the privilege of Q
franchise for people in South Africa
who did not want 1t, and l have
been told by dozens that they would
never have used 1t had 1t been granted.
These mongers picked on the franchise
because they felt satisfied that the
Doors would never grant it. But when
the Boers cut down the time from
fnurteen years 70 tive, they 1.-THE Brit
ish) refused to accept 1t because the
conditions did not suit them. Hence
the war. This. no doubt, you all know,
so will psss on to something more in.
terestine, and In order to do so I will
have to. take you back to the 18th Of
October whom the siege of Kimberley
6rst started. l3ut before proceeding
further II might he well for me to give
my reasons for remaining in Kimber-
Icy and taking such desperate chances
could have left had been 80 in
clined. but N forming the town guard
It made many vacancies In the De.
Beers works; so, being an American
citizen, refused to take up arms, as
had no experience in the art of catch
ing balls. positively declined to join
the town guard, 50 ! dropped into one
Of thess: vacancies, which was running
. stationary engines win ,Asa,sry Of
500 per month: This was quite an In
ducemeht. with next 70 nothing to do,
and good ply cheek However. at
this time no one ever dreamed that
they would b. in, the plight they we're.
And should have .ths ehsnce to do
the thing ,ovef. : f would simply ssy,
Here's 9 bloke sSff:f fb Wapa 16wn,' ?
cut since-tt is oyer /. an :pstting my.
self on ths back md ssying I'm glad
I'm alive and here. ~ 1
Thess Johpntes used to laugh and
tell us forsignors what a.,saap, they
would have with the Boerj, but when
the shells began to a sbSIt THESE same
Jobnnies laid low and lodged them
Just the same ssr tis 'Yanks. -
Nov Tor Qctobet 13., On. that date
our railway. and Telegraph compunicas
fiOns we're cut off north and south and
bfidgss blown M. 80 from that time
up to the 18th Of February We were
isoisted from the onter world. Nov
and then dispatch riders would come
IN with dispatches frouroutlying dis
tricts, which we're of great interest ia
va. Gagged up here IS We WERE On
N.t"b1r Is onr water supply was cut
oft. This dOes not seem much when
you see It on pannr. hnt when you
come to think of $4,000 people, black
aud white. being penned mp in place
witil"nt water, it is enough to set one
tx thinking about the water you have
=. tsft.d. l3nt this. our first obstacle
WAS gotten over. hut We were only al
lowed II certain amount Of this neces.
sarv article. Things went along
smoothly until October q. when our
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