The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1900-04-05
DAVIS on THE BoERs.
Considers Kruger the Greatest Man
Living Today.

NEW YORK. April S.--A special to
the Herald from Washington says;
After Secretary OF the Interior Hitch
cock sent to Webster Davis brief
note In which he said the president
had asked him to announce that Mr..
Davis resignation had been accepted
to take effect April 4. Mr.. Davis felt
at liberty to talk freely upon the South
African situation. and to friend he
related the history of his trip.
My journey was uneventful until We
crossed the Transvaal border and
stopped At Koomatipoort." he said.
There thu whole neighborhood turned
our and Welcomed Ine. At station after
station the station master would come
to the car touch his red cap and ask
IL there was anything he could do for
my comfort.
Yet the English told me with great
positlveness that the savage Beers
would shoot me as soon as they learned
spoke English. They tell this lie so
much at Cape Town that they even
got Colonel Stowe. our consul there. to
belive it. At Pretoria. was given
cordial greeting. Marvellous to STATE.
during all the time was there not one
man asked me whether favored the
British or the Beers.
viewed the defenses Of Pretoria
and / consider them impregnable. 1 do
not believe the English troops viii ever
pass the line Of hills surrounding the
town. hristling as they are with high
power Krupp and Creusot guns.
There seems a very general impress
sion that the guns used by the Beers
in the field were taken from the fort
resses at Pretoria. but l saw every
earthwork and fort surrounding the
town, and I could not see where any
guns had been removed. They were
all there and formidable they looked.
When ! describe the city as impreg-
nable. express the judgment Of man
Of common sense. Pretoria lies in a
basin surrounded by rugged hills, af-
fording most admirable opportunity
for defense While there I learned
enough to know that the city is one
vast storehouse Of foodstuffs and am
munition. What impressed me most
was the natural bigness Of that grand
man. Kruger. consider him as pos
sessed Of more Of the elements Of
greatness than any man l ever met.
"At IS years he is as full of the vigor
that the average man owns up to at
20 years less. His versatility i'm
pressed me deeply have it on un-
impeachabIe authority that the battle
Of Colenso where Butler was crushed
by the Beers. was planned entirely by
this old man. Joubert carried out
Kruger's instructions to the letter and
won that signal victory by the direc-
tions Of an old man away up there at
Pretoria
Il was present at the battle Of Spion
Kop and saw thin line Of Beers drive
an army before them. After the fight
walked over the field and counted the
dead bodies Of 125 Englishmen in one
trench where the Beers had placed
them for burial During my stay in the
nelghborhood visited every laager in
the lines surrounding the city and
talked with scores of officers and men.
visited the lines along the Tugela
where Butler and his 10000 men were
held at bay, and speak from the most
positive knowledge when l say that all
Of the Boer troops in that region num-
bered but 1000. With this force Jou-
bert and Botha held Butler back and
kept White and his 5000 men corraled
in the town.
when Cronje was threatened 5000
men were sent to him from Ladysmith,
leaving about 1000 to face the $1,000
men Of the enemy.
"At the battle Of the Little Tugela,
when Butler was again driven back
upon Chieyeley I saw General Louis
Botha in action and consider him the
greatest of the Dutch commanders.
When the fighting began Botha was
sauntering along behind the line Of
trenches watching his men taking care
OF the shots at the advance British |
force For an hour and half after |