The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1900-04-12
KRUGER ONE OF THE GRAND:
CHARACTERS OF THE AGE.
Webster Davis Tells What He Saw of
the Beers, Their Love of Liberty
and Strength as a Military Force.

NCAAJ -hiNCi AcCNAC-
tary OF the Interior Hitchcock sent
to Webster Davis a brief note in
| which ne 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 "A 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 the whole neighborhood
turned out and welcomed me- At
station after station the station
master would come to the car, touch
his red cap and ask if there was any
thing he could do for my comfort
''1et the Englishto me with great
positiveness 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 Col. Stowe, our.consul
there, to believe it. At Pretoria |
was given a cordial greeting. Mar
| velous to state, during all the time
was there, not one man asked me
whether favored the British or the
Beers.
Il viewed the defenses of Pretoria
and | consider them impregnable. [
do not believe the English troops will
ever pass the line of hills surrounding
the town, bristling as they are with
high power krupp and Creusot guns.
There seems very general ill.,
preston that the guns used by the
Beers in the field were taken from the
fortresses at Pretoria, but | saw
every earthwork and fort surround.
ing the town and | could not see
where any guns had been removed.
They We're all there and formidable
they looked.
"When | describe the city as i'm
pregnable | speak from the Judgment
of a man of common sense.
Pretoria lies in basin, surround
ed by rugged hills. affording most
admirable opportunities for defense
While there | learned enough to know
that the city is one vast storehouse
of foodstuffs and ammunition.
| have it on unimpeachable author
ity that the battle of Colenso, where
Butler was crushed by the Beers, was
planned entirely by this old man.
Joubert and BOtha carried out kru-
gers instructions to the letter and
won that signal victory by the. .direc
tions of an old man away up there in
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 neighborhoodl
visited every camp IN the lines sur
rounding the city and talked with
scores of officers and men.
Il visited the lines along the Tu-
gela, where Butler and his 40, 900
men were held at bay. and | speak
from the most positive knowledge
when | say that all of the Boer troops
in that region numbered but 1000.
With this force Joubert and Botha
held Butler back and kept White and
his $4,000 men corralled in the
town.
Nv hen Cronie was threatened 3, 900
men were sent to him from Lady
smith, leaving about 1000 to face
the %, 900 men of the enemy.
AT the battle of the Little Tugela,
when Butler was again driven back
upon Chieveley, | saw Gen. Louis
Botha in action and | consider him
the greatest of the Dutch command
ers. When the fighting began Botha
was sauntering along behind the line
Of the trenches watching his men
taking careful shots at the advance
of the British force.
For half an hour after we could
first detect the movement there was
not much excitement, but all at once
there was a rush of cavalry and ar
tillery and the double quick of in
fantry in open order. The bullets
began to patter around US and two
burghers were hit close beside Botha |
II l. l.