Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-04-14
Webster Davis Ci es
HES Views Of The Beers
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,Assocint,d Ross s,s,,s, -

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tAHsOciat,d russ spu1iai.T
New YORK. April A special 10 the
llcinld fium Washington. says.
Aitcr Secretary Uf the Interior Hitch
cock sent to Webster Davis a brief note
In which he said the President has ask
ed him To announce that Mr.. Davis
resignation has been accepted. to take
effect April 4, Mr.. Davis felt at liberty
then TO talk freely upon the South AZ
rican situation. and TO a frienl lao rc-
lated the history Of his trip.
My journey was unev 5nt'ul until we
crossed the Iransvaal BORDER AMI stop
ped at Koomatipoort," he SAL. There
the whole neighborhood turned oat
and welcomed me- At station after
station the stationmaster WOULD come
to the car, touch his red cap and ask
If there was anything he could do FOR
my comfort ..
I Yet the English told me with great
positiveness that the savage Beers
would shoot me as soon as thci learned
I spoke English. They tell this lie 80
much at Cape Town that they even
got Colonel Stowe, our consul there, to
believe IL. At Pretoria. was given
cordial greeting. Marvellous to state,
during all the time | was rhelc not one
man asked me whether | favored 'he
British or the Beers.
II 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 Creusoye guns.
There seems 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 'very
earthwork and fort surrounding the
town and / could not see where any
guns had been removed. they were
all there and formidable they looked.
when | describe the city as in
pregnable, | speak from the judgment
of a man of common sense. Pretoria
lies in a basin surrounded by rugged
hills, affording most admira Jle oppor-
tunity for defense. While there l
learned enough to know that the city
is one vast storehouse of food stuffs
and ammunition.
What impressed me most was the
natural bigness of that grand old man.
Kruger. consider him possessed Of
any man lever met At rs he Is as
iull of vigor as the average man who
owns up to. twenty years less. Ills
versatility impressed me deeply. +,
IL have 1T on unimpeachab,e author
tty that the battle of Colenso. where
Butler was crushed by the Beers, was
planned entirely by this old man.
!oubert carried out Kruger's ihstruc-
ions to the letter and won that signal
victory by the directions Of an old man
Up there in Pretoria. .''. ''...'..
81 was present at the battle of Spion
iop and saw thin line Of Beers drive
N army before them. After the fight
( walked over the field and counted the
| lead bodies OF 1875 Englishmen In one
rench, where the Beers ha I placed
hem for burial. During my stay in
he neighborhood visited every laager
| the lines surrounding the city and
alked with scores of officers and men.
II visited the line along the 'Tugela.
where Butler and his 10000 men were
| leld at bay, and speak from the NEST
positive knowledge when say that all
| f the Boer troops In that region NUN
,ered but 1000. With this force Jon-
bert and Botha held Butler hack and
tept White and his $4,000 men co.,
allied in the town.
when Cronje was threatened 1000
| men were sent to him from La,iysmith,
eaving about 1000 to face the 5000
men of the enemy.
| AT the battle of the Little Tugela,
when Butler was again driven back up
m Chieveley, / saw General Louis
sotha in action and consider him the
| ,reatest of the Dutch commanders.
When the fighting began Botha was
| iauntering along behind the line Of
renches watching his men taking care
III 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 Cncc thci
was rush of cavalry and artillery
md the double quick of infantry in
Ipen order. The bullets began to pat
err around us and two burghe"s were
lit close beside Botha. He seemed to
wake instantly and sprang down into
he trench exclaiming Shoot, shoot
n Dutch. as the word was carried
long the lines he caught up the rife
rom the hands of dead Dur2her and
began making quick but careful snols
It the foe.
Five minutes and it was over, as
ruickly as the rush had pesnn. From
he Boer side it was like the Kiplini
lescriptions-a fight with the Fuzzy
Wuzzies in the desert.
AT Pretoria | met President Steyn
also learned that there is no truth il
he report coming from Engliss
!! sources concerning diss ensions he
tween the two presidents. they arr
in perfect accord.
LAS | said before do not Believe tn
British will ever enter Pretoria. I,vel
The women of the town are supple;
with rifles and are daily orac icing IL
3 Workmanship. Some of them are yer.