The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1900-02-09
HOW THE WAR BEGAN
soaHs Vel 49, 10y.
Before Marching TO nntne 10000 soldiers
Knelt in Prayor.-How They Hauled a
Cannon to the Top Of a Mountain.

Cannon to tho Top Of a Mountain.
A correspondent Of the Chicago
Record, writing from Pretoria In o..
tober, tells how the war commenced
with the Beers.
On Monday afternoon, October 9th.
at 8 O'Clock, that fateful documen,
which left the world agape was handed
to Mr.. %Conyngham Greene, her
majesty's agent at Pretoria. by the
state secretary. An hour later one
word was flashed through the South
African Republic on the telegraph
wires, and that word was "Oorlogl'
War).
The burghers on the Natal border
expected to cross into Natal the next
day. The same afternoon Potweni
mountain, ear Majuba, was fortified
by the burghers. The fertilization was
Of a nature which will cause astonish-
ment all over the world when it be-
comes known. Pojweni is a very steep
Hill, about 1000 feet high, and on ac-
u OF the tremendous cliffs, practi-
cally inaccessible. The Beers have
brought an enormous six-tOn siege u
down from Pretoria, but the French
and German engineers employed
laughed the idea Of mounting the gun
on PojWeni to scOrn. They declared
that it was absolutely impossible, even
with the most up-to-date hydraulic an
paratus, to get the enormous thing
mounted. The Beers, however, thought
differently, and declared their inten-
ton of mounting the gun without N
hydraulic apparatus whatsoever. First
i've or six span of the best oxen in the
stIuu unfs1 VwnWn Un1FnH fn NNl k.r.. -.
CINE of destruction; but the incline was
too steep for them to obtain foothold
and they failed to move the gun
Nothing daunted, General Joubert
called up 500 picked men of the Walk
kerstroom commando and bid them
plant the gun on POjweni. The men
tackled the job with fervor, and. at
taehing a huge iron cable to the gun.
attempted to drag it up by sheer
strength of muscle. The cable, how
ever, snapped, with the laughable re-
suit that 300 burghers went sprawling
on their backs. Once more, however,
the cable was attached, and, aided by
strongly plated hide ropes, the tug of
war again began.
To-day that huge gun stands mount
ed on a hill 1000 feet high, and mount
ed by human muscle alone.
On the morning of October 18th the
news was received that General Piet
CrOnje had crossed the border into
British B-echuanaland at 'Ridigrand
and was marching on M%afeking. On
the same day our forces on the Natal
border made a forward move into
Natal. Those who were present de
scribe the sight as one never to be
forgotten. From daybreak there was
hustle and stir In the great Boer
camp, where close IN 10000 men were
preparing to march into the enemy's
country. When they were all ready
the minister mounted a wagon and
called upon all the men to pray to God
to guard them during the coming
struggle. To see 10000 rugged men
kneeling on the veldt there, with the
sunlight just touching here and there,
was a sight to be remembered by all
who were present. After a most i'm
paessive prayer by the minister pres
ent the whole commando stood up and
sung one of the solemn songs the Beers
are 80 proud of. Verify a Cromwell's
camp on a huge sealel No wonder,
with such a ferVent belief in the right
eOusness Of their cause. the burghers
ARE confident of success.
AFTER the hymn all was hurry and
hustle as one bullock train after the
other rolled into the road and away
over the border into Natal. That night
after sundown the wagons were still
moving out of the camp, so one can
imagine what a huge train there must
have been. Once having crossed the
border the Beers moved forward
rapidly, and the next day their van.
guard, under General Kock, was in
Newcastle.