The state herald., 1900-01-05
HOW THE WAR BEGAN
soERs WERE ALL READY.
Before Marching to Hattie 10000 Soldiers
Knslt In Prayer.-How They Hauled u
Cannon to the Top of n Mountain.

A correspondent of the Chicago
Record. writing from Pretoria in Oc-
tober, tells how the war commenced
with the Beers.
On Monday afternoon. October 9th.
at 8 O'Clock, that fateful document
which left the world agape was handed
TO Mr. COnyngham Greene, her
ma1esty's agent ut 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 ''Oorlog!"
WAR. ,f
The burghers on the Natal border
expected to cross into Natal the next
day. The same afternoon Pojweni
mountain, near Majuba, was fortified
by the burghers. The fertilization was
Of nature which will cause astonish-
ment all over the world when II be-
comes known. Pojweni IL a very steep
hill, about 1000 feet high. and on nc.
count Of the tremendous cliffs, practi-
cally inaccessible. The Beers have
brought nn enormous six-ton siege gun
down from Pretoria, but the French
and German engineers employed
laughed the idea of mounting the gun
on Pojwenl to scorn. They declared
that 1t was absolutely impossible, even
with the most up-tO-date hydraulic ap.
paratus, to get the enormous thing
mounted. The Beers, however, thought
differently, and declared their inten-
tion of mounting the gun without any
hydraulic apparatus whatsoever. First
five or six span Of the best oxen In the
"laager" We're yoked to the huge en-
gine 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 Wax
kerstroom commando and bid them
plant the gun on Pojweni. The men
tackled the job with fervor, and, at
taching huge iron cable to the gun,
attempted to drag 1t 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 hill 1000 feet high, and mount
ed by human muscle alone.
On the morning of October 18th the
Cronje had crossed the border into
British .Bechmnaland at Ridigrand
and was marching on Mafeking. On
the same day our forces on the Natal
border made 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
cnfup wbprT. closn IN ~ nnn man uor.,
preparing to march into the enemy's
country. When they were all ready
the minister mounted wagon and
called upon all the men to pray 10 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 sight to be remembered by all
who were present. After n most i'm.
pressive prayer by the minister pres
ent the whole commando stood up and
sung one OF the solemn songs the Beers
are 10 proud Of. Verify Il Cromwell's
camp on huge scale! No wonder.
with such fervent belief In the right
eousness OF their cause. the burghers
are confident OF success.
After the hymn NIL was hurry and
hustle ms 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 n 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