Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-01
An Officer in B0er Army Writes
to Montana Friend.
THINKS BOERS WILL WIN
Writer Says That Foreigners in the
Transvaal Have Offered Aid
to Dom Paul.

Peter Mardensteck, who lives on a
ranch in the valley, has received sew
eral interesting letters from a friend. c.
7, Hubges, an officer in the BOer army
says yesterdays Independent. The SOL
der says the Boer government has re-
ceived offers Of aid from thousands of
foreigners in the Transvaal, and that the
proclamations of neutrality issued by the
various consuls are in Intellectual. He be-
lieves the Beers will win their cause be-
I cause it is right and recognized as right
by other governments. Although the let
ters were written during the early part of
the war, they are of particular interest,
as they give a Beers idea of the situa-
ton, most of the information sent out
through the press reports having come
from English sources. In his first letter
the soldier wrote from Pretoria as fol-
lows:
The inevitable has come to pass; we are
at war with England. 1 am a volunteer,
and for the time being am on garrison
at any moment
We are doing guard duty in watching
the railroad lines into Pretoria.
The whole country has been proclaimed
to be in a state Of siege, and at 3 o'clock
this afternoon the term Of eight lays al
lowed English residents to leave the coun-
try will expire.
Dynamite cartridges We're discovered at
several points IN the railroads, and a
proclamation issued by the military gov
ernor of Pretoria orders that any one who
is detected depositing dynamite or cutting
telegraph wires shall be shot on sight.
VINO iRnnrC IN ny,n 1ronI. y no--- L-
Natal and Bechuanaland borders,and the
~bombardment Of Mafeking commenced
this morning. The first English prisoners
Of war, about 100 in number, and the first
lot Of wounded soldiers will arrive here
tonight.
The Free State troops ara bomhardinr
Kimberley.
All things considered, the commence
ment of the war is very suspicious for the
Beers. Foreigners of all n~ationalities
resident here have offered their services
to the government of the Transvaal
against England. The proclamations of
neutrality issued by the consuls Of all Eu-
ropean states are utterly intellectual, and
there will be at least 10, 900 foreigners
serving with the Beers, the Germans, s.
900 men, being the most numerous.
This should convince the world at large
more than a hundred learned disserta-
tions could do which party has right and
justice on it's side.
| Just as France, in 1870. believed that ~
would have Prussia alone to deal with.
so England seems to have believed. in
the course of her political intrigues. that
she would ave the Transvaal alone for
an adversary. But she is confronted bv
the entire Dutch element of South Africa.
and the Dutch farmers of Natal and Cane
Colony are crossing the Free States from
tier by thousands to succor their oppress-
ed cousins. TIL Dutch have a majority
IN the Cape Colony parliament.
The war will be a very bloody one, and
It IS not all impossible that ''perfdious
ALBION may meet with its Sedan.
Portugal, like all other European now
ers, has declared it's neutrality, and for
that reason Delagoa bay Will remain omen
Tor the transmission Of provisions, etc.
until further notice.
AS to my personal affairs, this war will
prove very disastrous. in a financial
sense, as several enterprises in which I
am interested as a stakeholder, etc. have
either failed or are about to fail.
There Is no resisting an overwhelm-
ing force.
A few days later the soldier wrote the
following letter:
Three days after mastering in 1 became,
a corpora and today I am already a sub
altern officer. If things go on in this
way | VIII be a general in six weeks.
guarding over 400 English prisoners of
war. among them 10 officers, who are
quartered on the race track in this town.
At the battle of Elandslaagte, In Natai.
fought day before yesterday, a part of
the German corps was annihi,ated. COL
onel Schiel was wounded and is a pris-
oner at Pretoria. General Kock was
also seriously wounded and several of INV
friends and 'acquaintances were killed.
The Transvaal troops, LOO in number.
fought for seven hours against 5000 Brit
ish.
The expected achievements were de-