The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1900-09-29
D|ER DEBAC[E COMPLETE.
Thorough Disintegration Of the
Burghers on the Portuguese
Frontier.
SUPPLIES DESTROYED BY WHOLESALE,
Arms, Ammunition, Cannon, Wag-
ons, Furniture and PrOvisiOns
Burned or Otherwise Rendered
UseIess-Mercenarie ClamOring
for Pay they Don't Get.

New York, Sept. PA special dis.
patch from Bennett Burleigh to the
Herald from Lorenzo Marquee says
The Boer debacle is complete.
By dint of hard riding from Barber
ton, | managed to overtake, first, Gen.
Ian Hamilton's division, then that OF
Gen. Pole-Carew. | finally entered
Komaatipoort with our scouts.
Monkeyish Destructiveness.
Not q shot was fred nor was a
Boer seen during the march. Ey.
dences Of the enemy's monkeyish de.
structiveness was everywhere to be
seen, however
The bridges had been dynamited,
the stores, buildings and homesteads
looted and burned, as has been also
the railway property, all the stations
being mere masses of smoking ruins,
among them Kaap Miriden, Hector
Sprint and Komaatipoort.
At the last place there is an enor.
nous area over which the Beers have
wrought destruction.
The Devastation.
The devastation includes hundreds
Of wagons, trucks and carriages,
which have been burned, together
with all kinds OF stores Of clothing
ammunition, forage and provisions
such as sugar, coffee, rice, -four and
stationery.
Thousands of tons, indeed, are still
burning.
Gen. Pole-Carew has secured hun.
dreds of locomotives.
The whole of the Selati railway line
is simply blocked with rolling stock.
Bocr Guns and stores.
On my way from Barberton ! saw,
at Hector Spruit, the Boer guns and
the destroyed stores.
In the Crocodile river there were
visible, literally, acres of damaged
gun ammunition, wagons, limbcrs,
dynamite detonators and war stores
OF every sort and description.
When ! passed through Komaati'
poort, | saw besides the burning
stores, hundreds of tons of ammuni'
tlon-all kinds OF aps,gunpowderand
and other explosive ready-fused shells
for guns from the pompon to the six
inch, broken rifles and cannon.
The enemy had left standing many
tents.
Great WASTE Evident.
The great waste in the effects OF
the Beers was evident Trunks, fur.
niture, provisions, clothing and other
articles were lying about in every di.
rection.
In the rocky bed Of the tumbing.
fonming river were yet more encr'
nous quantities OF stores, ammuni'
ton, rifles, cannon and foodstuils
Any good police forcc-sny one OF
10000 mcn--cnn do the rest of the
work Of pechcNtion for security,
Cnn Not Escape.
If Cen Butler and the others move
on TO seize the passes neither Ben VIII
jocn, the new commandnnt general
with Steyn and Schalkburgcr, nor
Koetze with the rest of the derclicts
from Komaatipoort, can escape
through the mountains toward Ly'
denburg and Petersburg, while TO re-
main IN the low yeldt nt this season
Of the year spells deaths for men and
cattle.
The Portuguese have disarmed all
the Boer refugees.
CInmoring for Pay.
The lrish.Amcricnn merccnarici
are clamoring for pay and threaten
Ing the l'ocr officials,
The final collapse OF the Bocr army
may be summarized ms follows
When the Beers, numbering 1000
evacuated Komaatipoort, they took
up positions between the Lobombo
range and the river
They had good positions and could
have made n capital stand, but owing
to the disorder and lack Of discipline
prevalent they were only half-hcnrt'
ed, Wishing TO avoid conflict and
unnecessary bloodshcd the British
consul general consulted the Portu'
gucse governor general Senior Ma
chado, ms TO the best course TO be
pursued TO attain this end,
A Diplomatic Move.
lie asked TINT cmissaries should he
sent up with mn address TO the Beers
pointing out the usclessncss OF con
tInuIng their resistance and the nbso'
Lutte ncodlessncss OF going on further.
Hcoides, u they continued to hgh'
there was n fear Of the natives rising
Owing 10 the fact that the Port't
g'icsc had been most kind to the
Beers and M they had guaranteed
their maintenance and repatriation
and promised TO send them bnck 10
their country free Of charge, the
scheme succeeded beyond the Wild
est hopes OF Its originator,
Dipl0mncy's Triumph
Instead of dozens coming down &c
Lorenzo Marquee, 1880 arrived IN TINS
wise.
Diplomacy, therefore, triumphed by
bringing the war TO n speedy and
bloodlcss close.