The evening times., 1900-06-25

Have the colonists Of Natal ever heard
| of the Ohrigstadt Valley? Also do our
great lighting men from Aldershot. with
I their hands so full in the Free State,
/ know anything of Abel Erasmus. of Lyden-
burg, TransvaaI? To those who do not
know the Lydenburg district Of the Trans
| yaal from within l tender az experience
I CLEANED many years ago, coupled with
some information which has come 10 hand
I in DelagOa Bay during the last week. 1t
I concerns Abel Erasmus, Transvaal Native
| Commissioner etc, also the Ohrigstadt
Valley. likewise Her Majesty's Govern
ment, sooner or later
Imprimis, l viii try TO deal with Abel
Erasmus from personal recollection. This
wealthy and immensely influential man is
"a Boer Of the Beers a patriarch OF the
. TransvaaI and Cape Colony, though OF
late years seldom heard OF outside Of is
own district He, among the best Boer
families as well as the back yeldt doppers,
Is equally as great as if not greater than
paul Kruger himself The President OF
the Ira1svaal az hypOcriuCaI myth Abel
Erasmus IS q solid sinner. IN The old
Trausvaal, that Is, before gold in quartz
was discovered, HOllander poison aud Ger
man intrigues were introduced. Abel Eras-
mus was power among all white men,
as one OF the principal freebOOters in and
out OF the Transvaal and the terror Of
al blacks As a BOer politician he is Of
the very first rank, although his voice is
never heard outside of the executive.
Owing 70 his ability and strength Of mind
he never cOnsuIts the Government in Pre-
toria, but always acts "on his own" on
ha haw F..~-- -F.T IL
seeks the advice OF his most trusted
friend, ASel Erasmus
Abel Erasmus is a handsome, grand old
man Of fully seventy years. with white
hair and beard, a soft kindly expression
lighting up a remarkably open face His
appearance, standing fully six feet. is that
OF the finest type Of a BOer farmer Of the
old school in South Africa The inner man
OF Abel Erasmus in many respects IS eX-
actly the opposite In his public capacity
OF native commissioner Of vast district
he has ruled the whole native population
for the last forty years and more with
a rod OF iron. For real vilaily and blood
shed among all classes Of natives under
his protection" he has not his equal in
the Transv5aI- To mention the name OF
Abel 20 any resident native within his
district is like a gaIvanic shock some
fourteen years ago I lived on q high road
about sixty miles from LyieubuTg. Troops
Of native cattle passed the door every
week. On enquiry I always learned they
were going 10 Abel with the everlasting
fines OF cows and calves imposed upon
every kraaL Il an InduIa OF a headsman
OF a kraal was sent for by Abel the
news cast gloom over all The kraals in
that district
As regards the present unfortunate Bosr
rebellion, ] 5hiuk I am riglt in stating that
Abel Erasmus was in 10 way responsible
for IL. He always was clever and lar sight
! ea enough 20 know II Was not wise 20 seek
a quarrel with the British The TrarsvaaI
had fought for its independence and gairei
IT, The BOer Government was established
from end 70 end OF the country. Industry
and wealth had made the Trausvaal the
greatest gold mining country IN the wcrid.
B The Lydenburg diggeTs and the Lyte11UTg
{ Beers were en- the best OF terms. il AteI
[ Erasmus had been gwen krug5r's OppOr-
[ tUEIty he would have become q republics
dictator, who "a 5ald have pilotel his ccUu-
t try according 10 special Circumstance, and
avoided any chaEce Cf seIf-d5struct5Ou.
I Abel Erasmus is no friend OF the HllIauEer
moths Who have eaten through the Trans
3 wal fabric. Re has generally kept away
i from them as much as possible Wlsa his
Z advice was sought previous 70 the var. and
the bulk OF the BOer farmers IN the Ly<el-
burg district were asked. they were mostly
.
70 OutlaEcers. for many business reasons
foremost, the Lydenhurg land owners
were well 10 co farmers. cCnteEJed. and the
I OutiaEders working IN the gold mines were
their best cCsIoCers.
The OhrigsJadt Iasger is 50 called be-
cause II f. the oldest and strongest position
ever taken Up by the early trek Boers
when going north from Cape Colony and
Natal. II is ~ well 70 remember from
sixty 20 a hundred years back the present
FrGnSvaal was Inhabited in certain dis
I tricts by BasutOs. other native tribes Ike
the Zulus continually raidinz them. The
emicraut Beers hands were against all
capturing their cattle and makinx slaves
Of the men and youngsters. When hard
pressed by large impis of natives the Beers
retTeated 20 Ohrigstadt Valley That posi-
JSon is simply impregnabIe. II defended. L
being a series Of volcanic fortihcarions. in
teTmiEable kOpjes extending for miles In
side these natural projections IS a most
beautiful and fertile valley in extent about
seventy-hve miles square or thereabouts
protected on the east by the Drakensberg
Mountains on the north and west by the
deep and broad Oliphant's River with
Forts OIiphalt and Weber From the south
I the valley narrovs down 10 the town OF
Lydenburg which is the only gate Two
thousand Beers with artillery could defy
TWO hundred thousand British troops for an
Indefinite period.
No men, if they came in their thousands
! could ever Climb through these series Of
pygmy and giant ridges. or pass through
the multiudinOus death traps Of 0owlder
built kOpjes intersected with dOngas. The
! force inside the valley, so long as ammuni-
| tiOn and food lasted is safe There are
three beautiful rivers-the Blyde. the
| Ohrigstadt and the Steelport-running
! into the Olphant's River, besides hundreds
OF springs The nature and aspect Of the
valley is that Of one continuous garden,
! capable of irrigation from fountains in all
directions. The soil is alluvial producing
with primitive methods of cultivation
! grain, forage, tobacco. etc; in fact. every
/ thing required. and the hills afford excel