The sun., 1900-09-17
DOM PAUL'S A, D. T. VISITOR
WANTS A MESSAGE TO CARRY TO
THE EMPRESS DOWAGER or CHINA.
Adventures Of James Francis smith, who Got
to Pretoria the Day Kruger Moved Out
and who Was Lord Roberts's Prisoner for
W..L. Ass.. IN. Rnn, ha rd m, emit

and who Was Lord Roberts's Prisoner for
Six Weeks After the Bombardment.
Back from Pretoria, II 900 miles away. James
Francis Smith. A. d. T. messenger No. 1894,
stepped of the American Line steamship New
York at O'Clock yesterday morning at the
foot OF Fulton street He started for Pretoria
! on April II last bearing with him a message OF
sympathy from 27.oOo school boys Of Phila-
delpha to President Kruger Of the Transvaal
Republic. and a big book filed with clippings
about Dom Paul which were collected by Frank
p. Burrelle Of this city Smith reached Kr1-
gers capital on May 20. the day Dom Paul and
his Cabinet evacuated Pretoria, With his
travelling companion. Hugh Sutherland. OF
Philadelphia. he was detained in Pretoria six
weeks a British prisoner Finally the two
Americans were allowed to go TO Cape Town
and thence they came with a little delay back
10 this country.
when Smith looked over the tafrail the
New York yesterday morning he saw many
Smiths standing on the end of the pier. His
father and mother. three sisters and two
brothers, all Of whom live In Brooklyn were
down there to meet him Back Of them stood
Supt Michael W. Rayens Of the American
District Telegraph Company in this city, and
Mr. and Mrs. Burrelle They all waved TO
James Francis and TO Sutherland and when the
messenger boy came running down the plank
he was packed into carriage and the entire
party drove 10 the Burrelle Building In West
Nineteenth street
It's good TO be back" said james Francis.
"and now I'm all ready TO carry a message TO
the Empress Dowsger. l amt 20 anxious
10 try and hunt up ARuinaldo."
He esped a policeman who grayey waved
to the carriages as they hurried up Broadway.
Say, the coppers are all wearing the white
helmets now. aren't they1" he commented.
They were dark when I went away"
At the Burrelle Building james Francis was
drape1 with red. white and blue bunting and
there be proceeded TO tell the story Of his travels
Before start wan, r,n to ten yS,G yC,lan tsst ,Ta I'm
enough, said he. but m stuck on those Beers.
They are all right and they're bound to win
started me from the stage OF the Academy OF
Music In Philadelphia, Apr1l TO- Bourke COCK,
ran and Webster Davis made speeehes apd l
After visiting London and Paris, james rancis
took Il German steamer ut Naples for Delagoa
We struck Delasoa Bay on, May :6,- he
said. and began TO think that was farther
away from Broadway than Far Rockaway.
MadasascaT car and felt ticklish for a few hours
but wasn't sick From Delagoa Bay We took
road. They didp dare run at ali in the night
for fear Of British shells and all day long they
crawled along cause the engineers were worn
out. II took us two days 10 get into Pretoria,
which We reached at o clock Oh the evening OF
May Is. The British were only forty milees
say that Johannesburg had fallen. The town
was filed with the Beers who were retreating
and every one seemed wor,ied We took a
were cheap. Folks werent anxious TO stay
I'm Pretoria lust then,
Secretary Of state Reltz MIR Reitz was evi-
IDENTIFY pretty worried but he told me to come
around at the Presidents house that after;
and called on our Consul General, Mr. Hay.
In the afternoon | put on "A clean collar and
polished shoes, according to messenger rules,
and | went 10 the Presidents house al just
"Oom Paul lived in a long. low cottage. one
story high, that only sets back few feet from
the street There are two stone lions at the
sides of the front steps that Cecil Rhodes gave
Dom Paul good long tine age II II hadn't
you might have thought some grocer lived
ihere, When got there The President Was
! holding council Of war with Secretary, Reitz
! terrupted the council and received me IN i7
| parlor, L was long room and Qom PAM stood
unlIshted mil pipe and he Frequently used a big
srittoon In the middle Of the foor He missed
the spitt3n oftener than be ht II, As he came
from the schoolboys ot Phiadelphln.' and then
explaln.f ny mission Just a; = short as Dos
posed to do They sqy he -reaks English. and
think he understood ne, but he made SeCre-
a r. Ez irSTT nigTrG hov I'm nro, bit o norS on T[
wrote 1ST5t TO New York that suffered and fa-
tercd, and didn't did !. Sutherland"
Sutherland said that Smith had made his
| little speech without a suggestion OF stutter-
After Dom Paul heard me, Smith went on.
! "he almost smiled and then he spoke In Dutch.
NV son, said he, I thank YOU for having taken
SO long n Journey 70 bring these tokens 10 me.
and wish you SAFE return 70 your home land
! boys for mo for sending me such Kind encour-
agcment AT this time
Then he looked over the clipping, and when
IInTg IN Va" again Secretary RcItH told ns 70 come
| again, and we were ushered out 50 the council
| ~ war might proceed hnd my picture
/ taken standing newt 70 one Of tle Hons. and
/ When We went around TO the Presidents
house thn' evening there werH no sentrics
station about I o'clock that evening late
that night sqd aFan isS mex, day 'fSTG Was
waTehouses. but noticed tbat, the BoeT soldiers
Within a abort time some Of the citizens Of
Pretoria "rgauized a Committee q. Safety and
The lo"tnG Ionp@d and dhs 'hb Eepbt pb.o cam1S m
Shell 'hctown 7 got a number Of The exploded
shells one evening when we were NJ Mr.
HAYS house and the troops wore shelng We
oould hear the broken pieces Of shell rattle on
the house roof The mex morning. juno 4,
Lord Roberts entered the town Lord Kit |
chener and Lord Stanley and all Of them were |
along and il was interesting to see them hoist |
the british nag IN Pretoria
We were held as prisoners In Pretoria for |
six weeks. A. first they wouldn't let us start |
out because the Doors were blowing UP railroad |
train about once In tweuty-four hours aud then !
there were other delays afterward Finally |
we took the train for Cape Town July, 70. II |
il 90 miles from Pretoria TO Cape Town and |
II took US Just seven DAYS TO make the trip. |
We nearly froze going down as we had TO ride |
day and night IN m open coal car There |
were two conches OH the train, but the nurses |
had one and the wounded soldiers the other, |
There were no refreshments along the road |
and we had 10 carry our own rations for the |
seven davs II was pretty tough sort OF travel |
ling IN that open car behind a soft coal engine |
FOR seven days and seven nights.
W. waited AT Care Town until Aug. | for |
n steamer when We took the Kinfnuls Castle |
to SOUTHAMPTON. Miss Edith Rhodes. sister |
of Cecil Rhodes, was on board and We got ac- |
uuainted with her"
James Francis expects to go on to Phila- !
delrhia TO-DAY. |
i've beaten JagRers he said and now I'm \
only itching 70 take that message 10 the Empress
DowaRer of China"
Smith was born. in BROOKLYN 10 years ago. |
He stands Just feet high and he weighs an |