The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1900-01-26
THE BOERS' STRUGGLE
They Are Prepared to Garry On the
War for Years.
HAVE TONS OF MMUN|TION
Elaborate Preparations Made for the
Struggle They Knew Was Coming.
Millions in War Material I'm
ported Through Della
goa Bay, S. A.

Cyrus G. Adams, well-known au-
thority on African topics, writing ON
the subject Of Delagoa bay in late
number of Harper's Weekly, says: 'Tt
is surprising that not until now has at
tention been centered upon Delagoa bay
as Il source Of pre-eminent advantage to
the Beers. If the facts now known mad
not been skillfully concealed, Delagoa
bay would long ago have been the talk
of the world. Not month has passed
since the ridiculous collapse of the
Jameson raid at Kruegerdorp. in Janu-
ary, 1896, that all kinds of war muni.
tlons have not arrived in Delagoa bay
for transhipment to Pretoria. In 1897
alone the Transvaal government ex-
pended for war purposes the sum of
"a, III $50, most of which was invested
In rifles, cannon and ammunition, which
passed unchallenged through the Portu-
guese port OF Lourenzo Marquee. The
Iransvaal has made Delagoa bay the
inlet for its war materials as completely
as though it's own FLAG hoated over it.
DR.. Leyds, the agent Of the South
African Republic in Europe, says that
the store of munitions in the hands of
his countrymen cannot be exhausted for
several years We are told that three
large warehouses and an armory at Pre-
toria are packed to the caves with rifles
and ammunition, and that each of the
forts around the capital and Johannes
burg has an armament of four large
cannon and thirty heavy Gatliug guns.
"This is only part of the elaborate
preparations the Beers made for the
struggle they knew was impending; and
nine-tenths Of their enormous purchases
OF war material has come to them,
within the past four years, through
Delagoa bay. The expenditure for forts
in 1897 was nearly $3, 800, 900, and the
cannon on the walls passed through the
Portuguese port well mufied and under
fictitious invoices. The salaries of the
war office at Pretoria were 1862, 80, and
much of this money was absorbed bv
Europeans of military training, who
taught the Beers how to handle the
quantities of French and German ord
nance mounted on the forts and guard
ing the defles that lead up to the Trans
vaal plateau. 1t will thus be seen that
for years this bay and port have been
serving all the purposes Of the present
foe Of England
apart from it's political interest
Delagoa bay is very noteworthy, for it
IS one of the finest natural harbors in
the world. 1t is the only frst-class har-
Dor on the east coast of Africa south of
the Gulf of Tadjura, near the Red Sea-
1t is seventy miles long and twenty-five
miles wide in it's broadcast part With
an entrance twelve miles wide and fifty
feet deep, the bay is accessible at all
times and in all weathers. 1t is the
irony of fate that this greatest natural
harbor in Africa is in the hands of the
Portuguese, who have really taken no
part in the development of South Africa
German and British capitalists have
supplied most of the money that is max
ing Lourenzo Marquee worthy of it's
opportunities as the port of the Trans
vaal. The German steamships to the
port are subsidized by the German gov
ernment. Foreign merchants, includ-
ing a few Frenchmen from Marseilles
and Banyans from India, have much
larger share in the trade than the Por-
tuguese, who form considerably less