The Saint Paul globe., 1900-04-22

aged to get rid Of some 5000 out of 10, ,0GO
natives in the compounds. This was
splendidly managed by l.. Finn, his
agent, who, understanding the natives
thoroughly, won their confidence and eX-
planned the position to them, and then
led them out of town In detachments.
They started on their way in very good
ing pots, blankets, ETC., together with
some rations fully intending, many of
them, to return when the war was over.
AS rule, the Beers allowed them out
In the case Of the Basutos and northern
tribes nearly always, as they wished to
remain on good terms with them, and,
also, We supposed they wanted to employ
they turned back the Cape Colony KAT
frs, as they said, on account of their
friendlfness with the English. The be-
havior Of the natives throughout the
siege was very good-they were quiet and
orderly, and there was little grumbling.
In the early part of the siege the Beers
pursued g. different policy with regard
to the natives. as on one occasion the oc-
cupants- Of the WesSelton compound be-
tween 1000 and 1900, having become res
tive under shell fire, they were sent out
of town, but returned the next day, the
Beers having stopped them, telling them
they must go back to their father,
Rhodes
After the battle of the Modder Lord
Methuen, who expected to be in Kimber-
ley almost Immediately, sent a message
to Col Kekewtch that he would not be
able. to remain any time, and so, .prac-
tically, all non-combatants must leave.
A little food would bs sent in and the
town would be only occupied by it's de-
tenders. This idea caused great conster-
nation among the people, who thought 1t
very hard that, after enduring siege Of
two months, they should be called upon
to leave the town and go, nobody knew
where, at almost a moments notice. 1t
was strongly felt also that 1t would be a
humiliation for them Wis Wis of the
Beers: Col. Kekewich stated at meet
ing of the town council that the people
would have to leave Immediately on the
entry of Lord Methuen, but, all the same,
numbers of the people said they intended
refusing to go, the great proportion Of
them being not at all well off and having
nowhere to go. At the same time they
were too proud to wish to be treated in
Cape Town and elsewhere on a refugee
basis, and did not enjoy the prospect of
exchanging their comfortable houses for,
possibly, tents on a beach at Cape Town;
so, altogether, there was a good deal of
feeling. A telegram was sent by the prin-
cipal men in the town setting forth the
difficulties of turning out thirty thousand
people suddenly without provision having
been made for them. Affairs were in this
state when the battle of Magersfontein
took place, and it slowly dawned upon
every one that not only was the question
of their being turned out over for the
present, but that also the date of their
relief was exceedingly difficult to fix, and
as time went on 1t seemed to recede more
and more into the dim and distant fu-
ture.
Our intelligence department did not sue
ceed In getting much information so
Mr.. Rhodes organized a system of native
runners and scouts by which we were
enabled not only to receive occasional
papers and letters from the outside world,
but also learned what the besiegers were
about, where their laagers We're etc. We
gathered that there were probably never
more than two thousand or three thou
sand around us at any time. with about
six thousand or seven thousand Gf as
many more in Spytfontein impeding
Lord Methuens advance. but so mobile
are these irregular troops that whenever
we made sortie they collected from all
parts in very short time and made any
action on Our part very difficult, If not
impossible, without great loss of life.
Mrs Mcguire also says that the Sana-
torlum. fitted up by Mr.. Rhodes as his
residence. was the constant target for
shells. but. thanks to poor aim. its cele-
brated occupant escaped.
A correspondent of The Daily Tele-
graph says:
I happened to be at the Sanatorlum
when somebody asked Mr. Rhodes what
he would have done IL the Beers had In