Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-06-02

resentment against America. The feel
ing has even spread to Holland,
where an American, who used to be
received with open arms, is now
looked upon as akin to the English
man. People here cannot associate
the vast sympathy which Americans
display with the attitude of their
government, which continues to help
England annihilate the beers.
Nearly every week some sort of
financial proposition is received from
American syndicates which propose
to furnish Mr.. Kruger with unlimited
means if he, in turn, gives mortgage
upon the tTransvaal mines. These are
summarily dismissed.
Humanity of the Beers.
The great mistake of the beers, !"
said one of Mr. Kruger's advisers, lis
that we have been too humane in our
dealings with the English. This was
illustrated especially in the treatment
of prisoners. The boer forces in eight
months captured 1880 English sol
diers, who were imprisoned in a great
Enclosure near Pretoria. During the
entire period of captivity-more than
eight months-but 81 deaths were re-
corded, and up to the last moment,
when Lord Roberts was demanding
the keys of Pretoria, each prisoner re-
ceived his full rations, which included
rice, coffee, fresh meat and newly
baked bread every day. The boer
veterans at the same time were living
on biltong and water-soaked biscuits
CAS- a contrast the British army
having taken like number of prison
ers has treated them with the greatest
severity. In the prison pen at Cape
Town the mortality was five times
greater than at Waterfall: prisoners
were shot down when they accidental
ly touched the dead line, and about
four dozen were killed when they at
tempted to escape. The beers never
shot a spy and never killed an Eng
lish prisoner in his efforts to escape,
although at least 200 by actual count
were intercepted in their efforts to
get away from the Enclosures at
Waterfall or Pretoria.
When war began Mr.. Kruger made
it plainly understood that hostilities
should be conducted with the most hui
name methods 1t was for this rea-
son that the boer generals committed
what the foreign military attaches pro-
claimed as a gross error, namely, the
neglecting to follow up the enemy
after their defeat and inf1ict upon
them as much damage as possible.
Wouldn't Sink Transports.
Indeed, instances of this humane
treatment, like the setting free of
Lord Methuen, could be enumerated
ad infnitum The most striking
illustration, however, was Mr.. Kru-
gers refusal to accept the proposition
Of a great ship manufacturing firm in
Genoa, Italy. This concern offered
to sell the Transvaal three magnifi-
cent armored cruisers, fully equipped
with guns, ammunition, men and food,
at price Of less than $10,000,000.
There was plenty of money in the
Transvaal treasury at that time to
make the purchase, and the Chevalier
Ella, who was acting for the Genoa
firm, had almost persuaded the boer
government to accept the offer. His
idea was that these cruisers were not
to give battle in midocean with Brit
ish men-of-war, but that they were to
intercept transports on their way to
South Africa and sink them with all
their crews and men.
This would have been permissible,
according to the laws of war, and
would have resulted in great loss to the
British army. When the contract was
handed to Mr.. Kruger to sign, how
ever. he looked at it for but moment,
and then dashed his pen to the floor,
saying:
eff God wills that we lose our in
dependence then let us lose 1T like
men fighting to death, but history
must never record that my nation
used such despicable means as this,
even though they be sanctioned by
Christian nations
Even now with all the atrocities
that have been committed by the Brit
ish upon the property OF the beers,
their men, women and children, Mr..
Kruger will give his consent to no re-
taliation, and the burghers in the field
respect his commands"
Mr.. Kruger talked freely with me
about the beginning of the war, and |
was told in detail that which will
shortly appear in an official pamphlet
of how Cecil Rhodes, Joseph Chamber
lain and Lord Miner cOnspired to
bring on the war But when I asked
his honor what terms of peace he
would accept I could get, no answer,
only hat the old patriot cannot be
persuaded to live under any other but
his devoted "vierkluer"
Touching Faith in Bible.
Mr.. Kruger leads a secluded life and
even the people of Utrecht seldom see