The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-07-03

AVE South African war, but prob
ably ne of the strangest is that
told to Commercial Advertiser re-
porter yesterday by Mr.. W. Michael
Bray. an American newspaper man.
who is a passenger on the f. NJ. 5.
Moana, which arrived from Australia
yesterday Mr.. Bray comes from South
Africa by way of Australia
Like many other American newspa-
per men. Mr.. Bray is a rover. When
the South African war broke out, or
course ne wished to go. but. as he toio
the interviewer. THE New York papers
evidently thought me too good for the
work. A. any rate he soon decided
to become a free lance at the game
of writing war news. and made ms
way to Detagoa Bay in June, 1900 He
then journeyed into the Transvaal and
ioined one of the many rowing COM
rraodoes which hovered about the De-
lasoa Bay railway line. From COM
naDdo to commando he went until ne
had Travelled all the way down through
the Transyaal and Orange Free state.
ANY Incidents? On. yes, lots OF
thsYn.'' said Mr.. Bray. The most touch
ing one caused a number OF the 1ei-
lows I was with to vince. We were
only short distance from De arr a
big English supply depot, when we
niessd ,lp three or four Cape rebels who
lived In the district. They had several
grudges against people who lived IN
the neighborhood and expected that the
Bosrs would help them to secure re-
xenge. They described one farm house
in which an Englishman, his mother,
his grandmother and child lived rms
Englishman they declared TO be spy
In a very short space of time those
Beers decided that this farm mouse
should be burned to the ground, the
alleged spy killed, and the women ana
child turned out on the veldt to die
of cold and starvation. TO my eyes at
the time this did not look like very
black crime. Why, the British were
burning dozens of farm houses every
dav which belonged to the Beers and
the defenseless women and children
were often turHed out on the cold
hard yeldt 1t was decided that party
should go out that night to do the
work and I accompanied IL. When we
arrived at the house all was quiet; moi
even q dog barked. Light was beam
ips out of all the windows so we de-
hear any of the conversation that was
Going on inside The first thing
heard was the voice of the old woman
( She.aid: Now, Dolly. you must come
and Jay your prayers and then go e
bod. Evidently the person thus spok
en- 10 did as requested. for moInen
later we could hear wees DIT OF
,hild's voice repeating the Our tath
er' and several other prayers, woru 10
word after the ord woman had spoken
The Beers seemed to be growing iripa
tien1. but in a moment more we hear'
= wonderful little prayer in which tn
child said: God help all the poor peo
RES what have had their houses burn
ed ,furing the war, and God keep tn
Beers from burning my papa's house.
I heard the Beers sneaking away iron
the window beside me, and in mo
ment more pa-ty of about doze'
Beers were flashing their ponies as the
sned swiftly away from that house.
do,,bt if the guns of forty English sol
diers could have made that force Civ
up It's game as easily as that bit
praying did"
Finally Bray and an Engfishman wh
had deserted from an engineers corp
found themselves practically the ON
Gers of a band of little less ina
600 happy-go-lucky Beers and foreign
erS who were bent upon SHrFeLueii III
&c the British and thus putting an en-
to misery in the field. Then orllh
idea struck several members OF IN
rarity. Why not try to get this ltti
commando into the city of Cape Tow
and then surrender? It would reall
sound very nice 10 be able to say w
led the Beers right into Cape Town
II was a great scheme, but was doom
ed 10 failure The depredations OF sew
eral commanders in Cape Colony ha
reused the whole colony and on ever
hand town guards had been formed
drive the foe back across the orans
River.
The party that was trying 20 his1s
Cane Town was also blowing y
bridges. attacking trains and general
spoiling General Sir Forestier-Walker