The sun., 1903-12-16
BoER WAR SHOW, LIKE CODY'S.
GEN. VILJOEN HERE TO ARRANGE
FOR 1T AT ST. LOUIS.
THE Mexico Colonization Scheme Is Dor.
mant and the Plight OF the Beers At
Home Is Desperate-Bad Management
and Corruption In New British Rule.

,ho Mersey twenty hours on account of
fog and Just after passing Daunt's Rock,
outside Queenstown harbor, on Monday
che ran into the heavy weather which
battered the American liner New York,
uhich got in Just about twenty-four hours
ahead
Among the Umbria's passengers was Gen.
Ron j. Viljoen, the Boer leader and one Of
tbe most skilful fighters against the English
IN the Transvaal. With Gen. Viljoen was
can't Arthur W. Lewis. an American who
fought with the Canadian forces against the
Roers. but who, since the war ended, as
Gen. Viljoen naively put it, has been con-
verted and is now a very excellent Yankee
Boer
Gen Vijoen and Capt. Lewis are on their
vav to st. Louis to arrange. II possible, for
what may be called Boer war show at the
St Louis exposition. They went from
the pier to the Hoffman House and will
nrobably 90 on to st. Louis to-day
To a sun reporter Gen. Viljoen talked
Of the trip over, of the condition of the
Boers in South Africa. of the scheme to
establish a Boer colony in Mexico and OF
his plans for the st. Louis exposition He
said:
'itnOuRnt Wds d pIetly 'ouSh Sue'ohhei'
hut the weather we had coming over was
too strenuous formy fibre and was most
horribly and disgustngly seasick during
great part of the trip. The storm hit
us on Monday, when we we're hardly more
than outside Queenstown. and We didn't
get any decent. respectable weather until
the following Wednesday, If you will look
a, one Of the saloon doors, you will find
\ in one panel considerable crack. That
Nhows how far inside the ship the weather
.Things we're turned pretty generally
topsy-turvy incidentally, the Cunard
Gompany will have to buy itself, for the
A'mbria's use, between thirty and forty
kew steamer chairs to replace those
washed overheard on Tuesday. One OF
hhe feboats was so battered that 1t will
heed extensive repairs, and on Tuesday,
Third Officer Moulten and three or four
keamen, while at work on the sun deck.
we're so badly knocked about that all OF
them were more or less injured. One OF
the sailors. I think, had one or two ribs
broken At any rate, he has fully developed
case of pneumonia and is in the ships hos
pital One of the women, Mrs. Charles
Bradford, was also slightly injured
After Wednesday, though, we left the
bad weather behind us, and, while the winds
were pretty stiff we had a comparatively
pleasant voyage.
MY business in this country is primarily
10 arrange for Boer exhibit at the st.
Louis exposition. 1t is purely business
enterprise, undertaken for the profit there
is in it and while no definite plan has been
made for the expenditure of the profits,
if there are any, it is probable that part
or all of them will be used to aid my country
men on the veldt, who are really in de-
plorabe condition.
While the scheme originated with me,
an American of considerable prominence,
whose name am not at liberty to divulge
at present, is really the big man in it. He
has spent much time in England and Is now
Nin South Africa, To .,ut the enterprise
through, company has been organized
with paper capital of f5O,OOO. We hope to
interest other Americans in the scheme,
and if we do, and can make suitable ar
rangements with the people at st. Louis,
the thing will go through
we have in mind q show something
on the order of Col Cody's Wild West Show
except that we shall endeavor to be more
historical than is the Wild West performance.
Generally speaking, our scheme involves the
fighting over again within the exposition
grounds of some of the principal battles Of
the Roer war. We shall have 700 or 800
persons take part, il we have any at all,
and among them will be some of the most
prominent Generals in the Boer Army;
Including Gems. Cronje and Kemp, and
Majors Scott Harden and Charles Ross.
don't want to mention other names at
present, because with our scheme in 80
embryonic state fear the news Of what
intend to do would get back home in 80
garbled a form that some of my people
might hs scared out.
Regarding the Boer colonization scheme
in Mexico, | wish l could give you more
favorable news; but the fact is that, up
to this time, practically nothing has come
Of it. Originally We had a concession OF
5000 acres Of land near the city Of Chi
huahua, and the Mexican Government
was 10 pay the cost of transportation from
South Africa to Mexico of as many Beers
as could be induced to come over. When it
came time to provide the transportation
there was none for lis. OF course the Beers
have no money to pay their own transporta-
tion, and so that enterprise fell through.
More recently an enterprise has been
Undertaken which may produce better
results. A Boer emigration society has
been formed. TO which the Mexican Gov
eminent has granted a concession of
?"O,Wo acres of land in the vicinity of
the city of Guerrero. 1t is the plan Of the
company to raise money enough by the
sale OF lts shares to pay the transportation
OF enough Beers to put the land under
proper cultivation. You know we Beers
are natural farmers. and if We can live in
peace. with a reasonable amount Of liberty
and till our acres. We are contented and
happy,
The land included in the new concession
Is extremely fertile and we'll wooded. To
those of us who ve looked into the matter
II has SEEMED that the emigration society
can do a good work for the Beers and at
the same time pay reasonable dividends
IRON the cultivation of this concession and
the selling of the timber thereon. l cannot
say anything at present regarding the per-
sonnel of the men who have interested them
selves in this scheme. Neither can l tell
how many of my countrymen could be
induced to settle in Mexico, but l do know
that 5000 or 1000 of them need better homes
'hai they have at present.
-, We are in bad way in the Transvaal.
lhe last two crops failed and now we are
not only without money, but without much
FOOD The work of what might be called
Tnepatration is going on. but slowly. The
hrlnsh are not unduly oppressive, but 1t
must never be forgotten that this repatri-
atlon is that of the conquered by the con-
querors. And the conquered were the
soverelgns of the land, 30 the repatriation
IL really question of reducing sovereigns
fa