The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-29
TALK WITH A BOER HERO

pestileuces till the time of salvation
 "A Moscow newspaper offered me a large income to go to the Far East and report the present struggle be- tween Russia and Japan, but refus- ed: I never want to see a war again. Tt will be bad thing for you in America if you grow to love war. but 1t will be worse if you do not teach your young men how to shoot and how to obey orders in the field. You have a great country and a large population, but you will have no strength to resist enemies unless every man over twen- ty years old receives some military instruction. That was our weakness. Our men could shoot, but outside of the police and artillery, few of them were trained to obey their command ers
 q miss the godly spirit of my people. to whom I intend to return. It seems to me that Americans are too busy. A people can be so busy that they forget God. The most religious people on this side of the ocean seem to be the Ger mans. The Americans are too much occupied making money to think much of God That Is unfortunate, It Is easy to walk in the light, but 1t is not easy to walk In the darkness"
 All through the veterans converse tion ran this curious vein of religious thought A man who for ten days. with $500 men. faced Lord Roberts and 60,000 British soldiers, brought every fact and question back to the one law-the will of God.
 Have you any hope that the South African Republic will live again?"
 None. none whatever; although 1t is possible that if all South Africa should unite some day the people might fly their own flag. Hut never expect to see another national uprising in the Transvaal. The war was a ter rible mistake. It would nave been better to have given the English all they asked for when President Kru- ger and Lord Miner met in confer ence."
 General De Wet says that before you became Lord Roberts prisoner he offered you plan by which you might have avoided the surrender and escap- ed with your army. Is that true?'
 A sudden glow came into the tanned cheeks of General CronJe and his eyes shone with sudden emotion,
 Why He Surrendered.
 That is what De Wet says" he an swered, but I had already tried to break through the British lines, and when his message reached me IL was too late to try again. I had only 3,600 men with me at the Modder river. Lord Roberts had 60.000 men and 125 guns. We were out of ammunition; only one horse was left alive. The water of the river under whose bank we were shell tered was unit to drink, for the bodies of horses and dead English soldiers were floating in 1t, and the stench was almost unbearable. We were short of food. They shelled us until we could see the yellow tracks of the lyddite about us. For ten days and nights we stood that ordeal the number of our dead and wounded increasing constant | ly. We had no horses with which to make charge; we had no ammunition left to use against the enemy. Under such circumstances, what could $500 men be expected to do against an army of 60.O0e men and 125 cannon? The officer who brought De Vets dispatch to me had to crawl between the British pickets. I laid the plan before my commandants. All but one were opposed to it. The truth is that if had been foolish enough to attempt to break through the British position not more than 500 of my men would have followed me. Some of my com mandants said that if refused to sur- render they would hoist tre white flag themselves"
 | And when you did surrenderT' And when I did surrender Lord Roberts acted as a gentleman should. He gave me his hand and raised his hat