Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-08-23

eeing so much as the print of an
English foot.
He was a farmer of Lichtenburg, a
razing district lying in the west Of
he Transvaal, and 1t was easy for
i'm to muster little company OF kins-
nen and friends of like temper to
rex with him out Of the Transvaal a
ew days after the close Of the war.
rhere were twenty-six whites in his
Iarty, men, women and children, and
bout a hundred Kaffirs, most Of whom
lad been attached by years of service
md good treatment.
Du Toit had no definite choice of a
pot to settle on. He planned In a
GENERAL way to spy out the land amid
md beyond the swamps of Mozam-
bique and laid his course straight over
he weld to Komateport at the railroad
:rossing between the Transvaal and
he Portuguese territory. For some
ime his trek was heard from more
Ir less frequently, but after passing
ne Portuguese border the news be-
soers had been seen by natives from
lime to time, still pressing on to the
northeast through the wilderness to
he vast swamps.
They were doggedly entering the
most repellent region of the dark con-
inent, fearful expanse of fetid pools
Ind loathsome mire, under the glare
# the torrid sun, the breeding-ground
VI the crocodile. and all manner Of
'eptfles, insects and vermin, perpet-
Ial fount Of miasma and deadly fevers,
tut jealousy held against intrusion by
he fiercest and most bloodthirsty ma
dves Of Africa. All cunning and hate
ire lodged in these people, into whose
native blood has come touch of the
Arab and Of the trader of Madagascar.
Their normal life is war; their chief
amusement is murder; the savage
with most blood on his hands is a
hero, and may become a god when he
lies.
1t was presumed that the Boer trek
lad passed into the swamps, but no
native had seen the entry and no
news came out and back to Lichten-
burg. After several months of vain
waiting and growing anxiety, search
lor the trail was begun with the help
" native scouts.
Every path leading into the marshes
vas traced for many miles by the
searching parties, but no marks Of Du
roit's trek were detected and no It'd
ngs Of the missing party could be
gathered from the natives. Yet ev-
Try Africander persisted in the belief
nat the party was somewhere alive or
hat it's fate could be learned. All
African history has no record of a lost
Boer; but, after hunting vainly for
many weeks, the Portuguese govern
nent was on the point Of giving up the
attempt, and it was evident that the
5oers must renew the search for their
.ountrymen or 1t would be abandoned.
I had gone to Lorenzo Marques to
select land for the same purpose as
Du Toit in territory beyond the
stretch of British dominion. The mys-
erious disappearance of the Boer
rekkers was table-talk in the little
kiosks on the street-corners. Within
In hour after my arrival a Portuguese
colonel, who was seated at one of the
tables, rose to meet me as l entered a
kiosk and greeted me as an old &C
auaintance. I sat down to share a
bottle of wine with him, and, after a
lew minutes Of polite inquiries and
iowery talk, he urged me to enlist in
The hunt for the missing party.
The governor-general was persuad-
I'd to make one more trial, and my
friend, Colonel Andreas, was put in
command Of a troop of four hundred
men, with myself and a number of
friendly natives as scouts.
On the second day the raw men
Jhowed signs of fatigue, and before
he end of the third day the horses
rere tagged and plodded along with
rooping heads.
AS days went on, the column thin
,ed out more and more, stretching out
OfST u VI AuSSCCS
lowered over our marching troop
thinking our sweat and settling in
such swarms that every mans back
booked as IL It were coated with flies
wings One by one the stragglers in
The rear would cry for help and drop
,wooning from their saddles. The
iorses, too, were falling from ex
aaustion. At intervals from the sur
rounding bush we would hear the
sharp crack of a rife; or an arrow
suzzing like frightened humming
bird would reach its mark In one Of
,ur troop 1t was idle for us to at
Tempt pursuit. Before we could spur
bur tired horses to the cover, the Turk
ng native would slip off into the thick
Its.
After a month of this ira, cling by
breed marches, stopping Only a few
lines to rest at pool or stream, oul
horses were too fatigued to go furth
r. We knew that we were not fal
rom the border Of the swamps and
he colonel determined to make the
ntry on foot
In order to tighten the load Of the