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| SCENES IN BLOEMFONTEIN, |
J CAPITAL OF ORANGE FREE STATE. 1
VY THE Orange Free State had no
v I quarrel with Great Britain.
The Transvaal’s quarrel was
not her quarrel. She was a
free and independent State, living her
own life and worshiping her own
legislative and administrative gods.
Her people, however, spoke the same
tongue as the Transvaaler. A shadow
of the Anglophobia that lurked on the
north of the Vaal was also to be found
north of the Orange, and Martinus
Th. Steyn, the far-seeing and courage
ous President of the Free State, firmly
believed that if the South African
Republic were wrested from Dutch
control, either by armed force or by
awe of Great Britain’s prowess, the
next victim of the slogan “British
pre-eminence in South Africa” would
be his own little Republic, the Orange
Free State. Furthermore, the two
Republics were bound by a treaty
made in 1897, after the Jameson raid,
which provided that if either State
were attacked the other was to come
to its assistance with its full fighting
force, which at that time meant a com
bined army of about 44,000 men—
-27,000 Transvaalers and 17,000 Free
Staters.
So the Orange Free State and the
Transvaal joined hands. That the
Free Staters were not the first to suf
fer by this racial coalition was due to
one of those mere accidents of war or
caprices of fate that can never be
anticipated. Ladysmith and Colenso,
Kimberley and Mafeking chanced to
be the points where the storm burst.
‘ I
I iiigs
■ ImL xxi
dpi)
FRESIDENT STEYN, OF THE ORANGE FREE
STATE.
The Free Staters, while descended
from the same Dutch settlers in South
Africans the Transvaal burghers, form
what might be termed another branch
of the Boer family. They settled in
Natal after the exodus from the Cape,
but as that became a British colony,
they fell back and established them
selves in the country lying between
the two great branches of the Orange
River, known to the colonists as the
Vaal and the Orange Rivers, and sepa
rated from the coast by the Drachen
berg Mountains. The Orange River
Free State, to give it its full name,
forms a connecting link between Cape
Colony, the Transvaal and Natal, and
was for years called the Buffer State.
It is a vast plateau, 3000 to 5000 feet
above sea level. Its undulating plains
slope from the Maluti Mountains to
the Vaal River. In the south they are
dotted with rocky hills, which the Boers
call “kopjes.” In the northern part,
however, one can travel hundreds of
miles without seeing a break in the
horizon. When the Natal Boers took
possession of the country it was in
habited by different tribes. All ex
cept the powerful Basutos have dis
persed.
The Free State is divided into the
following districts : Bloemfontein,
Winburg,JSouthfield, Harrismith and
Fauresmith. The capital is Bloem
fontein (of which we give several il
lustrations), situated on a tributary of
HOME OF PRESIDENT STEYN AT BLOEMFONTEIN.
the Modder River and about 800
miles from Cape Town. The Orange
Free State was annexed by Great
Britain in the forties, and continued a
colony of the empire until 1854, when
it was granted independence. The in
habitants then established a govern-
ment of their own and had progressed
satistaetorily until their President,
Mr. Steyn, was led by President
Kruger into an offensive and defen
sive alliance against England.
That the Boers have for months and
even for years been anticipating some
final struggle with the British has
been well demonstrated by the thor
oughness of the preparations for war
which the Government of the craftv
Oom Paul has been making for some
time past. The same might be said of
the doughty burghers of the Orange
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VIEW OF BLOEMFONTEIN, THE CAPITAL OF ORANGE FREE STATE.
Free State, for Bloemfontein, the cap
ital of the little republic, was careful
ly fortified and garrisoned for many
months before the actual outbreak of
hostilities. The accompanying illus
tration will give a very good idea of
the Boer fort at Bloemfontein, a spot
which, in view of recent events, has
an especial interest to all followers of
the present struggle between the Boer
and the British.
The Orange Free State is like and
yet unlike the Transvaal. Its people,
like those north of the Vaal River, are
simple, bucolic and sincere. An infu
sion of Huguenot blood makes them a
slightly more active and progressive
people than the Transvaalers. The
republic has an area of about 50,000
square miles. Its present population
is estimated to be 93,000 whites and
some 140,000 blacks of the Basuto and
Barolong tribes. The capital, Bloem
fontein, is a curious, old world look
ing little city, with a railway leading
from the south into the town aud again
starting north. Unlike Kimberley and
Johannesburg, the visitor gets no im
pression of mushroom growth from
Bloemfontein, for the city is rich in
statuary and public monuments and
jffl.
THE BAADZAAL (PARLIAMENT) BUILD
ING, BLOEMFONTEIN.
possesses a national museum and a
well - stocked public library. The
Bloemfontein raadzaal, or council
chamber of the legislature, is a hand
some edifice, designed in the Greek
style and costing almost a quarter of
a million dollars. The buildings in
the city are substantial and prepossess
ing, for near by are great beds of free
stone, admirable for building pur
poses. The presidency, where Presi
dent Steyn resides, is also a very pa
latial building.
The Orange Free State is not a for
est country, for, like the Transvaal, it
is very sparsely wooded. The only
mountain ranges in the State are the
Stall Mountains, which lie in the east
ern portion of the republic. Practi
cally all of the plains are well adapted
for pastoral purposes. On the Basu
toland border there is a golden strip
of laud, thirty miles broad and 100
miles long, which is considered to be
the best bit of g.uin producing soil in
the world.
Think of land that, without irriga
tion, and with scarcely any cultiva
tion, will raise seventy to eighty
bushels of grain to the acre! Wheat,
oats, maize, barley and Kaffir corn
can all be grown, while herds of cat
tle, horses, Angora goats, ostriches
and sheep can live and flourish on the
veldt.
There are three kinds of regular
Government schools. One is the
town school, another the ward school
and the third the paripatetic school.
At Bloemfontein there is a very fine
college, known as Grey College,where
higher education is carried on.
The vast majority of the Free
Staters are members of the Reformed
Dutch Church. In fact,this is the es
tablished church of the State. Even
the tiniest village has its devout con
gregation, and the Government con-
tributes each year $40,000 for the
support of its Dutch religious insti
tutions.
The climate of the Orange Free
State is perhaps the most healthful in
all South Africa. It is both drier and
colder thau that of the neighboring
colonies, due to the fact that the veldt
of the Free Staters is so high above
the sea level.
The constitution of the Orange
Free State is founded upon that of
the United States. This constitution
was adopted on April 10,1854, and gave
J
BOER FORT AT BLOEMFONTEIN.
to everyone living in the country be
fore the date of its aboption the right
to vote for a president and members
of the new legislature. The com
mando law is unique. This law,which
was put into successful operation at
the opening of the campaign for the
raising of Orange Free State troops,
regulates the callingout of burghers at
ah times of danger. Every male in
habitant of the State between sixteen
aud sixty years of age is, under this
law, subject to the call of the field
cornet. The number tint were found
available for the last call to arms is
said to have been 23,000.
A Life on the Ocean Wave.
A Liverpool steam packet company
many years ago wanted to extend its
premises, aud resolved to buy a piece
of land belonging to a maiden lady of
uncertain age. The spinster sold her
laud at a very low price, and as a set
off requested that a clause should be
put in the agreement to the effect that
during her whole life she and a com
panion should at any time travel free
in the, company’s vessels. On the
day after the agreement was signed,
she sold her furniture, let her house,
and went on board the first outward
bound vessel belonging to the com
pany, without troubling herself about
the destination. For many years the
lady lived ou one ship or another, ac
companied by some lady traveler, for
whom she advertised, and whose pas
sage money she pocketed. She was
reckoned at her death to have made
over ten thousand dollars by the trans
action.
A Squash That Lifted 5000 Pounds.
An interesting agricultural experi
ment is related in Success, from which
this picture is taken. A harness or
basket of strap iron was placed over
the squash in such a manner that, in
order to grow, it would be compelled
to lift any weight that might be placed
ou it. Harnessed in this manner, on
August 21 the squash lifted sixty
pounds; August 31, 500 pounds; Sep
tember 11, 1100; September 31, 2015;
October 18, 3120, and October 31
5000 pounds
Did it Ever Occur To You,
That Every Man Or Woman May Sometimes
Stand In Need Os Some Assistance,
In the Way Os Legal Advice or Service?
If You Have Any Interest In Any Estate,
As Administrator, Executor, Guardian, Trustee,
Heir, Legatee, Ward, or Creditor,
Or Any Lost Relative Or Missing Heir To Find,
Note Or Account For Collection Or Settlement,
Any Land Claim For Recovery Or Partition,
Any Past Due Mortgages To Be Foreclosed,
Any Sort of Liens, Judgments, Or Attachments,
Or Any Affidavit Or Depositions To Be Taken,
Or Wish To Obtain Any Charter For Corporation,
Or Patent, Or Pension, Or Trade Mark,
Or If You Are Defendant In Any Suit In Court,
And Desire to Have A Representative Or Attorney,
To Look After Your Interest Or Recover For You,
Send Or Bring Your Claims, With Correct Names,
And Full Particulars For Prompt Attention.
Do Not Wait.—Delays Arc Dangerous.
Be Brief. State Your Business Pointedly.
I Am Very Busy Attending to Other People’s Business.
Don’t You Forget It. Speak Qui k And Go,
And Let Me “ Go For ” The Other Fellow.
Call At Office And Confer Personally,
Or Write A Concise Business Letter,
Enclose Stamp For Reply, And Address
ROBERT L. RODGERS,
Attorney And Counselor At Law,
And Commercial Notary Public,
Office: 721 Austell Building.
Atlanta. Fulton County, Georgia.
I —;
I Reliable Correspondents At All Important Places
B’myoF
ATLANTA CAMP,
Confederate Veterans.
Only a Few Copies Left-
Every Veteran, and every son and
daughter of Veterans, ought to have
I one copy of this History. In a few
1 more years you will want it, and then
can’t get it. Buy it now and learn ol
i an organization that is fast passing
! away from your view. History of the
I Fulton County Association of Veter
ans, personal and regimental sketches,
minutes of the meetings, etc.
Price is only one dollar.
Robert L. Rodgers,
Historian of Atlanta Camp,
721 Austell Building,
ts Atlanta,•'Georgia.
TRUSTS ROASTED
By Prominent Georgians In Testimony
Before Industrial Committee.
Trusts occupied the attention of the
United .States Industrial commission
ers at their session in Atlanta Tues
day morning. The witnesses were
I Governor A. D. Candler, Mr. Jack J.
Spalding and Judge George Hillyer.
Mr. Spalding suggested, as a rem
edy for the evils the trusts have pro
duced, national legislation which
would prohibit the trusts from enjoy
ing the privileges of interstate com
merce.
I Judge Hillyer said the remedy lay
in government ownership.
Governor Candler did not suggest
any special legislation, but he thought
I the trusts ought to be regulated by the
national government.
All of the witnesses agreed that the
I trusts raised prices by destroying com
; petition and were a menace to the
states and to the nation.
Governor Candler spoke interest
ingly about the negro race. He said
the race had advanced greatly in the
past twenty-five years, but he believed
the place for the negroes was on the
farm.
The governor does not favor an in
dustrial school for negroes. He says
the best school for boys of either race
is a corn field or a cotton patch.
COMMISSION IN ATLANTA.
Much Light Is Thrown on Conditions Id
the South.
Much light on industrial conditions
in the south, and Georgia in particu
lar, was shown by the evidence before
the United States commissioners in
Atlanta, Ga., Monday.
The witnesses examined were Dr. J.
D. Turner, president of the Exposi
tion cotton mills; Colonel R. J. Red
ding, director of the state experiment
station; Mr. J. E. Nunnally, of Nun
nally, Ga., and Colonel W. L. Peek,
of Conyers, Ga., farmers.
Each of the witnesses gave valuable
information to the commissir/ners and
was heartily thanked.
IOWA GOES ON RECORD.
Porto Rico Tariff Bill Denounced by the
Hawkeye Leulslature.
A resolution was unanimously adopt
ed by the lower house of the lowa leg
islature Thursday declaring that the
people of lowa are unalterably opposed
to the Porto Rico tariff bill passed by
the lower house of congress.
Cotton Mill Chartered.
The Almeta cotton mill, at Bradley,
Abbeville county, S. C., was incorpo
rated Thursday. The capital stock is
SIOO,OOO, with privilege to increase to
$250,000.
A rousing campaign year is upon
ns. Keep abreast of affairs by sub
scribingnow. We’ll give you the news.
Real Estate For Sale
The tracts, lots, and parcels of lands
as stated below are for sale, cheap for
cash, or will exchange for available
merchandise at reasonable prices.
The land lots indicated will be sold
with special warranty of title, with
plat and grant, with the original
"beeswax” seal:
No. Dist. Seo. Acres. County.
942 2 3 40 Paulding.
124 7 2 40 Fannin.
90 1 81 Rabun.
118 26 2 40 Gilmer.
57 11 1 40 Union.
137 19 3 40 Paulding.
308 10 1 160 Union.
650 16 2 40 Cobb.
718 16 2 40 Cobb.
719 16 2 40 Cobb.
885 16 2 40 Cobb.
887 16 2 40 Cobb.
915 16 2 40 Cobb.
958 16 2 40 Cobb.
: 843 16 2 40 Cobb.
646 17 2 40 Cobb.
16 17 2 40 Cobb.
17 17 2 40 Cobb.
86 17 2 40 Cobb.
1090 17 2 40 Cobb.
267 20 2 40 Cobb.
I 1006 16 2 40 Cobb.
I 514 15 2 40 Cobb.
567 15 2 40 Cherokee.
: 584 15 2 40 Cherokee.
| 585 15 2 40 Cherokee.
638 15 2 40 Cherokee.
639 15 2 40 Cherokee.
640 15 2 40 Cherokee.
641 15 2 40 Cherokee.
642 15 2 40 Cherokee.
255 13 2 160 Cherokee.
102 2fl 2 40 Cherokee.
101 1 202} Troup.
731 19 3 40 Paulding.
72 3 3 40 Paulding.
501 3 3 40 Paulding.
880 2 3 40 Paulding.
1175 18 3 40 Paulding.
13 13 1 160 Pickens.
246 6 1 160 Chattooga.
708 18 2 40 Polk.
981 21 3 40 Polk.
7 26 3 160 Murray.
1012 12 1 40 Lumpkin.
314 11 1 40 Lumpkin.
697 11 1 40 Lumpkin.
573 5 1 40 Lumpkin.
830 11 1 40 Lumpkin.
148 8 2 160 Fannin.
629 3 4 40 Floyd.
643 18 2 40 Douglass.
8 3 490 Wayne.
95 3 490 'Wayne.
96 3 490 Wayne.
151 3 490 Wayne.
200 3 490 Wayne.
} 173 3 245 Wayne.
160 2 490 Wayne.
| 75 2 245 Charlton.
}x}17516 25} Upson.
}x}llll2 25} Taylor.
} 368 28 125 Early.
i 113 16 1 80 Union.
} 175 16 1 80 Union.
815 14 1 40 Forsyth.
398 5 1 40 Dawson.
157 11 202} Henry.
104 19 2 40 Cobb.
901 21 2 74 Cherokee.
Three lots, 50x150 feet each, alto
gether being Nos. 14, 15 and 16, on
Mt. Zion avenue, in the village of Mt.
Zion, Carroll county, Ga.
One lot, No, 114, in block 17, in
Montrose Park, Montrose county Col
orado.
Six acres on Satterfield Ford road,
5 miles from Greenville, in Greenville
county, S. C.
Three lots at Montreal, on G. C. &
N. railroad, DeKalb county, Ga.
1,100 acres; 700 hammock, 400 up
land, in Screven county, Ga. This is
a fine place, divided by the Georgia
Central railroad, 50 miles from Savan
nah. Railroad station on the place; good
location for country store. Splendid
situation for factory for staves and
cooperage works. Enough good tim
ber on the hammock land to pay for
the place three or four times over.
Investors are invited to examine this
place.
1.149 acres on west bank of Savan
nah river, in Effingham county, Ga.,
grant of 1784, and descent of title to
present owner.
1.150 acres on Satilla river, in Cam
dem county, Ga., grant from state,
and deeds on record for 100 years
back. Good title, by descent to pres
ent owner.
1,150 acres on St. Mary’s river, in
Camden county, Ga. Grant and deeds
on record 100 years back. Good title,
by descent to present owner.
430 acres on west bank of Savannah
river, in Screven county, Ga. Deeds
on record since 1827. Good title, by
descent to present owner.
I desire to sell these lands as soon
as possible, and they must go at low
prices, very low for cash, or on easy
terms and long time with 5 per cent
interest, as purchasers may desire and
prefer. Persons desirous of investing
money for future profits by enhance
ments should examine these offers at
once. I have other lands, which I
will sell on good terms and low prices.
In writing for information about any
of these lands, refer to them by thn
number, district, section and county,
and enclose two stamps, 4 cents, for
reply. Robert L. Bodoers,
ts Attornev at Law. Atlanta. Ga.