Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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hHB SUMTER WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established June, is<>6 Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. %\t Wbi?^mx at? ^oii?ljroit Published Every "Wednesday, -Bf JN\ Gr. Osteen. SUMTER, 8. C. TERMS : ?$1.50 per auuutn-in advance. ADVERTISEMENT: OBC Sqaare first insertion.$1 00 ?very subsequent insertion. 50 Contracts for three months, or longer wil be made at reduced rates. AU communications which subserve private interests will be charged foras ad versements. Obituaries and tributes of respects will be charged for. THE WAR IN AFRICA. Buller Advances But Loses Many Men. London. March 1 4 15 a. m -Gen Boiler's distinct success in storming Pieter's bill brings the rescue of Ladysmith near, bot the war office intimated late last evening that an immediate announcement of relief need not be expected The going to and fro at midnight of officials v and messengers suggested that im? portant news had been received As his message reveals, Gen Boiler's saccesfal attack came after the hard fighting on Friday, and it was improvised and its execution begun during the armistice of Sun day In proposing the armistice, the British commander stipulated that both sides should be free to move, bat neither should do any shooring He was therefore within hi9 p:ivi leges in immediately beginning to transfer bis troops Gen Boiler's tidings come weight? ed with bis long list of casualties. His losses in the four attempts to get Geo White out aggregate 4.000 Ladysmith ie in desperate straits Charles Williams, the military expert, says he learns on v*ry high aothon ty, presumably that o? Lord Woiseley, that ' Gen White's force is almost at its last gasp " ''This is not so much," says Mr Williams, "on account of any lack of provisions or of ammunition, neiger j of which is yet exhausted as because of the poisonous nature cf K-,;p river j water and the evil effects cf the heat j 35ven those who have escaped fever I dysentery and diarrhoea are in a state of low vitality They can still maintain trenches, and would pro bably hold their own against a i^.st desperate assault, but they cao initiate nothing Gen Buiier now knows that, as units the regiments wiii be of no use to him for months "The water of Kiip river is net available for drinking and to boil it is impossible, because of the scarcity pf fuei lt is thick with putrid animal matter Tea made of it has a sospended fibre, something like beef tea It is caused by the sewerage from the Boer camps Mr Williams adds that when news ?ike this passes under the thumb of the censor it more than offsets what ever jolly news may be heiiographed from Ladysmith. There is no authoritative indication as yet of what Lord Roberts will do next It seems likely that a branch railway will be built across the veldt to lessen the difficulties of transport Col Girouard, who built the Soudan railway, is with Lord Roberts The strain on the Western railway is seen from the fact that the population o? Kimberley, two weeks after the re? lief, continues on reduced rations. Lord Roberts' troops thus far have been only partially fed lt is quite clear to technical heads that those who taik of an immediate and rapid advance far into the Free State do not realize the transport conditions' The Byers, as it now appears, have built a railway from Harrismith to Kroomstadt to facilitate the movement of their troops be? tween Natal and the Free State. Mafeking was noldmg out on Feb 16 At that time the Boers were showing unusual activity and firing inflamable shells. The Boers who hold positions south of the Orange river have been weakened Lieut Barentzen, writing on behalf of himself and of other ^scandinavian prisoners, affirms that there are no mercenaries in the Boer army and no volunteers who receive a penny for their services. London, Feb 28 -The war office bas received a dispatch from Gen Boiler announcing that Pieters hill, the enemy's main position, was mag nificentiy captured yesterday and 60 prisoners taken. Locdon, Feb. 28, 8:08 p. rn -The war office bas received the following dispatch from Lord Roberts: 'Paa: deberg, Feb 28-Cronje with his fami? ly left here yesterday in charge of Maj Gen Prettyman aod under the escort ot the City Imperial volunteers arid mount ed infantry. Later io the day the re m3;ricg prisoners weot io charge of the Earl of Erroll and escorted by tbe Gloucesters and a hundred Imperial j volunteers. The wemen and children I are being sent to their home* I un ! derstand that great dissatisfaction is ! felt by the B^ers at Cronje refusal to j accept my offer of safe cenduct to the j women and children and medical corps j for the wounded. 170 of whom are now j io our hospital. Very many of them I are in a terrible pi:20t for want cf care at ac earlier stage "I inspected the Boers* laager yes? terday aod was much struck by toe I ingenuity and energy with which the position was made almost impregnable to assault " BRITISH CASUALTIES London Feb 28, 8 55 p OJ -Tbe ; rapidly ?rcwiog casualty iists are bei.vg j ela-slfiea as qaickly as popsicle. They j chow that Gp to rbis morrie? rho total j nucbsr of casualties wss 12.834. of i which 2.319 were added daring ?he last j fortnight Ten of rho ll Scotch regi? ments lest abcut 2,050 uj'n and eight i of the Irish regimeers 2,000 Then come the Clcocestere ard N rtharober lands, while of nearly 200 colonial* the j royal Canadians lost 121 and Vic ! roria mounted cmtingpnr 26 1 he j casualties are clasM?'-d rhos : Killed 11 903 ; wounded 6,S3S ; cisc-inj; 3 173 ; di^easf S30 Lindon, Feb :;8 -L^rd Roberts has I forwarded &a additional its:- of tbe I British easu^ies daring the three days . fighrme ar Paar^eoerjj. showing 12 j killed 82 wounded, and 4 miking and j including seven 'fillers and four Cana I dian pri?tes wounded i Stared and Sick Garrison ! Will Need Nursing. London, March 1, 9 50 a m -The war office received the following dis patch from Gen Buller : Lyttleton's Headquarters, March 1, 9 05 Morning -Gen Dundonald, with the Natal Carbineers and a composite regiment, entered Lady smith last night Tbe country be tween me and Ladysmith is reported clear of the enemy Moving on Nel thorpe " London, March 1, 7 07 p m - Gen Buller telegraphs as follows : "Nelthorpe, March 1, 5 20 p m - 1 havp just returned from Ladysmith. Except >i sojall guard north of Sur I pri?e Hill, the whole of the enemy j latelv besieg'cg the town have i retired in haste and io the sooth of i the town the country is quite c?ear of i them The garrison *7o:e on half a j pound of meal a man per day and i supplementing the L:eai ration by ! horres and mu?e3 The men will want a little nursing j i before being fit for the field " - ! i j London, March 1 -When the j news of the relief of Ladysmith be i j came generally known London liter j ally went mad with joy and through I out England the scenes witnessed ! have no parallel in the memories of j this generation The lord mayor of London imme j diately telegraphed bis congratula j tions to Gens White and Buller j When the queen received the news j at Windsor the bells on ?he curfew ; tower of the castie were rung in ! honor of the event I The strain that for 118 day3 had ; k<?pt the nation io terrible anxiety ; was removed The lord mayor show? ed himself af a window out of which : hong a huge City imperial Volunteer ii g and the crowd veiled itself ' hoarse Staid magnates grabbed I flaring posters from newsboys and blandished "Ladysmith relieved" to j the roaring throng AU thought of \ business was forgot too Nothing j could be done on the stock exchange ; but sing ' God Save the Queen" and ! cheer Business on the baltic wheat j market ior cargoes closed at 1 ? o clock No one wanted to trade on : such a day as this. The stores put : up their shutters and gave their j employes a holiday i The lord mayor ordered a holiday i tor the city schools I The great bell in St Paul's was j rung this evening The stately for : eign office so far forgot itself as to j display large ?nionjacks from the I windows A cabinet meetiog was i held and as the niembers met at the I entrance to the foreign office they ! exchanged the warmest congratula? tions j Crowds blocked the war office lob? bies, struggling to see for themselves I the announcement and cheered the j British generals in South Africa to I the echo. Outside Marlborough house, the London residence of the Prince of Wales, a large and jubilant crowd assembled. At Glasgow, Liverpool, Binning ham Edinburgh, and in fact, ia all the cities, big ano iittle flags iiew every wbete. whistles tooted, bells chimed the crowd paraded the streets, singing patriotic 8. :igs. Business j was given up for the day, the schools j were closed, in the harbors all the I vessels dressed ship, and at the ! military and naval depots s es of the wildest enthusiasm pr?valu J At Liverpool, addressing a crowd "of 20 OOO people assembled around the town hall, the lord mayor said : "I thank the Almighty God for the glorious news We have awaited it paitiently We are satisfied that under the humane laws of govern? ment of this couutry, the Boers in a very very short time will be loyal citizens of the British empire " The queen has telegraphed her con? gratulations of Gen Buller and Gen White, and the Prince of Wales has telegraphed congratulation to Gen Butler Lady White, in a message in reply to congratulation, says : "All the world is in sympathy with me today, and I am in sympathy with ali the world. I am delighted ! at the joyful newe o? the relief and am happy at the intelligence that my husband is well and safe at last. As a wife I caa say no more. What happy wife could 6ay more ? ' All day long cheering thousands ! kept up the incessant roar before the I mansion house, and all traffic in j what is London's busiest concourse I ceased Pandemonium reigned The I news of the mansion house demon? stration had spread to ail quarters of the city and there poured in a stream of hoodlums and fakirs, laden down with flags . women, beys, and ali i ports and conditions of people Silk hats flew into the air and small fights were of frequent occurrence The policemen on the spot bad their ! hands fall, but as long as the enthu ? i siasm of the crowd was only confined I to horse play the officers did not in? terfere Tons of fireworks are being bought in preparation for elaborate celebra i tions tonight. In several provincial towns effigies of President Kruger and Gen Cronje were paraded through the streets and maltreated At Glasgow an effigy of President Kruger was subjected to indignities at the foot of the queen's statute Over 1,000 university and college students paraded the streets of Lon don singing ' Rule Britannia" and j cheering Cape Town, March 1 -The news of the relief of Ladysmith W3S offi? cially promulgated at about 10 o'clock this morning and spread like wildfire The residents parading the streets ano fi^s and bunting being displayed everywhere Throngs ! of people crowded in front of Gov j emmett house, hurrahing and sing j j ing An excited crowd stormed Parlia j ment house and a man mounted the j flagstaff and heisted the Unionjack as j a protest against the altitude cf the j I ministry j Probably Only a Paree to Delay Roberts' Advance. London, March 3, 4 15 a. m - Lord Roberta at Osfontein, six or eight miles east of Paardeburg. faces the reformed Boer army, from 5,000 to 6.000 strong This may be mere? ly a corps cf observation ready to retire on prepared positions Doubt less it is receiving accretions from the late besiegers of Ladysmith and from other poiuts Whatever the force may be. Lord i Roberts has ample troop*? to cope I j with it The Boers urn temporarily ! favored by a heavy rain falling on ! the veldt and/making the grass im j prove Lord Roberts hs? surprised ob j servers by the excellence cf his j j transport during the first advance, j and he is likely to do so again, al . though military men here think he must wait for some days before going much fatther The Boers, presumably, will use thia delay for all it is worth, pulling theil resources together Dr Leydes gives out the opinion that the Brit ish entry of Bloenfontein ie daily expected, as Commandant Dewet and Delarey bad been instructed to retard the advance of Lord Roberts only until the concentration under j Gen Joubert had been accomplished No adequate explanation is yet made of the 50,000 reeuforcements that the government is preparing for Lord Roberts. Such explanatious as nre advanced tentatively suggest either that the Cape Dutch have be come moie restive or that the impe? rial government has a hint of foreign suggestions as to the future status of the aliied republics BULLER TAKES CREDIT FOR DOING IT ALL. Loudon, March 3, li 30 a m.-The war office has received *!:e folio wing j horn Gen Buller : Ladysmith, Friday, March 2. O' .'JO ? p m -I fi;.d the defeat of the Boera j more corapiete than ? had dared to j anticipate This whole district is completely clear of them and except at the top of Van Reenene pass, where ueveral wagons are visible, I can find DO trace of them Their last train left Modder spruit station about 1 o'clock yesterday and they then blew up the bridge They packed their wagons six days ago, moving them to the north of Lady smith, so that we had no ch.ance of intercepting them, but they have left vast qaantitie8 of ammunition of all sorts, herds, grass camp and individual necessaries They have got away with all their guns except two " PRISONERS SEEMED HAPPY. Paardeburg, Wednesday, Feb 28. All the prisoners were paraded yesterday afternoon. They extended in a long trai?Dg line, like a serpent across the plain and as far as possible were arranged in commandoes. The Free Staters were kept separate from the Transvaalers Thelook'upon the faces of the men as they passed made it impossible to arrive at any other conclusion than that they were all overjoyed at their release from the daily bell of shot and shell which they had been experiencing lately. Many did not even take the trouble to conceal their delight from the sol dierfi garding them They chatted freely with the British discus-ing the different battles in which they had fought. All the prisoners have an intense admiration fer the bravery and pluck of the Highlanders and ihpy freely confess that they are incapable of the dash and go and pluck cf the Brit? ish Some of the prisoners have given a vivid description of Gen Cronje's night March It beggan in a panic and terribie confusion prevailed throughout. The huge wagons crowded tbe narrow road. There was an utter lack of order and deser? tions were numerous From them also was learnd the details of the Boer commissariat The Boer ra? tions consisted of one pound and a half of fresh meat daily and one pound and a half of coffee, three pounds of sugar a?d five pounds of flour per man weekly Every man who was off duty visit? ed the boer laager yesterday and the crowd of curious Tommies spent the day in searching every nook a?d cor ner. What might prove useful to the army has been secured and the sol? diers were allowed to take whatever they liked The men carried off clothing, kettle?, cups and even um? brellas The latest reports announce that a large force of Boers is operating teu miles away cn the British right front WOMEN DIED IN TRENCHES. Colenso, Feb 28 -Thc Boers ?est heavily duriD^ yesrerday's fighting Tho lyddite wrought fearful havoc in the trenches. Macy of the wounded were quite yellow from thc effects of thc fumes. Over a hundred prisoners were taken. Many of them were Hol? landers and a few were genuine Boers It is said the ammunition for rifles fell j into the hands of the British as well as tbe damaged Maxim gua Thre3 Boers of 16 years of age are among the wounded. Tbe prisoners had co* beard of the surrender of Geo Cronje and discredit? ed it. The majority seemed to be iliad to be captured They admit heavy losses recently. The womeo remained wiro the B ors io tb* crenchas until '?.rec hours before tbe Bri:i>li charged. ! Two women were found, cr.e dead, tho otber fatally wounded. Before she ; diei. the Utter said her husband would i not let ber ?o cs she was such a ?r03? ! sho*. The woman was only 19 years oid. An idea of the in ten fi ry of the snell 5rc can be gathered from the fact that 'sf the 95 guus in action the Nineteenth battery alon*1 fired 794 round?, firi?g every 10 second* The British casual? ties were about 200 meD. HARD FIGHTING WAS DONE. London, March 2.-Gen Buller's casualties among his officers duriog the fighting of Feb 27 were : Killed. Col O'Leary, of the Lanoasbires ; Major Lewis, Capt Svkes aod Lieut Simpson, of the Scots Fusiliers ; Lieut Moori lyan. of the Warwickshire?, and Lieot Daly, of the Irifh Fusiliers Wound ed. Gen Barton, Col Carr, of the Soots F?siliers, and 23 others. AMMUNITION EXHAUSTED. London. March 2.-The Standard publishes tbs following dispatch from Ladysmith dated Thursday, March 1 : ' The once dashing cavalry brigade has j practically ceased to exist At the becrirjoioff of the year we had 5.500 hors'.H and 4,500 mules Before the end of January we c uld only feed 1,100 horses, the others had either been converted into joints, soups and sausages or had bren left to forage for j themselves Tb^se poor, emaciated j animal*-mere phantoms of horses were among the mo?r painful eights of tho siege. "Had we possessed au unlimited amount of heavy guns and ammuni? tion, we might have coade the position more bearable, although not a shes was fired, excent io dire necessity, there were on Feb 1 ouiy 40 rounds ?eft for each naval gun, while tbe sup? ply for the fis'd artillery would have been exhausted in a couple of min?te engagements Fortunately, the Boers were ignorant of the true state of affairs Had they known of our real weakness, they might have displayed greater daring with results which now that we are safe-we can venture to contemplate We are victorious because of our masterly inactivity. "The bombardment was heavy but on the whole ineffective. It is said that during the investment about 12, OOO shells were throwo into the town, an average of three tons of explosives daily Yet we bad only 35 men kill ed and 188 wounded Our largest losses were fr:>m diseases. THANKSGIVING OF HEROIC PEOPLE Ladysmith, March 1 -Surrounded hy cheering soldiers, townspeople and coolies celebrating tbs relief of the town, Sir George White at the poet office adires?2d rhe throng He said : .People of Ladysmith, I thanked you for the heroic and patient rcanoer io which you assisted me duriog the siege It hort me terriblv to cut down thc rations, but thank God, we sept the flag flying v Then, profoundly moved, Geo White lcd the assercbiv in singing "God Save tho Qaeen " BOERS ABANDONED QUANTITY OF SUPPLIES . Ladysmith, Thursday, March 1 - Geo Bailer, accompanied by hts ctaff, ! arrived here at 11.40 a. m today He eotercd the town unnoticed ss more cavalry v?as ccmicg in during tbe moroitig. The news of bis arrival soon spread however, and Geo White and his 6taff at once went to receive him The two generals met amid sceoeet of tremendous enthusiasm and Geo Buller had an immense recepci?n. It is uoderstood that the Boers are io full flight toward the Free State and a flying column of Ladysmith troops are pursuing them The Boers tefe many wagons and guos and quantities of provisiocs and ammunition bobind l?ten. CRONJE TREATED WITH CON? SIDERATION j Orange River, March 1 -G:n j Cror ja and his wife sassed bet'5 la: t j oi^h!, en route to Cane Town EiaD i ojaee pr. pc-orient bad been taken to I prevent the public from seeing him. I f-.-'? tho dScers were orderid off ci ! tho station and thc refresbmeo' room j war Iiept closed before bi? arrival, to i the discomfort cf the Kimberley pas.-ec i s"-'*, who Wire obliged to go fuodle-s. j Gen Cronje looks dejected and cti-cr I abie and :.; moe h moro gray. He I entered the re fres h ai mt room acccm j p.nied by bis sife, soo and interpreter j and G?n Pettym&Q and his s'.aff. Tak j icg bin roat at a table Gee Cronje covert'd his face with hts hands for a few minures as he eosa^ed in prayer. An Issue for the Democrats. The Republicans forced their Porto Rican tariff taiiff bili through the house and the little island which came under the American flag with such fair promises and high hopes is ; to suffer commercial oppression, j worse in its eiP';t than the political j tyranny of cpain The consequences I of this first enactment for the new ' possessions of the United States will . be far reaching and the policy will j bear upon our colonia! ambitions I closely and with evil effect We j have started out very badly and I there is prospect that we will make ! a sad mess of the whole business if j we are to continue in the course we i have entered upon. The Republicans have inaugurated a greedy and short-sighted policy for dealing with the new possessions, in respect to the Philippines and to Porto Rico, actual American territo ry, and Cuba, prospectively such And in this situation is to be found a strong, sound, material from which the Democrats could make a plat form. There is something live in it, something worth striving for, a hearty prospect and a lusty future to develop The Democratic party would do welt to take it up. There is something wholesome about ibis feature of the new Americanism, something lasting and true, and a party might thrive and grow upon it, I instead of sickening away on the 6tale diet of free silver and anti im? perialism -Charleston Post ? The Cnickamauga Monument Columbia Feb 27.-At the recent session of the Genera! Assembly a joint resolution was adopted carrying an appropriation of $10,000 with which to erect a suitable and substan? tial monument to the soldiers who fought so gloriously on the Chicka mauga battlefield Under the law Governor Mcsween? ey was to appoint three commis? sioners, who weie to co operate with Governor M cSweeney and Gen Floyd in the selection of monument and the preparation for the unveiling. Gov McSweeney appointed Gen C. I. Walker, Col J. Harvey Wilson and Mr C. K Henderson, as the three commissioners. There was a fall meeting today of the members of the commission in the excutive mansion The members went over the whole situation care folly. There was a similar commis? sion appointed in 1896, and they went to the trouble of having plans, made and accepting invitations, but there was no money forthcoming. The work of that commission was of value to the present ooe, some of the same members having served on both commissions Gov McSweeney was elected chair? man at the meeting today and Gen C. ? Waiker secretary It was decided to cai! for new bids and plans, and it is to be distinctly understood that the entire woik is Dot to cost over $9,000 It is of the utmost importance that the monument be completed by the first week in October The Chicka manga commission has announced that it will have the park open to the public on October 9, 10 and ll, and under the rules of the park the unveiling should occur during this time The commission will meet again on March 27 in Gov McSweeDey's office to award the contract -Newe and Courier. Takes Charge Today. The newly elected State liquor commissioner, Mr Orum, expects to take charge cf affairs at the State dis? pensary, his bond having been ap? proved Mr Crum wished to start out with the first day of the month with an entire new set of books. Yesterday stocktaking was going on at the dispensary preliminary to the transfer today No changes are like I ly to be made in ibe bookkeeping department of the institution unless Mr Y e 1 d e i I has to retire on account j of distant relationship to Chairman ! Williams Mr Crum has not vet an 1 nounced any of his appointments - j The State ! Cotton Speculators Wild to Bay, Nsw York, Feb 28-Tbe wildest excitement witnessed on thc Cotton Exchacse to resent vears rrevaiied t-day, transactions reaching tba ccor SJOUS retal of about 1,000,000 bales. The shorts were cribing lesa than furious to cover. At times, bc- great wss tbe excitement, brokers wculd be offering to bu? cotton ai two cr three p iots above the prices at which others were overing to sell i? V\ hile the demaod was general and largely liom 1 European sources the featu'.v of the loeal market was tbs iosaMatk1 demand ?'rcm a Wail Srrec: concern, repureri io be bciviiy ??hort cf March contracts rind also reputed to have been 'i bc-ivy seller yesterday in keeping with s ?irge number jf bearish dispareswhich ?bey eeot tor'h y-.vorday Tbl? con? cern b-u;-zh: enormous quanti'ioQ of cortos, especially for August ?eiscery. Ar i">c best point tho ma-iier shooed the unusual aavmco of 18 to 39 points. Tr.e r?cor? cf trars^atioos overflowed tbe largo h. ard provided for their accommodation aod aa auxiitary boura was provided to complete 'be record of :be day's transac-uus Just before the close there was a .^eilog mcvjcaeot to secure profits ?nd tbe market ?aished irregular and C3sy at a net advance of 14 to 24 points. For Goefael's Murderer. Frankiert, Feb 28 -Tbc Ward bill, which appropriates ?100,000 to be pat io thc hands of a committee to be expended by that committee in ao effort to detect, and ooovicr the assassin of Gov Wm Gobel, was passed today by the house by a strict party vote of 52* to 25 Five hours was epeot in exciting debate over the bill aod ali substitutes and amendments to it were vo ed dewo. The bill as pissed is in its original form BAKING POWDER Makes the food more delicious and wholesome ROYAL BAKING POWOER CO., NEW YORK.