I Pretoria and 112 1 Her Sera? Forts § g HOY) tl\e Capital of Boers Has £ Beer) Fortified. C P C Pretoria, capital of the Transvaal, is a country town, asleep back of mountain walls and the frowning guns of seven modern forts. Here, unless all present indications fail and the war ends earlier than men expect, the Boers will make their last stand against the English and endure a pos sibly lengthy and bloody siege before capitulation. On three sides of Pretoria the mountain ranges rise to elevations of 1000 and 2000 feet above the streets of tho city, which itself is 4500 feet above BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL, DEFENSES OF PRETORIA. t=ea level, but 1100 feet lower than tho site of Johannesburg to the south. On the fourth side—the south and facing the approach from Johannes burg—tho range flattens away to a vast and level plateau, treeless, deso late, exposed at every point to the sweep of any guns that may command it. The town is 1080 miles from Capetown, fifty from' Johannesburg. On the map it eeems as easy of ap proach as a prairie village in Ne braska. But the map topographer fails to present the lofty, barren hills that face the south plateau, the gjfggggffiilgSEs Mm THE IIA AD HOUSE, PRETORIA. precipitous banks of Aapies River, the narrow gorges—so few in number —the innumerable "spion" or lookout kopjes that seem literally to leap from the bosom of the plain and suddenly, silently oppose access to the capital city. You look up to the mountain fronts as your train struggles to find its way into Pretoria and wherever the eye rests there appears to be the lines of a fort, a redoubt, the front of masked batteries or the domes of bomp-proof rifle and oannou pits. To the north, east, west and south these engirdle the city. They command the few— very few—narrow entrances to Pre toria. They watoh like great dogs tho dusty, sun-rotted-veldt over which any English troops coming from the south must pass. They blink at tho railroad to Johnnr.esburg'and the cne to Lorenzo Marques. They fce the north at Winder Doom and guard the wnys to Beersheba, Hebron and Polonia. Their location has been with purpose. Coptuin Schiel, now as English prisoner, constructed tho one at Daspoort from plans obtained in Berlin. He brought special assibt '' PRESIDENT KBUQEB'S HOU6E, PRETORIA. auts from Berlin to nid him in the work. Amsterdam engineers built others of tbo defenses. After them enruo French and then tlinßa of Tt.nlv ho thai the comdeted | structures represent the genius of four nations. PRES. KRUOER's CHURCH AT PRETORIA. (Here lie holds services, exhorting the Burghers who drive in from miles around in their ox-curts.) No one just knows—or will admit knowing—tho inward mechanisms of these forts, the mysterious battery lo cations. When tho forts were build ing workmen employed on one part of the structures were not allowed to work on another part. Sentries were posted at all the entrances. Knowl edge of the details of the work was kept from all but the president and the commanding officers. In external appearance the seven forts are alike. They have masonry faces, with earthwork which covers their fronts to a great depth. Pile upon pile of sandbags are stacked up wherever shells from the enemy might strike. There are many hidden re cesses, secret passages, complete tele phone connections—not only with each other, but with government buildings in Pretoria. Searchlights are mounted in each structure so as to command the surroundingoountry at night. The magazines are underground and are reported to be mined. Eeport has it also that the near approaches are mined and that the electrical construction is such that considerable portions of an enemy's army might be blown into eternity before surrender came. For food, in the event of siege, enormous quantities of maize have been accu mulated—euough, it is said, to feed the army and the population of Pre toria for five years. The supply of ammunition is calculated to be suf ficient for two years. The center of the system of forts lies about 3600 feet to the westward of the northern end of Pretoria, and has a radius of something more than 7000 yards. Ths center of the city is only about 11,000 feet, nearly due south, on the fort on Signal Hill, which is about 400 feet above the plain on tho west side of the railway to Johannesburg, and about 13,000 feet from the fort on the hill to the east of the railway and the Aapies River running to the north. Between this fort and the river are the foun tains that furniih the water supply of Pretoria. The distance between the forts on either side of the railway is 7100 feet. The railway station, where the lines from Johannesburg on the south, Delagoa Bay on the east and Petersburg on the north form their junction, is immediately outside the city on the south side. The railway to Pietersbnrg, after winding some distance to the westward, passes out i of Ihe plain on whioh Pretoria is i situated, through the Daspoort or de , Ale in the range of hills behind the , city. Through this also runs the Aapios Ri?er the railway and river running together across the piaia tiirough the Winderboom Poort. Both river and railway pass under the gone of a large fort 21,000 feet from the center of Pretoria. The westernmost fort is on the range of hills behind Pretoria, and lies at a distance of 81,000 feet from the city's oenter. There is a powerful redoubt to the southwest on the range of hills through which the transport road to Johannesburg passes. This com pletes, with various earth batteries, the circle of the larger works defend ing the Boer capital. Behind the great redoubt are the principal maga zines. one exoavated out of the solid rook, with a bombproof roof, and the other built into the kloop, also bomb proof. Communication between the redoubt and the last-mentioned maga zine is by means of a covered way. Roads connect all these forts with the capital, and they have pipes laid for water, as well as eh c.ric lights for the search lights. The Boers call the ranges about Pre toria The town was laid out after 183(5 by them and named after Pretorius, one of their first and strongest leaders. He was the first President of the Republic and Com mandant General of tlieir'army. The real growth of the town did not com' mence until after the victory at Majuba Hill in 1881. Johannesburg is the center and home of the Uitlanders— the nervons, adventurous element of the Transvaal. But Pretoria is es sentially the center of the pastoral Boers. Tropical flowers and plants cover the valley in which it lies, aud willows grow in every direction. Nearly all of the buildings are white in color. On the dome of the capitol is a golden statue of Liberty. The Witwatersrand mines, which yield $100,000,000 annually, are but a short distance from tbe capitol. Howard C. Hillegas, in Harper's,|m£ntions the universal prevalence of the bicycle ill Pretoria, of the telephone aud the electric car. The Boer congress—the vclksraad—meets at Pretoria, aud President Kruger has lived there for liiteen years. American goods are largely in evidence in the shops of the town, and the Americau shopman is already there in large numbers. Pre ii^i -iiigifSp: OOJI PACL'S BUILDING AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION. toria does not and has not encouraged the presence of Englishmen, but Ger mans and Frenchmen are welcomed. The streets are broad and clean, the water supply fine and ample. Ju spite of its bloody war with Great Britain the South African Republic had time to plan and complete a build ing at the Paris Exposition aud to make it ready for the Transvaal ex hibit. Every visitor to the great ex position will be specially interested in this display. The chief feature of the exhibit is a collection of native min erals, including the gold ores of the Band and uncut diamonds. The ex hibit also contains specimens of the agricultural industry of the Transvaal, such as fruits and cereals. A collec tion of hunting trophies, including the skins of lions, leopards and other wild animals, shows what the Boers have had to encounter in their marches north through the wilderness. The building has two stories, with a cen tral tower and cupolas on the corners. Drinking Water For Engineers. To provido drinking water on loco motives a Southern man has designed a tank to fit in one side of the large water tank on the tender, the body of the small tank being surrounded by the water in tho large tank to keep the drinking water cool. FILIPINO POLICE. Under American Supervlalon Natives Keep Order In Manila. Native police were an experiment onoe in Manila. Now they are a fix ture. They carry their revolvers and swing their clubs in an independent manner, hold their heads Ligh and wear yellow shoes with all the dignity of one to the manner born. Colonel Williston, the Provost Marshal, hesi tated a long time before he would per mit the natives to carry arms. But at last Major Tiernan, who belongs to the First Artillery by rights, and who is Chief of Police by virtue of his ap pointment and ability, persuaded the Colonel to seleot a small number of the natives to patrol the streets that were not as prominent as the Escoita or as public as the Luneta. Kahki, in » different shado from that worn l»y tbe soldier, was chosen as the uniform. At first there was a question as to how they should carry something to enforce the laws of the highway and the city. So they were given clubs. Now, a club is effective so long as it is within reach of the evil-doer, but as there was more or less robbery going on among the na tives it became a necessity to arm the police with something that would shoot. That is how it came about that the native police were armed with revolvers as large as those carried by the American soldiers. Each policeman wears a cap, and that gives him a military air. His uniform is tailor made and tits him perfectly. The trousers are long enough to reach below the tops of yellow shoes and sometimes are stuffed inside the lacings. On the breast is a silver badge showing a number and precinct. The officers aro designated much as I hey are iu the army, either by stripes on the sleeves or straps on the shoulders. They travel out of their stations in twos, one walking along each side of the street. One thing these uniformed men do is to keep the streets clean of all dirt und refuse. A garbage wagon daily comes along every street, the native driver rings a bell and the honseholder is supposed to send a sorvaut out with the day's accumulation from the kitchen and tho stable. It is one of the duties of the police to see that the caraboa cart is not kept waiting too long at the door. The men composing the force are brave. They have been compelled to rush into houses where robbers were NATIVE POLICE IN* MANILA. at work. More than one lias been carried away to the hospital badly wounded iu the fights which have fol lowed. Besides this they have the confidence of the natives and have been able to inform the officials of dan gerous plots or the presence of insur gent agents. All this has resulted in the appoint ment of more native policemen and the establishment of more stations. Colonel Williston is satisfied that the experiment has proved a success. Among other things it shows that the work of reconstruction will be made easy, for there is growing confidence in the ability of the native to admin ister his own affairs. Where Tommy Atkhift Get* His Name. Every British reader should know the origin of the sobriquet "Tommy Atkins." Tommy Atkins was the name of a sentry who, when the Euro peans in Lucknow were flying for the Residency, from the mutineers, re fused to leave his post, and so per ished. After that it beoame the fash ion to speak of a conspicuously heroio soldier in the fights with the rebels as "a regular Tommy Atkins."—Lon don Daily News. Queen Victoria's FHIIIOUA Steer. Although many people are aware of the fact tuat the Queen of England is very fond of all kinds of live stock, it is not generally known that she goes in for stock raising as a very serious business, and adds very materially to the royal income by so doing. Such, however, is a fact, for the Queen Has long been known to bo the happy pos- --- sessor of some of the best and most profitable live stock in the kingdom. The accompanying illustration shows her famous Hereford steer, which has wen prize after prize at different cat tle shows and has just been success ful in carrying off the blue ribbon at the Birmingham cattle show. Queen Victoria is said to take a great per sonal pride in the handsome animal, which has brought her in many hun dred pounds of trize uiouev | CHILDREN'S COLUMN. !j The Hoy of the Vauill>. Now, If anyone has an easy time in thi.i world of push and pull, It is not the boy of the faintly, For his hands are always full. I'd like to ask who fills the stovo? Where la the girl that could/ Who brings iu water, who lights the lire? And splits the kindling wood/ And who Is it that cleans the walks, After hours of snowing'.' In summer, who keeps down the weeds By diligently hoeing'/ And who must harness the faithful horse, When the girls would ride about? And who must clean the carriage/ The boy, you'll own, no doubt. And who does the many other things Too numerous to mention'/ Tliu boy ift the "general utility man," And really deserves a pension! Friends, just praise this boy sometimes, When lie does his very best: And don't always want the easy chair When he's taking a little rest. Don't let him niwavs be the last To see the new magazine; And sometimes let the boy be heard, AH well AX to be seen. That boys are far from perfect. Is understood bv all; But they have hearts, remember. For "men are boys grown tall." And when a bov has heen working His level best for days. It does him good, I tell you. To have some heartv prai-e. He's not merely a combination Or muddy boots and noise. And he likes to be looked upon As one of the family joys. —The Gem. Ke»»i> Your fiend Up. One of tbe best wars iu the world to keep the shoulders straight is to hold the head up in the air. If you go with your head lopping forward you look like au enervated apology for yourself, and pretty soon you will begin to feel as "hangdog" as you look. A long-continued habit of keeping the head bent forward tends to develop the characteristics that the attitude implies, you get slouchy in your dress, irresolute iu your habit of speech, absent-minded, and likely enough, finally, a poor, sneaking counterfeit of a boy or girl. So hold up your head physically and it will help you to hold up your head spirit ually and meutally. lour tendency will be to breathe deeper, to walk freer and to see more of the world. The earth is beneath. The sky, trees, human faces and hosts of other inter esting things are so high up that yon will not see them at all unless you throw back your shoulders and lift np your heud to its nntural and honorable place. A bent head teuds to make the shoulders round, the chest hol low, the gait poor, for your tendency is always to be pitching forward, and so we find that "stoop-shouldered" persons develop lung trouble, spinal trouble and a generally undersirable condition. Hold up your head! I.iMenint; for Xoine*. There had been a noisy bedtime romp aud tho Hotnekeeper was just wondering how to quiet her little Lodgers for sleep, when Four-Years solved the problem for her by sud denly suggesting, "Let's listen for noises." The wiudows were open to let in the sweet uir of the summer evening, aud the Lodgers all settled themselves into comfortable positions to prevent any rustling. The Transient also settled herself with au air of expect ancy to see what was coming. When all were ready, the Homekeeper gave the word, "Now!" aud the mystified Transient sat for three or four long minutes in what seemed to her total silence, wondering if some spoil had been cast over tho Lodgers and put them all to sleep. The silence was broken at Inst by the Homekeeper askiug, "How inntiy!" and the quick answers showed ♦ hat something else than sleep had kept the Lodgers quiet. "deveu!" "Four!" "Nine!" "Six!" were the various answers given, and the Transient was astonished at the list of souuds heard when she had heard nothing. The ticking of the clock, the night call of a bird, the chirp of a cricket, the distant barking of a dog, the far-away rumble of an electric car, a long breath from Four- Years, who had found it hard to keep quite still so long, the far-off rattle of a wagon, the shutting of a door in the next house and the rustle of the Transient's dress were all noted. The advantages of this simple game are obvious. The Tater BHIIV. Thore wasooneu n e a little girl named Ruth who had a great many dolls. One day her father brought her a new one, the funniest of them nil. It was a big potato that bad a head, n uyck aud a body. In the head were two eyes, and a little hump between for a nose. Wasu't Ruth delighted? She be gan right away to dress her "tater baby." First she stuck iu sticks for arms, theu she put on a blue check dress, aud tied on a blue kuit cape aud a blue bonnet. She found a shoe box, and brother Ned helped her make a can iage out of it. He tied a string to it and put spools underneath. Then the new dolly went to ride. Every night Ruth put her baby into the closet in her bedroom. Sometimes she put it out on the piazza roof to get au airing and tied the string to a blind so that the car riage could not slip down. Once she forgot and left her baby out on the roof all night. When morning came she went to the window and looked out but there was no car riage, and no dolly. Then she ran downstairs and out of-doors as quickly as she could. There, on the grouud, lay tbe poor baby, but its head was biokeu q.ii'e off. Ruth caught it up and ran in «•▼* ing. She did not stop crying unftl Ned stuck the head on with a stivk, and tied it with a string to hold it <>u tight. Then "the tater baby" looked almost as good as new. Bat one day a still worse thing hap pened. Ruth was token sick, and the new dolly was put into the closet and left there a long, long time. When Ruth got better she thought of her baby, and went to get it Her mother heard a loud scream and hurried upstairs to sos what wan the matter. There stood Ruth, sob bing as if her heart would break. "What has happened, my child?" said her mother. "Oh, oh," sobbed Ruth, "Xed has spoiled my bnbv!" "Where is it? And what has he done?" "in the closet. He Htuck sticks all over it, audit is spoiled?" Her mother went to the closet, took up the dolly, aud at the luuny sight that met her eyes, she could not help laughing. Ruth looked at her in wonder, and stopped crying. "Why, Ruthie.Ned has not touched your dolly! It has sprouted!" said her mother. And sure enough it bad. There was a long sprout ou the end of its nose, and two coming out of the eves. They were stickiug out of the holes iu the bonnet and the capo, and hanging dowj below lhe dress. Ruth did not like it at all, She de clared that she did not want a nolly that would do like that, so one day "the 'tater baliy" was takeu ont-o!'- (■"oors and pat into the ground, where it grew, and iu time became a big green potato plunt.—The Favorite. liriio I'roiTiiAn. When Billie took the milk to Mrs. Se dou one morning, and shj asl.ed him it' he woul I bring another quart iliat night,he said "i'es'm" promptly, and then never thought of it agai.i until he was iu bed. ■'vVell, 1 cau't take it now," said Billie; but he could not goto sleep, ' though he turned and tossed aud twisted till he was tiled. At last he went to the head of tho stairs and shoute 1, "Mother!" ; Mrs. Fain eld had just tlneadel ■ her needle and stretched a sto< kiug with a big hole in it over her hand. She t-aid "Oh, dear!" but she went tc see what Billie waute 1 . "You'll have togo now," she saiJ | quietly, when he had told her. | "O mother! I can't go away up i there alone." Mrs. Fairfield knew that, for Billie was ne?er out alone at night. His father had goue to bed j downstairs with the babv, and.it they waked him, baby would wake, too. j So Mrs. Fairiield thought a minute. Then she said, "We'll see. I'll liava the milk ready when you cjui« dowu." ! When Billie got into the kitchen, his mother stood at the door with her hat and shawl on. Billie began tc feel ashamed. He wished he dared togo alone, but he did not, for it was i a lonesome road. He took the milk and they tramped over the snow lip the long hill withont a word. Tha wind blew in their faces and Billie'* ears were cold, but he had the niil!< can in one band and pulled his sled with the other, so there was no way ' to warm them. He was ashamed tc ask his mother to take the milk. Mrs. Seidell exclaimed when she opened tho door: "Why, what lnadt ' you come away up heretouight? And ; you, too, Mrs. Fairtield. It's too bad-' I could have got along somehow with out the milk." "Billie promised you," Mrs. Fair field answered. And Billie wished nobody would look at him. " 'Twaan't any matter, she said, mother," he urged, when they had started for home agai.i. The wind was in their backs now, and Billio's ears were warm. "Buy the truth, and sell it out,' said his mother. "The matter was j your promise, Billie. Would you sell ! the truth just to get rid of walking up to Mrs. Seidell's!" Billie made no answer. He was ashamed again. ! Presently he asked his mother if sh« I would slide down hill. Mrs. Fairtielo laughed, but she was a small wouiau, and she tucked herself up ou thefrou' | of the sled, while Billie stuck oil be hind, aud they slid down the long hil to their own yard, where Billie skill' i fully steered in. His mother praised the way he managed his sled, but j Billie was still uncomfortable. "Why don't you do something tc ! me, mother?" he said, while they were warming themselves at the big coa l : stove in the silting room. "I b'lieve I I'd feel better to have a good whip j ping." His mother smiled at him. " 'Twould be pretty hard work fot me to whip such a big boy as you are. ; Don't you want to help instead 01 i making ino do more? I'll tell von how you will be punished, Billie,'' she continued. "It's too la'e to finish I mending these stockings tonight, so ) shall mend them tomorrow when I was i going to make a cottage pudding and there'll be no pudding for dinner." Cottage pndding was Bidie's lavor ; ite desert, and this was a blow thai he laid to heart. He and his father would say "cot i tage pudding" to each other for a long time afterward, if nnythiug was ia daugerof beinL» neglect'd or forgotten. ] Aud when Billie had grown to be * I man, and people said, "Just gi\e me | Billie Fairheld's word; that's all 1 waut," Billie would smile and say, "Ves, my mother taught me to keep s promise."—ruuday School Times. Knn<l.iinniitHl Principle*. She—Yes, a woman's first duty is tc li«r husband. He—What's a man's first duty? She—Why, to become the husband of soma nice girl, of course.
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