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.