THE WAR.

Thames Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9619, 23 April 1900, Page 4

THE WAR.

CRONJE'S SURRENDER,

DRAMATIC SCENE 1.

Mr...F.; "W. Wilkirisoh, j>he special of the Melbourne Age, thus describes the scene of Cronje'si surrender: Cronje's surrender was quite the most dramatic scene in the whole campaign, so far as it has gone. I never saw anything so absorbingly interesting.' The headquarters camp was then pitched .just opposite a drift at the foot of the kopje. Several little shrub arbors had been builti or the river bank for Lord Roberts anc 1 his staff. The 'Gommander-in.-Chi.eft' wagfon and Cape carb--stood alongside, and then his tent.. This was the scene of Tuesday's parleying between Roberts and Cronje. The Boer commandant, soon after 6 o'clock in the morning, emerged from the laager, riding a gray horse. Alongside him rode his secretary, Keizer, bearing a white flag, and an' interpreter. General Pettyman went out from our lines to meet him, and conducted him to the Commander-in-Chief's quarters;. Lord Roberts, who was standing at his arbor door just, then, advanced five yards, and offered his hand to the Boer commandant. Cronje took it, but not too eagerly. In dress he was about as much like a military commandant as a Jewish rabbi is. He is short, and excessively broadly built, wears a hard felt hat of Quaker .pattern, long brown walking coat, reaching down to his knees, lodse, baggy trousers, turned up at the bottom, .-i and > ordinary walking boots; In his right hand he carried a jambok, with which he continually slapped his leg. He smoked a cigar quite nonchalantly all the time. Lord Roberts, courteous and urbane,, as though doing honor of his own, house to a distinguished stran-ger,-bowed Cronje to a seat, which had been.placed for.;him> opposite the arbour! He dismounted and sat, throwing one : leg loosely over the other, and puffed steadily at his cigar. From time "to time, as conversation progressed, he,slapped his b6ots'with his jambok, and spat out some tobacco juice, considering hard all the time. Of course we couldn't hear, what , transpired. .There was a big crowd of staff officers round the little group, and all that one could catch was 1 "unconditional surrender,," repeated more r than : once by Lord Roberts. .

A -MOROSE' COMPLIANCE. , At last. Cr.onje,, i afte.r,a < good deal of spitting and swishing afc his trousers, snapped'out fro^ni beneath his set teeth,;V'Yah!" " He Refused to speak in i .EngliSih the interview,: although 'I*'believe;.he understands - it thoroughly. This practically closed the interview. Cronje remained •at headquarters while his, secretary rode back to communicate to the Boer troops the result of the confab. Arriving at the trenches he spoke to the second in command, and immediately from all sorts of odd nooks and corners emerged crowds of Boers), with their women and children wringing their hands and bemoaning their hard lot with bitter tears. They came out from their biicj-ows for all the world like,ants from their heaps. The river bank waa alive with them —all sorts .and conditions. ; Even children in, arms had been admitted. From the far side of the river they had to cross ■a,,deep drift,waist .high. •;, Qver they (Came in hundreds;, husbands..carrying wivea , over, on their backs, fathers with children'on shoulders, rifles and trousers under their armpits. All had divested themselves of trousers to make the crossing. MRS. CRONJE'S GREAT GRIEF.

Mrs. Cronje came out of her" trap — a small; hard-featured woman, dressed in deep black from .head to foot. With her were her. son, about 14 years of age,' and son-in-law, about 30. The old lady Seemed tobe in'great trouble; She :wept bitterly, while inquiring of everyone.what had become of her husband. "Have they shot him yet?" she queried, with) the air of one who expected it. No, they hadn't shot him yet, she was told. The rest of. the t;women were equally anxious as to what would become of them, but the men took it all with £heir characteristic stolidity. They scrambled up the side of the bank, and made several huge piles of their Mauser rifles. Cartridge's they left by millions in' the trenches. About 50 yards from the, .drift, they fell in—that is to say, they congregated together, some standing to attention, others sitting down on. the ground, and the rest.lying down. It was a big crowd, .nearly 4000 strong, to say nothing of noncombatants. Mrs. Cronje and- other members of her family were driven up to Lord Roberts' tent,, where they joined -her. husband ab dinner, just outside "Bobs's" little, arbour. Five of them-got through<a.leg of mutton. a ham, and sundries—apparently they 'hadn't had - much of- a; feed- for weeks; the^ ate with such keen relish. Finally, the Crorije: family-, in their own-waggon,:with'six- of our artillery horses in'■'the 1'-traces,* left ■ for' Modder river-and • Capetown.