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Show ft W GERMANS AND HOTTENTOTS MEET ON KALAHARI DESERT ! '4 Last of Hostile Chiefs,, 8uffcrs Defeat x at Hands of Soldiers Who Penetrated Pene-trated Trackless Desert. 1 : A Borlln. Tho government has published pub-lished a cablegram from South Africa reporting a battlo between tho Gorman Gor-man expeditionary forces nnd a body fk.. of Hottentots In tho ICnlnharl desert. w Tho German troops had been sent out to find Simon Kroppers, tho last or tho Hottentot chlers, who is still hostile. Tho engagement was a vory severo ono. Tho enemy lost fifty-eight fifty-eight killed. Seven mon nnd aoveral women wero captured. Tho German ( losses also were heavy. Captain von j Erckert, commander of tho expeditionary expedi-tionary forces; Lieutenant Eblncor- and twclvo privates being killed nnd j seventeen wounded, of whom nlno wero seriously hurt. Tho German forco left Cochas on March C 430 strong, with four mnchlno guns nnd 700 camels. Thoy mado rorced. marches Into tho waterless desert ror four days beforo stopping long enough to cook n fresh supply of lood. Tho only water found waa a dirty pool, which wa3 Insufficient to J quench tho thirst of tho cnmcla. Captain Cap-tain Erckert finally located tho Hottentot Hot-tentot enmp on March 15. Ho began tho attack next morning at daybreak and soon there wns llcrco fighting all along tlio lino. Tho German commander com-mander fell In tho ilrst onslnught and tho second officer In command took chnrgo of tho expeditionary forces, which drovo the Hottentots from one A j position to another, until flnnlly thoy I ' broko and fled In all directions. , Chief Kroppcr's power has been ; bndly weakened by this doreat, but It will bo necessary for tho Germans to contlnuo a vigilant watch over tho j approaches to tho desert. |