{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4944", "width": "3274", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN WAR", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "A Boer great-grandfather.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN WAR\\nTHE STORY OF THE BRITISH-BOER WAR OF\\n1899-1900, AS SEEN FROM THE BOER SIDE,\\nWITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE MEN AND\\nMETHODS OF THE REPUBLICAN ARMIES\\nBY\\nHOWARD C. HILLEGAS\\nAuthor of Oom FauV s People\\nILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS\\nAND A MAP OF SOUTH AFRICA\\nNEW YORK\\nAPPLETON AND COMPANY\\n1900", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "38167\\nAUG 24 1900\\nSECOND COPV.\\n0\u00c2\u00bbHverad to\\nOKOtR DIVISION,\\nSEP 6 I9nn\\nCopyright, 1900,\\nBy D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.\\nUiOl\\nA", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "PREFACE\\nThe war in South Africa spread over such\\na vast area of territory, and included so many\\nbattles, that no one man can hope to present a\\ntruthful picture of all the interesting events in\\none volume. It has been my aim, in the follow-\\ning pages, to show the Boer army, country, and\\npeople as they existed prior to the British oc-\\ncupation of Pretoria, and an earnest effort has\\nbeen made to represent men and matters as\\nthey presented themselves to the eyes of an\\nAmerican. Personal feeling has been elimi-\\nnated, and the Boers apparent faults have\\nbeen portra3^ed as truthfully as their good\\nfeatures. To those earnest friends of the\\nBoers, who can see no fault in them, certain\\nparts of the book will come as a rude shock,\\nwhile other parts may offend Britons. There\\nwere brave Boers as well as brave Englishmen,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "vi THE BOERS IN WAR\\nbut neither army could claim a total lack of\\ncowardice, and consequently some of these\\npages may wound the sensibilities of those\\nwho allow their sentiment to overrule their\\ngood judgment.\\nIn referring to the Boer army as consisting\\nat no time of more than thirty thousand armed\\nmen I speak with the assurance of being right.\\nMr. Douglas Story of the London Daily Mail,\\nMr. Thomas F. Millard of the New York\\nHerald, Mr. John O. Knight of the San Fran-\\ncisco Call, and I visited all the principal laagers\\nand commandos on the various frontiers, and\\nmade earnest efforts to secure an accurate ac-\\ncount of the number of men engaged. We had\\nthe assistance of the war department and all the\\ngenerals, but even with their help the results\\nnever exceeded thirty thousand burghers in the\\nfield.\\nThe Boers may not be victorious in the war,\\nbut they have made as brave a struggle as did\\nour Revolutionary forefathers. Whether their\\nGovernment will be submerged as a result of\\nthe war will depend upon the magnanimity of\\nthe British people but no one who has been\\nwith the burghers in the field, and has heard", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "PREFACE\\nVll\\ntheir expressions of sentiment, will believe that\\nSouth Africa will ever again have any affection\\nfor its mother country. The Boers of the Trans-\\nvaal and the Orange Free State, who were wont\\nto celebrate the Queen s birthday with as much\\ngusto as the most patriotic Englishmen, will not\\nbe content to live under the British flag, and\\nthe Cape Colonists have determined to possess\\nan emblem of their own. Some day a man will\\narise who can lead the Afrikanders, and then\\nthere will be a united, a peaceful South Africa\\nunder a South African flag.\\nHoward C. Hillegas.\\nParis, July^ igoo.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "CONTENTS\\nCHAPTER PAGE\\nI. The Way to the Boer Country i\\nDelagoa Bay and the blockaded port Lorenzo\\nMarques, the Boers only friend -The journey to Pre-\\ntoria\u00e2\u0080\u0094The capital and its scenes\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The consuls and their\\nwork\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The last meeting of the Volksraads.\\nII. From Farm to Battlefield 29\\nThe lion hunter of old and his modern garb The\\nfeud between the lions and the hunters The conference\\nand the oath The gathering of the hunters The jour-\\nney to the battle ground.\\nIII. The Composition of the Boer Army 47\\nThe citizen soldiers of the republic Young men in\\nthe army\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The Penkop Regiment\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Grandfathers and\\ngreat-grandfathers in the ranks -The fighting takhaar\\nThe Boers horse\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Religious feeling in the army.\\nIV. The Army Organization 76\\nThe superfluity of generals The election of officers\\nInfluences of popularity, religion, and politics The\\nKrijgsraads -Boer pickets and scouts.\\nV. The Boer Military System gg\\nThe disparity between the armies A national and\\nnatural system of warfare\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The burghers adaptability\\nand mobihty The retreat of the three generals\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Boers\\nbravery.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "X THE BOERS IN WAR\\nCHAPTER PAGE\\nVI. The Boers in Battle 125\\nBoer forces always outnumbered\u00e2\u0080\u0094 A battle in which\\nadvantages were equal\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The fight at Sannaspost The\\narmy trekking\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The arrival on the battlefield\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The first\\nshot of the engagement The capture of men and guns\\nThe battle in progress\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Singing the Soldiers of the\\nQueen.\\nVII. The Generals of the War .154\\nThe great work they accomplished\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Commandant-\\nGeneral Joubert and his work\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Cronje and his capture\\nat Paardeberg\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Botha s rapid advancement from burgher\\nto commandant general\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Generals Lucas Meyer, De\\nWet, and De la Rey.\\nVIII. The War Presidents 202\\nPresident Kruger and his work during the war\u00e2\u0080\u0094 His\\nvisits to the burghers The oration over Joubert s\\nbody\u00e2\u0080\u0094 His departure from Pretoria President Steyn\\nand his work in the Free State.\\nIX, Foreigners in the War 231\\nThe arrival of the volunteers -The objects of the for-\\neigners The soldiers of fortune, the looter, and the\\npatriot Americans aiding the republics The Irish\\nBrigade and the American scouts.\\nX. Boer Women in the War 260\\nThe Boer woman s legacy Her patriotism before the\\nwar\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Assisting an embarrassed Government Baking\\nbread, making clothing, caring for the wounded Fight-\\ning in the trenches Voting to join commandos The\\nwomen of Pretoria.\\nXL Incidents of the War 283\\nTragic and amusing spectacles in battles The burgh-\\ners mistake at Magersfontein Rhodes s lone follower\\nat Colenso The young burghers playing I spy with\\nBritish shells at Ladysmith\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Baden-Powell s amusing\\nletter A peer in distress.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\\nA Boer great-grandfather Frontispiece\\nForeign military attaches g\\nA group of British prisoners in Pretoria -15\\nPhysicians of American Red Cross corps i8\\nMilitary prison, Pretoria, where British officers were con-\\nfined 21\\nAdelbert S. Hay, United States consul at Pretoria 24\\nAmerican consulate, Pretoria 26\\nArrival of a commando at Majuba Hill 32\\nMeeting of a ward commando 38\\nA district commando awaiting a railway train for embarka-\\ntion 41\\nCrossing the border into Natal 45\\nA Boer burgher 48\\nTakhaar and penkop fought side by side -51\\nA section of the Penkop Regiment 53\\nAn old takhaar 60\\nType of uniformed Boer artillerist 64\\nMen accompanied by their native servants 67\\nA group of takhaars 73\\nElection of a field cornet 80\\nA Boer picket in early morning 93\\nThe battlefield at Elandslaagte 108\\nA burgher and his breakfast 113\\nPlan of Sannaspost battlefield 139\\nGeneral Snyman and Commandant Botha .156", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "Xll\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ntake\\nafter\\nCommandos in laager at Mafeking\\nGeneral Piet J. Joubert\\nIn the schanzes near Ladysmith\\nA group in General Cronje s army\\nCommandant-General Louis Botha\\nGeneral and Mrs. Lucas Meyer\\nCommandant-General Christian De Wet\\nNicholson s Nek, where twelve hundred British were\\nprisoners\\nGeneral Peter De Wet\\nPaul Kruger\\nGeneral Joubert s camp at Glencoe\\nPresident Kruger in war time\\nPresident Kruger s private car, used as the capitol\\nevacuation of Pretoria\\nF. W. Reitz, Secretary of State of the Transvaal\\nPresident Steyn with his burghers\\nHon. Webster Davis, travelling in President Kruger i\\nvate car\\nA Cossack fighting with the Boers\\nColonel Maximofif, of the Russian corps\\nGeneral De La Rey and Colonel Guorko, Russian military\\nattache\\nPresident Kruger receiving the American scouts\\nColonel Blake, of the Irish Brigade\\nCaptain Richiardi, of the Italian scouts\\nFour generations of the Kruger family\\nMrs. General Meyer\\nWife and children of John Steyl\\nThe Misses Eloff\\nGeneral and Mrs. Louis Botha\\nMrs. General Meyer preparing her husband s breakfast\\nSpion Kop after the fight\\nSpion Kop battlefield\\ns pri-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN WAR\\nCHAPTER I\\nTHE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\nImmediately after war was declared between\\nGreat Britain and the Boers of the Transvaal\\nand the Orange Free State the two South\\niVfrican republics became shut off, in a great\\nmeasure, from the rest of the civilized world.\\nThe cables and the great ocean steamship lines\\nwhich connected South Africa with Europe and\\nAmerica were owned by British companies, and\\nconsequently they were employed by the British\\nGovernment for its own purposes. Nothing\\nwhich might in any way benefit the Boers was\\nallowed to pass over these lines, and as far as it\\nwas possible the British Government isolated the\\nrepublics so that the outside world could have\\nno communication of any sort with them. With\\nthe exception of a small strip of coast land on\\nthe Indian Ocean the two republics were com-\\npletely surrounded by British territory, and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "2 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nconsequently it was not a difficult matter for the\\ngreat empire to curtail the liberties of the Boers\\nto as large an extent as pleased the men who\\nconducted the campaign. The small strip of\\ncoast land, however, was the property of a\\nneutral nation, and therefore could not be\\nused for British purposes of stifling the Boer\\ncountries but the nation which ruled the waves\\nexhausted every means to make the Boers air-\\nhole as small as possible by placing a number\\nof war ships outside the entrance of Delagoa\\nBay, and by establishing a blockade of the port\\nof Lorenzo Marques.\\nLorenzo Marques, in itself, was valueless to\\nthe Boers, for it had always been nothing more\\nthan a vampire feeding upon the Transvaal, but\\nas an outlet to the sea, and as a haven for foreign\\nships bearing men, arms, and encouragement, it\\nwas invaluable. In the hands of the Boers Dela-\\ngoa Bay Avould have been worse than useless,\\nfor the British war ships could have taken pos-\\nsession of it and sealed it tightly on the first day\\nof the war but as a Portuguese possession it\\nwas the only friend that the Boers were able to\\nfind during their long period of need. Without\\nit the Boers would have been unable to hold\\nany intercourse with foreign countries, no en-\\nvoys could have been despatched, no volunteers\\ncould have entered the country, and they would\\nhave been ignorant of the opinion of the world", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY 3\\na factor in the brave resistance against the\\nenemy which was by no means infinitesimal.\\nDelagoa Bay was the one window through\\nwhich the Boers could look at the world, and\\nthrough which the world could watch the brave\\nstruggle of the farmer citizens of the veld re-\\npublics.\\nThe Portuguese authorities at Delagoa Bay\\nlong ago established a reputation for adroitness\\nin extracting revenues whenever and wherever it\\nwas possible to find a stranger within their gates,\\nbut the war afforded them such excellent oppor-\\ntunities as they had never enjoyed before. Being\\nthe gate of the Boer country was a humanitarian\\nprivilege, but it also was a remunerative busi-\\nness, and never since Vasco da Gama discovered\\nthe port were there so many choice facilities\\nafforded for increasing the revenue of the colony.\\nNor was the Latin s mind slow in concoct-\\ning schemes for filling the Portuguese coffers\\nwhen the laws were lax on the subject, for it\\nwas the simplest expedient to frame a regula-\\ntion suitable for everj^ new condition that arose.\\nThe Portuguese was willing to be the medium\\nbetween the Boers and the people of other parts\\nof the earth, but he demanded and received a\\nlarge percentage of the profits.\\nWhen the Avorks of the Johannesburg gold\\ndistrict were closed down, and the Portuguese\\nheard that they would no longer receive a com-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "4 THE BOERS IN WAR\\npulsory contribution of a dollar from every na-\\ntive who crossed the border to work in the\\nmines, they felt ill at ease, on account of the\\ngreat decrease in the amount of public revenues,\\nbut it did not worry them for any considerable\\nlength of time. They met the situation by impos-\\ning a tax of two dollars upon every one of the\\nthousands of natives who returned from the\\nmines to their homes in Portuguese territor}^\\nAbout the same time the Uitlanders from the\\nTransvaal reached Lorenzo Marques, and in\\norder to calm the Portuguese mind every one\\nof the thousands of men and women who took\\npart in that exodus was compelled to pay a tran-\\nsit tax ranging from two to five dollars, accord-\\ning to the size of the tip tendered to the official.\\nWhen the van of the foreign volunteers\\nreached the port there was a new situation to\\nbe dealt with, and again the principle of When\\nin doubt, impose a tax, was satisfactorily em-\\nployed. Men who had just arrived in steamers,\\nand who had never seen Portuguese territory,\\nwere obliged to secure a certificate indicating\\nthat they had not been inhabitants of the local\\njail during the preceding six months a certifi-\\ncate from the consular representative of their\\ncountry showing that the}^ possessed good char-\\nacters another from the governor general to\\nshow that they did not purpose going into the\\nTransvaal to carry arms a fourth from the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\n5\\nlocal Transvaal consul to indicate that he held\\nno objections to the traveller s desire to enter\\nthe Boer country and one or two other pass-\\nports equally weighty in their bearing on the\\nsubject were necessary 43ef ore a person was able\\nto leave the town. Each one of these certificates\\nwas to be secured only upon the payment of a\\ncertain number of thousand reis, and at an ad-\\nditional expenditure of time and nervous energy,\\nfor none of the officials could speak a word of\\nany language except Portuguese, and all the\\napplicants were men of other nationalities and\\ntongues. The expense in connection with the\\ncertificates was more than five dollars for every\\nperson, and as there were thousands of travellers\\ninto the Boer countries while the war continued,\\nthe revenues of the Government were corre-\\nspondingly great. To crown it all, the Portu-\\nguese imposed the same tax upon all travellers\\nwho came into the country from the Transvaal\\nwith the intention of sailing to other ports.\\nThe Government could not be charged with\\nfavouritism in the matter of taxation, for every\\nman, woman, and child who stepped on Portu-\\nguese soil was similarly treated. There was no\\ncharge for entering the country, but the jail\\nyawned for him who refused to pay when leav-\\ning it.\\nNot unlike the patriots in Cape Town and\\nDurban, the hotel and shop keepers of Lorenzo", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "6 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nMarques took advantage of the presence of\\nmany strangers and made extraordinary efforts\\nto secure the residue of the money which did\\nnot fall into the coffers of the Government. At\\nthe Cardoza Hotel, the only establishment\\nworthy of the name, a tax of five dollars was\\nlevied for sleeping on a bare floor drivers of\\nstreet cabs scorned any amount less than a\\ngolden sovereign for carrying one passenger\\nto the consulates lemonades were fifty cents\\neach at the kiosks and physicians charged\\nfifteen dollars a call when travellers remained\\nin the town several days and contracted the\\ndeadly coast fever. At the customhouse duties\\nof several dollars were levied upon foreign flags,\\nunless the officer was liberally tipped, in which\\nevent it was not necessary to open the luggage.\\nIt was a veritable harvest for every one who\\nchose to take advantage of the opportunities\\noffered, and there were few who did not make\\nthe foreigners their victims.\\nThe blockade by the British warships placed\\na premium upon dishonesty, and the majority\\nof those who gained most by it were British\\nsubjects. The vessels which succeeded in pass-\\ning the blockading war ships were invariably\\nconsigned to Englishmen, and without exception\\nthe consignees were unpatriotic enough to sell\\nthe supplies to agents employed by the Trans-\\nvaal Government. Just as Britons sold guns and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY 7\\nammunition to the Boers before the war, these\\nmen of the same nation made exorbitant profits\\non supplies which were necessary to the burgher\\narmy. Lorenzo Marques was filled with men\\nwho were taking advantage of the state of af-\\nfairs to grow wealthy by means which were not\\nthoroughly legitimate, and the leaders in almost\\nevery enterprise of that nature were British\\nsubjects, although there were not a few Ger-\\nmans, Americans, and Frenchmen who succeed-\\ned in making the fortunes they deserved for re-\\nmaining in such a horrible pest hole.\\nThe railroad from Lorenzo Marques to Ros-\\nsana Garcia, at the Transvaal border, was rather\\ninteresting from its historical significance than\\ncomfortable for travelling purposes. As the\\ntrain passed through the dry, dusty, and unin-\\nteresting country which was even too poor and\\nunhealthy for the blacks, the mind speculated\\nupon the question whether the Swiss judges\\nwho decided the litigation concerning the road\\nwould have spent ten years in reaching a con-\\nclusion if they had been compelled to conduct\\ntheir deliberations within sight of the line. The\\nland adjoining the railroad was level, well tim-\\nbered and well watered, and the vast tracts of\\nfine grass gave the impression that it might be\\nan excellent country for farming but it was in\\nthe belt known as the fev^er district, and white\\nmen avoided it as they would a cholera-infested", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "8 THE BOERS IN WAR\\ncity. Shortly before the train arrived at the\\nEnglish river several lofty whitestone pyramids\\non either side of the track were passed, and the\\nTransvaal was reached. A long iron bridge\\nspanning the river was crossed and the train\\narrived at the first station in the Boer country,\\nKoomatipoort.\\nCourteous Boer officials entered the train\\nand requested the passengers to disembark with\\nall their luggage for the purpose of custom ex-\\namination. No gratuities were accepted there\\nas at Lorenzo Marques, and nothing escaped the\\nvigilance of the bearded inspectors. Trunks\\nand luggage were carefully scrutinized, letters\\nread line by line and word for word, revolvers\\nand ammunition promptly confiscated if not de-\\nclared, and even the clothing of the passengers\\nwas faithfully examined. Passports were closely\\ninvestigated, and when everything appeared to\\nbe thoroughly satisfactory a white cross was\\nchalked on the boots of the passengers and they\\nwere free to proceed farther inland. The field\\ncornet of the district was one of the few Boers\\nat the station and he performed the duties of\\nhis office by introducing himself to certain pas-\\nsengers whom be believed to be foreign vol-\\nunteers and offering them gratuitous railway\\ntickets to Pretoria. No effort was made to con-\\nceal the fact that the volunteers were welcome\\nin the country, and nothing was left undone to", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "0)\\n(A\\nc\\ns\\nc\\nU\\nc\\no", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "lO THE BOERS IN WAR\\nmake the foreigners realize that their presence\\nwas appreciated.\\nAfter Koomatipoort was passed the train\\ncrept slowly into the mountainous district where\\nhuge peaks pierced the clouds and gigantic\\nboulders overhung the tracks. Narrow defiles\\nstretched away in all directions, and the sounds\\nof cataracts in the Crocodile River flowing\\nalongside the iron path drowned the roar of the\\ntrain. Flowering, vari-coloured plants, huge\\ncacti, and thick tropical vegetation lined the\\nbanks of the river, and occasionally the thatched\\nroof of a negro s hut peered out over the un-\\ndergrowth to indicate that a few human beings\\nchose that wild region for their abode. Hour\\nafter hour the train crept along narrow ledges\\nup the mountains sides, then dashed down de-\\nclines and out upon small level plains, which,\\nwith the surrounding and towering eminences,\\nhad the appearance of vast green bowls. In\\nthat impregnable region lay the small town of\\nMachadodorp, which later became the capital\\nof the Transvaal. A few houses of corrugated\\niron, a pretty railway station, and much scenery\\nserved as a worthy description of the town at\\nthe junction of the purposed railway to the gold\\nfields of Lydenberg.\\nAfter a journey of twelve hours through the\\nfever country the train reached the western\\nlimit of that belt, and rested for the night in a", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY n\\nsmall, green, cup-shaped valley bearing the de-\\nscriptive name of VVaterval Onder Under the\\nwaterfall/ The weary passengers found more\\ncorrugated iron buildings and the best hotel in\\nSouth Africa. The host, Monsieur Mathis, a\\nFrench-Boer, and his excellent establishment\\ncame as a breath of fresh air to a stifling\\ntraveller on the desert, and long will they live\\nin the memories of the thousands of persons\\nwho journeyed over the railroad during the\\nwar. After the monotonous fare of an east\\ncoast steamer, and the mythical meals of a\\nLorenzo Marques hotel, the roast venison, the\\nfresh milk and eggs of Mathis were as welcome\\nas the odour of the roses that filled the valley.\\nThe beginning of the second day s journey\\nwas characterized by a ride up and along the\\nsides of a magnificent gorge through which the\\nwaters of the Crocodile River rushed from the\\nlofty plateau of the high veld to the wildernesses\\nof the fever country, and filled that miniature\\nSouth African Switzerland with m3^riads of\\nrainbows. A long, curved, and inclined tun-\\nnel near the top of the mountain led to the\\nundulating plains of the Transvaal a marvel-\\nlously rapid transition from a region filled with\\nNature s wildest panoramas to one that con-\\ntained not even a tree or rock or cliff to re-\\nlieve the monotony of the landscape. On the\\none side of this natural boundary line was an", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "12 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nimmense territory every square mile of which\\ncontained mountain passes which a handful of\\nBoers could hold against an invading army on\\nthe other side there was hardly a rock behind\\nwhich a burgher rifleman could conceal him-\\nself. Here herds of cattle and flocks of sheep\\ninstead of wild beasts sped away from the roar\\nof the train here was the daub and wattle cot-\\ntage of the farmer instead of the thatched hut\\nof the native savage.\\nSmall towns of corrugated iron and mud-\\nbrick homes and shops appeared at long in-\\ntervals on the veld grass fires displayed the\\npresence of the Boer farmer with his herds;\\nand the long ox teams slowly rolling over the\\nplain signified that not all the peaceful pursuits\\nof a small people at war with a great nation\\nhad been abandoned. The coal mines at Bel-\\nfast, with their towering stacks and clouds of\\nsmoke, gave the first evidence of the country s\\nwondrous underground wealth, and then farther\\non in the journey came the small city of Mid-\\ndleburg with its slate-coloured corrugated iron\\nroofs in marked contrast to the green veld grass\\nsurrounding it. Here appeared armed and ban-\\ndoliered Boers, prepared to join their country-\\nmen in the field, with wounded friends and sad-\\nfaced women to bid farewell to them. While\\nthe train lay waiting at the station small com-\\nmandos of burghers came dashing through the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\n13\\ndusty streets, hustled their horses into trucks at\\nthe end of the passenger train, and in a few\\nmoments were mingling with the foreign vol-\\nunteers in the coaches. Gray-haired Boers\\ngravely bade adieu to their wives and children,\\nlovers embraced their weeping sweethearts, and\\nthe train moved on toward Pretoria and the bat-\\ntlefields where these men were to risk their lives\\nfor the existence of their country.\\nHistoric ground, where Briton and Boer had\\nfought before, came in view. Bronkhorst Spruit,\\nwhere a British commander led more than one\\nhundred of his men to death in 1880, lay to\\nthe left of the road in a little wooded ravine.\\nFarther on toward Pretoria appeared rocky\\nkopjes where afterward the Boers, retreating\\nfrom the capital city, gathered their disheart-\\nened forces and resisted the advance of the\\nenemy. Eerste Fabriken was a hamlet hardly\\nlarge enough to make an impression upon the\\nmemory, but it marked a battlefield where the\\nburghers fought desperately. Children were\\nthen gathering peaches from the trees whose\\nroots drank the blood of heroes months after-\\nward. Several miles farther on were the hills\\non the outskirts of Pretoria, where, in the war\\nof 1881, the Boer laagers sent forth men to en-\\ncompass the city and to prevent the British\\nbesieged in it from escaping. It was ground\\nhallowed in Boer history since the early Voor-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "14\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ntrekkers crossed the ridges of the Magaliesberg\\nand sought protection from the savage hordes\\nof Moselekatse in the fertile valley of the Aapjes\\nRiver.\\nPretoria in war time was most peaceful. In\\nthe days before the commencement of hostili-\\nties it was a city of peace as contrasted with\\nthe metropolis, Johannesburg, and its warring\\ncitizens, but when cannon were roaring on the\\nfrontier Pretoria itself seemed to escape even\\nthe echoes. After the first commandos had de-\\nparted the city streets were deserted, and only\\nwomen and children gathered at the bulletin\\nboards to learn the fate of the burgher armies.\\nThe stoeps of houses and cottages were de-\\nserted of the bearded yeomanry, and the halls\\nof the Government buildings resounded only\\nwith the tread of those who were not old or\\nstrong enough to bear arms. The long ox\\nwagons which were so familiar and common\\nin the streets were not so frequently seen, but\\nwhenever one of them rolled toward the market\\nsquare it was a Boer woman who cracked the\\nrawhide whip over the heads of the oxen. Pre-\\ntoria was the same quaint city as of old, but it\\nlacked the men who were its most distinguish-\\ning feature. The black-garbed Volksraad mem-\\nbers, the officials, and the old retired farmers\\nwho were wont to discuss politics on the stoeps\\nof the Capitol and the Transvaal hotel were ab-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "m\\na\\no\\nu\\nbe", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "l6 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nsent. Inquiries concerning them could be ad-\\ndressed only to women and children, and the\\nreplies invariably were, They are on com-\\nmando, or They were killed in battle.\\nThe scenes of activity in the city were few\\nin number, and they were chiefly in connection\\nwith the arrival of foreign volunteers and the\\ntransit of burgher commandos on the way to\\nthe field. The Grand Hotel and the Transvaal\\nHotel, the latter of which was conducted by\\nthe Government for the temporary entertain-\\nment of the volunteers, were constantly filled\\nwith throngs of foreigners, comprising soldiers\\nof fortune. Red Cross delegations, visitors, cor-\\nrespondents and contractors, and almost every\\nlanguage except that of the Boers was heard in\\nthe corridors. Occasionally a Boer burgher on\\nleave of absence from the front appeared at the\\nhotels for a respite from army rations or to at-\\ntend the funeral of a comrade in arms, but the\\nforeigners were always predominant. Across\\nthe street, in the war department, there were\\nbusy scenes when the volunteers applied for\\ntheir equipments, and frequently there were\\nstormy spectacles when the European tastes\\nof the men were offended by the equipment\\noffered by the department officials. Men who\\ndesired swords and artistic paraphernalia for\\nthemselves and their horses felt slighted when\\nthe scant but serviceable equipment of a Boer\\ni", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY 17\\nburgher was offered to them but sulking could\\nnot remedy the matter, and usually they were\\ncontent to accept whatever was given to them.\\nFormer officers in European armies, noblemen,\\nand even professional men were constantly ar-\\nriving in the city, and all seemed to be of the\\nsame opinion that commissions in the Boer army\\ncould be had for the asking. Some of these had\\ntheir minds disabused with good grace, and went\\nto the field as common burghers; others sulked\\nfor several weeks but finally joined a commando,\\nand a few returned to their homes without hav-\\ning heard the report of a gun. For those who\\nchose to remain behind and enjoy the peaceful-\\nness of Pretoria there was always enough of\\nnovelty and excitement among the foreigners\\nto compensate partly for missing the events in\\nthe field.\\nThe army contractors make their presence\\nfelt in all countries which are engaged in war,\\nand Pretoria was filled with them. They were\\nin the railwa}^ trains running to and from Lo-\\nrenzo Marques, in the hotel corridors, in all the\\nGovernment departments, and everywhere in\\nthe city. A few of the naturalized Boers, who\\nwere most denunciatorv of the British before\\nthe war and urged their fellow-countrymen to\\nresort to arms, succeeded in evading the call to\\nthe field, and Avere most energetic in supplying\\nbread and supplies to the Government. Nor", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "m-i^\\nu\\nO\\nU\\nP^\\n6", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\n19\\nwas their patriotism dimmed by many reverses\\nof the army, but they selfishly demanded that\\nthe war should be continued indefinitely. Euro-\\npeans and Americans who enjoyed the protec-\\ntion of the Government in times of peace were\\ntransformed by war into grasping, insinuating\\ncontractors, revelling in the country s misfor-\\ntune. Englishmen, unworthy of the name, en-\\nriched themselves by furnishing sinews of war\\nto their country s enemy, and in order to\\nsecure greater wealth sought to prolong the\\nwar by cheering disheartened Boers and ex-\\npressing faith in their final success. The cham-\\nbers of the Government building were filled\\nwith men who had horses, wagons, flour, forage,\\nand clothing to offer at exorbitant prices, and in\\nthousands of instances the embarrassed Govern-\\nment was obliged to pay whatever sums were\\ndemanded. Hand in hand with the contractors\\nwere the speculators, who were taking advan-\\ntage of the absence of the leading officials to\\nsecure valuable concessions, mining claims, and\\neven gold mines. Before the war, when hordes\\nof speculators and concession seekers thronged\\nthe city, the scene was pathetic enough, but\\nwhen all the shrewd Raad members were at\\nthe front and unable to guard their country s\\ninterests, the picture was dark and pitiful.\\nPretoria seemed to have but one mood dur-\\ning the war. It was never deeply despondent\\n3", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "20 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nnor gay. There was a sort of funereal atmos-\\nphere throughout the city whether its residents\\nwere rejoicing over a Spion Kop or suffering\\nfrom the dejection of a Paardeberg. It was the\\nsame grim throng of old men, women, and chil-\\ndren who watched the processions of prisoners\\nof war and attended the funerals at the quaint\\nlittle Dutch church in the centre of the city.\\nThe finest victories of the army never changed\\nthe appearance of the city or the mood of its\\ninhabitants. There were no parades or shout-\\ning when a victory was announced, and there\\nwas the same stoical indifference when the news\\nof a bitter defeat was received. A victory was\\ncelebrated in the Dutch church by the singing\\nof psalms, and a defeat by the offering of pray-\\ners for the success of the army.\\nThe thousands of British subjects who were\\nallowed to remain in the Transvaal, being of a\\nless phlegmatic race, were not so calm when a\\nvictory of their nation s army was announced,\\nand when the news of Cronje s surrender reached\\nthem they celebrated the event with almost as\\nmuch gusto as if they had not been in the ene-\\nmy s country. A fancy-dress ball was held in\\nJohannesburg in honour of the event, and a\\nchampagne dinner was given within a few yards\\nof the Government buildings in Pretoria but a\\nfew days later all the celebrants were transported\\nacross the border by order of the Government.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\n21\\nOne of the pathetic features of Pretoria was\\nthe Boers expression of faith in foreign media-\\ntion or intervention. At the outset of hostilities\\nit seemed unreasonable that any European na-\\ntion or America would risk a war with Great\\nMilitary prison, Pretoria, where British officers were confined.\\nBritain for the purpose of assisting the Boers,\\nyet there was hardly one burgher who did not\\ncling steadfastly to the opinion that the war\\nwould be ended in such a manner. The idea\\nhad evidently been rooted in their mind that\\nRussia would take advantage of Great Britain s", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "22 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nentanglement in South Africa to occupy Herat\\nand northern India, and when a newspaper item\\nto that effect appeared it Avas gravely presumed\\nto indicate the end of the war. Some overzeal-\\nous Irishmen assured the Boers that, in the event\\nof a South African war, their fellow-countrymen\\nin the United States would invade Canada, and\\ninvolve Great Britain in an imbroglio across the\\nAtlantic in order to save British America. For\\na few weeks the chimera buoyed up the Boers,\\nbut when nothing more than an occasional news-\\npaper rumour was heard concerning it, the ris-\\ning in Ashanti was looked upon as being the\\nhoped-for boon. The departure of the three\\ndelegates to Europe and America was also an\\nencouraging sign to them, and it was firmly be-\\nlieved that they would be able to induce France,\\nRussia, or America to offer mediation or inter-\\nvention. The two Boer newspapers, the Preto-\\nria Volksstem and the Johannesburg Standard\\nand Diggers News, dwelt at length upon every\\nfavourable token of foreign assistance, however\\ntrifling, and attempted to strengthen hopes\\nwhich, at hardly any time, seemed capable of\\nrealization. It was not until after the war had\\nbeen in progress for more than six months that\\nthe Boers saw the futility of placing faith in\\nforeign aid, and thereafter they fought like\\nstronger men.\\nThe consuls who represented the foreign", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\n23\\nGovernments at Pretoria, and through whom\\nthe Boers made representations for peace, were\\nan exceptionally able body of men, and their\\nduties were as varied as they were arduous.\\nThe French and German consuls were busied\\nwith the care of the vast mining interests of\\ntheir countrymen, besides the partial guardian-\\nship of the hundreds of French and German\\nvolunteers in the Boer army. They were called\\nupon to entertain noblemen as well as bank-\\nrupts, to bandage wounds and bury the dead, to\\nfind lost relatives and to care for widows and\\norphans. In times of peace the duties of a con-\\nsul in Pretoria Avere not light, but during hos-\\ntilities they were tenfold heavier. To the\\nAmerican consul, Adelbert S. Hay, and his\\nassociate, John G. Coolidge, fell more work\\nthan to all the others combined. Besides car-\\ning for the American interests in the country,\\nConsul Hay was charged with the guardian-\\nship of the six thousand British prisoners of\\nwar in the city, as well as with the care of the\\nfinancial interests of British citizens. Every\\none of the thousands of letters to and from the\\nprisoners was examined in the American con-\\nsulate, so that they might carry with them no\\nbreach of neutrality almost a hundred thou-\\nsand dollars and tons of luxuries were distributed\\nby him to the prisoners, while the letters and\\ncablegrams concerning the health and where-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "M\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ns^\u00c2\u00bbm*\\\\\u00c2\u00ab\u00c2\u00ab:\u00c2\u00abT^^^?i^\u00c2\u00bb%;*i*t-\u00c2\u00ab;\u00c2\u00ab^EmiFmm\u00c2\u00bbmT\u00c2\u00abm^#*\u00c2\u00abw*itm\u00c2\u00abm\u00c2\u00ab^^^#^.^\\nAdelbert S. Hay, United States consul at Pretoria.\\nabouts of soldiers which reached him every\\nweek were far in excess of the number of com-\\nmunications which arrived at the consulate in a\\nyear of peaceful times. Consul Hay was in", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\n25\\ngood favour with the Boer Government, not-\\nwithstanding his earnest efforts to perform his\\nduties with regard to the British prisoners and\\ninterests and of the many consuls who have\\nrepresented the United States in South Africa\\nnone performed his duties more intelligently or\\nwith more credit to his country.\\nOne of the most interesting and important\\nevents in Pretoria, before the British occupation\\nof the city, was the meeting of the Volksraads\\non May 7th. It was a gathering of the warriors\\nwho survived the war which they themselves\\nhad brought about seven months before, and\\nalthough the enemy to whom they had thrown\\ndown the gauntlet was at their gates, they were\\nas resolute and determined as on that October\\nday when they voted to pit the Boer farmer\\nagainst the British lion. The seats of many of\\nthose who took part in that memorable meet-\\ning were filled with palms and evergreens to\\nmark the patriots death, but the vierkleur and\\nthe cause remained to spur the living. Gen-\\neral, commandants, and burghers, no longer in\\nthe grimy costumes of the battlefield, but in the\\nblack garb of the legislator, filled the circle of\\nchairs bandoliered burghers, consuls and mili-\\ntary attaches in spectacular uniforms, business\\nmen, and women with tear-stained cheeks filled\\nthe auditorium, while on the ofificial benches\\nwere the heads of departments and the Execu-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "26\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ntive Council, State Secretary Reitz, and Gen-\\neral Schalk Burger. The Chairman of the\\nRaad, General Lucas Meyer, fresh from the\\nbattlefield, attracted the attention of the throng\\nby announcing the arrival of the President.\\nSpectators, Raad members, officials all rose to\\nAmerican consulate, Pretoria.\\ntheir feet, and Paul Kruger, the Lion of Rus-\\ntenberg, the Afrikander captain, entered the\\nchamber and occupied a seat of honour.\\nGrave affairs occupied the attention of the\\ncountry, and there were many pressing matters\\nto be adjusted, was the burden of the meeting,\\nbut the most important work was the defence\\ni", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "THE WAY TO THE BOER COUNTRY\\n27\\nof the country, and all the members were as a\\nunit that their proper places were to be found\\nwith the burghers in the field. There was no\\ntalk of ending the Avar or of surrender, the\\nPresident leading in the proposition to continue\\nhostilities until a conclusion successful to the\\nBoer cause was attained. Shall we lose cour-\\nage he demanded. Never Never\\nNever and then added reverently May\\nthe people and the officers, animated and inspired\\nby a Higher Power, realizing their duty, not\\nonly to those brave ones w^ho have already sac-\\nrificed their lives for their fatherland, but also\\nto posterity, that expects a free country, con-\\ntinue and persevere in this war to the end.\\nWith these words of their aged chieftain en-\\ngraved on their hearts to strengthen their reso-\\nlution, the members of the Volksraads again\\ndonned the garb of burghers and returned to\\ntheir commandos to inspire them with new zeal\\nand determination.\\nAfter this memorable meeting of the Volks-\\nraads, Pretoria again assumed the appearance of\\na city of peace, but the rapid approach of the\\nforces of the enemy soon transformed it into\\na scene of desperation and panic. Men with\\ndrawm faces dashed through the city to assist\\ntheir hard-pressed countrymen in the field, tear-\\nful women with children on their arms filled the\\nchurches with their moans and prayers, desert-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "28 THE BOERS IN WAR\\ners fleeing homeward exaggerated fresh disas-\\nters and increased the tension of the populace\\ntears and terror prevailed almost everywhere.\\nRailway stations were filled with throngs intent\\non escaping from the coming disaster, com-\\nmandos of breathless and blood-stained burghers\\nentered the city, and soon the voice of the con-\\nquerors cannon reverberated among the hills\\nand valleys of the capital. Above the noise and\\ndin of the threatened city rose the calm assur-\\nance of Paul Kruger: Have good cheer; God\\nwill be with our people in the end.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER II\\nFROM FARM TO BATTLEFIELD\\nIn the olden days, before men with strange\\nlanguages and customs entered their country\\nand disturbed the serenity of their life, the Boers\\nwere accustomed to make annual trips to the\\nnorth in search of game, and to exterminate the\\nlions which periodically attacked their fiocks\\nand herds. It was customary for relatives to\\nform parties, and these trekked with their long\\nox wagons far into the northern Transvaal, and\\noftentimes into the wilderness beyond the Zam-\\nbesi. Women and children accompanied the\\nexpeditions, and remained behind in the ox\\nwagons while the men rode away into the bush\\nto search for buck, giraffe, and lion. Hardy\\nmen and women these were who braved the\\ndangers of wild beasts and the terrors of the\\nfever country, yet these treks to the north were\\nas certain annual functions as the Nachtmaals\\nin the churches.\\nMen who went into the wild bush to hunt\\nfor the lions which had been their only uncon-\\n29", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "30\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nquerable enemy for years learned to know no\\nfear, and with their wives and children formed\\nas hardy a race as virgin soil ever produced.\\nWith these pioneers it was not a matter of great\\npride to have shot a lion, but it was considered\\na disgrace to have missed one. To husband\\ntheir sparse supplies of ammunition was their\\nchief object, and to waste a shot by missing the\\ntarget was to become the subject of good-\\nnatured derision and ridicule. Fathers, sons,\\nand grandsons entered the bush together, and\\nwhere there was a lion or other wild beast to\\nbe stalked the amateur hunter was initiated into\\nthe mysteries of backwoodsmanship by his expe-\\nrienced elders. Consequently, the Boers became\\na nation of proficient lion hunters and efficiently\\nridded their country of the pest which continually\\nthreatened their safety, the safety of their fami-\\nlies, and of their possessions of live stock.\\nIn later years, when the foreigner who bought\\nhis farms and searched for the wealth hidden on\\nthem became so numerous that the Boer seemed\\nto be an unwelcome guest in his own house, the\\nold-time lion hunter had foundation for believ-\\ning that a new enemy had suddenly arisen. The\\nBoer attempted to placate the new enemy by\\nmeans which failed. Afterward a bold but un-\\nsuccessful inroad was made into the country for\\nthe purpose of relieving him of the necessity of\\nruling it. Thereupon the old-time lion-fighting", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "FROM FARM TO BATTLEFIELD\\n31\\nspirit arose within the Boer and he began to\\nprepare for future hunting expeditions. He\\nstocked his arsenals with the best guns and am-\\nmunition the world produced, and he secured\\ninstructors to teach him the most modern and\\napproved methods of fighting the new-style\\nlion. He erected forts and stockades in which\\nhe might take refuge in the event the lions\\nshould prove too strong and numerous, and he\\nmade laws and regulations so that there might\\nbe no delay when the proper moment should\\narrive for attacking the enemy. While these\\nmatters were being perfected, further efforts\\nwere made to conciliate the enemy, but they\\nproved futile, and it became evident that the\\nfarmer and the lion of 1899 were as implacable\\nenemies as the farmer and lion of 1850. The\\nlion of 1899 believed his cause to be as just as\\ndid the lion of half a century before, while the\\nfarmer felt that the lion, having been created by\\nNature, had a just claim upon Nature and her\\nworks for support, but desired that sustenance\\nshould be sought from other parts of Nature s\\nstores. He insisted, moreover, if the lion wished\\nto remain on the plantation, that he should\\nnot question the farmer s ownership, nor assume\\nthat the lion was an animal of a higher and finer\\ngrade than the farmer.\\nA meeting between the representatives of\\nthe lions and the farmers led to no better under-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "O\\nc\\n6\\nB\\no", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "FROM FARM TO BATTLEFIELD\\n33\\nstanding in fact, when several days afterward\\nall the fanners gathered at the historic Paarde-\\nkraal monument they were unanimously of the\\nopinion that the lion should be driven out of the\\ncountry, or at least subdued to such an extent\\nthat peace might come and remain. Not since\\nthe days of 1877, when at the same spot each\\nBoer, holding a stone above his head, vowed to\\nshed his last drop of blood in defence of his\\ncountry, was the community of farmers so in-\\ndignant and excited. The aged President him-\\nself, fresh from the conference with the lions,\\nurged his countrymen to prevent a conflict, but\\nto fight valiantly for their independence and\\nrights if the necessity arose. Piet Joubert, who\\nbore marks of a former conflict with the enemy,\\nwept as he narrated the efforts which had been\\nmade to pacify the lions, and finally expressed\\nthe belief that every farmer in the country\\nwould yield his life s blood rather than sur-\\nrender the rights for which their fathers had\\nbled and died. When other leaders had spoken,\\nthe picturesque custom of renewing the oath\\nof fealty to the country s flag was observed, as\\nit had been every fifth year since the days of\\nMajuba Hill. Ten thousand farmers uncovered\\ntheir heads, raised their eyes toward heaven, and\\nrepeated the Boer oath\\nIn the presence of Almighty God, the\\nSearcher of Hearts, and praying for his gra-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "34 THE BOERS IN WAR\\ncious assistance and mercy, we, burghers of the\\nSouth African Republic, have solemnly agreed\\nfor us and our children to unite in a holy cove-\\nnant, which we confirm with a solemn oath. It\\nis now forty years ago since our fathers left the\\nCape Colony to become a free and independent\\npeople. These forty years were forty years of\\nsorrow and suffering. We have founded Natal,\\nthe Orange Free State, and the South African\\nRepublic [Transvaal], and three times has the\\nEnglish Government trampled on our liberty,\\nand our flag, baptized with the blood and tears\\nof our fathers, has been pulled down. As by a\\nthief in the night has our free republic been\\nstolen from us. We can not suffer this, and we\\nmay not. It is the will of God that the unity\\nof our fathers and our love to our children\\nshould oblige us to deliver unto our children,\\nunblemished, the heritage of our fathers. It is\\nfor this reason that we here unite and give each\\nother the hand as men and brethren, solemnly\\npromising to be faithful to our country and\\npeople, and, looking unto God, to work to-\\ngether unto death for the restoration of the\\nliberty of our republic. So truly help us, God\\nAlmighty\\nTen thousand voices then joined in singing\\nthe national anthem and a psalm, and the mem-\\norable meeting at this fount of patriotism was\\nclosed with a prayer and a benediction.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0052.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "FROM FARM TO BATTLEFIELD\\n35\\nAfter this meeting it was uncertain for some\\nmonths which would attack both were pre-\\nparing as rapidly as possible for the conflict, and\\nthe advantage seemed to lie with the one who\\nshould strike first. The leaders of the lions\\nseemed to have forgotten that they had lion\\nhunters as their opponents, and the farmers\\nneglected to take into account the fact that\\nthe lion tribe was exceedingly numerous and\\nspread over the whole earth. When the lead-\\ning farmers met in conclave at Pretoria and\\nheard the demands of the lions, they laughed at\\nthem, sent an ultimatum in reply, and started\\nfor the frontier to join those of their countrymen\\nwho had gone there days before to watch that no\\nbody of lions should make another surreptitious\\nattack upon their country. Another community\\nof farmers living to the south, who had also been\\nharassed by the lions for many years and felt\\nthat their future safety lay in the subjugation of\\nthe lion tribe, joined their neighbours in arms\\nand went forth with them to the greatest lion\\nhunt that South Africa has ever had. The\\nenemy and all other men called it war, but to\\nthe Boer it was merely a hunt for lions, such as\\nthey had engaged in oftentimes before.\\nThe old Boer farmer hardly needed the\\nproclamation from Pretoria to tell him that\\nthere was to be a lion hunt, and that he should\\nprepare for it immediately. He had known", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0053.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "36 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nthat the hunt was inevitable long before Octo-\\nber II, 1899, and he had made preparations for it\\nmonths and even years before. When the offi-\\ncial notification from the commandant general\\nreached him through the field cornet of the dis-\\ntrict in which he lived, he was prepared in a\\nfew minutes to start for the frontier, where the\\nBritish lions were to be found. The new Mau-\\nser rifle which the Government had given him\\na year or two before was freshly oiled and its\\nworking order inspected. The bandolier, filled\\nwith bright new cartridges, was swung over his\\nshoulder, and then, after putting a Testament into\\nhis coat pocket, he was ready to proceed. He\\ndespised a uniform of any kind, as smacking of\\nantirepublican ideas and likely to attract the\\nattention of the enemy. The same corduroy or\\nmoleskin trousers, dark coat, wide-brimmed hat,\\nand home-made shoes which he was accustomed\\nto wear in everyday life on the farm were good\\nenough for a hunting expedition, and he needed\\nand yearned for nothing better. A uniform\\nwould have caused him to feel uneasy and out\\nof place, and when lions were the game he\\nwanted to be thoroughly comfortable, so that\\nhis arm and aim might be steady. His vrouw,\\nwho was filling a linen sack with bread, biltong,\\nand coffee to be consumed on his journey to the\\nhunting grounds, may have taken the oppor-\\ntunity while he was cleaning his rifle to sew a", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0054.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "FROM FARM TO BATTLEFIELD\\n37\\nrosette of the vierkleur of the republic on his\\nhat, or, remembering the custom observed in\\nthe old-time wars against the natives, may have\\nfound the fluffy, brown tail of a meerkats and\\nfixed it on the upturned brim of his grimy hat.\\nWhen these few preparations were concluded\\nthe Kafir servant brought his master s horse and\\nfixed to the front of the saddle a small roll con-\\ntaining a blanket and a mackintosh. To another\\npart of the saddle he strapped a small black ket-\\ntle, to be used for the preparation of the lion\\nhunter s only luxury, coffee, and then the list of\\nimpedimenta was complete.\\nThe horseman who brought the summons to\\ngo to the frontier had hardly reached the neigh-\\nbouring farmhouse, when the Boer lion hunter,\\nuniformed, outfitted, and armed, was on his\\nhorse s back and ready for any duty at any\\nplace. With a rifle, a bandolier, and a horse, the\\nBoer felt as if he were among kindred spirits,\\nand nothing more was necessary to complete\\nhis temporal happiness. The horse is a part of\\nthe Boer hunter, and he might as well have\\ngone to the frontier without a rifle as to go in\\nthe capacity of a foot soldier. The Boer is the\\nmodern Centaur, and therein is found an ex-\\nplanation for part of his success in hunting and\\nin warfare.\\nWhen once the Boer left his home he be-\\ncame an army unto himself. He needed no one", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0055.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "38\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nto care for himself and his horse, nor were the\\nleaders of the army obliged to issue myriads of\\norders for his guidance. He had learned long\\nbefore that he should meet the other hunters of\\nhis ward at a certain spot, in case there was a\\nMeeting of a ward commando.\\ncall to arms, and thither he went as rapidly as\\nhis pony could carry him. When he arrived at\\nthe meeting place he found all his neighbours\\nand friends gathered in groups and discussing\\nthe situation. Certain ones of them had brought\\nwith them big white-tented ox wagons for con-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0056.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "FROM FARM TO BATTLEFIELD\\n39\\nveying ammunition, commissariat stores, and\\nsuch extra luggage as some might wish to carry,\\nand these were sent ahead as soon as the field\\ncornet, the military leader of the ward, learned\\nthat all his men had arrived from their homes.\\nThe hunters then formed what was styled a\\ncommando, whether it consisted of fifteen or\\nfifty men, and proceeded in a body to a second\\nprearranged meeting place where all the ward\\ncommandos of a certain district were asked to\\ncongregate.\\nWhen all these commandos had arrived in\\none locality they fell under the authority of the\\ncommandant who had been elected to that post\\nby the burghers at the preceding election. This\\nofficial had received his orders directly from the\\ncommandant general, and but little time was\\nconsumed in disseminating the orders to the\\nburghers through the various field cornets.\\nAfter all the Avard commandos had arrived, the\\ndistrict commando was set in motion toward\\nthat part of the frontier where its services were\\nrequired and a most unwarlike spectacle it\\npresented as it rolled along over the muddy,\\nslippery veld. In the van were the huge, lum-\\nbering wagons, with hordes of hullabalooing\\nnatives cracking their long rawhide whips and\\nurging the sleek, long-horned oxen forward\\nthrough the mud. Following the wagon train\\ncame the cavalcade of armed lion hunters, grim", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0057.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "40 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nand determined looking enough from a distance,\\nbut most peaceful and inoffensive when once\\nthey understood the stranger s motives. No\\norder or discipline was visible in the commando\\non the march, and if the rifles and bandoliers\\nhad not appeared so prominently it might read-\\nily have been mistaken for a party of Nacht-\\nmaal celebrants on the way to Pretoria. Now\\nand then some youths emerged from the crowd\\nand indulged in an impromptu horse race, only\\nto return and receive a chiding from their elders\\nfor wasting their horses strength unnecessarily.\\nOccasionally the keen eyes of a rider spied a\\nbuck in the distance, and then several of the\\nlion hunters sped obliquely off the track and\\nreplenished the commando larder with much\\nsmaller game than was the object of their expe-\\ndition.\\nIf the commando came from a district far\\nfrom the frontier, it proceeded to the railway\\nstation nearest to the central meeting place and\\nthen embarked for the front. No extraordinary\\npreparations were necessary for the embarking\\nof a large commando, nor was much time lost\\nbefore the hunters were speeding toward their\\ndestination. Every man placed his own horse\\nin a cattle car, his saddle, bridle, and haversack\\nin the passenger coach, and then assisted in\\nhoisting the cumbersome ox wagons on flat-top\\ntrucks. There were no specially deputized", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0058.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "c\\n.2\\n6\\nG\\nO\\nd\\na\\ns\\no\\nu", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0059.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "42\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nmen to entrain the horses, with others to load\\nthe wagons, and still others subtracted from\\nthe fighting strength of the nation to attend to\\nsuch detail duties as require the services of\\nhundreds of men in other armies.\\nAfter the burghers were entrained and the\\nlong commando train was set in motion, the\\nmost fatiguing part of the campaign was before\\nthem. To ride on a South African railway was\\na disagreeable exercise in times of peace, but in\\nwar times, when trains were long and over-\\ncrowded, and the rate of progress never higher\\nthan fifteen miles an hour, all other campaign-\\ning duties were as pleasurable enjoyments. The\\nmajority of the burghers, unaccustomed to jour-\\nneying in railway trains, relished the innovation\\nand managed to make merry, even though six\\nof them with all their saddles and personal lug-\\ngage were crowded into one compartment. The\\nsinging of hymns occupied much of their time\\non the journey, and when they tired of this they\\nplayed practical jokes upon one another, and\\namused themselves by leaning out of the win-\\ndows and jeering at the men who were guard-\\ning the railway bridges and culverts. At the\\nstations they grasped their coffeepots and\\nrushed to the locomotive to secure hot water\\nwith which to prepare their beverage. It sel-\\ndom happened that any Boer going to the front\\ncarried any liquor with him, and, although the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0060.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "FROM FARM TO BATTLEFIELD\\n43\\ndelays and vexations of the journey were suffi-\\nciently irritating to serve as an excuse, drunk-\\nenness practically never occurred. Genuine\\ngood-fellowship prevailed among them, and no\\nquarrelling was to to be observed. It seemed\\nas if every one of them was striving to live the\\nideal life portrayed in the Testament which\\nthey read assiduously scores of times every day.\\nWhether a train was delayed an hour at a sid-\\ning, or whether it stopped so suddenly that all\\nwere thrown from their seats, there was no pro-\\nfane language, but usually jesting and joking\\ninstead. Little discomforts, which would cause\\nan ordinary American or European soldier to\\nuse volumes of profanity, were passed by without\\nnotice or comment by these psalm-singing Boers,\\nand inconveniences of greater moment, like the\\ndisarrangement of the commissariat along the\\nroute, caused only slight remonstrances from\\nthem. An angry man was as rarely seen as one\\nwho cursed, and more rare than either was an\\nintoxicated one.\\nFew of the men were given to boasting of\\nthe valour they would display in warfare or of\\ntheir abilities in marksmanship. They had no\\nbattle cry of revenge, like Remember the\\nMaine! or Avenge Majuba! except it was\\nthe motto, For God, country, and independ-\\nence, which many bore on the bands of their\\nhats and on the stocks of their rifles. Occasion-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0061.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "44 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nally one boasted of the superiority of the Boer,\\nand more frequently one would be heard to set\\nthree months as the limit required to conquer\\nthe British army. The name of Jameson, the\\nraider, was frequently heard, but always in a\\nmanner which might have led one unacquainted\\nwith recent Transvaal history to believe that\\nhe was a patron saint of the republic. It was\\nnot a cry of Remember Jameson for the\\nwrongs he committed, but rather a plea to\\nhonour him for having placed the republic on\\nits guard against the dangers which threatened\\nit from beyond its borders. It was frequently\\nsuggested, when his name was mentioned, that\\nafter the war a monument should be erected to\\nhim, because he had given them warning, and\\nthat they had profited by the warning to the ex-\\ntent that they had armed themselves thoroughly.\\nSeldom was there any boasting concerning the\\nnumber of the enemy that would fall to Boer\\nbullets instead there was a tone of sorrow\\nwhen they spoke of the soldiers of the Queen\\nwho would die on the field of battle while fight-\\ning for a cause concerning the justice or injus-\\ntice of which they could not speak.\\nAfter the commando train reached its desti-\\nnation, the burghers again took charge of their\\nown horses and conveyances, and even in less\\ntime than it required to place them on the train\\nthey were unloaded and ready to proceed to", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0062.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "o\\nc\\no\\na;\\nbo\\nC", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0063.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "46 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nthe point where the generals needed their as-\\nsistance. The Boer was always considerate of\\nhis horse, and it became a custom to delay for\\nseveral hours after leaving the train in order\\nthat the animals might feed and recover from\\nthe fatigues of the journey before starting out\\non a trek over the veld. After the horses had\\nbeen given an opportunity to rest, the order to\\nupsaddle came from the commandant, and\\nthe procession, with the ox wagons in the van,\\nwas again formed. The regular army order\\nwas then established scouts were sent ahead\\nto determine the location of the enemy, and the\\nofficers for the first time appeared to lead their\\nmen in concerted action against the opposing\\nforces. To call the Boer force an army is to\\nadd unwarranted elasticity to the word, for it\\nhad but one quality in common with such armed\\nforces as Americans and Europeans are accus-\\ntomed to call by that name. The Boer army\\nfought with guns and gunpowder, but it had no\\ndiscipline, no drills, no forms, no standards, and\\nnot even a roll call. It was an enlarged edition\\nof the hunting parties which a quarter century\\nago went into the Zoutpansberg in search of\\ngame it was a massive aggregation of lion\\nhunters.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0064.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER III\\nTHE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\nA VISITOR in one of the laagers in Natal once\\nspoke of a Boer burgher as a soldier. A Boer\\nfrom the Wakkerstrom district interrupted his\\nspeech and said there were no Boer soldiers.\\nIf you want us to understand concerning whom\\n3^ou are talking, he continued, you must call\\nus burghers or farmers. Only the English are\\nsoldiers. It was so with all the Boers none\\nunderstood the term soldier as applying to any-\\nbody except their enemy, while many consid-\\nered it an insult to be called a soldier, as it im-\\nplied to a certain degree that they were fighting\\nfor hire. In times of peace the citizen of the\\nBoer Republics was called a burgher, and when\\nhe took up arms and went to war he received\\nno special title to distinguish him from the man\\nwho remained at home. My burghers, Paul\\nKruger was wont to call them before the war,\\nand when they came forth from battle they were\\ncontent when he said, My burghers are doing\\nwell. The Boers Avere proud of their citizen-\\n47", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0065.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "A Boer burgher.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0066.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY ^g\\nship, and when their country was in danger\\nthey went forth as private citizens and not as\\nbold warriors to protect it.\\nThere was a law in the two republics which\\nmade it incumbent upon all burghers between\\nthe ages of sixteen and sixty to join a commando\\nand to go to war when it was necessary. There\\nwas no law, however, to prevent a man of what-\\never usefulness or age from assisting in the\\ndefence of his country and in consequence the\\nBoer commandos contained almost the entire\\nmale population between the ages of thirteen\\nand eighty. In peaceful times the Boer farmer\\nrarely travelled away from his home unless he\\nwas accompanied by his family, and he would\\nhave felt the pangs of homesickness if he had\\nnot been continually surrounded by his wife and\\nchildren. When the war began it was not an\\neasy matter for the burgher to leave his home\\nfor an indefinite period, and in order that he\\nmight not be lonely he took with him all his\\nsons who were strong enough to carry a rifle.\\nThe Boer youth develops into manhood early\\nin life in the mild South African climate, and\\nthe boy of twelve or thirteen years is the equal\\nin physical development of the American or\\nEuropean of sixteen or seventeen. He was ac-\\ncustomed to living on the open veld and hunt-\\ning with his elders, and when he saw that all\\nhis former companions were going to war, he", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0067.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "50\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nbegged for permission to accompany the com-\\nmando.\\nThe Boer boy of twelve years does not wear\\nknickerbocker trousers like the youth of equal\\nage in many other countries, but he is clothed\\nexactly as his father, and he being almost as\\ntall, his youthful appearance is not so notice-\\nable when he is among a large number of his\\ncountrymen. Scores of boys not more than\\ntwelve years old were in laagers in Natal, and\\nhundreds of less age than the minimum pre-\\nscribed by the military law were in every large\\ncommando in the country.\\nWhen Ladysmith was still besieged, one\\nyouth of eleven years was conspicuous in the\\nStanderton laager. He seemed to be a mere\\nchild, yet he had the patriotism of ten men. He\\nfollowed his father everywhere, whether into\\nbattle or to the spring for water. When my\\nfather is injured or killed, I will take his rifle,\\nwas his excuse for being away from home.\\nWhen General De Wet captured seven cannon\\nfrom the enemy at the battle of Sannaspost two\\nof the volunteers to operate them were boys,\\naged respectively fourteen and fifteen years.\\nPieter J. Henning, of the Potchefstroom com-\\nmando, who was injured in the battle of Scholtz-\\nnek on December nth, was less than fifteen\\nyears old, yet his valour in battle was as con-\\nspicuous as that of any of the burghers who", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0068.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\n51\\ntook part in the engagement. Teunis H. C.\\nMulder, of the Pretoria commando, celebrated\\nhis sixteenth birthday only a few days before he\\np. J. Lemmer,\\naged sixty-five.\\nJ. D. L. Botha,\\naged fifteen.\\nC. J. Pretorius,\\naged forty-three.\\nTakhaar and penkop fought side by side.\\nwas twice wounded at Ladysmith on November\\n9th and Willem Frangois Joubert, a relative of\\nthe commandant general, was only fifteen years\\nold when he was wounded at Ladysmith on\\n5", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0069.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "52\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nOctober 30th. At the battle of Koedoesrand,\\nfifteen-year-old Pieter de Jager, of the Bethle-\\nhem commando, was seriously injured by a shell\\nwhile he was conveying his injured father from\\nthe field. With the army of General Cronje,\\ncaptured at Paardeberg, were no less than a\\nhundred burghers who had not reached the six-\\nteenth year, and among those who escaped from\\nthe laager in the river bed were two Bloemfon-\\ntein boys, named Roux, aged twelve and four-\\nteen years. At Colenso a Wakkerstroom youth\\nof twelve years captured three English scouts,\\nand compelled them to march ahead of him\\nto the commandant s tent. During one of the\\ncalms in the fighting at Magersfontein a burgher\\nof fifteen years crept up to within twenty yards\\nof three British soldiers and shouted, Hands\\nup Thinking that there were other Boers in\\nthe vicinity, the men dropped their guns and\\nbecame prisoners of the boy, who took them to\\nGeneral de la Rey s tent. When the general\\nasked the boy how he secured the prisoners the\\nlad replied, nonchalantly, Oh, I surrounded\\nthem.\\nThese youths who accompanied the com-\\nmando were known as the Penkop Regi-\\nment (a regiment composed of school chil-\\ndren), and in their connection an amusing\\nstory has been current in the Boer country\\never since the war of 1881, when large num-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0070.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "o\\nc\\nPU", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0071.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "54\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nbers of children less than fifteen years old\\nwent with their fathers to battle. After the\\nfight at Majuba Hill, while the peace negotia-\\ntions were in progress, Sir Evelyn Wood, the\\ncommander of the British forces, asked permis-\\nsion of General Joubert to see the famous Pen-\\nkop Regiment. The Boer general gave an or-\\nder that the boys in the laager should be drawn\\nup in a line before his tent, and when this had\\nbeen done he led General Wood into the open\\nand introduced him to the corps. Sir Evelyn\\nwas sceptical for some time, and imagined that\\nGeneral Joubert was joking, but when it was\\nexplained to him that the youths really were\\nthe much-vaunted Penkop Regiment he advised\\nthem to return to their school books.\\nWhen a man has reached the age of sixty it\\nmay be assumed that he has outlived his useful-\\nness as a soldier, but not so with the Boers.\\nNot one man, but hundreds there were, who had\\npassed the biblical threescore years and ten,\\nand were fighting valiantly in defence of their\\ncountry. Gray-haired men, who in another\\ncountry might be expected to be found at their\\nhomes reading the accounts of their grandsons*\\ndeeds in the war, went out on scouting duty and\\nscaled hills with almost as much alacrity as the\\nburghers only half their age. Men who could\\nboast of being grandfathers were innumerable,\\nand in almost any laager there could be seen", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0072.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\n55\\nfathers, sons, and grandsons, all fighting with\\nequal vigour and enthusiasm. Paul Kruger was\\nseventy-five years old, but there were many of\\nhis burghers several years older than he who\\nwent to the frontier with their commandos, and\\nremained there for several months at a time.\\nA great-grandfather serving in the capacity\\nof a private soldier may appear like a mythical\\ntale, but there were several such. Old Jan van\\nder Westhuizen, of the Middleburg laager, was\\nactive and enthusiastic at eighty-two years,\\nand felt more than proud of four great-grand-\\nchildren. Piet Kruger, a relative of the Presi-\\ndent and four years his senior, was an active\\nparticipant in every battle in which the Rusten-\\nberg commando was engaged while it was in\\nNatal, and he never once referred to the fact\\nthat he fought in the 1881 war and in the attack\\nupon Jameson s men. Four of Kruger s sons\\nshared the same tent and fare with him, and ten\\nof his grandsons were burghers in other com-\\nmandos. Jan C. ven Tander, of Boshof, exceed-\\ned the maximum of the military age by eight\\nyears; but he was early in the field, and was\\nseriously wounded at the battle of Scholtznek\\non December nth. General Joubert himself\\nwas almost seventy years old, but, as far as\\nphysical activity was concerned, there were a\\nscore of burghers in his commando, each from\\nfive to ten years older, who exhibited more", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0073.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "56\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nactivity in one battle than many a younger man\\ndid during the entire Natal campaign. The\\nhundreds of bridges and culverts along the rail-\\nv^ay lines in the Transvaal, the Orange Free\\nState, and upper Natal were guarded day and\\nnight by Boers more than sixty years old, w^ho\\nhad volunteered to do the work in order that\\nyounger men might be sent to localities where\\ntheir services might be more necessary. Other\\nold Boers and cripples attended to the commis-\\nsariat arrangements along the railways, con-\\nducted commissariat wagons, gathered forage\\nfor the horses at the front, and arranged the\\nthousands of details which are necessary to the\\nwell-being and comfort of every army, however\\nsimple its organization.\\nIt was not only the extremely old and the\\nextremely young who went to war; it was a\\ntransfer of the entire population of the two\\nrepublics to the frontiers, and no condition or\\nposition was sufficient excuse to remain behind.\\nThe professional man of Pretoria and Johannes-\\nburg was in a laager which was adjacent to a\\nlaager of farthest back-veld farmers. Lawyers\\nand physicians, photographers and grocers,\\nspeculators and sextons, judges and schoolmas-\\nters, schoolboys and hotel keepers all who\\nwere burghers locked their desks and offices\\nand journeyed to the front. Even clergymen\\nclosed their houses of worship in the towns and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0074.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\n57\\nremained among the commandos to pray and\\npreach for those who did the fighting. The\\nmembers of the Volksraads, who brought on the\\nwar by their ultimatum, were among the first\\nin the field, and foremost in attacking the sol-\\ndiers of the enemy. Students in European uni-\\nversities, who hastened home when war clouds\\nwere gathering, went shoulder to shoulder into\\nbattle with the backwoodsman, the Boer tak-\\nhaar. There was no pride among them no\\nclass distinction which prevented a farmer from\\nspeaking to a millionaire. A graduate of Cam-\\nbridge had as his boon companion for five\\nmonths a farmer who thought the earth a square,\\nand imagined the United States to be a political\\ndivision of Australia.\\nAmong the Boers were many burghers who\\nhad assisted Great Britain in her former wars\\nin South Africa men who had fought under the\\nBritish flag, but were now fighting against it.\\nColonel Ignace Ferreira, a member of one of the\\noldest Boer families, fought under Lord Wolse-\\nley in the Zulu war, and had the order of the\\nCommander of the Bath conferred upon him by\\nthe Queen. Colonel Ferreira was at the head\\nof a commando at Mafeking. Paul Dietzch, the\\nmilitary secretary of General Meyer, fought\\nunder the British flag in the Gaika and several\\nother native wars.\\nThe Boer who was bred in a city or town", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0075.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "58\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ngood-naturedly refers to his country cousin as a\\ntakhaar a man with grizzly beard and un-\\nkempt hair. It is a good descriptive term, and\\nthe takhaar is not offended when it is applied\\nto him. The takhaar is the modern type of the\\nold voortrekker Boer who, almost a hundred\\nyears ago, moved northward from Cape Colony\\nand, after overcoming thousands of difficulties,\\nsettled in the present Boer country. He is a\\nreligious, big-hearted countryman of the kind\\nwho will suspect a stranger until he proves him-\\nself worthy of trust. After that period is passed\\nthe takhaar will walk the veld in order that you\\nmay ride his horse. If he can not talk your lan-\\nguage he will repeat such words as he knows a\\ndozen times, meanwhile offering to you coffee,\\nmutton, bread, and all the best that his laager\\nlarder affords. He offers to exchange a pipe\\nload of tobacco with you, and when that occurs\\nyou can take it for granted that he is your friend\\nfor life.\\nThe takhaar was the man who went to the\\nfrontiers on his own responsibility weeks before\\nthe ultimatum was sent, and watched day and\\nnight lest the enemy might trample a rod beyond\\nthe bounds. He was the man who stopped\\nJameson, who climbed Majuba, and who fought\\nthe natives whenever they began their massa-\\ncres. The takhaar was the Boer before gold\\nbrought restlessness into the country, and he is", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0076.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY ^g\\nproud of his title. The fighting ability of the\\ntakhaar is best illustrated by repeating an inci-\\ndent which occurred after the battle of Dundee,\\nwhen a large number of hussars were captured.\\nOne of the hussar officers asked for the name of\\nthe regiment he had been fighting against. A\\nfun-loving Boer replied that the Boers had no\\nregiments that their men were divided into\\nthree brigades the Afrikanders, the Boers, and\\nthe takhaars a distinction which carried with\\nit but a slight difference. The Afrikander\\nbrigade, the Boer explained, is fighting now.\\nThe men fight like demons. When they are\\nkilled then the Boers take the field. The Boers\\nfight about twice as well and hard as the Afri-\\nkanders. As soon as all the Boers are killed,\\nthen come the takhaars, and they would rather\\nfight than eat. The officer remained silent a\\nmoment, then sighed and said, Well, if that is\\ncorrect, then our job is bigger than I thought\\nit was.\\nThe ideal Boer is a man with a bearded face\\nand a flowing mustache; and, in order to appear\\nidyllic, almost every Boer burgher who was not\\nthus favoured before war was begun engaged\\nin the peaceful process of growing a beard.\\nYoung men who in times of peace detested hir-\\nsute adornments of the face allowed their beards\\nand mustaches to grow, and after a month or\\ntwo it was almost impossible to find a burgh-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0077.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "6o\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ner who was without a growth of hair on his\\nchin and cheeks. The wearing of a beard was\\nalmost equal to a badge of Boer citizenship,\\nand for the time being every Boer was a takhaar\\nL\\\\\\nAn old takhaar.\\nin appearance if not in fact. The adoption of\\nbeards was not so much fancy as it was a mat-\\nter of discretion. The Boer was aware of the\\nfact that few of the enemy wore beards, and so\\nit was thought quite ingenious for all burghers", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0078.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY 6l\\nto wear facial adornments of that kind in order\\nthat friend and foe might be distinguished more\\nreadily at a distance.\\nNotwithstanding their ability to fight when\\nit was necessary, it is doubtful whether twenty\\nper cent of the Boer burghers in the commandos\\nwould have been accepted for service in any\\nEuropean or American army. The rigid phys-\\nical examinations of many of the armies would\\ndebar thousands from becoming regular sol-\\ndiers. There were men in the Boer forces who\\nhad only one arm, some with only one leg,\\nothers with only one eye some were almost\\ntotally blind, while others would have felt hap-\\npy if they could have heard the reports of their\\nrifles. Men who were suffering from various\\nkinds of illnesses, and who should have been in\\na physician s care, were to be seen in every\\nlaager. Men Avho wore spectacles were nu-\\nmerous, while those who suffered from diseases\\nwhich disbar a man from a regular army were\\nalmost without number. The high percentage\\nof men unfit for military duty was not due to\\nthe Boers general lack of health, for they are\\nas robust as farmers are in other parts of the\\nearth. Take the entire male population of any\\ndistrict in Europe or America, and compare the\\nindividuals with the standard required by army\\nrules, and the result will not differ greatly from\\nthe outcome of the Boer examination. If all", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0079.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "62 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nthe youths and old men, the sick and maimed,\\ncould have been eliminated from the Boer\\nforces, eighty per cent would probably have\\nbeen found to be a low estimate of the number\\nthus subtracted from the total force. It would\\nhave been heartrending to many a European or\\nAmerican general to see the unsoldierly bear-\\ning of the Boer burgher; and in what manner\\nan army of children, great-grandfathers, inva-\\nlids, and blind men, with a handful of good men\\nto leaven it, could be of any service whatever,\\nwould have been quite beyond his conception.\\nIt was of such a mixed force that a Russian offi-\\ncer, who at the outset of the war entered the\\nTransvaal to fight, became disgusted with the\\nunmilitary appearance and returned to his own\\ncountry.\\nThe accoutrement of the Boer burghers was\\nnone the less incongruous than the physical\\nappearance of the majority of them, although\\nno expensive uniform and trappings could have\\nbe^n of more practical value. The men of the\\nPretoria and Johannesburg commandos had the\\nunique honour of going to the war in uniforms\\nspecially made for the purpose, but there was\\nno regulation or law which compelled them to\\nwear certain kinds of clothing. When these\\ncommandos went to the frontier several days\\nbefore the actual warfare had begun they were\\nclothed in khaki-coloured cloth of almost the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0080.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\n63\\nsame description as that worn by the soldiers\\nwhom they intended to fight. These two com-\\nmandos were composed of townfolk who had\\nabsorbed many of the customs and habits of the\\nforeigners present in the country, and they felt\\nthat it would be more w^arlike if they should\\nwear uniforms made specially for camp and field.\\nThe old Boers of the towns and the takhaars\\nlooked askance at the youth of Pretoria and\\nJohannesburg in their uniforms, and shook their\\nheads at the innovation as smacking too much\\nof an anti-republican spirit.\\nLike Cincinnatus, the majority of the old\\nBoers went directly from their farms to the\\nbattlefields, and they wore the same clothing in\\nthe laagers as they used when shearing their\\nsheep or herding their cattle on their farms.\\nWhen they started for the frontier the Boer\\nfarmers arranged matters so that they might\\nbe comfortable while the campaign continued.\\nMany, it is true, dashed away from home at the\\nfirst call to arms, and carried with them besides\\na rifle and bandolier nothing but a mackintosh,\\nblanket, and haversack of food. The majority\\nof them, however, were solicitous of their future\\ncomfort and loaded themselves down with all\\nkinds of luggage. Some went to the frontier\\nwith their big, four-wheeled ox wagons, and in\\nthese they conveyed cooking utensils, trunks,\\nboxes with food and flour, mattresses, and even", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0081.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "64\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nstoves. The Rustenberg farmers were specially\\nsolicitous about their comfort, and these patri-\\nType of uniformed Boer artillerist.\\nOtic old takhaars practically moved their fam-\\nilies and household furniture to the camps.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0082.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY 65\\nSome of the burghers took two or three horses\\neach, in order that there might be no delay or\\nannoyance in case of misfortune by death or\\naccident, and frequently a burgher could be\\nseen who had one horse for himself, another for\\nhis camp utensils and extra clothing, and a\\nthird and fourth for native servants who cooked\\nhis meals and watched the horses while they\\ngrazed.\\nWithout his horse the Boer would be of little\\naccount as a fighting man, and those magnifi-\\ncent little ponies deserve almost as much credit\\nfor the glory which attended the campaign as\\ntheir riders. If some South African does not\\nframe a eulogy of the little beasts, it will not be\\nbecause they did not deserve it. The horse was\\nhalf the centaur and quite the life of him.\\nSmall and wiry, he was able to jog along fifty\\nand sixty miles a day for several days in succes-\\nsion, and, when the occasion demanded it, he\\ncould attain a rate of speed that equalled that\\nof the ordinary South African railway train,\\nwhich, however, made no claims to lightning-\\nlike velocit}^ He bore all kinds of weather, was\\nnot liable to sickness except at one season of the\\nyear, and he was able to work two and even\\nthree days without as much as a blade of grass.\\nHe could thrive on the grass of the veld, and\\nwhen winter killed the grass he needed but a\\nfew bundles of forage a day to keep him in good", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0083.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "66 THE BOERS IN WAR\\ncondition. He climbed rocky mountain sides as\\nreadily as a buck, and never wandered from a\\npath in the darkest night. He drank and appar-\\nently relished the murky water of mud pools,\\nand needed but little attention with the curry-\\ncomb and brush. He was trained to obey the\\ngentlest turn of the reins, and a slight whistle\\nbrought him to a full stop. When his master\\nleft him and went forward into battle, the Boer\\npony remained in the exact position where he\\nwas placed, and when perchance a shell or\\nbullet ended his existence, there the Boer paid\\na tribute to the value of his dead servant by\\nrefusing to continue the fight and beating a\\nhasty retreat.\\nIn the early part of the campaign in Natal\\nthe laagers were filled with the ox wagons, and\\nin the absence of tents, which were sadly\\nwanted during that season of heavy rains, they\\nstood in good stead to the burghers. The rear\\nparts of the wagons were tented with an arched\\nroof, as all the trek wagons are, and under these\\nshelters the burghers lived. Many of the\\nburghers w^ho left their ox wagons at home\\ntook small, light four-wheeled carriages, locally\\ncalled spiders, or the huge two-wheelers or\\nCape carts, so serviceable and common through-\\nout the country. These w^ere readily trans-\\nformed into tents, and made excellent sleeping\\naccommodations by night and transport wagons", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0084.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\n67\\nfor the luggage when the commandos mov^ed\\nfrom one place to another. When a rapid\\nmarch was contemplated all the heavy wagons\\nwere left behind in the charge of native serv-\\nants, with which every burgher was provided.\\nMen accompanied by their native servants.\\nIt was quite in keeping with their other\\nideas of personal comfort for man}^ Boer burgh-\\ners to carry a coloured parasol or an umbrella\\nto protect them from the rays of the sun, and\\nit was not considered beneath their dignity to\\nwear a woman s shawl around their shoulders\\n6", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0085.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "68 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nor head when the morning air was chilly. At\\nfirst sight of these unique spectacles, the stranger\\nin the Boer country felt amused, but if he cared\\nto smile at every unmilitary scene he would\\nhave had little time for other things. It was a\\nrepublican army composed of republicans, and\\nanything that smacked of the opposite was ab-\\nhorred. There were no flags or insignia of any\\nkind to lead the burghers on. Such mottoes as\\nexpressed their cause were embroidered on the\\nbands of their felt hats and cut on the stocks of\\ntheir rifles. For God and freedom, For\\nfreedom, land, and people, and For God,\\ncountry, and justice, were among the senti-\\nments which some of the burghers carried into\\nbattle on their hats and rifles. Others had vier-\\nkleur ribbons as bands for their hats, while many\\ncarried miniatures containing the photographs\\nof the Presidents on the upturned brims of\\ntheir headgear.\\nAside from the dangers arising from a con-\\ntact with the enemy and the heartburns result-\\ning from a long absence from his home, the\\nBoer burgher s experiences at the front were\\nnot arduous. First and foremost, he had a horse\\nand rifle, and with these he was always more or\\nless happy. He had fresh meats provided to\\nhim daily, and he had native servants to pre-\\npare and serve his meals for him. He was\\nunder no discipline whatever, and he was his", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0086.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY 69\\nown master at all times. He generally had his\\nsons or brothers with him in the same laager,\\nand to a Boer there was always much joy in\\nthat. He could go on picket duty and have a\\nbrush with the enemy whenever he felt inclined\\nto do so, or he could remain in his laager and\\nnever have a glimpse of the enemy. Every two\\nmonths he was entitled to a ten days leave of\\nabsence to visit his home, and at other times,\\nduring the first five months of the war, his wife\\nand children were allowed to visit him in his\\nlaager. If he was stationed along the northern\\nor western frontiers of the Transvaal, he was in\\nthe game country and was able to go on buck-\\nshooting expeditions as frequently as he cared.\\nHe was not compelled to rise at a certain hour in\\nthe morning, and he could go to bed whenever\\nhe wished. There was no drill, no roll call\\nnone of the thousands of petty details which the\\nsoldiers of even the Portuguese army are com-\\npelled to perform. As a result of a special law,\\nthere was no work on Sundays or church holi-\\ndays unless the enemy brought it about, and\\nthen, if he was a stickler for the observance of\\nthe Sabbath, he was not compelled to move a\\nmuscle. The Boer burgher could eat, sleep, or\\nfight whenever he wished and inasmuch as he\\nwas a law unto himself* there was no one who\\ncould compel him to change his habits. It was\\nan ideal idle man s mode of living, and the for-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0087.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "70 THE BOERS IN WAR\\neign volunteers, who had leaves of absence from\\ntheir own armies, made the most of their holiday.\\nThe most conspicuous features of the Boer\\nforces were the equality of the officers and the\\nmen, and the entire absence of any assumption\\nof superiority by the leaders of the burghers.\\nAll the officers, from the commandant general\\ndown to the corporal, carried rifles and bando-\\nliers, and all wore the ordinary garb of a civilian,\\nso that there was nothing to indicate the man s\\nmilitary standing. The officers associated with\\ntheir men every hour of the day, and in most\\ninstances were able to call the majority of them\\nby their Christian names. With one or two ex-\\nceptions all the generals were farmers before the\\nwar started, and consequently they were un-\\nable to assume any great degree of superiority\\nover their farmer burghers if they had wished\\nto do so. General Meyer pitched quoits with\\nhis men. General Botha swapped tobacco with\\nany one of his burghers, and General Smutz\\nand one of his officers held the whist champion-\\nship of their laager. Rarely a burgher touched\\nhis hat before speaking to an officer, but he in-\\nvariably shook hands with him at meeting and\\nparting. It is a Boer custom to shake hands\\nwith friends or strangers, and whenever a gen-\\neral visited a laager adjoining his own the hand-\\nshaking reminded one of the President s public\\nreception days at Washington. When General", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0088.jp2"}, "89": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\n71\\nJoubert went from camp to camp he greeted all\\nthe burghers who came near him with a grasp\\nof the hand, and it was the same with all the\\nother generals and officers. Whenever Presi-\\ndents Kruger and Steyn went to the commandos\\nthey held out their right hands to all the burgh-\\ners who approached them, and one might have\\nimagined that every Boer was personally ac-\\nquainted with every other man in the repub-\\nlics. It was the same with strangers who visited\\nthe laagers, and many a sore wrist testified to\\nthe Boer s republicanism. Some one called it\\nthe handshaking army, and it was a most de-\\nscriptive title. Many of the burghers could not\\nrefrain from exercising their habit, and shook\\nhands with British prisoners, much to the aston-\\nishment of the captured ones.\\nAnother striking feature of life in the Boer\\nlaagers was the deep religious feeling which\\nmanifested itself in a thousand different ways.\\nIt is an easy matter for an irreligious person to\\nscoff at men who pass through a campaign with\\nprayer and hymn singing, and it is just as easy\\nto laugh at the man who reads his Testament\\nat intervals of shooting at the enemy. The\\nBoer was a religious man always, and when he\\nwent to war he placed as much faith in prayer\\nand in his Testament as in his rifle. He be-\\nlieved that his cause was just, and that the Lord\\nwould favour those fighting in a righteous spirit.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0089.jp2"}, "90": {"fulltext": "J2\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nOn October nth, before the burghers crossed\\nthe frontier at Laing s Nek, a religious service\\nwas held. Every burgher in the commandos\\nknelt on the ground and uttered a prayer for\\nthe success and speedy ending of the campaign.\\nHymns were sung, and for a full hour the hills,\\nwhereon almost twenty years before many of\\nthe same burghers had sung and prayed after\\nthe victory at Majuba, were resounding with\\nthe religious and patriotic songs of men going\\nforward to kill and be killed.\\nIn their laagers the Boers had religious\\nservices at daybreak and after sunset every day,\\nwhether they were near to the enemy or far\\naway. At first the novelty of being awakened\\nearly in the morning by the voices of a large\\ncommando of burghers was not conducive to a\\nreligious feeling in the mind of a stranger, but\\na short stay in the laagers caused anger to turn\\nto admiration. After sunset the burghers again\\ngathered in groups around camp fires and made\\nthe countryside re-echo with the sound of their\\ndeep, bass voices united in Dutch hymns and\\npsalms of praise and thanksgiving. Whether\\nthey ate a big meal from a well-equipped table,\\nor whether they leaped from their horses to\\nmake a hasty meal of biltong and bread, they\\nreverently bowed their heads and asked a bless-\\ning before and after eating. Before they went\\ninto battle they gathered around their general.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0090.jp2"}, "91": {"fulltext": "03\\nOS\\n03\\na\\n;3\\no\\nu\\nbe", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0091.jp2"}, "92": {"fulltext": "74\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nand were led in prayer by the man who was\\nchosen to lead them against the enemy. When\\nthe battle was concluded, and whether the field\\nwas won or lost, prayers were offered to the\\nGod of battles. In the reports which generals\\nand commandants made to the war department\\nvictories and defeats were invariably ascribed\\nto the will of God, and such phrases as All\\nthe glory belongs to the Lord of hosts who led\\nus, and God gave us the victory, and Di-\\nvine favour guided our footsteps, were fre-\\nquent. When one is a stranger to the Boers\\nand unacquainted with the simple faith which\\nthey place in divine guidance, these religious\\nmanifestations may appear inopportune in war-\\nfare, but it is only necessary to observe the\\nBoer burgher in all his various actions and\\nemotions to know that he is sincere in his re-\\nligious beliefs, and that he endeavours to be a\\nChristian in deed as well as in word.\\nThe Boer army, like Cromwell s troopers,\\ncould fight as well as pray, but in reality it was\\nnot a fighting organization in the sense that\\nwarfare was agreeable to the burghers. The\\nBoers proved that they could fight when there\\nwas a necessity for it, but to the great majority\\nof them it was heartrending to slay their fellow-\\nbeings. The Boer s hand was better adapted to\\nthe stem of a pipe than to the stock of an army\\nrifle, and he would rather have been occupied", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0092.jp2"}, "93": {"fulltext": "THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOER ARMY\\n75\\nin his usual peaceful pursuit had he not be-\\nlieved that it was a holy war in which he was\\nengaged. That he was not eager for fighting\\nwas displayed in a hundred different ways. He\\nloved his home more than the laagers at the\\nfront, and he took advantage of every oppor-\\ntunity to return to his farm and family. He\\nlusted not for battle, and he seldom engaged in\\none unless he firmly believed that success de-\\npended partly upon his individual presence.\\nHe did not go into battle because he had the\\nthirst for blood, for he abhorred the slaughter\\nof men, and it was not an extraordinary spec-\\ntacle to see a Boer weeping beside the corpse\\nof a British soldier. On the field, after the\\nSpion Kop battle, where Boer guns did their\\ngreatest execution, there were scores of bare-\\nheaded Boers who deplored the war, and amid\\nejaculations of Poor Tommy and This use-\\nless slaughter, brushed away the tears that\\nrolled down over their brown cheeks and\\nbeards. A Boer was never seen to exult over\\na victory. They might say That is good\\nwhen they heard of a Spion Kop or a Magers-\\nfontein, but they never indulged in a shout or\\nany of the other methods of expressing joy.\\nThe foreigners in the army frequently were\\nbeside themselves with exultation after vic-\\ntories, but the Boers looked stolidly on and\\nnever took any part in the demonstrations.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0093.jp2"}, "94": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IV\\nTHE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\nWhen the Boer goes on a lion-hunting ex-\\npedition he must be thoroughly acquainted\\nwith the game countr} he must be experienced\\nin the use of the rifle, and he must know how\\nto protect himself against the attacks of the\\nenemy. When he is thus equipped, and he\\nabandons lion hunting for the more strenuous\\nlife of war, the Boer is a formidable enemy, for\\nhe has combined in him the qualities of a gen-\\neral as well as the powers of a private soldier.\\nIn lion hunting the harm of having too many\\nmen in authority is not so fatal to the success of\\nthe expedition as it is in real warfare, where\\nthe enemy may have as many generals, but a\\nlarger force of men who will obey their com-\\nmands. All the successes of the Boer army\\nwere the result of the fact that every burgher\\nwas a general, and to the same cause may be\\nattributed every defeat. Whenever this army\\nof generals combined and agreed to do a cer-\\n76", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0094.jp2"}, "95": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n77\\ntain work it was successful, but it was unsuc-\\ncessful whenever the leaders disagreed. If the\\nopportunity had given birth to a man who\\nwould have been accepted as general of the\\ngenerals a man was needed who could have\\nintroduced discipline and training into the rudi-\\nmentary militar}^ system of the country the\\nchances of Boer success would have been far\\ngreater.\\nThe leaders of the Boer army were elected\\nby a vote of the people in the same manner in\\nwhich they chose their Presidents and civil offi-\\ncials. Age, ability, and military experience did\\nnot have any bearing on the subject, except in\\nso far as they influenced the mind of the indi-\\nvidual voter. Family influences, party affilia-\\ntions, and religion materially affected the re-\\nsult of the elections, and, as is frequently the\\ncase with civil officials in other countries, the\\nmen with the best military minds and experi.\\nence w^ere not always chosen. It was as a re-\\nsult of this system that General Joubertwas put\\nat the head of the army, when a younger, more\\nenergetic, and more warlike man should have\\nbeen commandant general. At the last election\\nfor commandant general, Joubert, a Progres-\\nsive, also received the support of the Conserva-\\ntives, so that two years later he might not\\nbe a candidate for the presidency against Paul\\nKruger.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0095.jp2"}, "96": {"fulltext": "78\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nIn the same manner the commandants of the\\ndistricts and the field cornets of the wards were\\nchosen, and in the majority of cases no thought\\nwas taken at the time of the election of their\\nmilitary ability. The voters of a ward, the low-\\nest political division in the country, elected\\ntheir field cornet more with a view of having\\nhim administer the laws in times of peace\\nthan with a regard to his fitness to lead them\\ninto battle and in like manner the election of a\\ncommandant for a district, which generally con-\\nsists of five wards, was more of a victory on\\naccount of the man s popularity in peace than\\nfor his presumed bravery in war. The Boer\\nsystem of electing military leaders by vote of\\nthe people may have had certain advantages,\\nbut it had the negative quality of effacing all\\ntraces of authority between officers and men.\\nThe burgher who had assisted in electing his\\nfield cornet felt that that official owed him a\\ncertain amount of gratitude for having voted\\nfor him, and obeyed his orders or disobeyed\\nthem according as he chose to do. The field\\ncornet represented authority over his men, but\\nof real control of them he had none. The\\ncommandants were presumed to have authority\\nover the field cornets and the generals over the\\ncommandants, but whether that rule was of any\\nvalue could not be ascertained until after the\\nwill of those in lower rank was discovered.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0096.jp2"}, "97": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n79\\nBy this extraordinary process it happened that\\nevery burgher was a general, and that no gen-\\neral was greater than a burgher.\\nThe military officers of the Boers, w^ith the\\nexception of the commandant general, were the\\nsame men who ruled the country in times of\\npeace. War suddenly transformed pruning\\nhooks into swords, and conservators of peace\\ninto leaders of armies. The head of the arm}^\\nwas the commandant general, who was invested\\nwith full power to direct operations and to lead\\nmen. Directly under his authority were the\\nassistant commandant generals, five of whom\\nwere appointed by the Volksraad a short time\\nbefore the beginning of hostilities. Then fol-\\nlowed in rank those who, in order to distinguish\\nthem from the assistant generals, were called\\nvecht generals, or fighting generals. Under\\nthem were the commandants, the leaders of the\\nfield cornets of one district, whose rank was\\nabout that of colonels. The field cornets, who\\nwere in command of the men of a ward, were\\nunder the authority of a commandant, and\\nranked on a par with majors. The burghers of\\nevery ward were subdivided into squads of\\nabout twenty-five men, under the control of a\\ncorporal, whose rank was equal to that of a\\nlieutenant. There were no corps, brigades,\\nregiments, and companies to call for hundreds\\nof officers it was merely a commando, whether", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0097.jp2"}, "98": {"fulltext": "8o\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nit had ten men or ten thousand, and neither the\\nsubdivision nor the augmentation of a force\\naffected the list of officers in any way. Nor\\nwould such a multiplication of officers weaken\\nthe fighting strength of a force, for every officer,\\nfrom commandant general to corporal, carried\\nand used a rifle in every battle.\\nElection of a field cornet.\\nWhen the officers had their men on the field\\nand desired to make a forward movement or an\\nattack on the enemy, it was necessary to hold a\\nKrijgsraad, or council of war, and this was con-\\nducted in such a manner that the most unmil-\\nitary burgher s voice bore almost as much", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0098.jp2"}, "99": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION gl\\nweight as that of the commandant general.\\nEvery officer, from corporal to commandant\\ngeneral, was a member of the Krijgsraad, and\\nwhen a plan was favoured by the majority of\\nthose present at the council, it became a law.\\nThe decision of a Krijgsraad meeting did not\\nnecessarily imply that it was a plan favoured by\\nthe best military minds at the council, for it was\\npossible and legal for the opinions of sixteen\\ncorporals to be adopted, although fifteen gen-\\nerals and commandants opposed the plan with all\\ntheir might. Whether there ever was such a\\nresult is problematical, but there were man}^\\nKrijgsraads at which the opinions of the best\\nand most experienced officers were cast aside\\nby the votes of field cornets and corporals.\\nThis undoubtedly was a representative way of\\nadopting the will of the people, but it fre-\\nquently was exceedingly costly.\\nAt the Krijgsraad in Natal which determined\\nthat the army should abandon the positions\\nalong the Tugela and retire north of Ladysmith,\\nthe project was bitterly opposed by the generals\\nwho had done the bravest and best fighting in\\nthe colony, but the votes of the corporals, field\\ncornets, and commandants outnumbered theirs,\\nand there was nothing for the generals to do\\nbut to retire and allow Ladysmith to be relieved.\\nAt Mafeking scores of Krijgsraads were held for\\nthe purpose of arriving at a determination to", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0099.jp2"}, "100": {"fulltext": "82 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nstorm the town, but invariably the field cornets\\nand corporals outvoted the commandants and\\ngenerals, and refused to risk the lives of their\\nmen in such a hazardous attack. Even the oft-\\nrepeated commands of the commandant general\\nto storm Maf eking were treated with contempt by\\nthe majority of the Krijgsraad, who constituted\\nthe highest military authority in the country, so\\nfar as they and their actions were concerned.\\nWhen there happened to be a deadlock in the\\nballoting at a Krijgsraad, it was more than\\nonce the case that the vote of the commandant\\ngeneral counted for less than the voice of a\\nburgher. In one of the minor Krijgsraads in\\nNatal a tie in the voting was ended when an\\nold burgher called his corporal aside and in-\\nfluenced him to change his vote. The com-\\nmandant general himself had not been able to\\nturn the trend of the voting, but the old burgh-\\ner, who had no connection with the council\\nof war, practically determined the result of the\\nmeeting.\\nThe Krijgsraad was the supreme military\\nauthority in the country, and its resolutions\\nwere the law all infractions of them being\\npunishable by fines. The minority of a Krijgs-\\nraad was obliged to assist in executing the plans\\nof the majority, however impracticable or dis-\\ntasteful they might be to those whose opinions\\ndid not prevail. There were innumerable in-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0100.jp2"}, "101": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n83\\nstances where generals and commandants at-\\ntended a Krijgsraad and afterward acted quite\\ncontrary to the resolution adopted by the coun-\\ncil. In any other army such action would have\\nbeen called disobedience of orders, and would\\nhave received proper punishment, but in the\\nBoer army it led to little beyond personal ani-\\nmosity. According to Boer military law, an\\nofficer offending in such a manner should have\\nbeen arraigned before the Krijgsraad and tried\\nby his fellow-officers, but such occurrences were\\nextremely rare.\\nOne of the few instances where a man was\\narraigned before a Krijgsraad for dereliction of\\nduty was after the enemy succeeded in dam-\\naging one of the Long Toms around Lady-\\nsmith. The artillery officer who was in charge\\nof the gun when the dynamite was exploded in\\nits muzzle was convicted of neglect of duty and\\nwas disgraced before the army. After the bat-\\ntle of Belmont Vecht-General Jacob Prinsloo, of\\nthe Free State, was court-martialed for coward-\\nice and was reduced to the rank of burgher.\\nThis was Prinsloo s first battle, and he was\\nthoroughly frightened. When some of his men\\ncame up to him and asked him for directions\\nhow to repel the advancing British force, Prins-\\nloo trembled, rubbed his hands, and replied,\\nGod only knows I don t! and fled, with all\\nhis men at his heels.\\n7", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0101.jp2"}, "102": {"fulltext": "84\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nTwo instances where commandants acted\\ncontrary to the decisions of the Krijgsraad were\\nthe costly disobedience of General Erasmus at\\nDundee and the still more costly mistake of\\nCommandant Buis at Hlangwe. When the\\nBoers invaded Natal and determined to attack\\nthe British forces then stationed at the town of\\nDundee, it was decided at a Krijgsraad that\\nGeneral Lukas Meyer should attack from the\\neast and south and General Erasmus from the\\nnorth. General Meyer occupied Talana Hill\\neast of Dundee and a kopje south of the town,\\nand attacked General Penn-Symons s forces at\\ndaybreak. General Erasmus and the Pretoria\\ncommando with field pieces and a Long Tom\\noccupied Impati Mountain on the north, but\\nwhen the time arrived for him to assist in the\\nattack on the enemy several hundred yards\\nbelow him he would not allow a shot to be\\nfired. As a result of the miscarriage of plans\\nGeneral Meyer was compelled to retire from\\nTalana Hill in the afternoon while the British\\nforce was enabled to escape southward into\\nLadysmith. If General Erasmus had followed\\nthe decision of the Krijgsraad and had assisted\\nin the attack there is hardly any doubt that the\\nentire force of the enemy would have been cap-\\ntured. Even more disastrous was the disobe-\\ndience of Commandant Buis, of the Heidelberg\\ncommando, who was ordered to occupy a cer-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0102.jp2"}, "103": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n85\\ntain point on the Boschrand called Hlangwe\\nabout February 19th. The British had tried\\nfor several weeks to drive the Boers from the\\nBoschrand, but all their attempts proved fruit-\\nless. A certain commando had been holding\\nHlangwe for a long time, and Commandant Buis\\nwas ordered to take his commando and re-\\nlieve the others by night. Instead of going to\\nHlangwe immediately that night he bivouacked\\nin a small nek near by, intending to occupy the\\nposition the following morning. During the\\nnight the British discovered that the point was\\nunoccupied and placed a strong force there.\\nIn this manner the British wedge was forced\\ninto the Boschrand, and shortly afterward the\\nBoers were obliged to retreat across the Tugela\\nand secure positions on the north bank of the\\nstream.\\nOf less serious consequence was General De\\nla Rey s refusal to carry out a decision he him-\\nself had assisted in framing. It was at Brand-\\nfort, in the Free State, several weeks after\\nBloemfontein was occupied, and all the Boer\\ngenerals in the vicinity met in Krijgsraad and\\nvoted to make a concerted attack upon the\\nBritish force at Tafelkop, midway between\\nBloemfontein and Brandfort. Generals Smuts\\nand Botha made a long night trek to the posi-\\ntions from which they were to attack the enemy\\nat daybreak. It had been arranged that Gen-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0103.jp2"}, "104": {"fulltext": "86 THE BOERS IN WAR\\neral De la Rey s commando should open the\\nattack from another point, and that no opera-\\ntions should begin until after he had given a\\ncertain signal. The signal was never given, and\\nafter waiting for it several hours the other gen-\\nerals returned to Brandfort, only to find that\\nGeneral De la Rey had not even moved from\\nhis laager.\\nWhen the lower ranks of officers, the field\\ncornets, and corporals disobeyed the mandates\\nof the Krijgsraads, displayed cowardice, or mis-\\nbehaved in any other manner, the burghers un-\\nder their command had the power of impeach-\\ning them and electing other officers to fill the\\nvacancies. The corporals were elected by the\\nburghers after war was begun, and they held\\ntheir posts only so long as their behaviour met\\nwith the favour of those who placed them in\\nauthority. During the first three months of the\\nwar innumerable changes of that nature were\\nmade and not infrequently it was the case that\\na corporal was unceremoniously dismissed be-\\ncause he had offended one of his men who hap-\\npened to wield much influence over his fellows\\nin the commando. Personal popularity had\\nmuch to do with the tenure of office, but person-\\nal bravery was not allowed to go unrewarded,\\nand it happened several times in the laagers\\nalong the Tugela that a corporal resigned his\\nrank so that one of his friends who had distin-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0104.jp2"}, "105": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n87\\nguished himself in a battle might have his work\\nrecognised and appreciated.\\nHowever independent and irresponsible the\\nBoer officer may have been, he was a man in\\nirons compared with the Boer burgher. The\\nburgher was bound by no laws except such as\\nhe made for himself. There was a state law\\nwhich compelled him to join a commando and\\nto accompany it to the front, or in default ot\\ncompliance to pay a small fine. As soon as he was\\non commando, as it was called, he became his\\nown master and could laugh at Mr. Atkins\\nacross the way who was obliged to be attending\\nconstantly to various camp duties when not\\nactively engaged in marching or fighting. No\\ngeneral or act of Volksraad could compel him\\nto do any duty if he felt disinclined to perform\\nit, and there was no power on earth which could\\nforce him to move out of his tent if he did not\\ndesire to go. In the majority of countries a man\\nmay volunteer to join the army, but when once\\nhe is a soldier he is compelled to fight; while in\\nthe Boer country the man was compelled to\\njoin the army, but was not obliged to fight\\nunless he volunteered to do so. There were\\nhundreds of men in the Natal laagers who never\\nengaged in a battle and never fired a shot in\\nthe first six months of the war again, there\\nwere hundreds of men who took part in almost\\nevery one of the battles, whether their com-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0105.jp2"}, "106": {"fulltext": "88 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nmando was engaged or not, but who joined the\\nfighting voluntarily without being under an}^\\nobligation to do so.\\nWhen a Krijgsraad determined to make or\\nresist an attack the officers at the meeting de-\\ncided upon how many men were needed for the\\nwork. Immediately after the meeting the offi-\\ncers returned to their commandos, and having\\nexplained to their burghers the nature and object\\nof the expedition asked for volunteers. The\\nofficer could not call upon certain men and\\norder them to take part in the purposed pro-\\nceedings he could only ask them to offer their\\nservices. It happened at times that an entire\\ncommando of several hundred men volunteered\\nto do the work asked of them, but just as often\\nit was the case that only from one tenth to one\\ntwentieth of the burghers expressed their will-\\ningness to accompany the expedition.\\nSeveral days after the Spion Kop battle\\nGeneral Botha called for four hundred volun-\\nteers to take part in resisting an attack that it\\nwas feared would be made. There were almost\\nten thousand men in the environs of Ladysmith\\nat that time, but it was with the utmost diffi-\\nculty that the four hundred men could be gath-\\nered. Two hundred men came from one com-\\nmando, one hundred and fift3^-three from an-\\nother, twenty-eight from a third, fifteen from\\nanother, and five from another, making a total of", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0106.jp2"}, "107": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n89\\nfour hundred and one men one more than was\\ncalled for. When Commandant-General Joubert,\\nat his hoofd or head laager, at Modderspruit,\\nreceived an urgent request for re-enforcements,\\nhe was not able to order one of the commandos\\nthat was in laager near him to go to the assist-\\nance of the fighting burghers he could only\\nmake a request of the different commandants\\nand field cornets to ask their men to volunteer\\nfor the service. If the men refused to go, then\\nnaturally the re-enforcements could not be sent,\\nand those who were in dire need of assistance\\nhad the alternative of continuing the struggle\\nalone or of yielding a position to the enemy.\\nThe relief of Ladysmith was made possible by\\nthe fact that Generals Botha and Erasmus did not\\nreceive re-enforcements from Commandant-Gen-\\neral Joubert, who was north of Ladysmith with\\nalmost ten thousand men. Botha and Erasmus\\nhad been fighting for almost a week without a\\nday s intermission, and their two thousand men\\nwere utterly exhausted when Joubert was asked\\nto send re-enforcements, at least enough to re-\\nlieve the men from fighting for a day or two.\\nA Krijgsraad had decided that the entire army\\nshould retreat to the Biggarsberg, and Joubert\\ncould not, or at least would not, send any burgh-\\ners to the Tugela. The result was that Botha\\nwas compelled to retreat and to abandon posi-\\ntions which could have been held indefinitely if", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0107.jp2"}, "108": {"fulltext": "90\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nthere had been military discipline in the com-\\nmandos. It was not always the case that com-\\nmandants and generals were obliged to go beg-\\nging for volunteers, and there were innumerable\\ninstances when every man of a commando did\\nthe work assigned to him without a murmur.\\nDuring the Natal campaign the force was so\\nlarge and the work seemed so comparatively\\neasy that the majority of the burghers never\\nwent to the firing line; but when British suc-\\ncesses in the Free State placed the Boers on the\\ndefensive, it was not so safe to remain behind\\nin the laagers and allow others more willing to\\nengage in the fighting.\\nGeneral Cronje was able to induce a much\\nlarger percentage of his men to fight than\\nCommandant-General Joubert, the reasons for\\nthis being that he was much firmer with his\\nmen, and that he moved from one place to an-\\nother more frequently than Joubert. Toward\\nthe end of General Cronje s campaign all his\\nmen were willing to go into battle, because they\\nrealized that they must fight, a feeling that\\nhad been much in default in the Natal army.\\nWhen a Boer realized that he must fight or lose\\nhis life or a battle, he would fight as few other\\nmen were able to do but when he imagined\\nthat his presence at the firing line was not im-\\nperative he might choose to remain in laager.\\nThere were hundreds of burghers who took", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0108.jp2"}, "109": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n91\\npart in almost every battle in Natal, composed\\nof persons, who, understanding the frame of\\nmind of some of their countrymen, determined\\nthat they must take upon themselves the respon-\\nsibilities of fighting and winning battles. Among\\nthose who were most forward in fighting were\\nthe Johannesburg police, the much- despised\\nZarps of peaceful times the Pretoria com-\\nmando, and the younger men of other com-\\nmandos. There Avere many old Boers who left\\ntheir laagers whenever they heard the report of\\na gun, but the ages of the great majority of\\nthose who were killed or injured were between\\nseventeen and thirty years.\\nAfter the British captured Bloemfontein and\\nthe memorable Krijgsraad at Kroonstad deter-\\nmined that guerrilla warfare should thereafter\\nbe followed, it was not so easy a matter for a\\nburgher to remain behind in the laagers, for the\\nmajority of the ox wagons and other camp para-\\nphernalia were sent home, and laager life was\\nnot so attractive as before. Commandos re-\\nmained at one place only a short time, and there\\nwas almost a daily opportunity for a brush with\\nthe enemy. The war had been going on for six\\nmonths, but many of the men had not had their\\nfirst taste of actual war till then and, after the\\nfirst battle had been safely passed through, the\\nsucceeding ones were regarded with compara-\\ntive indfference. When General Christian De", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0109.jp2"}, "110": {"fulltext": "92 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nWet began his campaign in the eastern part of\\nthe Free State, there were hardly enough men\\nleft in the laagers to guard them properly when\\nbattles were in progress, and in the battles at\\nSannaspost, Mostershoek, and Wepener, prob-\\nably ninety-nine per cent of his men took part in\\nevery engagement. In Natal the real fighting\\nspirit was lacking in the majority of the men,\\nand Commandant-General Joubert might have\\nbeen swept aside from the path to Durban but\\nmonths afterward, when the burgher learned\\nthat his services were actually needed, and that\\nif he did not fight he was liable to be captured\\nand sent to St. Helena, he polished his Mauser\\nand fought as hard and well as he was able.\\nThe same carelessness or indifference which\\nmanifested itself throughout the early part of\\nthe Natal campaign with regard to the necessity\\nof assisting in the fighting was evident in that\\nall-important part of an army s work the\\nguarding of the laagers. The Boers did not\\nhave sentries or outposts as they are understood\\nin trained armies, but they had what was called\\na Brandwacht/ or fire guard, which consisted\\nof a hundred men or more, who were supposed\\nto take positions at a certain distance from the\\nlaagers and remain there until daybreak. These\\nmen were volunteers secured by the corporal,\\nwho was responsible to his field cornet for a\\ncertain number of men every night. It was", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0110.jp2"}, "111": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n93\\nnever made compulsory upon any one to go on\\nBrandwacht, but the duty was not considered\\nirksome, and there were always as many volun-\\nteers as were required for the work. The men\\non Brandwacht carried with them blankets,\\nA Boer picket in early morning.\\npipes, and kettles, and, after reaching the point\\nwhich they were to occupy during the night,\\nthey tethered their horses to one of their feet\\nand made themselves comfortable with pipe and\\ncoffee. When the enemy was known to be\\nnear by, the Brandwacht kept awake as a matter", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0111.jp2"}, "112": {"fulltext": "94\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nof personal safety, but when there seemed to be\\nno danger of attack he fastened his blankets\\naround his body and, using his saddle for a pil-\\nlow, slept until the sun rose. There was a mild\\npunishment for those who slept while on this\\nduty, and occasionally the burgher found that\\nsome one had abstracted the bolt of his rifle\\nduring the night. When the corporal produced\\nthe bolt as evidence against him in the morning\\nand sentenced him to carry a stone or a box of\\nbiscuits on his head the burgher might decline\\nto be punished, and no one could say aught\\nagainst his determination.\\nThe Boer scouts, or spies as they were called,\\nreceived a fine tribute from Sir George White,\\nthe British commander at Ladysmith. In a\\nspeech which he delivered at Capetown, Sir\\nGeorge said\\nAll through this campaign, from the first\\nday the Boers crossed the frontier to the relief\\nof Ladysmith, I and others who have been in\\ncommand near me have been hampered by their\\nexcellent system of intelligence, for which I give\\nthem all credit. I wish to goodness that they\\nhad neglected it, for I could not move a gun,\\neven if I did not give the order till midnight,\\nbut they knew it by daylight next morning.\\nAnd they had their agents who gave them their\\nintelligence through thick and thin. I locked\\nup everybody who I thought could go and tell,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0112.jp2"}, "113": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n95\\nbut somehow or other the intelligence went on.\\nI had sixteen miles of a perimeter to watch, and\\nI could not prevent the information from get-\\nting over it.\\nThe Boer was an effective scout because he\\nwas familiar with the country and because his\\neyes were far better than those of any of the\\nmen against whom he was pitted. The South\\nAfrican atmosphere is extraordinarily clear, and\\nevery person has a long range of vision; but the\\nBoer, who was accustomed to the climatic con-\\nditions, could distinguish between Boer and\\nBriton where the stranger could barely see a\\nmoving object. Field glasses were almost\\nvalueless to Boer scouts, and few of them were\\ncarried by any one except the generals and com_\\nmandants, who secured them from the war de-\\npartment before the beginning of the war.\\nThere was no distinct branch of the army whose\\nexclusive duty it was to scout, and there was\\neven greater lack of organization in the matter\\nof securing information concerning the move-\\nments of the enemy than in the other depart-\\nments of the army s work. When a general or\\ncommandant felt that it was necessary to ob-\\ntain accurate information concerning the enemy s\\nstrength and whereabouts, he asked for volun-\\nteers to do the work. Frequently during the\\nNatal campaign no scouting was done for days,\\nand the generals were absolutely ignorant of", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0113.jp2"}, "114": {"fulltext": "96\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\neverything in connection with the enemy. Later\\nin the campaign several scouting corps com-\\nposed of foreign volunteers were organized, and\\nthereafter the Boers depended wholly upon the\\ninformation they secured.\\nThere was no regulation which forbade\\nburghers from leaving the laagers at any time\\nor from proceeding in any direction, and much\\nof the information that reached the generals\\nwas obtained from these rovers over the veld.\\nIt was extremely difficult for a man who did not\\nhave the appearance of a burgher to ride over\\nthe veld for more than a mile without being\\nhailed by a Boer, who seemed to have risen out\\nof the earth unnoticed. Where are you going?\\nor Where are you coming from? were his\\ninvariable salutations, and if the stranger was\\nunable to give a satisfactory reply or show\\nproper passports he was commanded, Hands\\nup! The burghers were constantly on the\\nalert when abroad on the veld, whether they\\nwere merely wandering about, leaving for home,\\nor returning to the laager, and as soon as they\\nsecured any information which they believed\\nwas valuable they dashed away to the nearest\\ntelegraph or heliograph station and reported it\\nto their general or commandant. In addition to\\nthis valuable attribute the Boers had the advan-\\ntage of being among white and black friends\\nwho could assist them in a hundred different", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0114.jp2"}, "115": {"fulltext": "THE ARMY ORGANIZATION\\n97\\nways in obtaining information concerning the\\nenemy, and all these circumstances combined to\\nwarrant General White s estimate of the Boer s\\nintelligence department, which, notwithstanding\\nits efficiency, was more or less mythical.\\nIn no department or branch of. the army was\\nthere any military discipline or system except\\nin the two small bodies of men known as the\\nState Artillery of the Transvaal and the State\\nArtillery of the Free State. These organizations\\nwere in existence many years before the war was\\nbegun, and had regular drills and practice which\\nwere maintained when they were at the front.\\nThe Johannesburg police also had a form of dis-\\ncipline, which, however, was not strict enough\\nto prevent the men from mutinying when they\\nimagined that they had fought the whole war\\nthemselves, and wanted to have a vacation in\\norder that they might visit their homes. The\\nonly instance of real military discipline that was\\nto be found in the entire Boer army was that\\nwhich was maintained by Field Cornet A. L.\\nThring, of the Kroonstad commando, who had\\na roll call and inspection of rifles every morn-\\ning. This extraordinary procedure was not\\nrelished by the burghers, who made an indignant\\nprotest to General Christian De Wet. The gen-\\neral upheld the field cornet s action and told the\\nmen that if all the officers had instituted similar\\nmethods more success might have attended the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0115.jp2"}, "116": {"fulltext": "98\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\narmy s operations. With the exceptions of the\\ninstances cited, every man was a disciplinary\\nlaw unto himself, and when he transgressed that\\nlaw no one would call him to account but his\\nconscience. There were laws on the subject of\\nobedience in the army and all had penalties at-\\ntached to them, but it was extremely rare that a\\nburgher was punished. When he endured dis-\\ncipline he did it because he cared to do so and\\nnot because he feared those who had authority\\nover him. He was always deeply religious,\\nand he felt that in being obedient he was find-\\ning favour in the eyes of the Providence that\\nwatched over his cause. It was as much his\\nreligion as his ability to aim unerringly that\\nmade the Boer a good soldier. If the Boer\\narmy had been composed of an irreligious, un-\\ndisciplined body of men instead of the psalm-\\nsinging farmers it would have been conquered\\nby itself. The religion of the Boers was their\\ndiscipline.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0116.jp2"}, "117": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER V\\nTHE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\nThe disparity between the British and Boer\\narmies seemed to be so great at the time the\\nwar was begun that the patriotic Englishman\\ncould hardly be blamed for asserting that the\\nstruggle would be of only a month s duration.\\nOn the one side was an army every branch of\\nwhich was highly developed and specialized\\nand kept in constant practice by many wars\\nwaged under widely different conditions. Back\\nof it was a great nation with millions of men and\\nunlimited resources to draw upon. At the head\\nof the army were men who knew the theory\\nand practice of warfare as few leaders of other\\narmies had had opportunities of learning them.\\nOpposed to this army was practically an aggre-\\ngation of farmers hastily summoned together\\nand utterly without discipline or training.\\nThey were unable to replace with another a\\nsingle fallen burgher, and were prevented from\\nadding by importation to their stock of am-\\nmunition a single rifle or a single pound of\\n8 99", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0117.jp2"}, "118": {"fulltext": "-lOO I HE BOERS IN WAR\\npowder. Their generals were farmers who\\nperhaps did not know that there existed a\\ntheory of warfare and much less knew how\\nmodern wars were fought and won. The means\\nby which thirty thousand farmers of no mili-\\ntary training were enabled to withstand the\\nopposition of several hundred thousand well-\\ntrained soldiers for the greater part of a year\\nmust be sought in the military system which\\ngave such a marvellous advantage. Such suc-\\ncess as attended the Boer army was undoubt-\\nedly the success of its method of warfare against\\nthat of the British.\\nThe Boers themselves were not aware that\\nthey had a military system at least none of\\nthe generals or men acknowledged the exist-\\nence of one, and it was not an easy matter to find\\nevidence that battles were fought and move-\\nments made according to certain established\\nrules which suggested a system. The Boers\\nundoubtedly had a military method of their\\nown which was naturally developed in their\\nmany wars with natives and with the British\\ntroops. It might not have been a system ac-\\ncording to the correct definition of the term it\\nmight have been called an instinct for fighting\\nor a common-sense way of attempting to defeat\\nan enemy but it was something which existed\\nin the mind of every citizen of the two repub-\\nlics. It was not to be learned from books or", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0118.jp2"}, "119": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM jqi\\nteachers, nor could it be taught to those who\\nwere not born in the country. Whatever that\\nmethod was, it was extremely rudimentary, and\\nwas never developed to any extent by the disci-\\npline and training which any military system\\nnecessarily requires in order to make it effect-\\nive. There was a natural way of proceeding\\nused by the Boers when hunting for lion or\\nbuck, and it was the same as that which they\\napplied against the British army. Every Boer\\nwas expert in the use of his rifle he had an\\nexcellent eye for country and cover he was\\nable to tell at a glance whether a hill or an un-\\ndulation in the ground was suitable for fighting\\npurposes, whether it could be defended and\\nwhether it offered facilities for attack or retreat.\\nJust as every Boer was a general, so every\\nburgher had in his mind a certain military plan\\nfashioned after the needs and opportunities of\\nthe country, and this was their system a sort\\nof national as well as natural art of war.\\nIn the British army as well as in other mod-\\nern armies the soldier is supposed to under-\\nstand nothing, know nothing, and do nothing\\nbut give obedience to the commands of his offi-\\ncers. He is expected to learn little of anything\\nexcept the evolutions he is taught on the drill\\ngrounds. It is presumed that he is stupid, and\\nthe idea appears to be to prevent him from be-\\ning otherwise, in order that he may the better", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0119.jp2"}, "120": {"fulltext": "I02\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nperform his function in the great machine to\\nwhich a trained army has been likened. He is\\nregarded as if he were an animal of low mental\\ngrade, whose functions are merely to carry out\\nthe orders of the man who has been chosen by\\nbeings of superior intelligence to command him.\\nWhen the man who has been selected in times of\\npeace to lead the men in times of war fails, on\\nmeeting the enemy, to make good use of the\\nmilitary knowledge which it was presumed he\\npossessed, the soldiers who look to him for direc-\\ntion generally become useless and oftentimes\\nworse than useless, inasmuch as their panic is\\nlikely to become infectious among neighbouring\\nbodies of soldiers, even though they are pro-\\nvided with better leaders.\\nIn trained armies the value of a soldier is a\\nreflection of the value of the officer who com-\\nmands him, and the worth of the army is great\\nin proportion to the ability of its generals. In\\nthe Boer army the generals and commandants\\nwere of much less importance, for the reason\\nthat the Boer burgher acted almost always\\non his own initiative. The generals were of\\nmore service before the beginning of a battle\\nthan while it was in progress. When a burgher\\nbecame aware of the presence of the enemy\\nhis own knowledge, his native military sense,\\ntold him the best manner in which to attack\\nhis adversary as well as his general could have", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0120.jp2"}, "121": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\n103\\ninformed him. The generals and other officers\\nwere of prime importance in leading the burgh-\\ners to the point where the enemy was likely to\\nbe found, but when that locality was reached\\ntheir period of usefulness ended, for the burgh-\\ners knew how to wage the battle as well as\\nthey did. Generally speaking, the most strik-\\ning difference between the Boer army and a\\ntrained army was the difference in the distribu-\\ntion of intelligence. All the intelligence of a\\ntrained army is centred in the officers in the\\nBoer army there was much practical military\\nsense and alertness of mind diffused throughout\\nthe entire force.\\nMr. Disraeli once said Doubtless to think\\nwith vigour, with clearness, and with depth in\\nthe recess of a cabinet, is a fine intellectual\\ndemonstration but to think with equal vigour,\\nclearness, and depth among bullets, appears the\\nloftiest exercise and the most complete triumph\\nof the human faculties. Without attempting to\\nintimate that every burgher was a man of the\\nhigh mental attainments described by the emi-\\nnent British statesman, it must be acknowledged\\nthat the fighting Boer was a man of more than\\nordinary calibre.\\nIn battle the Boer burgher was practically\\nhis own general. He had an e) e which quickly\\ngrasped a situation, and he never waited for an\\norder from an officer to take advantage of it.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0121.jp2"}, "122": {"fulltext": "I04\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nWhen he saw that he could with safety ap-\\nproach the enemy more closely, he did so on\\nhis own responsibility, and when it became evi-\\ndent to him that it would be advantageous to\\noccupy a different position in order that he\\nmight stem the advance of the enemy, he acted\\nentirely on his own initiative. He remained in\\none position just as long as he considered it\\nsafe to do so, and if conditions warranted he\\nwent forward, or if they were adverse he re-\\ntreated, whether there was an order from an\\nofficer or not. When he saw that the burghers\\nin another part of the field were hard pressed\\nby the enemy, he deserted his own position and\\nwent to their assistance; or when his own posi-\\ntion became untenable, in his own opinion, he\\nsimply vacated it and went to another spot\\nwhere bullets and shells were less thick. If he\\nsaw a number of the enemy detached from the\\nmain body of their own force, and believed that\\nthey could be taken prisoners, he enlisted a\\nnumber of the burghers who had the same\\nopinion, and made an effort to capture them,\\nwhether there was an officer close at hand or\\nnot.\\nNo one was overcharged with orders in fact,\\nthe lack of them was more noticeable, and it\\nwas well that it was so, for the Boer burgher\\ndisliked to be ordered, and always did things\\nwith better grace when he acted spontaneously.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0122.jp2"}, "123": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\n105\\nThis fact was illustrated by an incident in the\\nfight of Modderspruit, where two young Boers\\nsaved an entire commando from falling into the\\nhands of the enemy. Lieutenant Oelfse, of the\\nState artillery, and Reginald Sheppard, of the\\nPretoria commando, observed a strong force\\nof the British advancing toward a kopje where\\nthe Krugersdorp commando was concealed.\\nThe two men saw that the Krugersdorpers\\nwould be cut off in a short time if they were\\nnot informed of the British advance, so they\\ndetermined to plunge across the open veld, six\\nhundred yards from the enemy s guns, and tell\\nthem of their danger. No officer could have\\ncompelled the men to undertake such a hazard-\\nous journey across a bullet-swept plain, but\\nOelfse and Sheppard acted on their own re-\\nsponsibility, succeeded in reaching the Krugers-\\ndorp commando without being hit, and gave\\nthe commandant the information which undoubt-\\nedly saved him and his men from being cap-\\ntured. Incidents of like nature occurred in al-\\nmost every battle of the campaign, and occa-\\nsionally the service thus rendered voluntarily by\\nthe burghers was of momentous consequence,\\neven if the act itself seemed trivial at the time.\\nA second feature of the Boer army and\\nquite as important as the freedom of action of\\nits individuals was its mobility. Every burgher\\nwas mounted on a fleet horse or pony, and con-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0123.jp2"}, "124": {"fulltext": "I06 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nsequently his movements on the battlefield,\\nwhether in an advance or in the retreat, were\\nmany times more rapid than those of the enemy\\nan advantage which was of inestimable value\\nboth during an engagement and in the intervals\\nbetween battles when it was necessary to secure\\nnew positions. During the progress of a battle\\nthe Boers were able to leave a certain point\\nfor a time, mount their horses, and, riding to an-\\nother position, throw their full strength against\\nthe latter, while still remaining in such close\\ntouch with the former post that it was possi-\\nble to return and defend it in a very short space\\nof time. With the aid of their horses they\\ncould make such a sudden rush from one posi-\\ntion to another that the infantry of the enemy\\ncould be surrounded and cut off from all com-\\nmunication with the body of its army almost\\nbefore it was known that any Boers were in the\\nvicinity and it was due to that fact that the\\nBoers were able to make so many captures of\\nlarge numbers.\\nThe fighting along the Tugela furnished\\nmany striking examples of the Boers extreme\\nmobility. There was a constant dashing from\\none position to another an attack here now,\\nanother there to-morrow. This incessant move-\\nment was made necessary by the display of\\nenergy by the British, whose thrice-larger\\nforces kept the Boers in state of continued", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0124.jp2"}, "125": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\n107\\nferment. On one side of the river, stretched\\nout from south of Spionkop, in the west, to\\nHelpmakaar, in the east, were thirty thou-\\nsand British troops watching for a weak\\npoint where they might cross, and attacking\\nwherever there seemed to be the slightest op-\\nportunity of breaking through on the other\\nside were between two and three thousand\\nmounted Boers dashiiig from one point to\\nanother in the long line of territory to be\\nguarded, and repelling the attacks wherever\\nthey were made. The country was in their\\nfavour, it is true, but it was not so favourable\\nthat a handful of men could defend it against\\nthousands, and it was partly due to the great\\nease and rapidity with which the Boers could\\nmove from one place to another that Ladysmith\\nremained besieged so long. The mobility of\\nthe Boers was again well demonstrated in the\\nretreat of the burghers from the environs of\\nLadysmith. After the Krijgsraad decided to\\nwithdraw the forces into the Biggarsberg it re-\\nquired only a few hours for all the many com-\\nmandos to leave the positions they had held so\\nlong, to load their impedimenta, and to be well\\non the way to the north. The departure was\\nso rapid that it surprised even those who were\\nin Ladysmith. One day the Boers were shell-\\ning the town as usual, and all the commandos\\nwere observed in the same positions which they", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0125.jp2"}, "126": {"fulltext": "be\\nC\\n3\\nH", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0126.jp2"}, "127": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM 109\\nhad occupied for several months the following\\nday not a single Boer was to be seen anywhere.\\nThey had quietly mounted their horses by night\\nand before tlie sun rose in the morning they\\nwere trekking north beyond Modderspruit and\\nElandslaagte on the way to Glencoe.\\nGeneral Cronje s flight from Magersfontein\\nwas also accomplished with great haste and in\\ngood order; but probably the finest example\\nof the Boers mobility was the magnificent re-\\ntreat along the Basuto border of Generals Gro-\\nbler, Olivier, and Lemmer with their 6,000\\nmen, when the enemy was known to be in great\\nstrength within several days march of them.\\nAfter the capture of Cronje at Paardeberg the\\nthree generals, who had been conducting the\\ncampaign in the eastern provinces of Cape Col-\\nony were in a most dangerous position, having\\nthe enemy in the rear, the left, and left front,\\nthe neutral Basuto land on the right front, and\\nonly a small strip of territory along the western\\nborders of the Basuto country being apparently\\nfree of the enemy. The British were in Bloem-\\nfontein and the surrounding country, and it\\nseemed almost impossible that the 6,000 men\\ncould ever extricate themselves from such a\\nposition and join the Boer forces in the north.\\nIt would have been a comparatively easy mat-\\nter for 6,000 mounted men to make the journey\\nif they had not been loaded down with im-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0127.jp2"}, "128": {"fulltext": "no THE BOERS IN WAR\\npedimenta, but the retreating generals were\\nobliged to carry with them all their huge\\ntransport wagons and heavy camping para-\\nphernalia. The trek northward was begun near\\nColesburg on March 12th, and when all the dif-\\nferent commandos had joined the main column\\nthe 6,000 horsemen, the 750 transport wagons,\\nthe 2,000 natives, and 12,000 cattle formed a\\nline extending more than 24 miles. The scouts\\nwho were despatched westward from the col-\\numn to ascertain the whereabouts of the enemy\\nreported large forces of British cavalry sixty\\nand seventy miles distant, but for some inex-\\nplicable reason the British made no attempt\\nto cut off the retreat of the three generals,\\nand on March 28th they reached Kroonstad,\\nhaving traversed almost 400 miles of territory\\nin the comparatively short time of sixteen days.\\nSherman s march to the sea was made under\\nextraordinary conditions, but the retreat of the\\nthree generals was fraught with much great-\\ner dangers and difficulties. Sherman passed\\nthrough a fertile country, and had an enemy\\nwhich was disheartened. The Boer generals\\nhad an enemy flushed with its first victories,\\nwhile the country through which they passed\\nwas mountainous and muddy. If the column\\nhad been captured so soon after the Paardeberg\\ndisaster, the. relief of Kimberley and the relief of\\nLady smith, the event might have been so dis-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0128.jp2"}, "129": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM m\\nheartening to the remaining Boer commandos\\nthat the war would have been ended at that\\ntime. It was a magnificent retreat, and well\\nworthy to be placed in the scroll of honour\\nwith Cronje s noble stand at Paardeberg, with\\nSpion Kop, and Magersfontein.\\nThe Boer army was capable of moving\\nrapidly under almost any circumstances. The\\nBritish army demonstrated upon many occa-\\nsions that it could not move more than two or\\nthree miles an hour when the column was ham-\\npered with transport wagons and camping para-\\nphernalia, and frequently it was impossible to\\nproceed at that pace for many consecutive\\nhours. A Boer commando easily travelled six\\nmiles an hour, and not infrequently, when there\\nwas a necessity for rapid motion, seven and even\\neight miles an hour were traversed. When Gen-\\neral Lucas Meyer moved his commandos along\\nthe Natal border at the outset of the war, and\\nlearned that General Penn-Symons was located\\nat Dundee, he made a night march of almost\\nforty miles in six hours and occupied Talana\\nHill, a mile distant from the enemy, who were\\nignorant of the Boers proximity until the camp\\nwas shelled at daybreak. When General De Wet\\nlearned that Colonel Broadwood was moving\\nwestward from Thaba N Chu on March 30th,\\nhe was in laager several miles east of Brand-\\nfort, but it required only a few minutes for all", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0129.jp2"}, "130": {"fulltext": "112 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nthe burghers to be on their horses and ready\\nto proceed toward the enemy. The journey of\\ntwenty-five miles to Sannaspost, near the Bloem-\\nfontein waterworks, was accomplished in the re-\\nmarkably short time of five hours, while Colonel\\nBroadwood s forces consumed seven hours in\\nmaking the ten-mile journey from Thaba N Chu\\nto the same place. The British column was un-\\nable to move more rapidly on account of its\\nlarge convoy of wagons, and could not make\\neven as great progress as that made by the\\ntrekking party of the three generals who were\\nsimilarly hampered.\\nThe Boers rarely attempted to trek for any\\nconsiderable distance with their heavy wagons\\nwhen they were aware of the presence of the\\nenemy in the vicinity. Ox wagons were al-\\nways left behind, and as only a small number of\\nlight vehicles bearing provisions and ammuni-\\ntion were taken, they were able to move with\\ngreater rapidity than their opponents. Fre-\\nquently they entered dangerous territory with\\nonly a few days provisions, and risked a famine\\nof food and ammunition rather than load them-\\nselves down with many lumbering wagons which\\nwere likely to retard their progress. After fight-\\ning the battle at Moester s Hoek, General De\\nWet had hardly three days food and very little\\nammunition with him. Yet rather than delay\\nhis march and send for more wagons he pro-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0130.jp2"}, "131": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\n113\\nceeded to Wepener, where after several days*\\nfighting both his food and ammunition became\\nexhausted. He was then obliged to lie idle\\naround the enem}- and await the arrival of the\\nsupplies which he might have carried with him\\nA burgher and his breakfast.\\nat the outset of the trek had he cared to risk\\nsuch an impediment to his rapid movements.\\nOne of the primar}- reasons why the Boers\\ncould move more rapidly than the British was\\nthe difference in the weight carried by their\\nhorses. The Boer paid no attention to artistic", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0131.jp2"}, "132": {"fulltext": "114\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\naccoutrement when he went to war, and conse-\\nquently he carried nothing that was not abso-\\nlutely essential. His saddle was less than half\\nthe weight of a British saddle, and was almost\\nall the equipment he carried when on a trek.\\nThe Boer rider and equipment, including\\nsaddle, rifle, blankets, and a food supply,\\nrarely weighed more than two hundred and\\nfifty pounds, which was not a heavy load for\\na horse to carry. A British cavalryman and\\nhis equipment of heavy saddle, sabre, carbine,\\nand saddlebags rarely weighed less than four\\nhundred pounds, a burden which soon tires a\\nhorse. Again, almost every Boer had two\\nhorses, so that when one had been ridden for\\nan hour or more he was relieved and led, while\\nthe other was used. In this manner the Boers\\nwere able to travel from twelve to fourteen\\nhours in a day when it was absolutely neces-\\nsary to reach a certain point at a given time.\\nSix miles an hour was the rate of progress ex-\\npected of horses in normal condition, and when\\na forced march was attempted they could travel\\nsixty and seventy miles in a day, and be in good\\ncondition the following morning to undertake\\nanother journey of equal length. Small com-\\nmandos often covered sixty and seventy miles\\nin a day, especially during the fighting along\\nthe Tugela; while after the battles of Poplar\\nGrove and Abraham s Kraal and the capture of", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0132.jp2"}, "133": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\n115\\nBloemfontein, it seemed as if the entire army\\nin the Free State were moving northward at a\\nrate of speed comparable with that of an express\\ntrain. The mobility of the Boer army was then\\non a par with that of the British army after the\\nbattle of Dundee, and it was difficult to deter-\\nmine which of the two deserved the palm for\\nthe best display of accelerated motion.\\nA most striking feature of the Boer sys-\\ntem of warfare was the manner in which each\\nindividual protected himself, as far as possible,\\nfrom danger. In lion hunting it is an axiom\\nthat the hunter must not pursue a wounded\\nlion into tall grass or underbrush, lest the pur-\\nsuer be attacked. In the Boer army a natural\\nimpulse, common to all the burghers, led them\\nto seek their own safety whenever danger\\nseemed to be near. Men who follow the most\\npeaceful pursuits value their lives highly. They\\ndo not assume great risks even if great ends are\\nto be attained. The majority of the Boers were\\nfarmers who saw no glory in attempting to gain\\na great success the attainment of which made\\nit necessary that they should risk their lives\\nrecklessly. It seemed as if each man realized\\nthat his death meant a great loss to the Boer\\narmy, already small, and that he did not intend\\nto diminish its size if he could possibly prevent\\nit. The Boer was quick in noting when the\\nproper moment arrived for retreat, and he was\\n9", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0133.jp2"}, "134": {"fulltext": "Il6 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nnot slothful in acting upon his observations.\\nRetreating when it was time was one of the\\nBoers characteristics, but it could not be called\\nan advantage, for frequently many of them\\nmisjudged the occasion, and left the field when\\na battle was almost won. At Poplar Grove\\nthe Boers might have carried the day if the\\nmajority of the burghers had remained and\\nfought an hour or two longer instead of with-\\ndraAving precipitately when the individuals de-\\ntermined that safety was to be found only in\\nflight. At Elandslaagte the foreigners under\\nGeneral Kock did not seize the proper moment\\nfor retreat, but continued with the fighting and\\nwere almost annihilated by the Lancers because\\nof their lack of judgment. The burghers of the\\nFree State, in particular, had the instinct of re-\\ntreating abnormally developed, and whenever a\\nbattle was in progress large numbers of them\\ncould be observed going in an opposite direction\\nas rapidly as their ponies could carry them over\\nthe veld. The lack of discipline in the commandos\\nmade such practices possible in fact, there was\\nno rule or law by which a burgher could be pre-\\nvented from retreating or deserting whenever\\nhe felt that he did not care to participate in a\\nbattle. After the British occupation of Bloem-\\nfontein there was a small skirmish about eight\\nmiles north of that cit}^ at a place called Tafel\\nKop which sent the Free Staters running in all", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0134.jp2"}, "135": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM 117\\ndirections. The veld seemed to be tilled with\\ndeserters, and at every farmhouse there were\\nfrom two to six able-bodied men who had fled\\nwhen they believed themselves to be in grave\\ndanger.\\nFoolish men attribute all the moral courage\\nin the world to the soldiers of their own coun-\\ntry, but Nature made a wise distribution of that\\ngift, and not all the Boers were cowards. Boer\\ngenerals with onl}- a few hundred men time and\\nagain attacked thousands of British soldiers and\\nfrequently vanquished them. General Botha s\\ntwenty-five hundred men held out for a week\\nagainst General Buller s thirty or forty thou-\\nsand, and General Cronje with his four thou-\\nsand burghers surrendered to not less than forty\\nthousand men and one hundred and fifty heavy\\nguns under Field-Marshal Lord Roberts. Those\\ntwo examples of Boer bravery would suffice to\\nprove that the South African farmers had moral\\ncourage of no mean order if there were not a\\nthousand and one other splendid records of\\nbravery. The burghers did not always lie be-\\nhind their shelter until the enemy had come\\nwithin several himdred 3^ards and then bowl\\nhim over with deadl) accurac3^ At the Plat-\\nrand fight near Ladysmith on January 6th the\\nBoers charged and captured British positions,\\ndrove the defenders out, and did it so success-\\nfully that only a few Boers were killed. The", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0135.jp2"}, "136": {"fulltext": "Il8 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nSpion Kop fight, a second Majuba Hill, was won\\nafter one of the finest displays of moral courage\\nin the war. It requires bravery of the highest\\ntype for a small body of men to climb a steep\\nhill in the face of an enemy which is three\\ntimes greater numerically and armed with larger\\nand more guns, yet that was the case with the\\nBoers at Spion Kop. There were but few\\nbattles in the entire campaign in which the\\nBoer forces were not vastly outnumbered by the\\nenemy, who usually had from twice to twenty\\ntimes their number of cannon. Yet the burgh-\\ners were well aware of the fact and did not allow\\nit to interfere with their plans; nor did they dis-\\nplay great temerity in seeking battle with such\\na foe. When Lord Roberts and his three thou-\\nsand cavalry entered Jacobsdal there were less\\nthan one hundred arm.ed Boers in the town, but\\nthey made a determined stand against the enemy\\nand in a street fight a large percentage of the\\nburghers fell, their blood mingling with that of\\nthose they had slain.\\nLarge bodies of Boers rarely attacked and\\nnever resisted the enemy on level stretches of\\nveld not because they lacked courage to do so,\\nbut because the}^ saw the futility of such action.\\nAfter the British drove the Boers out of the\\nkopjes east and northeast of Bloemfontein, the\\nburghers had no broken country suited to their\\nparticular style of warfare, and they retreated", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0136.jp2"}, "137": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\n119\\nto the Vaal without making great efforts to stop\\nthe advance of the enemy. The Boer generals\\nknew that the British were equipped with in-\\nnumerable cannon which could sweep the level\\nveld for several miles before them and make\\nthe ground untenable for the riflemen, the main-\\nstay of the Boer army. When they were on\\nhills the Boers were able to intrench themselves\\nso thoroughly that the fire of several hundred\\nheavy guns made hardly any impression on\\nthem, but as soon as they attempted those tac-\\ntics on level ground the results were most dis-\\nastrous. At Colenso and Magersfontein the\\nburghers remained in their trenches on the hills\\nwhile thousands of shrapnel and other shells ex-\\nploded above and around them, but very few\\nmen were injured, and when the British in-\\nfantry advanced under cover of the shell fire\\nthe Boers merely waited until the enemy had\\napproached to within several hundred yards\\nand then assailed them with rifle fire. Trenches\\nalways afforded perfect safety from shell fire,\\nand on that account the Boers were able to\\ncope long and well with the British in the fight-\\ning along the Tugela and around Kimberley.\\nThe Boers generallv remained quietly in their\\ntrenches and made no reply to the British can-\\nnon fire, however hot it was. The British gen-\\nerals several times mistook this silence as an\\nindication that the Boers had evacuated the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0137.jp2"}, "138": {"fulltext": "I20 THE BOERS IN WAR\\ntrenches, and sent forward bodies of infantry\\nto occupy the positions. When the infantry\\nreached the Boer zone of shooting they usu-\\nally met with a terrific Mauser fire that could\\nnot be stemmed, however gallant their at-\\ntacks might be. Hundreds of British soldiers\\nlost their lives while going forward under\\nshell fire to seize a position which it was pre-\\nsumed by the generals were unoccupied by the\\nBoers.\\nThere were innumerable instances also of ex-\\ntraordinary brave acts by individual burghers,\\nbut it was extremely difficult to hear of them,\\nowing to the Boers disinclination to discuss a\\nbattle in its details. No Boer ever referred of\\nhis own volition to his exploits or those of his\\nfriends, and at any time only in the most in-\\ndefinite manner. He related the story of a battle\\nin much the same manner that he told of the till-\\ning of his fields or the herding of his cattle, and\\nwhen there was any part of it pertaining to his\\nown actions he passed it over without comment.\\nIt seemed as if every one was fighting, not for\\nhis own glorification, but for the success of his\\ncountry s army, and consequently there was\\nlittle hero worship. Individual acts of bravery\\nentitled the fortunate person to have his name\\nmentioned in the Staats-Courant, the Govern-\\nment gazette, but hardly any attention was paid\\nto the search for heroes, and only the names of", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0138.jp2"}, "139": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM 121\\na few men were even chronicled in the columns\\nof that periodical.\\nOne of the bravest men in the Natal cam-\\npaign was a young Pretoria burgher named Van\\nGaz who in his youth had an accident which\\nmade it necessary that his right arm should be\\namputated at the elbow. Later in life he was\\ninjured in one of the native wars, and the upper\\narm was amputated, so that when he joined a\\ncommando he had only the left arm. It was an\\nextraordinary spectacle to observe young Van\\nGaz holding his carbine between his knees\\nwhile loading it with cartridges and quite as\\nstrange to see the agility with which he dis-\\ncharged his rifle with one hand. He was in the\\nvan of the storming party at Spion Kop, where\\na bullet passed completely through his chest.\\nHe continued, however, to work his rifle between\\nhis knees and to shoot with his left arm, and\\nwas one of the first men to reach the summit of\\nthe hill, where he snatched the rifles from the\\nhands of two British soldiers. After the battle\\nwas won he was carried to a hospital by several\\nother burghers, but a month afterward he was\\nagain at the front at the Tugela, going into ex-\\nposed positions and shouting Come on, fel-\\nlows here is a good chance His companions\\ndesired to elect him their field cornet, but he\\nrefused the honour.\\nEvert Le Roux and Herculaas Nel, of the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0139.jp2"}, "140": {"fulltext": "122\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nSwaziland police, and two of the best scouts in\\nthe Boer army, were constantly engaged in\\nrecklessly daring enterprises, none of which,\\nhowever, was quite equal to their actions on\\nApril 2ist, when the environs of Ladysmith had\\nbeen in British hands for almost two months.\\nThe two men went out on patrol and by night\\ncrept up a kopje behind which about three\\nhundred British cavalrymen were bivouacking.\\nThe men were twenty miles away from their\\nlaagers at Dundee and only a short distance\\nfrom Ladysmith, but they lay down and slept\\non the other side of the kopje and only a hun-\\ndred yards from the cavalrymen. In the morn-\\ning the British cavalry was divided into three\\nsquads and all started for Ladysmith. Le Roux\\nand Nel swept down toward the last squad and\\ncalled Hands up to one of the men in the\\nvan. The cavalryman promptly held up his\\nhands and a minute afterward surrendered his\\ngun and himself, while the remainder of the\\nsquad fled precipitately. The two scouts, with\\ntheir prisoner, quickly made a detour of another\\nkopje and appeared in front of the first squad\\nof whom they made a similar demand. One of\\nthe cavalrymen, who was in advance of the\\nothers, surrendered without attempting to make\\nany resistance, while the others turned quickly\\nto the right and rode headlong into a deep sluit.\\nLe Roux shot the horse of one of the men be-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0140.jp2"}, "141": {"fulltext": "THE BOER MILITARY SYSTEM\\n123\\nfore he reached the sluit loaded the unhorsed\\nman on one of the other prisoners horses and\\nthen pursued the fleeing cavalrymen almost to\\nthe city limits of Ladysmith.\\nMajor Albrecht, the head of the Free State\\nArtillery, was one of the bravest men in General\\nCronje s commando, and his display of courage\\nat the battle of Magersfontein was not less ex-\\ntraordinary than that which he made later in\\nthe river bed at Paardeburg. At Magersfontein\\nAlbrecht and two of his artillerymen operated\\ntwo cannon which were located behind schanzes\\ntwenty feet apart. The British had more than\\nfifty cannon, which they turned upon the Boer\\nguns whenever one of them was discharged.\\nAfter a short time the fire became so hot that\\nAlbrecht sent his assistants to places of safety\\nand worked the guns alone. For eight hours\\nthe intrepid Free State artilleryman jumped\\nfrom one cannon to another, returning the fire\\nwhenever there was a lull in the enemy s attack,\\nand seeking safety behind the schanze when\\nshells were falling too rapidly. It was an un-\\neven contest, but the bravery of one man in-\\nspired the others, and the end of the day saw\\nthe Boers nearer victory than they were in the\\nmorning. At Tafelkop, on March 30th, three\\nburghers were caught napping by three British\\nsoldiers, who suddenl}^ appeared before them\\nand shouted, Hands up While the soldiers", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0141.jp2"}, "142": {"fulltext": "124\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nwere advancing toward them the three burgh-\\ners succeeded in getting their rifles at their cap-\\ntors heads, and turned the tables by making\\nprisoners of them.\\nThere were many such instances of bravery,\\nbut one that is almost incredible occurred at the\\nplace called Railway Hill, near the Tugela, on\\nFebruary 24th. On that day the Boers did not\\nappear to know anything concerning the posi-\\ntion of the enemy, and James Marks, a Rusten-\\nberg farmer, determined to go out of the laager\\nand reconnoitre on his own responsibility.\\nMarks was more than sixty-two years old, and\\nwas somewhat decrepit, a circumstance which\\ndid not prevent him, however, from taking part\\nin almost every one of the Natal battles. The\\nold farmer had been absent from his laager less\\nthan an hour when he saw a small body of Brit-\\nish soldiers at the foot of a kopje. He crept\\ncautiously around the kopje, and when he was\\nwithin a hundred yards of the men he shouted,\\nHands up The soldiers immediately lifted\\ntheir arms, and, in obedience to the orders\\nof Marks, stacked their guns on a rock and ad-\\nvanced toward him. Marks placed the men in\\na line, saw that there were twenty-three big,\\nable-bodied soldiers, and then marched them\\nback into camp, to the great astonishment of his\\ngenerals and fellow-burghers.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0142.jp2"}, "143": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VI\\nTHE BOERS IN BATTLE\\nThe battle of Sannaspost, on March 31st, was\\none of the few engagements in the campaign in\\nwhich the forces of the Boers and the British\\nwere almost numerically equal. There were\\ntwo or three small battles in which the Boers\\nhad more men engaged than the British, but in\\nthe majority of instances the Boers were vastly\\noutnumbered, both in men and guns. At Elands-\\nlaagte the Boers had exactly seven hundred and\\nfifty burghers pitted against the five or six thou-\\nsand British Spion Kop was won from three\\nthousand British by three hundred and fifty\\nBoers at the Tugela, Botha with not more than\\ntwenty-six hundred men fought for more than a\\nweek against ten times that number of soldiers\\nunder General BuUer; while the greatest dis-\\nparity between the opposing forces was at Paar-\\ndeberg, where Cronje spent a week in trying to\\nlead his four thousand men through the encir-\\ncling wall of forty or fifty thousand British\\nsoldiers.\\n125", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0143.jp2"}, "144": {"fulltext": "126 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nSannaspost was not a decisive battle of the\\nwar, since no point of great strategical impor-\\ntance was at stake, but it was more in the na-\\nture of a demonstration of what the Boers were\\nable to do when they were opposed to a force\\nof equal strength. It was a test which was\\nequally fair to both contestants, and neither of\\nthem could reasonabl}^ claim to have possessed\\nan advantage over the other a day before the\\nbattle was fought. The British commander,\\nColonel Broadwood, had seventeen hundred\\nmen in his column, and General De Wet was at\\nthe head of about two hundred and fifty less\\nthan that number, but the disparity was equal-\\nized by the Boer general s intimate knowledge\\nof the country. Colonel Broadwood was ex-\\nperienced in Indian, Egyptian, and South Afri-\\ncan warfare, and the majority of his soldiers\\nwere seasoned in many battles. De Wet and\\nhis men were fresh from Poplar Grove, Abra-\\nham s Kraal, and the fighting around Kimberley,\\nand they were not better or worse than the\\naverage of the Boer burghers. The British\\ncommander was hampered by a large transport\\ntrain, but he possessed the advantage of more\\nheavy guns than his adversary. All in all, the\\ntwo forces were equally matched when they\\nreached the battlefield.\\nThe day before the battle General De Wet\\nand his men were in laager several miles east of", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0144.jp2"}, "145": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n127\\nBrandfort, whither they had fled after the fall\\nof Bloeaifontein. His scouts brought to him\\nthe information that a small British column was\\nstationed in the village of Thaba N Chu, forty\\nmiles to the east, and he determined to march\\nthither and attack it. He gave the order, Op-\\nzaal and in less than eight minutes every one\\nof his burghers was on his horse, armed, provided\\nwith two days rations of biltong, biscuit, coffee,\\nand sugar, and ready to proceed. De Wet him-\\nself leaped into a light, ramshackle four-wheeler\\nand led the advance over the dusty veld. With-\\nout attempting to proceed with any semblance\\nof military order, the burghers followed in the\\ncourse of their leader, some riding rapidly,\\nothers walking beside their horses, and a few\\nskirmishing far away on the veld for buck. The\\nmule teams, dragging the artillery and the am-\\nmunition wagons, were not permitted by their\\nhullabalooing Basuto drivers to lag far behind\\nthe general, and the dust which was raised by\\nthis long cavalcade was not unlike the clouds of\\nlocusts which were frequently mistaken for the\\nsigns of a trekking commando. Mile after mile\\nwas rapidly traversed until darkness came on,\\nwhen a halt was made, so that the burghers\\nmight prepare a meal and the general might\\nhear from the scouts who were far in advance of\\nthe body. After the men and horses had eaten,\\nand the moon had risen over the dark peak of", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0145.jp2"}, "146": {"fulltext": "128 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nThaba N Chu Mountain, the burghers lighted\\ntheir pipes and sang psalms and hymns until the\\npeaceful valley resounded with their voices.\\nThe long-awaited scouts rode on panting\\nhorses to the little stone farmhouse where Gen-\\neral De Wet was drinking milk and brought\\ninformation that the British force had evacuated\\nThaba N Chu late in the afternoon, and was\\nmoving hurriedly toward Bloemfontein. Again\\nthe order, Opzaal the mule train came into\\nmotion, and the burghers mounted their horses.\\nA chill night air arose, and shivering burghers\\nwrapped blankets around their shoulders. The\\nhumming of hymns and the whistling ceased,\\nand there was nothing but the clatter of horses*\\nhoofs, the shouts of the Basutos, and the noises\\nof the guns and wagons rumbling over the\\nstones and gullies to mark the nocturnal pas-\\nsage of the army. Lights were shining at farm-\\nhouse windows, and at their gates were women\\nand children with bread and bowls of milk and\\nprayers for the burghers. Small walls inclos-\\ning family burial plots, where newly dug ground\\ntold its own story of the war, stood grim in the\\nmoonlight; native huts, with their inhabitants\\nstanding like spectres before the doors, ap-\\npeared like monstrous ant-heaps all these were\\npassed, but the drooping eyes of the burghers\\nsaw nothing.\\nAt midnight another halt was made, horses", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0146.jp2"}, "147": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n129\\nwere unsaddled, and men lay down on the veld\\nto sleep. The generals and officers met in\\nKrijgsraad, and other scouts arriving, told of\\nthe enemy s evident intention of spending the\\nremainder of the night at an old-time off-saddling\\nstation known as Sannaspost. The news was\\nhighly important, and the heads of the generals\\ncame closer together. Maps were produced,\\npencil marks were made, plans were formed,\\nand then the sleeping burghers were aroused.\\nThe trek was resumed, and shortly afterward\\nthe column was divided into two parts the\\none, consisting of nine hundred men under Gen-\\neral Peter De Wet, proceeding by a circuitous\\nroute to the hills south of Sannaspost and the\\nother, of five hundred men commanded by Com-\\nmandant-General Christian De Wet, moving\\nthrough a maze of kopjes to a position west of\\nthe trekking station.\\nThe burghers were not informed of the im-\\nminence of a battle, but they required no such\\nannouncement from their generals. The atmos-\\nphere seemed to be surcharged with premoni-\\ntions of an engagement, and men rubbed sleep\\nout of their eyes and sat erect upon their horses.\\nThe blacks even ceased to crack their whips so\\nsharply, and urged the mules forward in whis-\\npers instead of shrieks. Burghers took their\\nrifles from their backs, tested the workings of\\nthe mechanism, and filled the magazines with", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0147.jp2"}, "148": {"fulltext": "130\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ncartridges. Artillerymen leaped from their\\nhorses and led them while they sat on the\\ncannon and poured oil into the bearings.\\nYoung men speculated on the number of pris-\\noners they would take old men wrote their\\nnames on their hats by the light of the moon.\\nThe lights of Bloemfontein appeared in the dis-\\ntance, and gray beards looked longingly at them\\nand sighed. But the cavalcade passed on grim-\\nly, silently, and defiantly to the haunts of the\\nenemy.\\nAfter four hours of trekking over veld, kopje,\\nsluit, and donga, the two columns halted, the\\nburghers dismounted, and, weary from the long\\njourney and the lack of sleep, lay down on the\\nearth beside their horses. Commandants, field\\ncornets, and corporals bustling about among the\\nburghers, horses, and wagons, gave orders in un-\\ndertones generals summoned their scouts and\\nasked for detailed information concerning the\\nwhereabouts of the enemy patrols were scurry-\\ning hither and thither to secure accurate ideas\\nof the topography of the territory in front of\\nthem all who were in authority were busy,\\nwhile the burghers who carried the strength of\\nbattle in their bodies lay sleeping and resting.\\nThe first dim rays of the day came over the\\ntops of the eastern hills when the burghers were\\naroused and asked to proceed to the positions\\nchosen by their leaders. The men under Peter", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0148.jp2"}, "149": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE I3I\\nDe Wet, the younger brother of the comman-\\ndant general, were led to an elevation about a\\nmile and a half south of Sannaspost, where they\\nplaced their cannon in position and waited for\\nthe break of day. Christian De Wet and his five\\nhundred burghers advanced noiselessly and oc-\\ncupied the dry bed of Koorn Spruit, a stream\\nwhich crossed the main road running from Thaba\\nN Chu to Bloemfontein at right angles about a\\nmile from the station, where the British forces\\nhad begun their bivouac for the night two hours\\nbefore. No signs of the enemy could be seen\\nthere were no pickets, no outposts, and none of\\nthe usual safeguards of an army, and for some\\ntime the Boers were led to believe that the\\nBritish force had been allowed to escape un-\\nharmed.\\nThe five hundred burghers under the leader-\\nship of Christian De Wet were completely con-\\ncealed in the spruit. The high banks might\\nhave been held by the forces of the enemy,\\nbut unless they crept to the edge and looked\\ndown into the stream they would not have been\\nable to discover the presence of the Boers.\\nWhere the road crossed the stream deep ap-\\nproaches had been dug into the banks in\\norder to facilitate the passage of conveyances\\na drift it is called in South Africa\u00e2\u0080\u0094 and\\non either side, for a distance of a mile up and\\ndown the stream, the burghers stood by their\\n10", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0149.jp2"}, "150": {"fulltext": "132\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nhorses and waited for the coming of the day.\\nThe concealment was perfect no specially con-\\nstructed trenches could have served the pur-\\nposes of the Boers more advantageously.\\nDawn lighted the flat-topped kopjes that lay\\nin a huge semicircle in the distance, and men\\nclambered up the sides of the spruit to ascertain\\nthe position of the camp of the enemy. The\\nwhite smokestack of the Bloemfontein water-\\nworks appeared against the black background\\nof the hills in the east, but it was yet too dark\\nto distinguish objects on the ground beneath it.\\nA group of burghers in the spruit, absent-mind-\\nedly began to sing a deep-toned psalm, but the\\nstern order of a commandant quickly ended the\\nmatutinal chant. A donkey in an ammunition\\nwagon brayed vociferously, and a dozen men,\\nfearful lest the enemy should hear the noise,\\nsprang upon him with clubs and whips and even\\nattempted to close his mouth by force of hands.\\nIt was the fateful moment before the battle, and\\nmen acted strangely. Some walked nervously\\nup and down, others dropped on their knees and\\nprayed, a few lighted their pipes, many sat on\\nthe ground and looked vacantly into space,\\nwhile some of the younger burghers joked and\\nlaughed.\\nAt the drift stood the generals, scanning the\\nhills and undulations with their glasses. Small\\nfires appeared in the east near the tall white", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0150.jp2"}, "151": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n133\\nstack. They are preparing their breakfast,\\nsome one suggested. I see a few tents, an-\\nother one reported excitedly. All eyes were\\nturned in the direction indicated. Some es-\\ntimated the intervening distance at a mile,\\nothers were positive it was not more than a\\nthousand yards it was not light enough to\\ndistinguish accurately. Tell the burghers that\\nI will fire the first shot, said General De Wet\\nto one of his staff. Immediately the order was\\nspread to the men in the spruit. I see men\\nleading oxen to the wagons they are preparing\\nto trek, remarked a commandant. They are\\ncoming down this way, announced another,\\nslapping his thigh, joyfully.\\nA few minutes afterward clouds of dust arose,\\nand at intervals the wagons in the van could be\\nseen coming down the slope toward the drift.\\nThe few tents fell and the men in brown uni-\\nforms moved hither and thither near the water-\\nworks building. Wagon after wagon joined in\\nthe procession drivers were shrieking and\\nwielding their whips over the heads of the oxen,\\nand farther behind were cavalrymen mounting\\ntheir horses. It was daylight then, although\\nthe sun was still below the horizon, and the\\nmovements of the enemy could be plainly dis-\\ncerned. The ox teams came slowly down the\\nroad, there seemed to be no limit to their num-\\nber and the generals retreated down the drift", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0151.jp2"}, "152": {"fulltext": "134\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nto the bottom of the spruit, so that their pres-\\nence should not be discovered by the enemy\\nand in order to await there the arrival of the\\nwagons.\\nThe shrieking natives drew nearer, the rum-\\nbling of the wagons became more distinct, and\\nsoon the first vehicle descended the drift. A\\nfew burghers were sent forward to intercept it.\\nAs soon as it reached the bottom of the spruit,\\nthe men grasped the bridles of the horses, and\\ninstantly there were shrieks from the occupants\\nof the vehicle. It was filled with women and\\nchildren, all pale with fright on account of the\\nunexpected appearance of the Boers. The pas-\\nsengers were quickly and gently taken from the\\nwagon and sent to places of safety in the spruit,\\nwhile a burgher jumped into the vehicle and\\ndrove the horses up the other drift and out\\nupon the open veld. The operation of substi-\\ntuting drivers was done so quickly and quietly\\nthat none of those approaching the drift from\\nthe other side noticed anything extraordinary,\\nand they proceeded into the spruit. Other\\nburghers stood prepared to receive them as\\nthey descended the drift with their heavily\\nladen ammunition and provision wagons, and\\nthere was little trouble in seizing the British\\ndrivers and placing the whips into the hands of\\nBoers. Wagon after wagon was relieved of its\\ndrivers and sent up to the other bank without", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0152.jp2"}, "153": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n135\\ncreating a suspicion in the minds of the other\\ndrivers who were coming down the slope from\\nthe waterworks.\\nAfter fifty or more wagons had crossed the\\ndrift, a solitary cavalry officer, with the rank of\\ncaptain, followed one of them, riding leisurely\\nalong. His coat had a rent in it, and he was\\nholding the torn parts together as if he were\\nplanning the mending of it when he reached\\nBloemfontein. A young Boer sprang before\\nhim, called Hands up and projected the\\nbarrel of his carbine toward him. The officer\\nstarted out of his reverie, involuntarily reached\\nfor his sword, but repented almost instantly, and\\nobeyed the order. General De Wet approached\\nthe captain, touched his hat in salute, and said,\\nGood morning, sir. The officer returned the\\ncomplimentary greeting and offered his sword\\nto the Boer. De Wet declined to receive the\\nweapon and asked the officer to return to his\\nmen and ask them to surrender. We have a\\nlarge force of men surrounding you, the gen-\\neral explained, and you can not escape. In\\norder to save many lives, I ask you to surrender\\nyour men without fighting. The officer re-\\nmained silent for a moment, then looked squarely\\ninto the eyes of the Boer general and said, I\\nwill return to my men and will order them to\\nsurrender. De Wet nodded his head in as-\\nsent, and the captain mounted his horse. I", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0153.jp2"}, "154": {"fulltext": "136 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nwill rely upon your promise, the general added\\nif you break it, I will shoot you.\\nGeneral De Wet and several of his com-\\nmandants followed the cavalry officer up the\\ndrift and stood on the bank while the horseman\\ngalloped slowly toward the troops, which were\\nfollowing the wagons down the slope. The gen-\\neral raised his carbine and held it in his arms.\\nHis eyes were fixed on the officer, and he stood\\nas firm as a statue until the cavalryman reached\\nhis men. There was a momentary pause while\\nthe captain stood before his troops then the\\nhorses were wheeled about and their hoofs sent\\nshowers of dust into the air as they carried their\\nriders in retreat. General De Wet stepped for-\\nward several paces, raised his carbine to his\\nshoulder, aimed steadily for a second, then\\nfired. The bullet whistled menacingly over the\\nheads of oxen and drivers it struck the officer,\\nand he fell.\\nAll along the banks of the spruit, for a mile\\non either side of it, and over on the hills where\\nChristian De Wet and his burghers lay, men\\nhad been waiting patiently and expectantly for\\nthat signal gun of Peter De Wet. They had\\nbeen watching the enemy toiling down the slope\\nunder the very muzzles of their guns for almost\\nan age it seemed, yet they dared not fire lest\\nthe plans of the generals should be thwarted.\\nMen had lain flat on the ground with their rifles", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0154.jp2"}, "155": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE 137\\npointing minute after minute at individuals in\\nthe advancing column, but the words of their\\ngeneral, I will fire the first shot, restrained\\nthem. The flight of the bullet which entered\\nthe body of the cavalry officer marked the end-\\ning of the long period of nervous tension, and\\nthe burghers were free to use their guns.\\nUntil the officer advised his men to retreat\\nand he himself fell from his horse, the main body\\nof the British troops was ignorant of the pres-\\nence of the Boers, but the report of the rifle was\\na summons to battle, and instantly the field was\\nfilled with myriads of stirring scenes. The lazy\\ntransport train suddenly became a thing of rapid\\nmotion the huge body of troops was quickly\\nbroken into many parts horses that had been\\nidling along the road plunged forward as if pro-\\njected by catapults. Officers with swords flash-\\ning in the sunlight appeared leading their men\\ninto different positions, cannon were hurriedly\\ndrawn upon commanding elevations, and Red\\nCross wagons scattered to places of safety. The\\npeaceful transport train had suddenly been\\ntransformed into a formidable engine of war by\\nthe report of a shot, and the contest for a senti-\\nment and a bit of ground was opened by shriek-\\ning cannon shell and the piercing cry of rifle balls.\\nDown at the foot of the slope, where the\\ndrift crossed the spruit, Boers were dragging\\ncannon into position, and in among the wagons,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0155.jp2"}, "156": {"fulltext": "138 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nwhich had become congested in the road, burgh-\\ners and soldiers were engaging in hand-to-hand\\nencounters. A stocky Briton wrestled with a\\nyouthful Boer, and in the struggle both fell to\\nthe ground near by a cavalryman was firing\\nwith his revolver at a Boer armed with a rifle,\\nand a hundred paces away a burgher was fight-\\ning with a British officer for the possession of a\\nsword. Over from the hills in the south came\\nthe dull roar of Boer cannon, and then the re-\\nport of the exploding shells in the east near the\\nwaterworks. British cannon opened fire from\\na position near the white smokestack, and scores\\nof bursting projectiles fell among the wagons\\nat the spruit. Oxen and horses were rent limb\\nfrom limb, wagons tumbled over on their sides,\\nboxes of provisions were thrown in all direc-\\ntions, and out of the cloud of dust and splinters\\nstumbled men with blood-stained faces and lacer-\\nated bodies. Terrified oxen twisted and tugged\\nat their yokes, horses broke from their fasten-\\nings in the wagons and dashed hither and\\nthither, and weakling donkeys strove in vain to\\nescape from vehicles set on fire by the shells.\\nExplosion followed explosion, and with every\\none the mass became more entangled. Dead\\nhorses fell upon living oxen, wheels and axles\\nwere thrown on the backs of donkeys, and\\nplunging mules dragged heavy wagons over\\ngreat piles of debris.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0156.jp2"}, "157": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0157.jp2"}, "158": {"fulltext": "140 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nThe cannon on the southern hills became\\nmore active, and their shells caused the land-\\nscape surrounding the waterworks to be filled\\nwith geysers of dust. Troops which were sta-\\ntioned near the white smokestack suddenly\\nspurred their horses and dashed northward to\\nseek safety behind a long undulation in the\\nground. The artillerymen on the hills followed\\ntheir movements with shells, and the dust foun-\\ntains sprang up at the very heels of the troops.\\nThe cannon at the drift joined in the attack on\\nthe troops scattered on the slope, and the big\\nguns at the waterworks continued to reply vig-\\norously. The men in the spruit were watching\\nthe artillery duel intently as they sped up and\\ndown the bottom of the waterless stream search-\\ning for points of vantage. A large number of\\nthem moved rapidly down the spruit toward\\nits confluence with the Modder River to check\\nthe advance of the troops driven forward by\\nthe shell fire, and another party rushed east-\\nward to secure positions in the rear of the Brit-\\nish cannon at the waterworks. The banks of\\nthe stream still concealed them, and they dared\\nnot fire, lest the enemy should disturb their\\nplans. On and on they dashed over rocks and\\nchasms until they were within a few hundred\\nyards of a part, of the British force. Slowly\\nthey crept up the sides of the spruit, cautiously\\npeered out over the edge of the bank, and then", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0158.jp2"}, "159": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n141\\nopened fire on the men at the cannon and the\\ntroops passing down the slope. Little jets of\\ndust arose where their bullets struck the ground,\\nmen fell around the cannon, and cavalrymen\\nquickly turned and charged toward the spruit.\\nThe shells of the cannon at the drift and on the\\nsouthern hills fell thicker and thicker among\\nthe troops, and the air above them was heavy\\nwith the light-blue smoke of bursting shrapnel.\\nThe patter of the Boer rifles at the spruit\\nincreased in intensity, and the jets of brown\\ndust became more numerous. The cavalrymen\\nleaped from their horses, and ran ahead to find\\nprotection behind a line of rocks. The inter-\\nmittent, irregular firing of the Boers was punc-\\ntuated by the regular, steady reports of British\\nvolleys. The dust geysers increased among the\\nrocks where the British lay, and soon the sol-\\ndiers turned and ran for their horses. Burghers\\ncrept from rock to rock in pursuit of them, and\\ntheir bullets urged the fleeing horsemen on.\\nThe British cannon spoke less frequently, while\\nshells and bullets fell so thickly around them\\nthat bravery in such a situation seemed suicidal,\\nand the last artiller3mian fled. Boers ran up and\\nturned the loaded guns upon the backs of those\\nwho had operated them a few moments before.\\nDown in the northwestern part of the field\\na large force of troops was dashing over the\\nveld toward the banks of the spruit. Officers,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0159.jp2"}, "160": {"fulltext": "142\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nwaving swords above their heads and shouting\\ncommands to their subordinates, led the way.\\nA few shells exploding in the ranks scattered\\nthe force temporarily, and caused horses to\\nrear and plunge, but the gaps quickly closed\\nand the men moved on down the slope. Boers\\nrode rapidly down the spruit and out upon the\\nveld behind a low range of kopjes which lay in\\nfront of the British force. Horses were left in\\ncharge of native servants, and the burghers\\ncrept forward on hands and knees to the surn-\\nmit of the range. They carefully concealed\\nthemselves behind rocks and bushes and waited\\nfor the enemy to approach more closely. The\\ncavalrymen spread out in skirmishing order as\\nthey proceeded, and, ignorant of the proximity\\nof the Boers, drew their horses into a walk.\\nThe burghers in the kopje fired a few shots,\\nand the troops turned quickly to the left and\\nagain broke into a gallop. The firing from the\\nkopje increased in volume, the cannon from the\\nhills again broke forth, the little dust clouds rose\\nout of the earth on all sides of the troopers, and\\nshrapnel bursting in the air sent its bolts and\\nballs of iron and steel into the midst of the\\nbrown men and earth. Horses and riders fell,\\nofficers leaped to the ground and shouted en-\\ncouragement to their soldiers, men sprang be-\\nhind rocks and discharged their rifles. Minutes\\nof agony passed. Officers gathered their men", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0160.jp2"}, "161": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n143\\nand attempted to lead them forward, but they\\nhad not progressed far when the Boers in the\\nspruit in front of them swept the ground with the\\nbullets of their rifles. Burghers crept around\\nthe range of kopjes and emptied their carbines\\ninto the backs of the cavalrymen, cannon poured\\nshell upon them from three different directions,\\nand these men on the open plain could not see\\neven a trace of Boers to fire upon. Men and\\nhorses continued to fall, the wounded lay moan-\\ning in the grass, while shells and bullets sang\\ntheir song of death more loudly every second\\nto those who braved the storm. A tiny white\\ncloth was raised, the firing ceased instantly,\\nand the brave band threw down its arms to\\nthe burghers who sprang out from the spruit\\nand the rocky kopje.\\nIn the east, the low hills were dotted with\\nmen in brown. To the right and left of them,\\na thousand yards apart, were Boer horsemen\\ncircling around kopjes and seeking positions\\nfor attacking the already vanquished but stub-\\nborn enemy. Rifle fire had ceased, and can-\\nnon sounded only at intervals of a few minutes.\\nWomen at the doors of the two farmhouses in\\nthe centre of the battlefield, and a man drawing\\nwater at a well near by, were not inharmonious\\nwith the quietude and calmness of the moment,\\nbut the epoch of peace was of short duration.\\nThe Boer horsemen stemmed the retreat of the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0161.jp2"}, "162": {"fulltext": "144\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nmen in brown and compelled them to retrace\\ntheir steps. Another body of burghers made a\\nwide detour northeastward from the spruit, and,\\njumping from their horses, crept along under\\nthe cover of an undulation in the ground for al-\\nmost a half mile to a point which overlooked the\\nroute of the British retreat.\\nThe enemy was slow in coming, and a few\\nof the Boers lay down to sleep. Others filled\\ntheir pipes and lighted them, and one abstracted\\na pebble from his shoe. As the cavalrymen drew\\nnearer to them the burghers crept forward sev-\\neral paces and sought the protection of rocks or\\npiled stones together in the form of miniature\\nforts. Shall we fire now? inquired a beard-\\nless Free State youth. Wait until they come\\nnearer, replied an older burgher close by. Si-\\nlence was maintained for several minutes, when\\nthe youth again became uneasy. I can hit\\nthe first one of those Lancers, he begged, as\\nhe pointed with his carbine to a cavalryman,\\nknown to the Boers as a Lancer whether he\\ncarried a lance or not. The cannon in the south\\nurged the cavalrymen forward with a few shells\\ndelivered a short distance behind them, and then\\nthe old burgher called to the youth, See if you\\ncan hit him now.\\nThe boy missed the rider but killed the\\nhorse, and the British force quickly dismounted\\nand sought shelter in a small ravine. The re-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0162.jp2"}, "163": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n145\\nports of volley firing followed, and bullets cut\\nthe grass beside the burghers and flattened\\nthemselves against the rocks. Another volley\\nand a third in rapid succession, and the burgh-\\ners pressed more closely to the ground. An in-\\nterval of a minute, and they glanced over their\\ntiny stockades to find a British soldier. They\\nare coming up the kopje! shouted a burgher,\\nand their rifles swept the hillside with bullets.\\nMore volleys came from below, and, while the\\nleaden tongues sang above and around them,\\nthe burghers turned and lay on their backs to\\nrefill the magazines of their rifles. Another in-\\nterval, and the attack was renewed. They\\nare running screamed a youth exultingly,\\nand burghers rose and fired at the men in brown\\nat the foot of the kopje. Marksmen had their\\nopportunity then, and long aim was taken be-\\nfore a shot was fired. Men knelt on one knee\\nand rested an elbow on the other while they\\nheld their rifles to their shoulders. Reports\\nof carbines became less frequent as the enemy\\nprogressed farther in an opposite direction, but\\nincreased again Avhen the cavalrymen returned\\nfor a second attack upon the kopje. Lend me\\na handful of cartridges, Jan, asked one man of\\nhis neighbour, as they watched the oncoming\\nforce. They must want this kopje, remarked\\nanother burgher jocularly, as he filled his pipe\\nwith tobacco and lighted it.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0163.jp2"}, "164": {"fulltext": "146\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nThe British cannon in the east again became\\nactive, and the dust raised by their shells was\\nblown over the heads of the burghers on the\\nkopje. The reports of big guns of the Boers\\nreverberated among the hills, while the regular\\nvolleys of the British soldiers seemed to be\\nbeating time to the minor notes and irregular\\nreports of the Boer rifles. At a distance the\\ntroops moving over the brown field of battle\\nresembled huge ants more than human beings\\nand the use of smokeless powder, causing the\\npanorama to remain perfectly clear and distinct,\\nallowed every movement to be closely followed\\nby the observer. Cannon poured forth their\\ntons of shells, but there was nothing except the\\nsound of the explosion to denote where the guns\\nwere situated. Rifles cut down lines of men,\\nbut there was no smoke to indicate where they\\nwere being operated, and, unless the burghers or\\nsoldiers displayed themselves to the enemy, there\\nwas nothing to indicate their positions. Shrap-\\nnel bursting in the air, the reports of rifles and\\nheavy guns, and the little puffs of dust where\\nshells and bullets struck the ground were the\\nonly evidence of the battle s progress. The\\nhand-to-hand encounters, the duels with bayo-\\nnets and swords, and the clouds of smoke were\\nprobably heroic and picturesque before the age\\nof rapid-fire guns, modern rifles, and smokeless\\nammunition, but here the field of conflict re-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0164.jp2"}, "165": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n147\\nsembled a country fox-chase, with an exagger-\\nated number of hunters, more than a battle of\\ntwenty-five years ago.\\nOn the summit of the kopje the burghers\\nwere firing leisurely but accurately. One man\\naimed steadily at a soldier for fully twenty sec-\\nonds, then pressed the trigger, lowered his rifle\\nand watched for the effect of the shot. Bullets\\nwere flying high over him and the shrapnel of\\nthe enemy s guns exploded far behind him.\\nThere seemed to be no great danger, and he\\nfired again. I missed that time, he remarked\\nto a burgher who lay behind another rock\\nseveral yards distant. His neighbour then fired\\nat the same soldier, and both cried simultane-\\nously, He is hit The enemy again disap-\\npeared in the little ravine, and the burghers\\nceased firing. Shells continued to tear through\\nthe air, but none exploded in the vicinity of the\\nmen, and they took advantage of the lull in the\\nbattle to light their pipes. A swarm of yellow\\nlocusts passed overhead, and exploding shrapnel\\ntore them into myriads of pieces, their wings\\nand limbs falling near the burghers. I am\\nglad I am not a locust, remarked a burgher\\nfarther to the left of the others, as he dropped\\na handful of torn fragments of the insects.\\nShells and bullets suddenly splashed every-\\nwhere around the burghers, and they crouched\\nmore closely behind the rocks. The enemj^ s", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0165.jp2"}, "166": {"fulltext": "148\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nguns had secured an accurate range, and the\\nair was filled with the projectiles of iron and\\nlead. Exploding shells splintered rocks into\\natoms and sent them tearing through the grass.\\nPuffs of dust and dirt were springing up from\\nevery square yard of ground, and a few men\\nrose from their retreats and ran to the rear\\nwhere the Basuto servants were holding their\\nhorses. More followed several minutes after-\\nward, and when those who remained on the\\nsummit of the kopje saw that ten times their\\nnumber of soldiers were ascending the hill un-\\nder cover of cannon fire they also fled to their\\nhorses.\\nAn open plain, half a mile wide, lay between\\nthe point where the burghers mounted their\\nhorses and another kopje in the northeast. The\\nmen lay closely on their horses backs, plunged\\ntheir spurs into the animals sides, and dashed\\nforward. The cavalrymen who had gained the\\nsummit of the kopje in the meantime opened\\nfire on the fleeing Boers, and their bullets cut\\nopen the horses sides and ploughed holes into\\nthe burghers clothing. One horse, a magnifi-\\ncent gray, who had been leading the others, fell\\ndead as he was leaping over a small gully, and\\nhis rider was thrown headlong to the ground.\\nAnother horseman turned in his course, assisted\\nthe horseless rider to his own brown steed, and\\nthe two were borne rapidly through the storm", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0166.jp2"}, "167": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n149\\nof bullets toward the kopje. Another horse\\nwas killed when he had carried his rider almost\\nto the goal of safety, and the Boer was compelled\\nto traverse the remainder of the distance on\\nfoot. Apparently all the burghers had escaped\\nacross the plain, and their field cornet was pre-\\nparing to lead them to another position, when a\\nsolitary horseman, a mere speck of black against\\na background of brown lifeless grass, issued\\nfrom a rocky ravine below the kopje occupied\\nby the enemy and plunged into the open space.\\nLee-Metfords cracked and cut open the ground\\naround him, but the rider bent forward, and\\nseemed to become a part of his horse. Every rod\\nof progress appeared to multiply the fountains\\nof dust near him every leap of his horse seemed\\nnecessarily his last. On, on, he dashed now\\nusing his stirrups, now beating his horse with\\nhis hands. It looked as if he were making no\\nprogress, yet his horse s legs were moving very\\nswiftly. They will get him, sighed the field\\ncornet, looking through his glasses. He has a\\nchance, replied a burgher. Seconds dragged\\nwearily, the firing increased in volume, and the\\ndust of the horse s heels mingled with that raised\\nby the bullets. The sound of the hoofs beating\\ndown on the solid earth came louder and louder\\nover the veld, the firing slackened, and then\\nceased, and a foaming, panting horse brought\\nhis burden to where the burghers stood. The", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0167.jp2"}, "168": {"fulltext": "ISO\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nexhausted rider sank to the ground, and men\\npatted the neck and forehead of the quivering\\nbeast.\\nDown in the valley, near the spruit, the for-\\neign military attaches in uniforms quite distinct\\nwere watching the effect of British artillery on\\nthe saddle belonging to one of their number.\\nThey will never hit it, volunteered one, as a\\nshell exploded ten yards distant from the leathern\\nmark. They must think it is a crowd of Boers,\\nsuggested another, when a dozen shells had fallen\\nwithout injuring the saddle. Fifteen, twenty\\ntongues of dust arose, but the leather remained\\nunmarred by scratch or rent, and the attaches\\nbecame the target of the heavy guns. I am\\nhit, groaned Lieutenant Nix, of the Nether-\\nlands-Indian army, and his companions caught\\nhim in their arms. Blood gushed from a wound\\nin the shoulder, but the soldier s spirit did not\\ndesert him. Here, Demange he called to\\nthe French attache hold my head, and you,\\nThompson and Allum, see if you can not bind\\nthis shoulder. The Norwegian and the Hol-\\nlander bound the wound as well as they were\\nable to do the work. Reichman the injured\\nman whispered, I am going to die in a few\\nminutes, and I wish you would write a letter to\\nmy wife. The American attache hastily pro-\\ncured paper and pencil, and, while shells and\\nshrapnel were bursting over and around them,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0168.jp2"}, "169": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n151\\nthe wounded man dictated a letter to his wife in\\nHolland. Blood flowed copiously from the\\nwound, and stained the grass upon which he\\nlay. He was pale as the clouds above him, and\\nthe pain was agonizing, but the dying man s\\nletter was filled with nothing but expressions of\\nlove and tenderness.\\nIn the southeastern part of the field a large\\nparty of cavalrymen were speeding in the direc-\\ntion of Thaba N Chu. On two sides of them, a\\nthousand yards behind, small groups of Boer\\nhorsemen were giving chase. At a distance,\\nthe riders appeared like ants slowly climbing\\nthe hillside. Now and then a Boer rider sud-\\ndenly stopped his horse, leaped to the ground,\\nand fired at the fleeing cavalrymen. A second\\nafterward he was on his horse again, bending to\\nthe chase. Shot followed shot, but the distance\\nbetween the forces grew greater, and one by\\none the burghers turned their animals heads\\nand slowly retraced their steps. A startled\\nbuck bounded over the veld two rifles were\\nturned upon it, and its flight was ended.\\nThe sound of firing had ceased, and the bat-\\ntle was concluded. Wagons with Red Cross\\nflags fluttering from the tall staffs above them\\nissued from the mountains and rumbled through\\nthe valleys. Burghers dashed over the field in\\nsearch of the wounded and dying. Men who a\\nfew moments before were straining every nerve", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0169.jp2"}, "170": {"fulltext": "152\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nto kill their fellow-beings then became equally\\nenergetic to preserve lives. Wounded soldiers\\nand burghers were lifted out of the grass and\\ncarried tenderly to the ambulance wagons. The\\ndead were placed side by side, and the same\\ncloth covered the bodies of Boer and Briton.\\nMen with spades upturned the earth and stood\\ngrimly by while a man in black prayed over the\\nbodies of those who had died for their country.\\nBoer officers, with pencil and paper in their\\nhands, sped over the battlefield from a group of\\nprisoners to a line of passing wagons, and made\\ncalculations concerning the result of the day s\\nbattle. Three Boers killed and nine wounded\\nwas one side of the account. On the credit\\nsheet were marked four hundred and eight\\nBritish soldiers, seven cannon, one hundred\\nand fifty wagons, five hundred and fifty rifles,\\ntwo thousand horses and cattle, and vast stores\\nof ammunition and provisions captured during\\nthe day.\\nIn among the northeastern hills, where a\\nfarmer s daub and wattle cottage stood, were\\nthe prisoners of war chatting and joking with\\ntheir captors. The officers walked slowly back\\nand forth, never raising their eyes from the\\nground. Dejection was written on their faces.\\nNear them were the captured wagons with\\ngroups of noisy soldiers climbing over them\\nin search of their luggage. On the ground", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0170.jp2"}, "171": {"fulltext": "THE BOERS IN BATTLE\\n153\\nOthers were playing cards and matching coins.\\nYoung Boers walked among them and engaged\\nthem in conversation. Near the farmhouse stood\\na tall Cape Colony Boer talking with his former\\nneighbour who was a prisoner. Several Amer-\\nicans among the captured disputed the merits\\nof the war with a Yankee burgher who had\\nreadily distinguished his countrymen among\\nthe throng. Some one began to whistle a\\npopular tune, others joined, and soon almost\\nevery one was participating. An officer gave\\nthe order for the prisoners to fall in line, and\\nshortly afterward the men in brown tramped\\nforward, while the burghers stepped aside and\\nlined the path. A soldier began to sing another\\npopular song, British and Boer caught the re-\\nfrain, and the noise of tramping feet was\\ndrowned by the melody of the united voices of\\nfriend and foe singing\\nIt s the soldiers of the Queen, my lads,\\nWho ve been, my lads who re seen, my lads,\\nWill proudly point to every one\\nOf England s soldiers of the Queen.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0171.jp2"}, "172": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VII\\nTHE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\nThe names and deeds of the men who led\\nthirty thousand of their fellow-peasants against\\nalmost a quarter of a million of the trained troops\\nof the greatest empire in the world, and hus-\\nbanded their men and resources so that they\\nwere enabled to continue the unequal struggle\\nfor the greater part of a year, will live forever\\nin the history of the Dark Continent. When\\nracial hatred and the bitternesses of the war have\\nbeen forgotten and South Africa has emerged\\nfrom its long period of bloodshed and disaster,\\nthen all Afrikanders will revere the memory of\\nthe valiant deeds of Cronje, Joubert, Botha,\\nMeyer, De Wet, and the others, who fought so\\nvaliantly in a cause which they considered just\\nand holy. Such noble examples of heroism as\\nCronje s stand at Paardeberg, Botha s defence\\nof the Tugela and the region east of Pretoria,\\nDe Wet s warfare in the Free State, and Meyer s\\nfighting in the Transvaal, will shine in African\\nhistory as long as the Southern Cross illumes\\n154", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0172.jp2"}, "173": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\nI5S\\nthe path of a civilized people in that region.\\nWhen future generations search the pages of\\nhistory for deeds of valour they will turn to the\\nrecords of the Boer-British war of 1 899-1900,\\nand find that the farmers of South Africa had\\nleaders who were not less valorous than those\\nof the untrained followers of Cromwell, the\\npeace-loving mountaineers of Switzerland, or,\\nthe patriotic countrymen of Washington.\\nThe leaders of the Boer forces were not gen-\\nerals in the popular sense of the word. Almost\\nwithout exception they were men who had no\\ntechnical knowledge of warfare men who were\\nutterly without military training of any kind,\\nand who would have been unable to pass an\\nexamination for the rank of corporal in a Euro-\\npean army. Among the entire list of generals\\nwho fought in the armies of the two republics\\nthere were not more than three who had ever\\nread military works and Cronje was the only\\none who had ever studied the theory and prac-\\ntice of modern warfare and made an attempt to\\napply the principles of it to his army. Every one\\nof the Boer generals was a farmer, who before the\\nwar paid more attention to his crops and cattle\\nthan he did to evolving ideas for application in\\na campaign and the majority of them, in fact,\\nnever dreamed that they would be called upon\\nto be military leaders until they were nominated\\nfor the positions a snort time before hostilities", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0173.jp2"}, "174": {"fulltext": "156\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nwere commenced. Joubert, Cronje, Ferreira,\\nand Meyer were about the only men in the two\\nrepublics who were certain that they would be\\nGeneral Snyman and Commandant Botha.\\n(Captured at Rustenberg in June.)", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0174.jp2"}, "175": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\nIS7\\ncalled upon to lead their countrymen, for all\\nhad had experience in former wars but men\\nlike Botha, De Wet, De la Rey, and Snyman,\\nwho occupied responsible positions afterward,\\nhad no such assurance, and naturally gave little\\nor no attention to the study of military matters.\\nThe men who became Boer generals gained\\ntheir military knowledge in the wilds and on,\\nthe veld of South Africa, where they were able\\nto develop their natural genius in the hunting of\\nlions and the tracking of the game. The Boer\\nprinciple of hunting was precisely the same as\\ntheir method of warfare, and consequently the\\nman who in times of peace was a successful\\nleader of shooting expeditions was none the less\\nadept afterward as the leader of commandos.\\nWhen the Volksraad of the Transvaal deter-\\nmined to send an ultimatum to Great Britain, it\\nwas with the knowledge that such an act would\\nprovoke war, and consequently preparations for\\nhostilities were immediately made. One of the\\nfirst acts was the appointment of five assistant\\ncommandant generals\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Piet Cronje, Schalk Bur-\\nger, Lucas Meyer, Daniel Erasmus, and Jan\\nKock all of whom held high positions in the\\nGovernment and were respected by the Boer\\npeople. After hostilities commenced, and it be-\\ncame necessary to have more generals, six other\\nnames were added to the list of assistants of\\nCommandant-General Joubert those chosen", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0175.jp2"}, "176": {"fulltext": "158 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nbeing Sard Du Toit, Hendrik Schoeman, John\\nde la Rey, Hendrik Snyman, and Herman R.\\nLemmer. The selections which were so pro-\\nmiscuously made were proved by time to be\\nwise, for almost without exception the men\\ndeveloped into extraordinarily capable generals.\\nIn the early part of the campaign many costly\\nmistakes and errors of judgment were made\\nby some of the newly appointed generals, but\\nsuch misfortunes were only to be expected from\\nmen who suddenly found themselves face to\\nface with the tactics of some of the best trained\\ngenerals in the world. Later, when the cam-\\npaign had been in progress for several months,\\nand the farmers had had opportunities of learn-\\ning the tactics of their opponents, they made no\\nmove unless they were reasonably certain of the\\nresult.\\nOne of the prime reasons for the great suc-\\ncess which attended the Boer army before the\\nstrength of the enemy^s forces became over-\\nwhelming was the fact that the generals were\\nallowed to operate in parts of the country with\\nwhich they were thoroughly acquainted. Gen-\\neral Cronje operated along the western frontiers\\nof the republics where he knew the geog-raphi-\\ncal features of the land as well as he did those\\nof his own farm. General Meyer had spent the\\ngreater part of his life in the neighbourhood\\nof the Biggarsberg and northern Natal, and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0176.jp2"}, "177": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n159\\nthere was hardly a rod of that territory with\\nwhich he was unfamiliar. General Botha was\\nborn near the Tugela, and in his boyhood days\\npursued the buck where afterward he made\\nsuch a brave resistance against the forces of\\nGeneral Duller. General Christian De Wet was\\na native of Dewetsdorp, and there was not a\\nsluit or donga in all the territory where he\\nfought so valiantly that he had not traversed\\nscores of times before the war began. General\\nde la Rey had spent the greater part of his life\\nin Griqualand West, Cape Colony, and when he\\nwas leading his men around Kimberley and the\\nsouthwestern part of the Free State, he was in\\nfamiliar territory. General Snyman, who be-\\nsieged Mafeking, was a resident of the Marico\\ndistrict, and consequently was acquainted with\\nthe formation of the country in the western part\\nof the Transvaal. In the majority of cases the\\ngenerals did not need the services of an intel-\\nligence department, except to determine the\\nwhereabouts of the enemy, for no scouts or\\npatrols could furnish a better account of the na-\\nture of the region in which they were fighting\\nthan that which existed in the minds of the\\nleaders. Under these conditions there was not\\nthe slightest chance of any of the generals fall-\\ning into a trap laid by the British, but there\\nwere always opportunities for leading the ene-\\nmy into ambush.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0177.jp2"}, "178": {"fulltext": "i6o\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nThe Boer generals also had the advantage\\nof having excellent maps of the country in\\nwhich they were fighting, and by means of\\nthese they were enabled to explain proposed\\nmovements to their commandants and field cor-\\nnets who were not familiar with the topography\\nCommandos in laager at Mafeking.\\nof the land. These maps were made two years\\nbefore the war by a corps of experts employed\\nby the Transvaal Government, and on them\\nwas a representation of every foot of ground in\\nthe Transvaal, Free State, Natal, and Cape Col-\\nony. A small elevation near Durban and a\\nspruit near Cape Town were marked as plainly", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0178.jp2"}, "179": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR i6i\\nas a kopje near Pretoria, while the British forts\\nat Durban and Cape Town were as accurately\\npictured as the roads that led to them. The\\nBoers had a map of the environs of Ladysmith\\nwhich was a hundred times better than that fur-\\nnished by the British War Ofifice, yet Ladysmith\\nwas the Natal base of the British army for many\\nyears.\\nThe greater part of the credit for the Boers\\npreparedness must be given to the late Com-\\nmandant-General Piet J. Joubert, who was the\\nhead of the Transvaal war department for many\\nyears. General Joubert, or Old Piet, as he\\nwas called by the Boers, to distinguish him\\nfrom the many other Jouberts in the country,\\nhad been undoubtedly a great military leader in\\nhis younger days, but he was almost seventy\\nyears old when he was called upon to lead his\\npeople against the army of Great Britain, and\\nat that age very few men are capable of great\\nmental or physical exertion. There was no\\ngreater patriot in the Transvaal than he, and no\\none who desired the absolute independence of\\nhis country more sincerely than the old gen-\\neral, yet his heart was not in the fighting. Like\\nKruger, he was a man of peace, and to his dy-\\ning day he believed that the war might have\\nbeen easily avoided. Unlike Kruger, he clung\\nto the idea that the contest, having been forced\\nupon them, should be ended as speedily as pos-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0179.jp2"}, "180": {"fulltext": "l62 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nsible, and without regard to the loss of national\\ninterests. Joubert valued the lives of the burgh-\\ners more highly than a clause in a treaty, and\\nrather than see his countrymen slain in battle,\\nhe was willing to make concessions to those\\nwho were harassing his Government.\\nJoubert was one of the few public men in the\\nTransvaal who firmly believed that the dif-\\nferences between the two countries would be\\namicably adjusted, and he constantly opposed\\nthe measures for arming the country which\\nwere brought before him. The large armament\\nwas secured by him, it is true, but the Volks-\\nraads compelled him to purchase the arms and\\nammunition. If Joubert had been a man who\\nloved war he would have laid in three times as\\ngreat a quantity of war material as there was in\\nthe country when the war was begun, but he\\nwas distinctly a man who loved peace. He\\nconstantly allowed his sentiments to overrule\\nhis judgment of what was good for his country,\\nand the result of that line of action was that at\\nthe beginning of hostilities there were more\\nBoer guns in Europe and on the ocean than\\nthere were in the Transvaal.\\nGeneral Joubert was a grand old Boer in\\nmany respects, and no better, more righteous,\\nand more upright man ever lived. He worked\\nlong and faithfully for his people, and undoubt-\\nedly strove to do that which he believed to", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0180.jp2"}, "181": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n163\\nbe the best for his country but he was inca-\\npable of performing the duties of his office as a\\nyounger, more energetic, and a more warlike\\nGeneral Piet J. Joubert.\\nman would have attended to them. Joubert\\nwas in his dotage, and none of his people were\\naware of it until the crucial moment of the war\\n12", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0181.jp2"}, "182": {"fulltext": "164 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nwas passed. When he led the Boers at Ama-\\njuba and Laing s Nek, in 1881, he was in the\\nprime of his life energetic, resourceful, and\\nundaunted by any reverses. In 1899, when he\\nfollowed the commandos into Natal, he was ab-\\nsolutely the reverse slow, wavering, and too\\ntimid to move from his tent. He constantly re-\\nmained many miles in the rear of the advance\\ncolumn, and only once went into the danger zone\\nwhen he took a small commando south of the\\nTugela. Then, instead of leading his victorious\\nburghers against the forces of the enemy, he\\nretreated precipitately at the first sign of dan-\\nger, and established himself at Modderspruit, a\\nday s journey from the foremost commandos,\\nwhere he remained with almost ten thousand of\\nhis men for three months.\\nJoubert attempted to wage war without the\\nshedding of blood, and he failed. When Gen-\\neral Meyer reported that about thirty Boers\\nhad been killed and injured in the fight at Dun-\\ndee, the commandant general censured him\\nharshly for making such a great sacrifice of\\nblood, and forbade his following the fleeing\\nenemy, as such a course would entail still greater\\ncasualties. When Sir George White and his\\nforces had been imprisoned in Ladysmith and\\nthere was almost a clear path to Durban, Jou-\\nbert held back and would not risk the lives of a\\nfew hundred burghers, even when it was pointed", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0182.jp2"}, "183": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n165\\nout to him that the men themselves were eager\\nto assume the responsibility. He made only\\none effort to capture Ladysmith, but the slight\\nloss of life so appalled him that he would never\\nsanction another attack, although the town could\\neasily have been taken on the following day had\\nan attempt been made. Notwithstanding he had\\na large army around the besieged town, he did\\nnot dig a yard of intrenchment in all the time\\nhe was at Modderspruit, nor would he hearken\\nto any plans of capturing the starving garrison\\nby means of progressive trenches. While Gen-\\nerals Botha, Meyer, Erasmus, and Burger with\\nthree thousand men were holding the enemy at\\nthe Tugela, Joubert with three times that num-\\nber of men to guard impotent Ladysmith de-\\nclined to send any ammunition for their big\\nguns, voted to retreat, and finally fled northward\\nto Colenso, deserting the fighting men, destroy-\\ning the bridges and railways as he progressed,\\nand even leaving his own tents and equipment\\nbehind.\\nThere were extenuating circumstances in\\nconnection with Joubert s failure in the cam-\\npaign his age, an illness, and an accident while\\nhe was in laager and it is but charitable to\\ngrant that these were fundamentally responsible\\nfor his shortcomings, but it is undoubted that\\nhe was primarily responsible for the failure of\\nthe Natal campaign. The army which he com-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0183.jp2"}, "184": {"fulltext": "l66 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nmanded in Natal, although only twelve or thir-\\nteen thousand men in strength, was the equal in\\nfighting ability of seventy-five thousand British\\ntroops, and the only thing it lacked was a man\\nwho would fight with them and lead them after\\na fleeing enemy. If the commandant general\\nhad pursued the British forces after all their\\ndefeats and had drawn the burghers out of their\\nlaagers by the force of his own example, the\\nmajor part of the history of the Natal campaign\\nwould have been made near the Indian Ocean\\ninstead of on the banks of the Tugela. The\\nmajority of the Boers in Natal needed a com-\\nmander in chief who would say to them Come,\\nbut Joubert only said Go/*\\nThe death of General Joubert in Pretoria,\\non March 26th, was sincerely regretted by all\\nSouth Africans, for he undoubtedly was one of\\nthe most distinguished men in the country.\\nDuring his long public career he made many\\nfriends, who held him in high honour for his\\nsterling qualities, his integrity, and his devotion\\nto his country s cause. He made mistakes, and\\nthere are few men who are invulnerable to them,\\nbut he died while striving to do that which he\\nregarded the best for his country and its cause.\\nIf dying for one s country is patriotism, then\\nJoubert s death was sweet.\\nWhen war clouds were gathering and the\\nstorm was about to burst over the Transvaal,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0184.jp2"}, "185": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0185.jp2"}, "186": {"fulltext": "l68 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nPiet Cronje sat on the stoep of his farmhouse in\\nPotchefstroom, evolving in his mind a system of\\ntactics which he would follow when the conflict\\nbegan. He was certain that he would be chosen\\nto lead his people, for he had led them in nu-\\nmerous native wars, in the conflict in 1881, and\\nlater when Jameson made his ill-starred entry\\ninto the Transvaal. Cronje was a man who\\nloved to be amid the quietude of his farm, but\\nhe was in the cities often enough to realize that\\nwar was the only probable solution of the dif-\\nferences between the Uitlanders and the Boers,\\nand he made preparations for the conflict. He\\nstudied foreign military methods and their appli-\\ncation to the Boer mode of warfare he evolved\\nnew ideas and improved old ones he planned\\nbattles and the evolutions necessary to win\\nthem he had a natural taste for things military.\\nBefore all the world heard the blast of the\\nwar trumpet, Cronje deserted the peaceful\\nstoep and was attacking the enemy on the veld\\nat Mafeking. A victory there, and he was\\nriding at the head of his men toward Kimber-\\nley. A skirmish here, a hard-fought battle there,\\nand he had the diamond city in a state of siege..\\nVictories urged him on, and he led the way\\nsouthward. A Magersfontein to his wreath, a\\nBelmont and a Graspan, and it seemed as if he\\nwere more than nominally the South African\\nNapoleon. A reverse, and Cronje was no longer", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0186.jp2"}, "187": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n169\\nthe dashing, energetic leader of the month be-\\nfore. Doggedly and determinedly he retraced\\nhis steps, but advanced cautiously now and then\\nto punish the enemy for its overconfidence.\\nBeaten back to Kimberley by the overpowering\\nforce of the enemy, he endured defeat after de-\\nfeat, until finally he was compelled to abandon\\nthe siege in order to escape the attacks of a\\nsecond army sent against him. The enemy s\\nweb had been spun around him, but he fought\\nbravely for freedom from entanglement. Gen-\\neral French was on one side of him, Lord Rob-\\nerts on another. Lord Kitchener on a third, and\\nagainst the experience and troops of all these\\nmen was pitted the genius of the Potchefstroom\\nfarmer. A fight with Roberts s horse on Thurs-\\nday, February 15th a march of ten miles and\\na victorious rear-guard action with Lord Kitch-\\nener on Friday; a repulse of the forces under\\nLords Roberts and Kitchener on Saturday and\\non Sunday morning the discovery that he and\\nhis four thousand men and women in the river\\nbed at Paardeberg were surrounded by forty\\nthousand troops of the enemy that was a four\\ndays record which caused the lion of Potchef-\\nstroom merely to show his fangs to the enemy.\\nWhen General Cronje entered the river bed\\non Saturday he felt certain that he could fight\\nhis way out on the following day. Scores of his\\nburghers appealed to him to trek eastward that", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0187.jp2"}, "188": {"fulltext": "1^0 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nnight and Commandant-General Ferreira, of\\nthe Free State, asked him to trek northeast, in\\norder that their two Boer forces might effect a\\njunction but Cronje was determined to remain\\nin the positions he then occupied until he could\\ncarry all his transport wagons safely away. In\\nthe evening Commandants De Beer and Gro-\\nbler uged the general to escape, and explained\\nto him that he would certainly be surrounded\\nthe following day, but Cronje steadfastly de-\\nclined, and expressed his ability to fight a path\\nthrough any force of the enemy. Even late that\\nnight, while the British troops were welding\\nthe chain which was to bind him hard and fast\\nin the river bed, many of Cronje s men begged\\nthe general to abandon the position, and when\\nthey saw him so determined they deserted him\\nand escaped to the eastward.\\nCronje might have accepted the advice of\\nhis officers and men if he had not believed that\\nhe could readily make his way to the east, where\\nthe presence of any of Lord Roberts s troops\\nwas not suspected. Not until the following\\nforenoon, w^hen he saw the British advance\\nguard marching over the hills on the south side\\nof the river, did he realize that the enem}^ had\\nsurrounded him, and that he had erred when\\nhe determined to hold the position. The grave\\nmistake could not be rectified, and Cronje was\\nin no mood for penitence. He told his men that", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0188.jp2"}, "189": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n171\\nhe expected re-enforcements from the east, and\\ncounselled them to remain cool and fire with\\ndiscretion until assistance came to them. Later\\nin the day the enemy attacked the camp from\\nall sides, but the little army repulsed the on-\\nslaught, and killed and wounded more than a\\nthousand British soldiers. When the Sabbath\\nsun descended and the four thousand Boers sang\\ntheir psalms and hymns of thanksgiving, there\\nwas probably only one man who believed that\\nthe burghers would ever be able to escape from\\nthe forces which surrounded them, and that man\\nwas General Cronje. He realized the gravity\\nof the situation, but he was as calm as if he had\\nbeen victorious in a battle. He talked cheerily\\nwith his men, saying, Let the English come\\non and when they heard their old commander\\nspeak in such a confident manner, they deter-\\nmined to fight until he himself announced a vic-\\ntor}^ or a defeat.\\nOn Monday morning it seemed as if the very\\nblades of grass for miles around the Boer laager\\nwere belching shot and shell over the dongas\\nand trenches where the burghers had sought\\nshelter. Lyddite shells and shrapnel burst over\\nand around them the bullets of rifles and ma-\\nchine guns swept close to their heads, and a few\\nyards distant from them were the heav}^ explo-\\nsions of ammunition wagons set on fire by the\\nenemy s shells. Burgher horses and cattle fell", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0189.jp2"}, "190": {"fulltext": "172 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nunder the storm of lead and iron, and the\\nmingled life-blood of man and beast flowed in\\nrivulets to join the waters of the river. The\\nwounded lay groaning in the trenches, the dead\\nunburied outside, and the cannonading was so\\nterrific that no one was able to leave cover\\nsufficiently long to give a drink of water to a\\nwounded companion. There was no medicine\\nin the camp, all the physicians were held in\\nJacobsdal by the enemy, and the condition of\\nthe dead and dying was such that Cronje was\\ncompelled to ask for an armistice. The reply\\nfrom the British commander was, Fight or\\nsurrender, and Cronje chose to continue the\\nfight. The bombardment of the laager was re-\\nsumed with increased vigour, and there was not\\na second s respite from shells and bullets until\\nafter night descended, when the burghers were\\nenabled to emerge from their trenches and holes\\nto exercise their limbs and to secure food.\\nThe Boers cannon became defective on\\nTuesday morning, and thereafter they could\\nreply to the continued bombardment with only\\ntheir rifles. Hope rose in their breasts dur-\\ning the day, when a heliograph message was\\nreceived from Commandant Froneman. I am\\nhere with General De Wet and Cronje, the\\nmessage read have good cheer. I am wait-\\ning for re-enforcements. Tell the burghers to\\nfind courage in Psalm xxvii. The fact that", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0190.jp2"}, "191": {"fulltext": "be\\nU\\no\\ns\\nu\\no\\no", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0191.jp2"}, "192": {"fulltext": "174\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nre-enforcements were near, even though the\\nenemy was between, imbued the burghers with\\nrenewed faith in their ability to defeat the Brit-\\nish, and when a concerted attack was made\\nagainst the laager in the afternoon a gallant\\nresistance followed.\\nOn Wednesday morning the British batteries\\nagain poured their shells on the miserable and\\nexhausted Boers. Shortly before midday there\\nwas a lull in the storm, and the beleaguered\\nburghers could hear the reports of the battle\\nbetween the relieving force and the British\\ntroops. The sounds of the fight grew fainter\\nand fainter, then subsided altogether; the bom-\\nbardment of the laager was renewed, and the\\nburghers realized that Froneman had been beaten\\nback by the enemy. The disappointment was\\nso great that one hundred and fifty Boers bade\\nfarewell to their general and laid down their\\narms to the enemy. The following day was\\nmerely the repetition of the routine of former\\ndays, with the exception that the condition of\\nthe men and the laager was hourly becoming\\nmore miserable. The clamouring of the wound-\\ned for relief was in itself a misery to those who\\nwere compelled to hear it, but to allow such ap-\\npeals to go unanswered was heartrending. To\\nhave the dead unburied seemed cruel enough,\\nbut the presence of the corpses before one s\\neyes day after day was torture. To know that", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0192.jp2"}, "193": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR 175\\nthe enemy was in ten times greater strength\\nwas disheartening, but to realize that there was\\nno relief at hand was enough to dim the bright-\\nest courage. Yet Cronje was undaunted.\\nFriday and Saturday brought nothing but a\\nmessage from Froneman, again encouraging\\nthem to resist until re-enforcements could be\\nbrought from Bloemfontein. On Saturday even-\\ning Jan Theron, of Krugersdorp, succeeded in\\nbreaking through the British lines with de-\\nspatches from General De Wet and Comman-\\ndants Cronje and Froneman, urging General\\nCronje to fight a way through the lines while\\nthey would engage the enemy from their side.\\nCronje and his officers decided to make an at-\\ntempt to escape, and on Sunday morning the\\nburghers commenced the construction of a chain\\nbridge over the Modder to facilitate the cross-\\ning of the swollen river. Fortunately for the\\nBoers, the British batteries fired only one shot\\ninto the camp that day, and the burghers were\\nable to complete the bridge before night by\\nmeans of the ropes and chains from their ox\\nwagons. On Monday morning the British guns\\nmade a target of the bridge, and shelled it so un-\\nremittingly that no one was able to approach it,\\nmuch less to make an attempt to cross the river\\nby means of it. The bombardment seemed to\\ngrow in intensity as the day progressed, and\\nwhen two shells fell into a group of nine burgh-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0193.jp2"}, "194": {"fulltext": "176 THE BOERS IN WAR\\ners and left nothing but an arm and a leg to be\\nfound, the Krijgsraad decided to hoist a white\\nflag on Tuesday morning. General Cronje and\\nCommandant Schutte were the only offlcers who\\nvoted against surrendering. They begged the\\nother officers to reconsider their decision, and\\nto make an attempt to fight a way out, but the\\nconfidence of two men was too weak to change\\nthe opinions of the others.\\nIn a position covering less than a square mile\\nof territor}^, hemmed in on all sides by an army\\nalmost as great as that which defeated Napoleon\\nat Waterloo, surrounded by a chain of fire from\\ncarbines, rapid-fire guns, and heavy cannon, the\\ntarget of thousands of the vaporous lyddite\\nshells, his trenches enfiladed by a continuous\\nshower of lead, his men half dead from lack of\\nfood, and stiff from the effect of their narrow\\nquarters in the trenches. General Cronje chose\\nto fight and to risk complete disaster by leading\\nhis four thousand men against the forty thou-\\nsand of the enemy.\\nThe will of the majority prevailed, and on\\nFebruary 27th, the anniversary of Majuba Hill,\\nafter ten days of fighting, the white flag was\\nhoisted above the dilapidated laager. The\\nbodies of ninety-seven burghers lay upon the\\nscene of the disaster, and two hundred and forty-\\nfive wounded men were left behind when Gen-\\neral Cronje and his thirty-six hundred and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0194.jp2"}, "195": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n177\\nseventy-nine burghers limped out of the river\\nbed and surrendered to Field-Marshal Lord\\nRoberts.\\nIn many respects General Cronje was the\\nBoers most brilliant leader, but he was respon-\\nsible for many serious and costly reverses. At\\nMagersfontein he defeated the enemy fairly, and\\nmight have reaped the fruits of his victory if\\nhe had followed up the advantage there gained.\\nInstead, he allowed his army to remain inactive\\nfor two months, while the British established a\\ncamp and base at the river. General French s\\nmarch to Kimberley might readily have been\\nprevented if Cronje had placed a few thousand\\nof his men on the low range of kopjes command-\\ning French s route, but during the two days\\nwhich were so fateful to him and his army\\nGeneral Cronje never stirred from his laager.\\nAt Magersfontein Cronje allowed thirty-six\\ncannon deserted by the British to remain on\\nseveral kopjes all of one night and until ten\\no clock the next morning, when they were taken\\naway by the enemy. When he was asked why\\nhe did not send his men to secure the guns,\\nCronje replied, God has been so good to us\\nthat I did not have the heart to send my over-\\nworked men to fetch them.\\nCronje was absolutely fearless, and in all the\\nbattles in which he took part he was always in\\nthe most exposed positions. He rarely used a", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0195.jp2"}, "196": {"fulltext": "178\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nrifle, as one of his eyes was defective, but the\\nshort, stoop-shouldered, gray-bearded man with\\nthe long- riding whip was always in the thick of\\nthe fight, encouraging his men, and pointing out\\nthe positions for attack. He was a fatalist when\\nin battle, if not in times of peace, and it is told\\nof him that at Modder River he was warned by\\none of the burghers to seek a less exposed posi-\\ntion. If God has ordained me to be shot to-\\nday, the grim old warrior replied, I shall be\\nshot whether I sit here or in a well. Cronje\\nwas one of the strictest leaders in the Boer\\narmy, and that feature made him unpopular\\nwith the men, who constantly applied to him\\nfor leaves of absence to return to their homes.\\nThey fought for him in the trenches at Paarde-\\nberg, not because they loved him, but because\\nthey respected him as an able leader. He did\\nnot have the affection of his burghers like Botha,\\nMeyer, De Wet, or De la Rey, but he held his\\nmen together by force of his superior military\\nattainments, a sort of overawing authority which\\nthey could not disregard.\\nPersonally Cronje was not an extraordinary\\ncharacter. He was urbane in manner and a\\npleasant conversationalist. Like the majority of\\nthe Boers he was deeply religious and tried to\\nintroduce the precepts of his religion into his\\ndaily life. Although he was sixty-five years old\\nwhen the war began, he had the energy and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0196.jp2"}, "197": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n179\\nspirit of a much younger man, and the terrors\\nand anxieties of the ten days siege at Paarde-\\nberg left but little marks on the face which has\\nbeen described as Christlike. His patriotism\\nwas unbounded, and he held the independence\\nof his country above everything. Independ-\\nence with peace, if possible, but independence\\nat all costs, he was wont to say, and no one\\nfought harder than he to attain that end.\\nWhen the Vryheid commandos rode over\\nthe western border of their district and invaded\\nNatal, Louis Botha, the successor of Comman-\\ndant-General Joubert, was one of the many\\nVolksraad members who went forth to war in\\nthe ranks of the common burghers. After the\\nbattle of Dundee, in which he distinguished\\nhimself by several daring deeds, Botha became\\nassistant general to his lifelong friend and\\nneighbour, General Lucas Meyer. Several\\nweeks later when General Meyer fell ill, he gave\\nhis command to his compatriot, General Botha;\\nand a short time afterward, when Commandant-\\nGeneral Joubert was incapacitated by illness,\\nBotha was appointed to assume the responsibil-\\nities of the commander in chief. When Jou-\\nbert was on his death-bed he requested that\\nBotha should be his successor, and in that man-\\nner Louis Botha, burgher, became Louis Botha,\\ncommandant general, in less than six months.\\nIt was a remarkable chain of fortuitous cir-\\n13", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0197.jp2"}, "198": {"fulltext": "l8o THE BOERS IN WAR\\ncumstances which led to Botha s rapid advance-\\nment, but it was not entirely due to extrane-\\nous causes, for he was deserving of every step\\nof his promotion. There is a man for every\\ncrisis, but rarely in history is found a record\\nof a soldier who rose from the ranks to com-\\nmander in chief of an army in one campaign.\\nIt was Meyer s misfortune that he became ill\\nat a grave period of the war, but it was the\\ncountry s good fortune to have a Botha ready\\nat hand to fight a Colenso and a Spion Kop.\\nWhen the burgher army along the Tugela was\\nhard pressed by the enemy, and both its old-\\ntime leaders, Joubert and Meyer, lay ill at the\\nsame time, it was little less than providential\\nthat a Botha should step out of the ranks and\\nlead the men with as much discretion and valour\\nas could have been expected from the expe-\\nrienced generals whose work he undertook to\\naccomplish. It was a modern representation of\\nthe ploughman deserting his farm in order to\\nlead in the salvation of Rome.\\nThirty-five years before he was called upon\\nto be commandant general of the army of his\\nnation, Louis Botha was born near the spot\\nwhere he was chosen for that office and on the\\nsoil of the empire against whose forces he was\\nnow pitting his strength and ability. In his\\nyouth he was wont to listen to the narratives of\\nthe battles in which his father and grandfather", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0198.jp2"}, "199": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR igl\\nfought side by side against the hordes of natives\\nwho periodically dyed the waters of the Tu-\\ngela crimson with the blood of massacred men\\nand women. In early manhood, Botha fought\\nagainst the Zulus and assisted Lucas Meyer in\\nestablishing the New Republic which afterward\\nbecame his permanent home. Popularity, ability,\\nand honesty brought him into the councils of\\nthe nation as a member of the First Volksraad,\\nwhere he wielded great influence by reason of\\nhis conscientious devotion to duty and his deep\\ninterest in the welfare of his country. When\\npublic affairs did not require his presence in\\nPretoria, Botha was with his family on his farm\\nin Vryheid, and there he found the only happi-\\nness which he considered worth havinof. The\\njoys of a pastoral existence combined with the\\ndevotion and love of his family were the key-\\nstone of Botha s happiness, and no man had a\\nfiner realization of his ambitions in that respect\\nthan he. Botha was a warrior, no doubt, but\\nprimarily he was a man who loved the peaceful-\\nness of a farm, the pleasures of a happy home\\nlife, and the laughter of his four children more\\nthan the tramp of victorious troops or the roar\\nof cannon.\\nThere are a few men who have a certain\\nmagnetic power which attracts and holds the\\nadmiration of others. Louis Botha was a man\\nof this class. Strangers who saw him for the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0199.jp2"}, "200": {"fulltext": "1 82 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nfirst time loved him. There was an indescrib-\\nable something about him which caused men\\nlooking at him for the first time to pledge their\\nfriendship enduringly. The lustre in his light\\nblue eyes seemed to mesmerize men, to draw\\nthem, willing or unwilling, to him. It was not\\nthe quality which gained friends for Kruger, nor\\nthat which made Joubert popular, but rather a\\nmysterious, involuntary influence which he\\nexerted over everybody with whom he came in\\ncontact. A man less handsome, of less com-\\nmanding appearance than Botha might have\\npossessed such a power and have been con-\\nsidered less extraordinary than he, but it was\\nnot wholly his personal appearance for he was\\nthe handsomest man in the Boer army which\\naroused the admiration of men. His voice, his\\neyes, his facial expression, and his manner all\\ncombined to strengthen the man s power over\\nothers. Whether it was personal magnetism or\\na mysterious charm which he possessed it was\\nthe mark of a great man.\\nThe early part of Botha s career as a general\\nwas fraught with many difficulties, the majority\\nof which could be traced to his lack of years.\\nThe Boer mind could not grasp the fact that\\na man of thirty-five years could be a military\\nleader, and for a long time they treated the young\\ncommander with a certain amount of contempt.\\nThe old takhaars laughed at him when he asked", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0200.jp2"}, "201": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n183\\nthem to perform any duties, and called him a\\nboy. They were unable to understand for a long\\ntime why they should act upon the advice or\\nCommandant-General Louis Botha.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0201.jp2"}, "202": {"fulltext": "1 84\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\norders of a man many years younger than they,\\nand it was not until Botha had fought Colenso\\nand Spion Kop that the old burghers began to\\nrealize that ability was not always monopolized\\nby men with hoary beards. Before they had\\nthese manifestations of Botha s military genius\\nhundreds of the burghers absolutely refused\\nto obey his commands, and even went to the\\nlength of protesting to the Government against\\nhis continued tenure of the important post.\\nThe younger Boers, however, were quicker\\nto discern the worth of the man, and almost\\nwithout exception gave him their united sup-\\nport. There was one instance when a young\\nBoer questioned Botha s authority, but the\\nburgher s mind was quickly disabused, and there-\\nafter he was one of the commandant general s\\nstanchest supporters. It was at the battle of\\nPont Drift, when General Botha was busily en-\\ngaged in directing the movements of his men\\nand had little time to argue fine points of au-\\nthority. The general asked two young Boers to\\ncarry ammunition to the top of a kopje which was\\nbeing hard shelled by the enemy. One of the\\nBoers was willing immediately to obey the gen-\\neral, but the other man refused to undertake the\\nhazardous journey. The general spoke kindly\\nto the Boer, and acknowledged that he would\\nbe risking his life by ascending the hill, but in-\\nsisted that he should go. The Boer finally de-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0202.jp2"}, "203": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR jg^\\nclared he would not go, and added that Botha\\nwas too young to give orders to men. The com-\\nmandant-general did not lose his temper, but it\\ndid not require much time for him to decide\\nthat a rebuke of some sort was necessary so he\\nknocked the man to the ground with his fist.\\nIt was a good, solid blow, and the young Boer\\ndid not move for a minute but when he rose he\\nhad fully decided that he would gladly carry\\nthe ammunition to the top of the kopje.\\nAfter General Botha had demonstrated that\\nhe was a capable military leader he became the\\nidol of all the Boers. His popularity was sec-\\nond only to that of President Kruger, and the\\nhero worshippers arranged for all sorts of hon-\\nours to be accorded to him after the war. He\\nwas to be made President, first of all things;\\nthen his birthday anniversary was to be made\\nthe occasion of a national holiday statues were\\nto be erected for him, and nothing was to be left\\nundone in order that his services to his country\\nmight be given the appreciation they deserved.\\nThe stoical Boers were never known to worship\\na man so idolatrously as they did in this case,\\nand it was all the more noteworthy on account\\nof the adverse criticism which had been be-\\nstowed upon him several months before.\\nGeneral Botha s reputation as a gallant and\\nefficient leader was gained during the campaign\\nin Natal, but it was not until after the relief of", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0203.jp2"}, "204": {"fulltext": "1 86 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nLadysmith that his real hard work began. After\\nthe advance of Lord Roberts s large army from\\nBloemfontein was begun myriads of new duties\\ndevolved upon the commandant general, and\\nthereafter he displayed a skill and ingenuity in\\ndealing with grave situations which were mar-\\nvellous when it was taken into consideration that\\nhe was opposing a victorious army with a mere\\nhandful of disappointed and gloomy burghers.\\nThe situation would have been grave enough if\\nhe had had a trained and disciplined army under\\nhis command, but, in addition to forming plans\\nfor opposing the enemy s advance. General\\nBotha was compelled to gather together the\\nburghers with whom he desired to make the\\nresistance. His work would have been com-\\nparatively easy if he could have remained at the\\nspot where his presence was most necessary,\\nbut it was absolutely impossible for him to lead\\nthe defensive movements in the Free State with-\\nout men, and in order to secure them he was\\nobliged to leave that important post and go to\\nthe Biggarsberg, where many burghers were\\nidle.\\nTelegraph wires stretched from the Free\\nState to Natal, but a command sent by such a\\nroute never caused a burgher to move an inch\\nnearer to the Free State front, and consequently\\nthe commandant general was compelled to go\\npersonally to the Biggarsberg in search of vol-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0204.jp2"}, "205": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n187\\nunteers to assist the burghers south of Kroon-\\nstad. When General Botha arrived in Natal in\\nthe first days of May he asked the Standerton\\ncommando to return with him to the Free State.\\nThey flatly refused to go unless they were first\\nallowed to spend a week at their homes but\\nBotha finally, after much begging, cajoling, and\\nthreatening, induced the burghers to start im-\\nmediately. The commandant general saw the\\nmen board a train, and then sped joyously north-\\nward toward Pretoria and the Free State in a\\nspecial train. When he reached Pretoria Botha\\nlearned that the Standerton commando had fol-\\nlowed him as far as Standerton station, and then\\ndispersed to their homes. His dismay was great,\\nbut he was not discouraged, and several hours\\nlater he was at Standerton, riding from farm to\\nfarm to gather the men. This work delayed\\nhis arrival in the Free State two days, but he\\nsecured the entire commando and went with it\\nto the front, where it served him valiantly.\\nThe masterly retreat of the Boer forces\\nnorthward along the railway and across the\\nVaal River, and the many skirmishes and battles\\nwith which Botha harassed the enemy*s advance,\\nwere mere incidents in the commandant gen-\\neral s work of those trying days. There were\\ninnumerable instances not unlike that in connec-\\ntion with the Standerton command, and in addi-\\ntion there was the planning to prevent the large", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0205.jp2"}, "206": {"fulltext": "igg THE BOERS IN WAR\\ncommandos in the western part of the Trans-\\nvaal and Meyer s large force in the southeastern\\npart from being cut off from his own body of\\nburghers. It was a period of grave moment\\nand responsibilities, but Botha was the man for\\nthe occasion. Although the British succeeded\\nin entering Pretoria, the capital of the country,\\nthe Boers lost little in prestige or men, and\\nBotha and his burghers were as confident of the\\nfinal success of their cause as they were when\\nthey crossed the Natal border seven months\\nbefore. Even after all the successive defeats of\\nhis army, Commandant-General Botha continued\\nto say, We will fight, fight, until not a single\\nBritish soldier remains on South African soil.\\nA general who can express such a firm faith in\\nhis cause when he sees nothing but disaster sur-\\nrounding him is great even if he is not victo-\\nrious.\\nThe military godfather of Commandant-\\nGeneral Botha was General Lucas Meyer, one\\nof the best leaders in the Boer army. The work\\nof the two men was cast in almost the same lines\\nduring the greater part of the campaign, and\\nmany of the commandant general s burdens\\nwere shared by his old-time tutor and neighbour\\nin the Vryheid district. Botha seldom under-\\ntook a project unless he first consulted with\\nMeyer, and the two constantly worked hand in\\nhand. Their friends frequently referred to them", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0206.jp2"}, "207": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR igg\\nas Damon and Pythias, and the parallel was\\nmost appropriate, for they were as nearly the\\ncounterparts of these old Grecian heroes as\\nGeneral and Mrs. Lucas Meyer.\\nmodern limitations would allow. Botha at-\\ntained the post of commandant general through\\nthe illness of Meyer, who would undoubtedly", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0207.jp2"}, "208": {"fulltext": "190\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nhave been Joubert s successor if he had not\\nfallen sick at an important period of the cam-\\npaign but the fact that the pupil became the\\nsuperior officer of the instructor never strained\\nthe amicable relations of the two men.\\nGeneral Meyer received his fundamental\\nmilitary education from the famous Zulu chief-\\ntain, Dinizulu, in 1884, when he and eight hun-\\ndred fellow Boers assisted the natives in a war\\nagainst the chieftains of other tribes. In a bat-\\ntle at Labombo Mountain, June 6th of that year,\\nMeyer and Dinizulu vanquished the enemy, and\\nas payment for their services the Boers each\\nreceived a large farm in the district now known\\nas Vryheid. A government named the New\\nRepublic was organized by the farmers, and\\nMeyer was elected President, a post which he\\nheld for four years, when the Transvaal annexed\\nthe republic to its own territory. In the war\\nof 1 88 1 Meyer took part in several battles, and\\nat Ingogo he was struck on the head by a piece\\nof shell which caused him to be unconscious for\\nforty-two days. In the later days of the re-\\npublic General Meyer held various military and\\ncivil positions in the Vryheid district, where his\\nlarge farm, Anhouwen, is located, and was\\nthe chairman of the Volksraad which decided\\nto send the ultimatum to Great Britain.\\nWhen war was actually declared General\\nMeyer and his commandos were on the Trans-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0208.jp2"}, "209": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n191\\nvaal border near his farm, and they opened hos-\\ntilities by making a bold dash into Natal and at-\\ntacking the British army encamped at Dundee.\\nThe battle was carefully planned by Meyer, and\\nit would undoubtedly have ended with the cap-\\nture of the entire British force, if General Eras-\\nmus, who was to co-operate with him, had per-\\nformed the part assigned to him. Although\\nmany British soldiers were killed and captured\\nand great stores of ammunition and equipment\\ntaken, the forces under General Yule were al-\\nlowed to escape to the south. General Meyer\\nfollowed the fleeing enemy as rapidly as the\\nmuddy roads could be traversed and engaged\\nthem at Modderspruit. There he gained a de-\\ncisive victory and compelled the survivors to\\nenter Ladysmith, where they were immediately\\nbesieged. Meyer was extremely ill before the\\nbattle began, but he insisted upon directing his\\nmen and continued to do so until the field was\\nwon, when he fell from his horse and was seri-\\nously sick for a month. He returned to the\\nfront against the advice of his physicians on\\nDecember 24th, and took part in the fighting at\\nPont Drift, Boshrand, and in the thirteen days\\nbattle around Pieters Hill. In the battle of\\nPont Drift a bullet struck the general s field\\nglasses, flattened itself, and dropped into one\\nof his coat pockets, to be made into a souvenir\\nbrooch for Mrs. Meyer, who frequently visited", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0209.jp2"}, "210": {"fulltext": "192\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nhim when no important movements were in\\nprogress.\\nWhen General Joubert and his Krijgsraad\\ndetermined to retreat from the Tugela and al-\\nlow Ladysmith to be relieved, General Meyer\\nwas one of those who protested against such a\\ncourse but when the decision was made Meyer\\nreturned to the Tugela and remained there with\\nhis friend Louis Botha during the long and\\nheroic fight against General BuUer s column.\\nMeyer and Botha were among the last persons\\nto leave the positions which they had defended\\nso long, and on their journey northward the\\ntwo generals decided to return and renew the\\nfight as soon as they could reach Modderspruit\\nand secure food for their men and horses.\\nWhen they arrived at Modderspruit they found\\nthat Joubert and his entire army had fled north-\\nward and had carried with them every ounce of\\nfood. It was a bitter disappointment to the two\\ngenerals, but there was nothing to be done ex-\\ncept to travel in the direction of the scent of\\nfood, and the journey led the dejected, disap-\\npointed, starved generals and burghers north\\nover the Biggarsberg Mountains, where provi-\\nsions could be secured.\\nDuring the long period in March and April,\\nwhen neither Boers nor British seemed to be\\ndoing anything, General Meyer arranged a mag-\\nnificent series of intrenchments in the Biggars-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0210.jp2"}, "211": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n193\\nberg Mountains, which made an advance of the\\nenemy practically impossible. Foreign military\\nexperts pronounced the defences impregnable,\\nand expressed the greatest astonishment when\\nthey learned that Meyer formulated the plans\\nof the works without ever having read a book\\non the subject, or without having had the\\nbenefit of any instruction. The intrenchments\\nbegan at a point a few miles east of the British\\noutposts, and continued for miles and miles\\nnortheast and northwest to the very apex of\\nthe Biggarsberg. Spruits and rivers were con-\\nnected by means of trenches, so that a large\\nBoer force could travel many miles without\\nbeing observed by the enemy, and the series of\\nintrenchments was fashioned in such a manner\\nthat the Boers could retreat to the highest point\\nof the mountains and remain meanwhile in per-\\nfect concealment. Near the top of the moun-\\ntain long schanzes or walls were built to offer a\\nplace of security for the burghers, while on the\\ntop were miles of walls to attract and inveigle\\nthe enemy to approach the lower wall more\\nclosely. The plan was grandly conceived, but\\nthe British forces evaded the Biggarsberg in\\ntheir advance movements, and the intrench-\\nments were never bathed in human blood.\\nWhen the Boers in the Free State were un-\\nable to stem the advance of the British, General\\nMeyer was compelled to retreat northward to", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0211.jp2"}, "212": {"fulltext": "ig^ THE BOERS IN WAR\\ninsure his own safety, but he did it so slowly\\nand systematically that he lost only a few men,\\nand was able now and then to make bold dashes\\nat the enemy s flying columns with remarkable\\nsuccess. The retreat northward through the\\nTransvaal was fraught with many harassments,\\nbut General Meyer joined forces with General\\nBotha east of Pretoria, and thereafter the teacher\\nand pupil again fought hand in hand for a com-\\nmon cause.\\nThe Free State was not as prolific of gen-\\nerals as the Transvaal, but in Christian De Wet\\nshe had one of the ablest as well as one of the\\nmost fearless leaders in the republican ranks.\\nBefore he was enlisted to fight for his country\\nDe Wet was a farmer who had a penchant for\\ndealing in potatoes, and his only military train-\\ning was acquired when he was one of the sixty\\nBoer volunteers who ascended the slopes of\\nMajuba Hill in 1881. There was nothing of the\\nmilitary in his appearance in fact, Christian De\\nWet, Commandant General of the Orange Free\\nState in 1900, was not a whit unlike Christian\\nDe Wet, butcher of Barberton in 1889, and men\\nwho knew him in the gold-rush days of that\\nmining town declared that he was more martial\\nin appearance then as a licensed slayer of oxen\\nthan later as a licensed slayer of men. He even\\nprided himself on his unmilitary exterior, and\\nit was not a small source of satisfaction to him", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0212.jp2"}, "213": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n195\\nto say that his fighting regalia was the same\\nsuit of clothing which he wore on his farm on\\nCommandant-General Christian De Wet.\\nthe day that he left it to fight as a soldier in his\\ncountry s army.\\nBefore the war De Wet s chief claim to noto-\\n14", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0213.jp2"}, "214": {"fulltext": "196\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nriety lay iri the fact that he had attempted to\\npurchase the entire supply of potatoes in South\\nAfrica for the purpose of effecting a corner\\nin that product in the Johannesburg market.\\nUnfortunately for himself, he held his potatoes\\nuntil the new crop was harvested, and became\\na bankrupt in consequence. Later he appeared\\nas a potato farmer near Kroonstad and still\\nlater, at Nicholson s Nek, in Natal, he captured\\ntwelve hundred British prisoners, and inciden-\\ntally a large stock of British potatoes, which\\nseemed to please him almost as greatly as the\\nhuman captives. Although the vegetable strain\\nwas frequently predominant in De Wet s con-\\nstitution, he was not overzealous to return to\\nhis former pastoral pursuits, and continued to\\nlead his commandos over the hills of the eastern\\nFree State long after that territory was chris-\\ntened the Orange River Colony.\\nGeneral De Wet was at the head of a num-\\nber of Free State commandos which crossed\\ninto Natal at the outbreak of the war, and took\\npart in several of the battles around Ladysmith,\\nbut his services were soon required in the vicin-\\nity of Kimberley, and there he made a heroic\\neffort to effect a junction with the besieged\\nCronje. It was not until after the British occu-\\npation of Bloemfontein that De Wet really be-\\ngan his brilliant career as a daring commander,\\nbut thereafter he was continually harassing the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0214.jp2"}, "215": {"fulltext": "a.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0215.jp2"}, "216": {"fulltext": "198\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nenemy. He led with three big battles in one\\nweek, with a total result of a thousand prisoners\\nof war, seven cannon, and almost a million\\ndollars worth of supplies. At Sannaspost, on\\nMarch 31st, he swept down upon Colonel Broad-\\nwood s column and captured one fourth of the\\nmen and all their vast supplies almost before\\nthe British officers were aware of the presence\\nof the enemy. The echoes of that battle had\\nhardly subsided when he fell upon another\\nBritish column at Moestershoek with results\\nalmost as great as at Sannaspost, and two days\\nlater he was besieging a third British column\\nin his own native heath of Wepener. Column\\nafter column was sent to drive him away, but\\nhe clung fast to his prey for more than two\\nweeks, when he eluded the great force bent\\non his capture, and moved northward to take\\nan active part in opposing the advance of Lord\\nRoberts. He led his small force of burgh-\\ners as far as the northern border of the Free\\nState while the enemy advanced, and then\\nturned eastward, carrying President Steyn and\\nthe capital of the republic with him to places of\\nsafety. Whenever there was an opportunity he\\nsent small detachments to attack the British\\nlines of communications, and harassed the ene-\\nmy continually. In almost all his operations\\nthe commandant general was assisted by his\\nbrother, General Peter De Wet, who was no", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0216.jp2"}, "217": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR\\n199\\nless daring in his operations. Christian De\\nWet was responsible for more British losses\\nthan any of the other generals. In his opera-\\ntions in Natal and the Free State he captured\\nmore than three thousand prisoners, thousands\\nof cattle and horses, and stores and ammunition\\nGeneral Peter De Wet.\\nvalued at more than three million dollars. The\\nnumber of British soldiers killed and wounded\\nin battles with De Wet is a matter for conjecture,\\nbut it is not limited by the one thousand mark.\\nGeneral John De la Rey, who operated in\\nthe Free State with considerable success, was", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0217.jp2"}, "218": {"fulltext": "200 THE BOERS IN WAR\\none of the most enthusiastic leaders in the army,\\nand his confidence in the fighting ability of the\\nBoers was not less than his faith in the eventual\\nsuccess of their arms. De la Rey was born on\\nBritish soil, but he had a supreme contempt for\\nthe British soldier, and frequently asserted that\\none burgher was able to defeat ten soldiers at\\nany time or place. He was the only one of the\\ngenerals who was unable to speak the English\\nlanguage, but he understood it well enough to\\ncapture a spy whom he overheard in a Free\\nState hotel. De la Rey was a Transvaal gen-\\neral, and when the retreat from Bloemfontein\\nwas made he harassed the enemy greatly, but\\nwas finally compelled to cross the Vaal into his\\nown country, where he continued to fight with\\nCommandant-General Botha.\\nAmong the other Boer generals who took\\nactive part in the campaign in different parts of\\nthe republics were J. Du P. De Beer, a Raad\\nmember who defended the northern border of\\nthe Transvaal Sarel Du Toit, whose defence at\\nFourteen Streams was admirably conducted;\\nSnyman, the old Marico farmer who besieged\\nMafeking; Hendrik Schoeman, who operated\\nin Cape Colony Jan Kock, killed at the Elands-\\nlaagte battle early in the campaign and the\\nthree generals, Lemmer, Grobler, and Olivier,\\nwhose greatest successes were Stormberg and\\ntheir retreat from Cape Colony.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0218.jp2"}, "219": {"fulltext": "THE GENERALS OF THE WAR 20I\\nThe Boer generals and officers, almost with-\\nout exception, were admirable men personally.\\nSome of them were rough, hardy men who\\nwould have felt ill at ease in a drawing-room,\\nbut they had much of the milk of human kind-\\nness in them, and there was none who loved to\\nsee or participate in bloodshed. There may\\nhave been instances when white or Red Cross\\nflags were fired upon, but when such breaches\\nof the rules of war occurred they were not in-\\ntentional. The foreigners who accompanied\\nthe various Boer armies the correspondents,\\nmilitary attaches,?iX\\\\di the volunteers will testify\\nthat the officers, from Commandant-General\\nBotha down to the corporals, were always\\nzealous in their endeavours to conduct an hon-\\nourable warfare, and that the farmer generals\\nwere as gentlemanly as they were valourous.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0219.jp2"}, "220": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VIII\\nTHE WAR PRESIDENTS\\nThe real leader of the Boers of the two re-\\npublics was Paul Kruger, their man of peace.\\nThe momentous questions that agitated the\\ncountry and his long political supremacy caused\\nhim many and bitter enemies, but the war healed\\nall animosities, and he was the one man in the\\nrepublics who had the respect, love, and admira-\\ntion of all the burghers. Wherever one might\\nbe, whether in the houses on the veld or in the\\ntrenches of the battlefield, every one spoke of\\nOom Paul in a manner which indicated that\\nhe was the Boer of all Boers. There was not\\na burgher who would not declare that Kruger\\nwas a greater man than he was before he de-\\nspatched his famous ultimatum to Great Brit-\\nain. His old-time friends supported him even\\nmore faithfully than before hostilities began, and\\nhis political enemies of other days became the\\nmight of his right arm. Those who opposed\\nhim most bitterly and unremittingly when the\\ncampaign was one between the progressive and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0220.jp2"}, "221": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n203\\nconservative parties were most eager to listen\\nto his counsels and to stand by his side when\\ntheir country s hour of darkness had arrived.\\nNot a word of censure of him was heard any-\\nwhere on the contrary, every one praised him\\nfor opposing Great Britain so firmly, and prayed\\nthat his life might be spared until their dream\\nof absolute independence was realized.\\nSir Charles Dilke once related a conversa-\\ntion he had with Bismarck concerning Paul\\nKruger. Cavour was much smarter, more\\nclever, more diplomatically gifted than I, said\\nthe prince, but there is a much stronger, much\\nabler man than Cavour or I, and that man is\\nPresident Kruger. He has no gigantic army\\nbehind him, no great empire to support him.\\nHe stands alone with a small peasant people and\\nis a match for us by mere force of genius. I\\nspoke to him he drove me into a corner.\\nKruger s great ability, as delineated by Bis-\\nmarck, was indisputable, and a man with less of\\nit might have been President and have avoided\\nthe war, but only at a loss to national interests.\\nThe President had one aim and one goal his\\ncountry s independence and all the force of\\nhis genius was directed toward the attainment\\nof that end. He tried to secure it b}^ peace-\\nful means, but he had planted the seed of\\nthe desire for it so deeply in the minds of his\\ncountrymen that when it sprouted they over-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0221.jp2"}, "222": {"fulltext": "204\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nwhelmed him and he was driven into war\\nagainst his will.\\nKruger would not have displaced diplomacy\\nwith the sword, but his burghers felt that peace-\\nful methods of securing their independence\\nwere of no avail, and he was powerless to resist\\ntheir pressure. He did not lead the Boers into\\nactual war they insisted that only war would\\ngive them the relief they sought, and he fol-\\nlowed under their leadership. When the meet-\\nings of the Volksraad immediately preceding\\nthe war were held, it was not Paul Kruger who\\ncalled for war it was the representatives of the\\nburghers who had been instructed by their con-\\nstituents to insist upon it. When the President\\nsaw that his people had determined to have a\\nwar, he was leader enough to form plans which\\nmight bring the conflict to a successful con-\\nclusion, and he chose a moment for making a\\ndeclaration that he considered opportune. The\\nultimatum was decided upon eleven days before\\nit was actually despatched, but it was delayed\\neight days on account of the unprepared condi-\\ntion of the Free State. Kruger realized the\\nimportance of striking the first blow at an\\nenemy which was not prepared to resist it, and\\nthe Free State s tardiness at such a grave crisis\\nwas decidedly unpleasant to him. Then, when\\nthe Free State was ready to mobilize, the Presi-\\ndent secured another delay of three days in or-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0222.jp2"}, "223": {"fulltext": "Paul Kruger.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0223.jp2"}, "224": {"fulltext": "2o6 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nder that diplomacy might have one more chance.\\nHis genius had not enabled him to realize the\\ndream of his life without a recourse to war, and\\nwhen the ultimatum was delivered into the\\nhands of the British the old man wept.\\nWhen the multitudinous executive duties\\nwhich he attended to in peaceful times were\\nsuddenly ended by the declaration of hostilities,\\nthe President busied himself with matters per-\\ntaining to the conduct of the war. He worked\\nas hard as any man in the country, despite his\\nage, and on many occasions he displayed the\\nenergy of a man many years younger. The war\\ncaused his daily routine of work and rest to be\\nchanged completely. He continued to rise at\\nfour o clock in the morning, a habit which he\\ncontracted in early youth and had followed ever\\nsince. After his morning devotions he listened\\nto the reading of the despatches from the gen-\\nerals at the front, and dictated replies in the\\nshape of suggestions, censure, or praise. He\\nslept for an hour after breakfast, and then went\\nto the Government buildings, arriving there\\npunctually every morning as the clock on the\\ndome struck nine. He remained in consultation\\nwith the other members of the Executive Coun-\\ncil, and the few other Government officials who\\nremained in the city, for an hour or more.\\nAfter luncheon he again worked over de-\\nspatches, received burghers on leave of absence", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0224.jp2"}, "225": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n207\\nfrom the front and foreigners who sympathized\\nwith his people s cause. He never allowed him-\\nself to be idle, and, in fact, there was no oppor-\\ntunity for him to be unemployed, inasmuch as\\nalmost all the leading Government officials were\\nat the front, while many of their duties remained\\nbehind to be attended to by some one. Kruger\\nhimself supervised the work of all the depart-\\nments whose heads were absent, and the labour\\nwas great. His capacity for hard work was\\nnever better demonstrated than during the war,\\nwhen he bore the weight of his own duties and\\nthose of other Government officials, as well as\\nthe strain of guiding the Boer emissaries in\\nforeign countries. Added to all these grave\\nresponsibilities, when the reverses of the army\\ngrew more serious, was the great worry and the\\nconstant dread of new disasters, which beset a\\nman who occupies such a position.\\nNo man had greater influence over the Boers\\nthan Kruger, and his counsel was always sought\\nand his advice generally followed. When the\\nfirst commandos went to the front it was con-\\nsidered almost absolutely necessary for them to\\nstop at Pretoria and see Oom Paul before\\ngoing to battle, and it seemed to affect the old\\nman strangely when he addressed them and\\nbade them God-speed in the accomplishment of\\ntheir task. It was in the midst of one of these\\naddresses that the President, while standing in", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0225.jp2"}, "226": {"fulltext": "2o8 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nthe centre of a group of burghers, broke down\\nand wept as he referred to the many men who\\nwould lose their lives in the war. When the\\nBoer army was having its greatest successes,\\nKruger constantly sent messages to his burgh-\\ners, thanking them for their good work, and\\nexhorting them not to neglect to thank their\\nGod for his favours. One of the most char-\\nacteristic messages of this nature was sent to\\nthe generals, commandants, officers, and burgh-\\ners on January 8th, and it was a most unique\\ndeliverance to come from the President of a\\nrepublic. The message was composed by him-\\nself, and, as literally translated, read\\nFor your own and the war officers informa-\\ntion 1 wish to state that, through the blessing of\\nour Lord, our great cause has at present been\\ncarried to such a point that, by dint of great\\nenergy we may expect to bring it to a success-\\nful issue on our behalf.\\nIn order that such an end may be attained,\\nit is, however, strictly necessary that all energy\\nbe used, that all burghers able to do active\\nservice go forward to the battlefield, and that\\nthose who are on furlough claim no undue\\nextension thereof, but return as soon as possi-\\nble, every one to the place where his war offi-\\ncers may be stationed.\\nBrothers I pray you to act herein with all\\npossible promptitude and zeal, and to keep your", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0226.jp2"}, "227": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n209\\neyes fixed on that Providence who has miracu-\\nlously led our people through the whole of\\nSouth Africa. Read Psalm xxxiii, from verse 7\\nto the end.\\nThe enemy have fixed their faith in Psalm\\nIxxxiii, where it is said that this people shall not\\nexist and its name must be annihilated but the\\nLord says, It shall exist. Read also Psalm\\nIxxxix, the thirteenth and fourteenth verses,\\nwhere the Lord saith that the children of\\nChrist, if they depart from his words, shall be\\nchastised with bitter reverses, but his favour\\nand goodness shall have no end and shall never\\nfail. What he has said remains strong and firm.\\nFor, see, the Lord purifieth his children, even\\nunto gold proven by fire.\\nI need not draw your attention to all the\\ndestructiveness of the enemy s works, for you\\nknow it, and I again point to the attack of the\\ndevil on Christ and his Church. This has been\\nthe attack from the beginning, and God will not\\ncountenance the destruction of his Church. You\\nknow that our cause is a just one, and there can\\nnot be any doubt of it, for it is as the contents\\nof just that psalm that they commenced with us\\nin their wickedness, and I am still searching the\\nentire Bible, and find no other way which can\\nbe followed than that which has been pursued\\nby us, and we must continue to fight in the\\nname of the Lord.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0227.jp2"}, "228": {"fulltext": "2IO THE BOERS IN WAR\\nPlease notify all the officers of war and the\\nentire public of your district of the contents of\\nthis telegram, and imbue them with an earnest\\nzeal for the cause.\\nWhen the President learned that Comman-\\ndant-General Joubert had determined to retreat\\nfrom the neighbourhood of Ladysmith he sent\\na long telegram to his old friend, imploring him\\nnot to take such a step, and entreating him to\\nretain his forces at the Tugela. The aged gen-\\neral led his forces northward to Glencoe, not-\\nwithstanding the President s protest, and a day\\nafterward Kruger arrived on the scene. The\\nPresident was warrior enough to know that a\\ngreat mistake had been made, and he did not\\nhesitate to show his displeasure. He and Jou-\\nbert had had many disagreements in their long\\nexperiences with one another, but those who\\nwere present in the general s tent at that Glen-\\ncoe interview said that they had never seen the\\nPresident so angry. When he had finished giv-\\ning his opinion of the general s action the Presi-\\ndent shook Joubert s hand, and thereafter they\\ndiscussed matters calmly and as if there had\\nbeen no quarrel. To the other men who were\\npartly responsible for the retreat he showed his\\nresentment of their actions by declining to shake\\nhands with them, a method of manifesting dis-\\napprobation that is most cutting to the Boers.\\nIf I were five years younger, or if my eye-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0228.jp2"}, "229": {"fulltext": "THE \\\\YAR PRESIDENTS 21 1\\nsight were better, he growled at the recalci-\\ntrants, I would take a rifle and bandolier and\\nshow you what we old Boers were accustomed\\nto do. We had courage you seem to have\\nnone.\\nAfter the President had encouraged the offi-\\ncers, and had secured their promises to continue\\nthe resistance against the enemy, he wandered\\nabout in the laagers, shaking hands with and in-\\nfusing new spirit into the burghers who had\\nflocked together to see their revered leader.\\nWhen several thousand of the Boers had gath-\\nered around him, and were trying to have a\\nword with him and grasp his hand, the Presi-\\ndent bared his head and asked his friends to\\njoin him in prayer. Instantly every head was\\nbared, and Kruger s voice spread out over the\\nvast concourse in a grand appeal to the God\\nof battles to grant his blessing to the burgher\\narmy. The gray-haired old man was conspicu-\\nous in a small circle which was formed by the\\nburghers withdrawing several paces when he\\nbegan the prayer. On all sides there spread\\nout a mass of black-garbed, battle-begrimed\\nBoers with e3 es turned to the ground. Here\\nand there a white tent raised its head above\\nthe assemblage at other points men stood on\\nwagons and cannon. Farther on burghers dis-\\nmounted from their horses and joined the crowd.\\nIn the distance were Talana Hill, where the first\\n15", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0229.jp2"}, "230": {"fulltext": "212\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nbattle of the campaign was fought the lofty\\nDrakensberg, where more than fifty years be-\\nfore the early Boer voortrekkers had their first\\nglimpse of fair Natal; while to the south were\\nthe hills of Ladysmith of sombre history. There,\\nin the midst of sanguinary battlefields, and\\nGeneral Joubert s camp at Glencoe.\\namong several thousand men who sought the\\nblood of the enemy, Kruger, the man of peace,\\nimplored Almighty God to give strength to his\\nburghers. It was a magnificent spectacle.\\nHe had been at Glencoe only a short time\\nwhen the news reached him that the burghers", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0230.jp2"}, "231": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS 213\\nin the Free State had lost their courage and\\nwere retreating rapidly toward Bloemfontein.\\nHe shortened his visit, hastened to the Free\\nState, and met the fleeing Boers at Poplar Grove.\\nHe exhorted them to make a stand against the\\nenemy, and, by his magnetic power over them,\\nsucceeded in inducing the majority to remain\\nand oppose the British advance. His own fear-\\nlessness encouraged them, and when they saw\\ntheir old leader standing in the midst of shell\\nfire as unmoved as if he were watching a holi-\\nday parade they had not the heart to run.\\nWhile he was watching the battle a shell fell\\nwithin a short distance of where he stood, and\\nall his companions fled from the spot. He\\nwalked slowly away, and when the men re-\\nturned to him he chided them and made a\\nwitty remark concerning the shell, naming it\\none of the Queen s pills. While the battle\\ncontinued Kruger followed one of the comman-\\ndos and urged the men to fight. At one stage\\nof the battle the commando which he was fol-\\nlowing was in imminent danger of being cut\\noff and captured by the British forces, but the\\nburghers fought valiantly before their President,\\nand finally conveyed him to a place of safety,\\nalthough the path was shell- and bullet-swept.\\nHe returned to Bloemfontein, and, in con-\\njunction with President Steyn, addressed an ap-\\npeal to Lord Salisbury to stop the war. They", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0231.jp2"}, "232": {"fulltext": "214\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nasked that the republics should be allowed to\\nretain their independence, and firmly believed\\nthat the appeal would end hostilities, inasmuch\\nas the honours of war were then about equally\\ndivided between the two armies. To those who\\nwatched the proceedings it seemed ridiculous\\nto ask for a cessation of hostilities at that time;\\nbut Kruger sincerely believed that his appeal\\nwould not be in vain, and he was greatly sur-\\nprised, but not discomfited, when a distinct re-\\nfusal was received in reply.\\nSeveral weeks after the memorable trip to\\nthe Free State President Kruger made another\\njourney to the sister republic, and met Presi-\\ndent Steyn and all the Boer generals at the\\nfamous Krijgsraad at Kroonstad. No one who\\nheard the President when he addressed the\\nburghers who gathered there to see him will\\never forget the intensity of Kruger s patriot-\\nism. Kroonstad, then the temporary capital of\\nthe Free State, was not provided with any large\\npublic hall where a meeting might be held, so a\\nsmall butcher s stand in the market square was\\nchosen for the site of the conference. After\\nPresident Steyn, Commandant-General Joubert,\\nand several other leading Boers had addressed\\nthe large crowd of burghers standing in the\\nrain outside the tradesman s pavilion, Kruger\\nstepped on one of the long tables and exhorted\\nthem to renewed efforts, to fight for freedom,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0232.jp2"}, "233": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n215\\nand not to be disconsolate because Bloemfon-\\ntein had fallen into the hands of the enemy.\\nWhen the President concluded his address the\\nburghers raised a great cheer, and then returned\\nto their laagers with their minds filled with a\\nnew spirit and with a renewed determination to\\noppose the enemy a determination which dis-\\nplayed itself later in the fighting at Sannaspost,\\nMoestershoek, and Wepener. Kruger found\\nthe burghers in the Free State in the depths of\\ndespair when he departed they were as confi-\\ndent of ultimate victory as they were on the\\nday war was begun. The old man had the\\nfaculty of leading men as it is rarely found.\\nIn times of peace he prevailed by force of argu-\\nment as much as by reason of personal magnet-\\nism. In war time he led men by mere words\\nsent over telegraph wires, by his presence at\\nthe front, and by his display of manly dignity,\\nfirm resolution, and devotion to his country.\\nHe was like the kings and rulers of ancient\\ntimes who led their cohorts into battle and\\nwielded the sword when there was a neces-\\nsity for such action.\\nDuring the war President Kruger suffered\\nmany disappointments, endured many griefs,\\nand withstood many trials and tribulations, but\\nnone affected him so deeply as the death of his\\nintimate friend Commandant-General Joubert.\\nKruger and Joubert were the two leading men", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0233.jp2"}, "234": {"fulltext": "2i6 THE BGERS IN WAR\\nof the country for many years. They were\\namong those who assisted in the settlement of\\nthe Transvaal and in the many wars which were\\ncoincident with it. They had indelibly inscribed\\ntheir names on the scroll of the South African\\nhistory of a half century, and in doing so they\\nhad become as intimate as two brothers. For\\nmore than twoscore years Kruger had been\\nconsidered the leader of the Boers in peaceful\\ntimes, while Joubert was their warrior. The\\nambition of both was the independence of their\\ncountry, and, while they differed radically on\\nthe methods by which it was to be attained,\\nneither surpassed the other in strenuous efforts\\nto secure it without a recourse to war. The\\ndeath of Joubert was as saddening to Kruger,\\nconsequently, as the demise of his most dearly\\nbeloved brother, and in the funeral oration\\nwhich the President delivered over the bier of\\nthe general he expressed that sense of sorrow\\nmost aptly. This oration, spoken upon an occa-\\nsion when the country was mourning the death\\nof a revered leader, and struggling under the\\nweight of recent defeats, was one of the most\\nremarkable utterances ever made by a man at\\nthe head of a nation.\\nBrothers, sisters, burghers, and friends, he\\nbegan, only a few words can I say to you to-\\nday, for the spirit is willing but the flesh is\\nweak. We have lost our brother, our friend,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0234.jp2"}, "235": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n217\\nour commandant general. I have lost my right\\nhand, not of yesterday, but my right hand since\\nwe were boys together, many long years ago.\\nTo-night I alone seem to have been spared of\\nthe old people of our cherished land, of the men\\nwho lived and struggled together for our coun-\\ntry. He has gone to heaven, while fighting for\\nliberty, which God has told us to defend for\\nthe freedom for which he and I have struggled\\ntogether for so many years, and so often, to\\nmaintain. Brothers, what shall I say to you in\\nthis our greatest day of sorrow, in this hour of\\nnational gloom? The struggle we are engaged\\nin is for the principles of justice and righteous-\\nness, which our Lord has taught us is the broad\\nroad to heaven and blessedness. It is our sacred\\nduty to keep on that path, if we desire a happy\\nending. Our dear dead brother has gone on\\nthat road to his eternal life. What can I say of\\nhis personality It is only a few short weeks\\nago that I saw him at the fighting front, humbly\\nand modestly taking his share of the privations\\nand the rough work of the campaign like the\\npoorest burgher, a true general, a true Christian,\\nan example to his people. And he spoke to me\\nthen, and even more recently; and, let me tell\\nyou, that the da3^s are dark. We are suffering\\nreverses on account of wickedness rampant in\\nour land. No success will come, no blessings\\nbe given to our great cause, unless you remove", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0235.jp2"}, "236": {"fulltext": "2i8 the: BOERS IN WAk\\nthe bad elements from among us and then you\\nmay look forward to attaining the crowning\\npoint, the reward of righteousness and noble\\ndemeanour. We have in our distinguished de-\\nparted brother an example. Chosen, as he was,\\nby the nation, time after time to his honourable\\nposition, he had their trust to such an extent\\nthat everything was left in his hands and he\\ndid his work well. He died, as he lived, in the\\npath of duty and honour. Let the world rage\\naround us, let the enemy decry us I say, follow\\nhis example. The Lord will stand by you\\nagainst the ruthless hand of the foe, and at the\\nmoment when he deems it right for interference\\npeace will come once more. Why is the sym-\\npathy of the whole world with us in this strug-\\ngle for freedom Why are strangers pouring\\nin from Europe to assist us in the maintenance\\nof our beloved flag, to aid us in the just defence\\nof our independence? Is it not God s hand I\\nfeel it in my heart. I declare to you again, the\\nend of our struggle will be satisfactory. Our\\nsmall nation exists by the aid of the Almighty,\\nand will continue to do so. The prophets say\\nthe closed books shall be opened, the dead shall\\narise, darkness be turned into light nothing\\nshall be concealed. Every one will face God s\\njudgment throne. You will listen to his voice,\\nand your eyes shall be open for the truth of\\neverything. Think of the costly lives given by", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0236.jp2"}, "237": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n219\\nUS for our cause, and you will rally to the fight\\nfor justice to the end. Brothers, to the deeply\\nbereaved widow of our commandant general, to\\nhis family, to you all, I say trust more than\\nPresident Kruger in war time.\\never to the Almighty go to him for condo-\\nlence think and be trustful in the thought that\\nour brother s body has gone from among us to\\nrise again in a beautiful and eternal home. Let\\nus follow his example. Weep not, the Lord", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0237.jp2"}, "238": {"fulltext": "220 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nwill support you the hour of our relief is near\\nand let us pray that we may enter heaven, and\\nbe guided to eternity in the same way as he\\nwhom we mourn so deeply. Amen.\\nEarly in his life Kruger formed an idea that\\nthe Boers were under the direct control ot\\nProvidence, and it displeased him greatly to\\nlearn that many petty thefts were committed\\nby some of the burghers at the front. In sev-\\neral of the speeches to the burghers he referred\\nto the shortcomings of some of them, and tried\\nto impress on their minds that they could never\\nexpect the Lord to look with favour on their\\ncause if they did not mend their ways. He\\nmade a plain reference to those sins in the\\noration he delivered over Joubert s body, and\\nnever neglected to tell the foreign volunteers\\nthat they had come into the country for fight-\\ning and not for looting. When an American\\ncorps of about fifty volunteers arrived in Pre-\\ntoria in April he requested them to call at his\\nresidence before leaving for the front, and the\\nmen were greatly pleased to receive and to ac-\\ncept the invitation. The President walked to\\nthe sidewalk in front of his house to receive the\\nAmericans, and then addressed them in this\\ncharacteristically blunt speech I am very\\nglad you have come here to assist us. I want\\nyou to look after your horses and rifles. Do\\nnot allow any one to steal them from you. Do", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0238.jp2"}, "239": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS 221\\nnot steal anybody else s gun or horse. Trust in\\nGod, and fight as hard as you can.\\nUndoubtedly one of the most pathetic inci-\\ndents in Kruger s life was his departure from\\nPretoria when the British army was only a short\\ndistance south of that city. It was bitter enough\\nto him to witness the conquest of the veld dis-\\ntrict, the farms, and the plantations, but when\\nthe conquerors were about to possess the capi-\\ntal of the country which he himself had seen\\ngrow out of the barren veld into a beautiful\\ncity of brick and stone, it was indeed a grave\\nexperience for an old man to pass through. It\\nhurt him little to see Johannesburg fall to the\\nenemy, for that city had always been in his ene-\\nmy s hands but when Pretoria, distinctly the\\nBoer city, was about to become British, perhaps\\nforever, the old man might have been expected\\nto display signs of the great sorrow which he\\nundoubtedly felt in his heart. At the threshold\\nof such a great calamity to his cause it might\\nhave been anticipated that he would acknowl-\\nedge defeat and ask for mercy from a magnani-\\nmous foe. It was not dreamed that a man ot\\nalmost fourscore years would desert his home\\nand familv, his farms and flocks, the result of a\\nlifetime of labour, and endure the discomforts\\nof the field merel} because he believed in a\\ncause which, it seemed, was about to be extin-\\nguished by force of arms. But adversity", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0239.jp2"}, "240": {"fulltext": "222\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ncaused no changes in the President s demean-\\nour. When he bade farewell to his good old\\nwife perhaps it was a final farewell he\\ncheered and comforted her, and when the\\nPresident Kriiger s private car, used as the capitol after\\nevacuation of Pretoria.\\nweeping citizens and friends of many years\\ngathered at the railway station to bid him\\ngood-bye he chided them for their lack of faith\\nin the cause, and encouraged them to believe", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0240.jp2"}, "241": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n223\\nthat victory would crown the Boers efforts.\\nSeven months before, Kruger had stood on the\\nveranda of his residence and, doffing his hat\\nto the first British prisoners that arrived in the\\ncity, asked his burghers not to rejoice unseem-\\ningly in May the old man, about to flee before\\nthe enemy, inspired his people to take new\\ncourage, and ridiculed their idea that all was\\nlost. Whether the Boers were in the first flush\\nof victory or in the depths of despair, Paul\\nKruger was ever the same to them patriot,\\nadviser, encourager, leader, and friend.\\nIt was an easy matter to see the President\\nwhen he was at his residence at Pretoria, and\\nhe appeared to be deeply interested in learning\\nthe opinions of the many foreigners who arrived\\nin his country. The little veranda of the ex-\\necutive mansion a pompous name for the small,\\none-story cottage was the President s favourite\\nresting and working place during the day. Just\\nas in the times of peace he sat there in a big\\narmchair discussing politics with groups of his\\ncountrymen, so while the war was in progress\\nhe was to be found there pondering over the\\ngrave subjects of the time. The countrymen\\nwho could formerly be observed with him at\\nalmost any time of the day were missing. They\\nwere at the front. Occasionally two or three\\nold Boers could be seen chatting with him be-\\nhind Barnato s marble lions, but invariably they", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0241.jp2"}, "242": {"fulltext": "224\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nhad bandoliers around their bodies and rifles\\nacross their knees. Few of the old Boers who\\nknew the President intimately returned from\\nthe front on leaves of absence without calling\\non him to explain to him the course and prog-\\nress of the war.\\nAccording to his own declaration, his health\\nwas as good as it ever had been, even though\\nthe war added many burdens to his life. Not-\\nwithstanding he was seventy-five years old, he\\ndeclared he was as sprightly as he was twenty\\nyears before, and he seemed to have the energy\\nand vitality of a man of forty. The reports\\nthat his mind was affected were cruel hoaxes\\nwhich had not the slightest foundation of fact.\\nThe only matter concerning which he worried\\nwas his eyesight, which had been growing\\nweaker steadily for five years. That misfor-\\ntune alone prevented him from accompanying\\nhis burghers to the front and sharing their bur-\\ndens with them, and he frequently expressed\\nhis disappointment that he was unable to en-\\ngage more actively in the defence of his coun-\\ntr3\\\\ When Pretoria fell into British hands\\nKruger again sacrificed his own interests for\\nthe welfare of his Government, and moved the\\ncapital into the fever districts the low veld of\\nthe eastern part of the Transvaal. The deadly\\nfever which permeates the atmosphere of that\\nterritory seemed to have no more terrors for", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0242.jp2"}, "243": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n225\\nF. W. Reitz, Secretary of State of the Transvaal.\\nhim than did the British bullets at Poplar\\nGrove and he chose to remain in that dan-\\ngerous locality in order that he might be in\\nconstant communication with his burghers and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0243.jp2"}, "244": {"fulltext": "226 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nthe outside world, rather than to go farther into\\nthe isolated interior, where he would have as-\\nsumed no such great risks to his health.\\nMr. Kruger was not a bitter enemy of the\\nBritish nation, as might have been supposed.\\nHe was always an admirer of Britons and Brit-\\nish institutions, and the war did not cause him\\nto alter his convictions. He despised only the\\nmen whom he charged with being responsible\\nfor the condition, and he never thought of hid-\\ning the identity of those men. He blamed Mr.\\nRhodes primarily for instigating the war, and\\nheld Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Alfred Milner\\nequally responsible for bringing it about.\\nAgainst these three men he was extremely bit-\\nter, and he took advantage of every opportu-\\nnity for expressing his opinions of them and\\ntheir work. In February he said that the real\\noccasion of the war between the Boers and the\\nBritish was Rhodes s desire for glory. He\\nwants to be known as the maker of the South\\nAfrican Empire, he said, and the empire is\\nnot complete so long as there are two republics\\nin the centre of the country.\\nWhatever were the causes of the war it is\\ncertain that President Kruger did not make it\\nin order to gain political supremacy in South\\nAfrica. The Dutch of Cape Colony, President\\nSteyn of the Free State, and Secretary Reitz\\nof the Transvaal, may have had visions of Dutch", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0244.jp2"}, "245": {"fulltext": "THE WAR PRESIDENTS\\n227\\nsupremacy, but President Kruger had no such\\nhopes. He invariably and strenuously denied\\nthat he had any aspirations other than the inde-\\npendence of his country, and all his words and\\nworks emphasized his statement to that effect.\\nSeveral days before Commandant-General Jou-\\nbert died, that intimate friend of the President\\ndeclared solemnly that Kruger had never\\ndreamed of expelling the British Government\\nfrom South Africa, and much less had he made\\nany agreement with the Dutch in other parts of\\nthe country with a view to such a result. It\\nwas a difficult matter to find a Transvaal Boer\\nor a Boer from the northern part of the Free\\nState who cared whether the British or the\\nDutch were paramount in South Africa so long\\nas the republics were left unharmed but it was\\nless difificult to meet Cape Colonists and Boers\\nfrom the southern part of the Free State who\\ndesired that Great Britain s power in the country\\nshould be broken. If there was any real ani-\\nmosity against Great Britain it was born on\\nBritish soil in Cape Colony, and blown north-\\nward to where courage to fight was more abun-\\ndant. Its source certainly was not in the north,\\nand more certainly not with Paul Kruger, the\\nman of peace.\\nPresident Steyn, of the Orange Free State,\\noccupied even a more responsible position than\\nhis friend President Kruger, of the Transvaal.\\n16", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0245.jp2"}, "246": {"fulltext": "228 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nAt the beginning of hostilities Steyn found that\\nhundreds of the British-born citizens of his State\\nrefused to enter his army, and consequently he\\nwas obliged to join the Transvaal with a much\\nsmaller force than he had reckoned upon. He\\nwas handicapped by the lack of generals of any\\nexperience, and he did not have a sufficient\\nnumber of burghers to guard the borders of his\\nown State. His Government had made but\\nsmall preparations for war, and there was a lack\\nof guns, ammunition, and equipment. The mo-\\nbilization of his burghers was extremely diffi-\\ncult, and required much more time than was\\nanticipated, and everything seemed to be awry\\nat a time when every detail should have been\\ncarefully planned and executed. As the respon-\\nsible head of the Government and the veritable\\nhead of the army Steyn passed the crisis with a\\nremarkable display of energy, ingenuity, and\\nability. After the army was in the field he gave\\nhis personal attention to the work of the depart-\\nments whose heads were at the front, and attend-\\ned to many of the details of the commissariat\\nwork in Bloemfontein. He frequently visited\\nthe burghers in the field, and gave them such\\nencouragement as only the presence and praise\\nof the leader of a nation can give to a people.\\nIn February he went to the republican lines at\\nLadysmith, and made an address, in which he\\naffirmed that Sir Alfred Milner*s declaration", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0246.jp2"}, "247": {"fulltext": "be\\nu", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0247.jp2"}, "248": {"fulltext": "230\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nthat the power of Afrikanderism must be broken\\nhad caused the war. Several days later he was\\nwith his burghers at Kimberley, praising their\\nvalour and infusing them with renewed courage.\\nA day or two afterward he was again in Bloem-\\nfontein, arranging for the comfort of his men,\\nand caring for the wives and children who were\\nleft behind. His duties were increased a hun-\\ndred-fold as the campaign progressed, and when\\nthe first reverses came he alone was able to im-\\nbue the men with new zeal. After Bloemfontein\\nwas captured by the British he transferred the\\ncapital to Kroonstad, and there, with the assist-\\nance of President Kruger, re-established the\\nfighting spirit of the burgher army. He induced\\nthe skulking burghers to return to their com-\\npatriots at the front, and formed the plans for\\nfuture resistance against the invading army.\\nWhen Lord Roberts s hosts advanced from\\nBloemfontein, President Steyn again moved the\\ncapital and established it at Heilbron. There-\\nafter the capital was constantly transferred from\\none place to another, but through all those\\nvicissitudes the President clung nobly to his\\npeople and country.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0248.jp2"}, "249": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IX\\nFOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\nIn every war there are men who are not\\ncitizens of the country with whose army they\\nare fighting, and the soldier of fortune is as\\nmuch a recognised adjunct of modern armies as\\nhe was in the days of knight-errantry. In the\\nAmerican Revolutionary War, both the colonial\\nand British forces were assisted by many for-\\neigners, and in every great and small war since\\nthen the contending armies have had foreigners\\nin their service. In the Franco-Prussian War\\nthere were a great number of foreigners, among\\nthem being one of the British generals who took\\na leading part in the Natal campaign. The\\nbrief Greco-Turkish War gave many foreign\\nofficers an opportunity of securing experience,\\nwhile the Spaniards in the Hispano-American\\nWar had the assistance of a small number of\\nEuropean officers. Even the Filipinos have had\\nthe aid of a corps of foreigners, the leader of\\nwhich, however, deserted Aguinaldo and joined\\nthe Boer forces.\\n231", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0249.jp2"}, "250": {"fulltext": "^32\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nThere is a fascination in civilized warfare\\nwhich attracts men of certain descriptions, and\\nto them a well-fought battle is the highest form\\nof exciting amusement. All the world is in-\\nHon. Webster Davis, travelling in President Kruger s\\nprivate car.\\nterested in warfare among human beings, and\\nthere are records of men who delighted in fight-\\ning battles in order that public interest might\\nbe gratified. It may suggest a morbid or blood-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0250.jp2"}, "251": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n233\\nthirsty spirit, this love of warfare, but no spec-\\ntacle is finer, more magnificent, than a hard-\\nfought game in which human lives are staked\\nagainst a strip of ground a position. It is not\\nhard to understand why many men should be-\\ncome fascinated with warfare and travel to the\\nends of the earth in order to take part in it, but\\na soldier of fortune needs to make no apologies.\\nThe Boer army was augmented by many of these\\nmen who delight in war for fighting s sake, but\\na large number joined the forces because they\\nbelieved the republics were contending for a\\njust cause.\\nThe Boer was jealous of his own powers of\\ngeneralship, and, when large numbers of for-\\neigners volunteered to lead their commandos,\\nthe farmers gave a decidedly negative reply.\\nScores of foreign officers arrived in the country\\nshortly after the beginning of hostilities, and,\\nintent upon securing fame and experience, asked\\nto be placed in command, but no request of that\\nkind was granted. The Boers felt that their\\nsystem of warfare was the perfect one, and they\\nscoffed at the suggestion that European officers\\nmight teach them anything in the military line.\\nEvery foreign officer was welcomed in Pretoria\\nand in the laagers, but he was asked to enlist as\\na private or ordinary burgher. Commissions in\\nthe Boer army were not to be had for the ask-\\ning, as was anticipated, and many of the foreign", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0251.jp2"}, "252": {"fulltext": "234\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nofficers were deeply disappointed in conse-\\nquence. The Boers felt that the foreigners\\nwere unacquainted with the country and with\\nthe burgher mode of warfare, and lacked adroit-\\nness with the rifle, and they consequently re-\\nfused to place lives and battles in the hands of\\nmen they believed to be incompetent. There\\nwere a few foreigners in the service of the\\nBoers at the beginning of the war, but their\\nnumber was so small as to have been without\\nsignificance. Several European officers had\\nbeen employed by the Governments of the re-\\npublics to instruct young Boers in artillery\\nwork and their instruction was invaluable\\nbut the oft-repeated assertion that every com-\\nmando was in charge of a foreign officer was as\\nridiculous as the story of the Cape Times which\\nstated that the British retired from Spion Kop\\nbecause no water was found on its summit.\\nThe influx of foreigners into the country be-\\ngan simultaneously with the war and continued\\nthereafter at the rate of about four hundred men\\na month. The volunteers, as they were called\\nby the burghers, consisted of the professional\\nsoldier, the man in search of loot, the man who\\nfought for love of justice, and the adventurer.\\nThe professional soldier was of much service to\\nthe burghers so long as he was content to remain\\nunder a Boer leader, but as soon as he attempted\\nto operate on his own responsibility he became", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0252.jp2"}, "253": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n23s\\nnot only an impediment to them but also a\\npositive danger. In the early stages of the war\\nthe few foreign legions that existed met with\\ndisaster at Elandslaagte, and thereafter all the\\nforeign volunteers were obliged to join a com-\\nmando. After several months had passed the\\nforeigners who were eager to have responsible\\ncommands prevailed upon the generals to allow\\nthe formation of foreign legions to operate in-\\ndependently. The legion of France, the Amer-\\nican scouts, the Russian scouts, the German\\ncorps, and several other organizations were\\nformed, and for a month after the investment\\nof Bloemfontein these legions enlivened the\\nsituation by their frolicsome reports of attacks\\non the enemy s outposts. During those weeks\\nthe entire British army must have been put to\\nflight scores of times, at the very least, if the re-\\nports of the foreign legions could be believed,\\nand the British casualty list must have amounted\\nto thrice the number of English soldiers in the\\ncountry. The free rein given to the foreign\\nlegionaries was withdrawn shortly after Ville-\\nbois-de-Mareuil and his small band of French-\\nmen met with disaster at Boshof, and thereafter\\nall the foreigners were placed under the direct\\ncommand of General De la Rey.\\nThe man in search of the spoils of war was\\nnot so numerous, but he made his presence felt\\nby stealing whatever was portable and salable.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0253.jp2"}, "254": {"fulltext": "236 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nWhen he became surfeited with looting houses\\nin conquered territory, and stealing horses, lug-\\nA Cossack fighting with the Boers.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0254.jp2"}, "255": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n237\\ngage and goods of lesser value in the laagers, he\\nturned to Johannesburg and Pretoria and as-\\nsisted in emptying residences and stores of their\\ncontents. This type of soldier of fortune never\\nwent into a battle of his own accord, and when\\nhe found himself precipitated into the midst of\\none he lost little time in reaching a place of\\nsafety. Almost on a par with the looter was\\nthe adventurer whose chief object in life seemed\\nto be to tell of the battles he had assisted in\\nwinning. He was constantly in the laagers\\nwhen there was no fighting in progress, but as\\nsoon as the report of a gun was heard the ad-\\nventurer felt the necessity of going on urgent\\nbusiness to Pretoria. After the fighting he\\ncould always be depended upon to relate the\\nwildest personal experiences that camp fires\\never heard he could tell of amazing adventures\\nin the wilds of South America, on the steppes\\nof Siberia, and at other ends of the earth, and\\ngenerally after each narrative he would make\\na request ior a loan.* The only adventures\\nhe had during the war were those which he\\nencountered while attempting to escape from a\\nbattle, and the only service he did to the Boer\\narmy was to assist in causing the disappearance\\nof commissariat supplies.\\nThe men who fought with the Boers because\\nthey were deeply in sympathy with the repub-\\nlican cause were in far greater numbers than", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0255.jp2"}, "256": {"fulltext": "238 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nthose with other motives, and their services\\nwere of much value to the federal forces. The\\nmajority of these men were in the country when\\nwar was begun, and were accepted as citizens\\nof the country. They joined commandos and\\nremained under Boer leaders during the entire\\ncampaign. In the same class were the volun-\\nteers who entered the republics from Natal and\\nCape Colony for the purpose of assisting their\\ncoreligionists and kinsmen. Of these there were\\nabout six thousand at the beginning of hostili-\\nties, but constant desertions occurred, so that\\nafter the first six months of the war perhaps less\\nthan one third of them remained. The Afri-\\nkanders of Natal and Cape Colony were not\\ninferior in any respect to the Boers, whose\\nforces they joined but when the tide of war\\nchanged and it became evident that the Boers\\nwould not triumph, they returned to their\\nhomes and farms in the colonies in order to\\nsave them from confiscation. Taking into con-\\nsideration the fact that four fifths of the white\\npopulation of the two colonies was of the same\\nrace and religion as the Boers, six thousand was\\nnot a large number of volunteers to join the\\nfederal forces.\\nThe artillery fire of the Boer was so remark-\\nably good that the delusion was cherished by\\nthe British commanders that foreign artillerists\\nwere in charge of all the guns. It was not", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0256.jp2"}, "257": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n239\\nbelieved that the Boers had any knowledge of\\narms other than rifles, but it was not an easy\\nmatter to find a foreigner at a cannon or rapid-\\nfire gun. The field batteries of the State artil-\\nlery of the Transvaal had two German officers\\nof low rank who were in the country long\\nbefore the war was begun, but all the other men\\nwho assisted with the field guns were 3^oung\\nBoers. The heavy artillery in Natal was di-\\nrected by M. M. Grunberg and S. Leon, repre-\\nsentatives of Creusot, who manufactured the\\nguns. M. Leon s ability as an engineer and\\ngunner pleased Commandant-General Joubert\\nso greatly that he gave him full authority over\\nthe artillery. Major Albrecht, the director of\\nthe Free State Artillery, Avas a foreigner by\\nbirth, but he became a citizen of the Free State\\nlong before the war and did sterling service to\\nhis country until he was captured with Cronje\\nat Paardeberg. Otto von Lossberg, a German-\\nAmerican who had seen service in the armies of\\nGermany and the United States, arrived in the\\ncountry in March and was thereafter in charge\\nof the artillery arm of the service, but the\\nmajority of the foreign artillerists were under\\nBoer officers.\\nNone of the foreigners who served in the\\nBoer army received any compensation. They\\nwere supplied with horses and equipment, at a\\ncost to the Boer Governments of about thirty-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0257.jp2"}, "258": {"fulltext": "240\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nfive dollars for\\neach volunteer,\\nand they received\\nbetter food than\\nthe burghers, but\\nno wages were\\npaid to them. Be-\\nfore a foreign vol-\\nunteer was al-\\nlowed to join a\\ncommando, and\\nbefore he received\\nhis equipment, he\\nwas obliged to\\ntake an oath of\\nallegiance to the\\nrepublic. Only a\\nfew men who de-\\nclined to take the\\noath were allowed\\nto join the army.\\nThe oath of alle-\\ngiance was an\\nadaptation of the\\none which caused\\nso much difficul-\\nty between Great\\nBritain and the Transvaal before the war. A\\ntranslation of it reads\\nI hereby make an oath of solemn allegiance\\nColonel Maximoff, of the Russian\\ncorps.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0258.jp2"}, "259": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n241\\nto the people of the South African Republic, and\\nI declare my willingness to assist with all my\\npower the burghers of this republic in the war\\nin which they are engaged. I further promise\\nto obey the orders of those placed in authority\\naccording to law, and that I will work for\\nnothing but the prosperity, the welfare, and the\\nindependence of the land and people of this\\nrepublic. So truly help me, God Almighty.\\nNo army lists were ever to be found at Pre-\\ntoria or at the front, and it was as monumental\\na task to secure a fair estimate of the Boer\\nforces as it was to obtain an estimate of the\\nnumber of the foreigners who assisted them.\\nThe Boers had no men whom they could spare\\nto detail to statistic work, and in consequence\\nno correct figures can ever be obtained. The\\nnumerical strength of the various organizations\\nNationality.\\nIn organizations.\\nIn commandos.\\nFrencli\\n300\\n400\\n100\\n300\\n150\\n100\\n100\\n200\\n100\\nHollanders\\n250\\n125\\n250\\n150\\n100\\n50\\nRussians\\nGermans\\nAmericans\\nItalians\\nScandinavians\\nIrishmen\\nAfrikanders\\n6,000\\nTotals\\n1,650\\n7,025\\n1,650\\nGrand total\\n8,675", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0259.jp2"}, "260": {"fulltext": "242\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nof foreigners could readily be ascertained from\\ntheir commanders, but many of the foreigners\\nwere in Boer commandos, and their strength\\nwas only problematical. An estimate, which\\nwas prepared by the correspondents who had\\ngood opportunities of forming as nearly a cor-\\nrect idea as any one, resulted in the table on\\nthe preceding page, which gives the numbers\\nof those in the various organizations as well as\\nthose in the commandos.\\nThe French legionaries were undoubtedly of\\nmore actual service to the Boers than the volun-\\nteers of any other nationality, inasmuch as they\\nwere given the opportunities for doing valuable\\nwork. Before the war one of the large forts at\\nPretoria was erected by French engineers, and\\nwhen the war was begun Frenchmen of military\\nexperience were much favoured by General Jou-\\nbert, who was proud of his French extraction.\\nThe greater quantity of artillery had been pur-\\nchased from French firms, and the commandant\\ngeneral wisely placed guns in the hands of the\\nmen who knew how to operate them well.\\nMM. Grunberg and Leon were of incalculable\\nassistance in transporting the heavy artillery\\nover the mountains of Natal, and in securing\\npositions for them where the fire of the ene-\\nmy s guns could not harm them. The work\\nof the Canet guns, the famous long toms\\nwhich the besieged in Ladysmith will remember", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0260.jp2"}, "261": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n243\\nas long as the siege itself remains in their mem-\\nory, was almost entirely the result of French\\nhands and brains, while much of the havoc\\ncaused by the heavy artillery in the Natal bat-\\ntles was due to the engineering and gunnery\\nof Leon, Grunberg, and their countrymen who\\nassisted them. After remaining in Natal until\\npast the middle of January the two Frenchmen\\njoined the Free State forces, to whom they ren-\\ndered valuable assistance. Leon was wounded\\nat Kimberley on February 12th, and, after assist-\\ning in establishing the ammunition works at Pre-\\ntoria and Johannesburg, returned to France.\\nViscount de Villebois-Mareuil was one of the\\nmany foreigners who joined the Boer arm)^ and\\nlost their lives while fighting with the repub-\\nlican forces. While ranking as colonel on the\\ngeneral staff of the French army, and when\\nabout to be promoted to the rank of general, he\\nresigned from the service on account of the\\nDreyfus affair. A month after the commence-\\nment of the war, Villebois-Mareuil arrived in the\\nTransvaal and went to the Natal front, where\\nhis mihtary experience enabled him to give\\nadvice to the Boer generals. In January the\\ncolonel attached himself to General Cronje s\\nforces, wnth which he took part in many engage-\\nments. He w^as one of the few w^ho escaped\\nfrom the disastrous fight at Paardeberg, and\\nshortly afterward at a war council at Kroonstad\\n17", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0261.jp2"}, "262": {"fulltext": "244\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nthe French officer was created a brigadier gen-\\neral the first and only one in the Boer army\\nand all the foreign legions were placed in\\nhis charge. It was purposed that he should\\nharass the enemy by attacks on their lines of\\ncommunication, and it was while he was at the\\nsfP^dfe\\nGeneral De La Rey and Colonel Guorko, Russian military\\nattache.\\noutset of the first of these expeditions that he\\nand twelve of his small force of sixty men were\\nkilled at Boshof, in the northwestern part of\\nthe Free State, early in April. Villebois-Mareuil\\nwas a firm believer in the final success of the\\nBoer arms, and he received the credit of plan-\\nning two battles second Colenso and Magers-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0262.jp2"}, "263": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n245\\nfontein which gave the Boers at least tempo-\\nrary success. The viscount was a writer for the\\nRevue des Deux Mondes, Le Correspondant,\\nand La Liberte, the latter of which referred to\\nhim as the latter-day Lafayette. General Ville-\\nbois-Mareuil was an exceptionally brave man, a\\nfine soldier, and a gentleman whose friendship\\nwas prized.\\nLieutenant Gallopaud was another French-\\nman who did sterling service to the Boers\\nwhile he was subordinate to Colonel Villebois-\\nMareuil. At Colenso he led his men in an\\nattack which met with extraordinary success,\\nand later in the Free State campaign he distin-\\nguished himself by creditable deeds in several\\nbattles. Gallopaud went to the Transvaal for\\nexperience, and secured both that and fame.\\nAfter the death of Villebois-Mareuil, he was\\nelected commandant of the French Legion, and\\nbefore he joined De la Re3^ s army he had the\\nnovel pleasure of subduing a mutiny among\\nsome of his men. An Algerian named Mahomed\\nBen Naseur, who had not been favoured with\\nthe sight of blood for several weeks, threatened\\nto shoot Gallopaud with a Mauser, but there\\nwas a cessation of hostilities on the part of the\\nAlgerian shortly after the big, powerful com-\\nmandant went into action.\\nThe majority of the Hollanders who fought\\nwith the Boers were in the country when the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0263.jp2"}, "264": {"fulltext": "246 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nwar was begun, and they made a practical dem-\\nonstration of their belief in the Boer cause by\\ngoing into the field with the first commandos.\\nThe Dutch corps was under the command of\\nCommandant Smoronberg, the former drillmas-\\nter of the Johannesburg police. Among the\\nvolunteers were many young Hollanders who\\nhad been employed by the Government in Pre-\\ntoria and Johannesburg establishments and by\\nthe Netherlands railways. In its first engage-\\nment, at Elandslaagte in November, the corps\\nwas practically annihilated, and General Kock,\\nthe leader of the Uitlander Brigade, received\\nhis death wounds. Afterward the surviving\\nmembers of the corps joined Boer commandos,\\nwhere stray train loads of officers wine, such as\\nwere found the day before the battle of Elands-\\nlaagte, were not allowed to interfere with the\\nsobriety of the burghers.\\nThe Russian corps, under Commandant\\nAlexis de Ganetzky and Colonel Prince Bara-\\ntrion-Morgaff, was formed after all the men had\\nbeen campaigning under Boer officers in Natal\\nfor several months. The majority of the men\\nwere Johannesburgers without military experi-\\nence, who joined the army because there was\\nnothing else to do.\\nThe German corps was as short-lived as the\\nHollander organization, it having been part of\\nthe force which met with disaster at Elands-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0264.jp2"}, "265": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n247\\nlaagte. Colonel Schiel, a German-Boer of brief\\nmilitary experience, led the organization, but was\\nunable to display his abilities to any extent be-\\nfore he was made a prisoner of war. Captain\\nCount Harran von Zeplin was killed in the fight\\nat Spion Kop, and Herr von Brusewitz was\\nkilled and Colonel Von Brown was captured\\nat the Tugela. The corps was afterward re-\\norganized, and under the leadership of Com-\\nmandant Otto Krantz, of Pretoria, it fought\\nvaliantl}^ in several battles in the Free State.\\nAmong the many German volunteers who en-\\ntered the country after the beginning of hos-\\ntilities was Major Baron von Reitzenstein, the\\nwinner of the renowned long-distance horse-\\nback race from Berlin to Vienna. He was a\\nparticipant in battles at Colesburg and in Natal,\\nand was eager to remain with the Boer forces\\nuntil the end of the war, but was recalled by\\nhis Government, which had granted him a\\nleave of absence from the German army.\\nThree of the forts at Pretoria were erected by\\nGermans, and the large fort at Johannesburg\\nwas built by Colonel Schiel.\\nThe Americans in South Africa who elected\\nto fight under the Boer flags did not promise to\\nwin the war single-handed, and consequently\\nthe Boers were not disappointed in the achieve-\\nments of the volunteers from the sister repub-\\nlic across the Atlantic. In proportion to their", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0265.jp2"}, "266": {"fulltext": "248 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nnumbers the Americans did as well as the best\\nvolunteer foreigners, and caused the Govern-\\nment less trouble and expense than any of the\\nUitlander organizations. The majority of the\\nAmericans spent the first months of the war in\\nBoer commandos, and made no effort to estab-\\nlish an organization of their own, although they\\nwere of sufficient numerical strength. A score\\nor more of them joined the Irish Brigade or-\\nganized by Colonel J. G. Blake, a graduate of\\nWest Point Military Academy and a former offi^\\ncer in the American army, and accompanied the\\nbrigade through the first seven months of the\\nNatal campaign. After the exciting days of\\nthat campaign John A. Hassell, an American\\nwho had been with the Vryheid commando, or-\\nganized the American scouts and succeeded in\\ngathering what probably was the strangest body\\nof men in the war. Captain Hassell himself was\\nborn in New Jersey, and was well educated in\\nAmerican public schools and schools of experi-\\nence. He spent the five years before the war\\nin prospecting and shooting expeditions in vari-\\nous parts of South Africa, and had a better idea\\nof the geographical features of the country than\\nany of the commandants of the foreign legions.\\nWhile he was with the Vrj^heid commando Has-\\nsell was twice wounded, once in the attack on\\nCsesar s Hill and again at Estcourt, where he\\nreceived a ba3^onet thrust which disabled him", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0266.jp2"}, "267": {"fulltext": "be\\n:3", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0267.jp2"}, "268": {"fulltext": "250\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nfor several weeks and deprived him of the\\nhonour of being General Botha s adjutant.\\nThe one American whose exploits will long\\nremain in the Boer memory was John N. King,\\nof Reading, Pa., who vowed that he would\\nallow his hair to grow until the British had\\nbeen driven from Federal soil. King began\\nhis career of usefulness to society at the time\\nof the Johnstown flood, where he and some\\ncompanions lynched an Italian who had been\\nrobbing the dead. Shortly afterward he gained\\na deep insight into matters journalistic by being\\nthe boon companion of a newspaper man. The\\nnewspaper man was in jail on a charge of lar-\\nceny, King for murder. When war was begun\\nKing was employed on a Johannesburg mine,\\nand when one of his best friends determined to\\njoin the British forces he decided to enlist in\\nthe Boer army. Before parting the two made\\nan agreement that neither should make the other\\nprisoner in case they met on the battlefield. At\\nSpion Kop King captured his friend unaAvares,\\nand, after a brief friendly conversation and a\\nfarewell grasp of the hand. King shot him dead.\\nKing took part in almost every one of the Natal\\nbattles, and when there was no fighting to do\\nhe passed the time away in such reckless ex-\\nploits as going within the British firing line at\\nLadysmith to capture pigs and chickens. He\\nbore a striking resemblance to Napoleon I, and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0268.jp2"}, "269": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n251\\nloved blood as much as the little Corsican.\\nWhen the scouts went out from Brandfort in\\nApril and killed several of the British scouts,\\nKing wept because he had remained in camp\\nthat day and had missed the opportunity of\\nhaving a part in the engagement.\\nThe lieutenant of the scouts was John Shea,\\na gray-haired man who might have had grand-\\nchildren old enough to fight. Shea fought with\\nthe Boers because he thought they had a right-\\neous cause, and not because he loved the smell\\nof gunpowder, although he had learned what\\nthat was in the Spanish-American War. He\\nendeavoured to introduce the American army\\nsystem into the Boer army, but failed signally,\\nand then fought side by side with old takhaars\\nall during the Natal campaign. He was the\\nguardian of the mascot of the scouts, William\\nYoung, a thirteen-year-old American, who was\\nacquainted with every detail of the prelimina-\\nries of the war. William witnessed all except\\ntwo of the Natal battles and several of those in\\nthe Free State, and could relate all the stirring\\nincidents in connection with each, but he could\\ntell nothing more concerning his birthplace than\\nthat it was near the shore in America, both\\nhis parents having died when he was quite\\nyoung. Then there was able-bodied seaman\\nWilliam Thompson, who was in the Wabash, of\\nthe United States Navy, and served under Mac", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0269.jp2"}, "270": {"fulltext": "252\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nCuen in the Chinese-Japanese War. Thompson\\nand two others tried to steal a piece of British\\nheavy artillery while it was in action at Lady-\\nsmith, but were themselves captured by some\\nBoers who did not believe in modern miracles.\\nOf newspaper men, there were half a dozen who\\nlaid aside the pen for the sword. George Par-\\nsons, a Collier s Weekly man, who was once left\\non a desert island at the east end of Cuba to\\ndeliver a message to Gomez, several hundred\\nmiles away; J. B. Clarke, of Webberville, Mich.,\\nwho was correspondent for a Pittsburg news-\\npaper whenever some one could commandeer\\nthe necessary stamps and four or five corre-\\nspondents of country weeklies in Western States.\\nStarfield and Hiley were two Texans of Amer-\\nican army experience who fought Avith the Boers\\nbecause they had faith in their cause. Starfield\\nclaimed the honour of having been pursued for\\nhalf a day by two hundred British cavalrymen;\\nwhile Hiley, the finest marksman in the corps,\\nhad the distinction of killing Lieutenant Carron,\\nan American in Lord Loch s horse, in a fierce\\nduel behind ant heaps at Modder River on\\nApril 2 1st. Later in the campaign many of\\nthe Americans who entered the country for the\\npurpose of fighting joined Hassell s scouts, and\\nadded to the cosmopolitan character of the or-\\nganization. One man came from Puget Sound in\\na sailing vessel. Another arrival boldly claimed", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0270.jp2"}, "271": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n253\\nto be the American military attache at the Paris\\nExposition, and then requested every one to keep\\nthe matter a secret for fear the War Department\\nshould hear of his presence in South Africa and\\nrecall him. On the way to Africa he had a mar-\\nvellous midnight experience on board ship with\\na masked man who shot him through one of his\\nhands. Later the same wound was displayed as\\nhaving been received at Magersfontein, Colenso,\\nand Spion Kop. This industrious youth became\\nadjutant to Colonel Blake, and assisted that pic-\\nturesque Irish-American in securing the services\\nof the half hundred American Red Cross men\\nwho deserted their society as soon as they en-\\ntered the Boer country.\\nOf the many Americans who fought in Boer\\ncommandos none did better service or was\\nregarded more highly by the Boers than Otto\\nvon Lossberg, of New Orleans, La. Lossberg\\nwas born in Germany, and received his first\\nmilitary training in the army of his native\\ncountry. He afterward became an American\\ncitizen, and was with General Miles s army in\\nthe Porto Rico campaign. He arrived in the\\nTransvaal in March, and on the last day of that\\nmonth was in charge of the artillery which\\nassisted in defeating Colonel Broadwood s col-\\numn at Sannaspost. Two days later, in the\\nfight between General Christian De Wet and\\nMcQueenies Irish Fusileers, Lossberg was se-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0271.jp2"}, "272": {"fulltext": "254\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nverely wounded in the head, but a month later\\nhe was again at the front. With him continually\\nwas Baron Ernst von Wrangel, who was a\\ngrandson of the famous Marshal Wrangel, and\\na corporal in the American army during the\\nCuban War.\\nWhen one of the four sons of State Secretary\\nReitz, who were fighting with the Boer army,\\nasked his father for permission to join the Irish\\nBrigade, the secretary gave an excellent descrip-\\ntion of the organization The members of the\\nIrish Brigade do their work well, and they\\nfight remarkably well, but, my son, they are not\\ngentle in their manner. Blake and his men\\nwere among the first to cross the Natal frontier,\\nand their achievements were notable, even if the\\nmen lacked gentleness of manner. The brigade\\ntook part in almost every one of the Natal en-\\ngagements, and when General Botha retreated\\nfrom the Tugela, Colonel Blake and seventy -five\\nof his men bravely attacked and drove back into\\nLadysmith a squadron of cavalry which intended\\nto cut off the retreat of Botha s starving and ex-\\nhausted burghers. Blake and his men were\\nguarding a battery on Lombard Kop, a short\\ndistance east of Ladysmith, when he learned\\nthat Joubert was leading the retreat northward\\nand allowing Botha with his two thousand men\\nto continue their ten days fighting without re-\\nenforcements. Instead of retreating with the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0272.jp2"}, "273": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR 255\\nColonel Blake, of the Irish Brigade.\\nOther commandos, Blake and seventy-five of his\\nmen stationed themselves on the main road be-\\ntween Ladysmith and Colenso, and awaited the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0273.jp2"}, "274": {"fulltext": "256\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ncoming of Botha. A force of cavalry, consisting\\nof three hundred men, was observed coming out\\nof the besieged city, and it was apparent that\\nthey could readily cut off Botha from the other\\nBoers. Blake determined to make a bold bluff\\nby scattering his small force over the hills and\\nattacking the enemy from different directions.\\nThe men were ordered to tire as rapidly as pos-\\nsible, in order to impress the British cavalry\\nwith a false idea of the size of the force. The\\nseventy-five Irishmen and Americans made as\\nmuch noise with their guns as a Boer com-\\nmando of a thousand men usually did, and the\\nresult was that the cavalry wheeled about and\\nreturned into Ladysmith. Botha and his men,\\ndropping out of their saddles from sheer exhaus-\\ntion and hunger, came up from Colenso a short\\ntime after the cavalry had been driven back, and\\nmade their memorable journey to Joubert s new\\nheadquarters at Glencoe. It was one of the few\\ninstances where the foreigners were of any re-\\nally great assistance to the Boers.\\nAfter the relief of Ladysmith the Irish Bri-\\ngade was sent to Helpmakaar Pass, and remained\\nthere for six weeks, until Colonel Blake suc-\\nceeded in inducing the war department to send\\nthem to the Free State, where these sons of the\\nold sod might make a display of their valour to\\nthe world, but more especially to Michael Dav-\\nitt, the Irish leader, who was then visiting in", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0274.jp2"}, "275": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n257\\nthe country. When the brigade was formed it\\nwas not necessary to show an Irish birth certifi-\\ncate in order to become a member of the organ-\\nization, and consequently there were Swedes,\\nRussians, Germans, and Italians marching under\\nthe green flag. A second Irish Brigade was\\nformed in April by Arthur Lynch, an Irish-\\nAustralian, who was the former Paris corre-\\nspondent of a London daily newspaper. Colo-\\nnel Lynch and his men were in several battles\\nin Natal, and received warm praise from the\\nBoer generals.\\nThe Italian Legion Avas commanded by a\\nman who loved war and warfare. Camillo Richi-\\nardi and General Louis Botha were probably\\nthe two handsomest men in the arm}^ and both\\nwere the idols of their men. Captain Richiardi\\nhad his first experience with war in Abyssinia\\nwhen he fought with the Italian army. When\\nthe Philippine war began he joined the fortunes\\nof Aguinaldo and became the leader of the\\nforeign legion. For seven months he fought\\nagainst the i\\\\merican soldiers, not because he\\nhated the Americans, but because he loved\\nfighting more. When the Boer war seemed to\\npromise more exciting work, Richiardi left\\nAguinaldo s forces and joined a Boer commando\\nas a burgher. After studying Boer methods\\nfor several months, he formed an organization\\nof scouts, which was of great service to the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0275.jp2"}, "276": {"fulltext": "258\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\narmy. Before the relief of Ladysmith the\\nItalian scouts was the ablest organization of its\\nkind in the republics.\\nCaptain Richiardi, of the Italian scouts.\\nThe Scandinavian corps joined Cronje s army\\nafter the outbreak of war, and took part in\\nthe battle of Magersfontein on December iith.\\nThe corps occupied one of the most exposed", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0276.jp2"}, "277": {"fulltext": "FOREIGNERS IN THE WAR\\n259\\npositions during that battle, and lost forty-five\\nof the fifty-two men engaged. Commandant\\nFlygare was shot in the abdomen, and was be-\\ning carried off the field by Captain Barendsen,\\nwhen a bullet struck the captain in the head and\\nkilled him instantly. Flygare extricated him-\\nself from beneath Barendsen s body, rose, and\\nled his men in a charge. When he had pro-\\nceeded about twenty yards a bullet passed\\nthrough his head, and his men leaped over his\\ncorpse only to meet a similar fate a few minutes\\nlater.\\n18", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0277.jp2"}, "278": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER X\\nBOER WOMEN IN THE WAR\\nOne of the most glorious pages in the his-\\ntory of the Boer nation relates to the work of\\nthe women who fought side by side with their\\nhusbands against the hordes of murderous Zulus\\nin the days of the early voortrekkers. It is the\\nstory of hardy Boer women, encompassed by\\nthousands of bloodthirsty natives, fighting over\\nthe lifeless bodies of their husbands and sons,\\nand repelling the attacks of the savages with a\\nspirit and strength not surpassed by the valiant\\nburghers themselves. The magnificent heritage\\nwhich these mothers of the latter-day Boer na-\\ntion left to their children was not unworthily\\nborne by the women of the end of the century,\\nand the work which they accomplished in the\\nwar of 1899-1900 was none the less valuable,\\neven though it was less hazardous and romantic,\\nthan that of their ancestors whose blood min-\\ngled with that of the savages on the grassy\\nslopes of the Natal mountains.\\nThe conspicuous part played in the war by\\n260", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0278.jp2"}, "279": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR\\n261\\nthe Boer women was but a sequence to that\\nwhich they took in the political affairs of the\\ncountry before the commencement of hostilities,\\nFour generations of the Kruger family.\\nMrs. Paul Kruger, Mrs. F. C. Eloff, Mrs. Louis Jacobz, and\\nBaby Jacobz.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0279.jp2"}, "280": {"fulltext": "262 ^^HE BOERS IN WAR\\nand both were excellent demonstrations of their\\ngreat patriotism and their deep loyalty to the\\nrepublics which they loved. Some one has said\\nthat real patriotism is bred only on the farms\\nand plains of a country, and no better exempli-\\nfication of the truth of the saying was necessary\\nthan that which was afforded by the wives and\\nmothers of the burghers of the two South Afri-\\ncan republics. Many months before the first\\nshot of the war was fired the patriotic Boer\\nwomen began to take an active interest in the\\ndiscussion of the grave affairs of state, and it\\nincreased with such amazing rapidity and vol-\\nume that they were prepared for hostilities\\nlong before the men. Women urged their hus-\\nbands, fathers, and brothers to end the long\\nperiod of political strife and uncertainty by\\nshouldering arms and fighting for their inde-\\npendence. Even sooner than the men, the Boer\\nwomen realized that peace must be broken some\\ntime in order to secure real tranquility in the\\ncountry, and she who lived on the veld and was\\npatriotic was anxious to have the storm come\\nand pass as quickly as possible. So enthusiastic\\nwere the women before the war that it was a\\ncommon saying among them that if the men\\nwere too timorous to fight for their liberty the\\ndaughters and granddaughters of the heroines\\nwho fought against the Zulus at Weenen and\\nDoornkop would take up arms.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0280.jp2"}, "281": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR 263\\nEven before the formal declaration of war\\nwas made many of the Boer women prevailed\\nupon their husbands, brothers, and sons to leave\\ntheir homes and go to the borders of the Boer\\ncountry to guard against any raids that might be\\nattempted by the enemy, and in many instances\\nwomen accompanied the men to prepare their\\nmeals and give them comfort. These manifes-\\ntations of warlike spirit were not caused by the\\nwomen s love of war for they were even more\\npeace-loving than the men but they were the\\nnatural result of a desire to serve their country\\nat a time when they considered it to be in great\\nperil. The women knew that war would mean\\nmuch bloodshed and the death of many of those\\nwhom they loved, but all those selfish considera-\\ntions were laid aside when they believed that\\nthe life of their country was at stake.\\nFor weeks preceding the commencement of\\nhostilities, farmers wives on the veld busied\\nthemselves with making serviceable corduroy\\nclothing, knapsacks, and bread bags for their\\nmale relatives who were certain to go on com-\\nmando and when it became known that an\\nultimatum would be sent to Great Britain, the\\nwomen prepared the burghers outfits, so that\\nthere should be no delay in the men s departure\\nfor the front as soon as the declaration of war\\nwas made.\\nNo greater or harder work was done by the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0281.jp2"}, "282": {"fulltext": "264\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nwomen during the entire war than that which\\nfell to their lot immediately following the formal\\ndeclaration of war by the authorities. In the\\nexcitement of the occasion the Government had\\nneglected to make any satisfactory arrange-\\nments for supplying the burghers with food\\nwhile on the journey to the front and afterward,\\nand consequently there was much suffering from\\nlack of provisions and supplies. At this junc-\\nture the Avomen came to the rescue, and in a\\ntrice they had remedied the great defect. Every\\nfarmhouse and every city residence became a\\nbakery, and for almost two months all the bread\\nconsumed by the burgher army was prepared\\nby the Boer women. Organizations were\\nformed for this purpose in every city and town\\nin the country, and by means of a well-planned\\ndivision of labour this improvised commissariat\\ndepartment was as effective as that which was\\nafterward organized by the Government. Cer-\\ntain women baked the bread, prepared sand-\\nwiches, and boiled coflee others procured the\\nsupplies, and others distributed the food at the\\nvarious railway stations through which the com-\\nmando trains passed, or carried it directly to\\nthe laagers. One of the women who was tire-\\nless in her efforts to feed the burghers and make\\nthem comfortable as they passed through Pre-\\ntoria on the railway was Mrs. F. W. Reitz, the\\nwife of the Transvaal State Secretary, and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0282.jp2"}, "283": {"fulltext": "Mrs. General Meyer.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0283.jp2"}, "284": {"fulltext": "266 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nnever a commando train passed through the\\ncapital that she was not there to distribute sand-\\nwiches, coffee, and milk.\\nWhen the first battles of the campaign had\\nbeen fought and the wounded were being\\nbrought from the front, the women again vol-\\nunteered to assist an embarrassed Government,\\nand no nobler, more energetic efforts to relieve\\nsuffering were ever made than those of the pa-\\ntriotic daughters of the Transvaal and Orange\\nFree State. Women from the farms assisted in\\nthe hospitals wives, who directed the herding\\nof cattle during the absence of their husbands,\\nwent to the towns and to the laager hospitals\\nyoung schoolgirls deserted their books and as-\\nsisted in giving relief to the burghers who were\\nbullet-maimed or in the delirium of fever. No\\nstation in life was unrepresented in the human-\\nitarian work. Two daughters of the former\\nPresident of the Transvaal, the Rev. Thomas\\nFrangois Burgers, were nurses in the Burke\\nHospital, in Pretoria, which was established and\\nmaintained by a Boer burgher. Miss Martha\\nMeyer, a daughter of General Lucas Meyer,\\ndevoted herself assiduously to the relief of the\\nwounded in the same hospital, and in the insti-\\ntution which Barney Barnato established in\\nJohannesburg there were scores of young\\nwomen nurses who cared for British and Boer\\nwounded with unprejudiced attention. In every", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0284.jp2"}, "285": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR 267\\nlaager at the front there were young Boer vrou-\\nwen who, under the protection of the Red Cross,\\nand indifferent to the creed, caste, or country of\\nthe wounded and dying, assuaged the suffering\\nof those who were intrusted to their care. In\\nthe hospital trains which carried the wounded\\nfrom the battlefields to the hospitals in Pretoria\\nand Johannesburg were Boer women who con-\\nsidered themselves particularly fortunate in\\nhaving been able to secure posts where they\\ncould be of service while at the stations where\\nthe trains halted were Boer women bearing\\nbaskets of fruit and bottles of milk for the un-\\nfortunate burghers and soldiers in the carriages.\\nWhen the war began and all the large mines\\non the Witwatersrand, and all the big industries\\nand stores in Johannesburg and Pretoria were\\nobliged to cease operations, much distress pre-\\nvailed among the poorer classes of foreigners\\nwho were left behind when the great exodus\\nwas concluded, and after a few months their\\npoverty became most acute. Again the Boer\\nwomen shouldered the burden, and in a thousand\\ndifferent wavs relieved the suffering: of those\\nwho were the innocent victims of the war. Sub-\\nscription lists were opened, and the wealthy\\nBoers contributed liberally to the fund for the\\ndistressed. Depots, where the needy could se-\\ncure food and clothing, were established while\\na soup kitchen, where Mrs. Peter Maritz Botha,", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0285.jp2"}, "286": {"fulltext": "268 THE BOERS IN WAR\\none of the wealthiest women in the republics,\\nstood behind a table and distributed food to\\nstarving men and women, was a veritable bless-\\ning to hundreds of needy foreigners. In Jo-\\nhannesburg, Boer women searched through the\\npoorest quarters of the city for families in need\\nof food or medicine, and never a needy individ-\\nual was neglected. Among the few thousand\\nBritish subjects who remained behind there\\nwere many who were in dire straits, but Boer\\nwomen made no distinction between friend and\\nenemy when there was an opportunity for per-\\nforming a charitable deed nor was their char-\\nity limited to civilians and those who were\\nneutral in their sentiments with regard to the\\nwar. When the British prisoners of war were\\nconfined in the race course at Pretoria the Boer\\nwomen sent many a wagon load of fruit, luxuries,\\nand reading matter to the soldiers who had been\\nsent against them to deprive them of that which\\nthey esteemed most the independence of their\\ncountr3^ The spirit which animated the women\\nwas never better exemplified than by the action\\nof a little Boer girl of about ten years who ap-\\nproached a British prisoner on the platform of\\nthe station at Kroonstad and gave him a bottle\\nof milk which she had kept carefully concealed\\nunder her apron. The soldier hardly had time\\nto thank her for her gift before she turned and\\nran away from him as rapidly as she had the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0286.jp2"}, "287": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR 269\\nstrength. It seemed as if she loved him as a\\nman in distress, but feared him as a soldier and\\nhated him as an enemy of her country.\\nBesides assisting in the care of the wounded,\\nthe baking of bread for the burghers, and giv-\\ning aid to the destitute, the women of the farms\\nwere obliged to attend to the flocks and herds\\nwhich were left in their charge when the fathers,\\nhusbands, and brothers went to the front to\\nfight. All the laborious duties of the farm were\\nperformed by the women, and it was common\\nto witness a woman at work on the fields or\\ndriving a long ox wagon along the roads. When\\nthe tide of war changed and the enemy drove\\nthe burghers to the soil of the republics, the\\nwork of the women became even more labo-\\nrious and diversified. The widely separated\\nfarmhouses then became typical lunch stations\\nfor the burghers, and the women willingly were\\nthe proprietresses. Boers journeying from one\\ncommando to another, or scouts and patrols on\\nactive duty, stopped at the farmhouses for food\\nfor themselves and their horses, and the women\\ngladly prepared the finest feasts their larders\\nafforded. No remuneration was ever accepted,\\nand the realization that they were giving even\\nindirect assistance to their country s cause was\\ndeemed sufficient payment for an)^ work per-\\nformed. Certain farmhouses which were situ-\\nated near frequently travelled roads became the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0287.jp2"}, "288": {"fulltext": "270\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nwell-known rendezvous of the burghers, and\\nthither all the women in the neighbourhood\\nwended their way to assist in preparing meals\\nfor them. Midway between Smaldeel and\\nPff^*^!^^:^\\nWife and children of John Steyl.\\nHouse was destroyed by British shortly after photograph was taken.\\nBrandfort was one of that class of farmhouses,\\nand never a meal time passed that Mrs. Barnard\\ndid not entertain from ten to fifty burghers.\\nNear Thaba N Chu was the residence of John", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0288.jp2"}, "289": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR\\n271\\nSteyl, a member of the Free State Raad, whose\\nwife frequently had more than a hundred\\nburgher guests at one meal. When the battle\\nof Sannaspost was being fought a short distance\\nfrom her home, Mrs. Steyl was on one of the\\nhills overlooking the battlefield, interspersing\\nthe watching of the progress of the battle with\\nprayers for the success of the burghers arms.\\nAs soon as she learned that the Boers had won\\nthe field she hastened home and prepared a\\nsumptuous meal for her husband, her thirteen-\\nyear-old son, and all the generals who took part\\nin the engagement.\\nWhen the winter season approached and the\\nburghers called upon the Government for the\\nheavy clothing which they themselves could\\nnot secure, there was another embarrassing\\nsituation, for there was only a small quantity of\\nready-made clothing in the country, and it was\\nnot an easy matter to secure it through the\\nblockaded port at Delagoa Bay. There was an\\nunlimited quantity of cloth in the country, but\\nas all the tailors were in the commandos at the\\nfront the difficulty of converting the material\\ninto suits and overcoats seemed to be insur-\\nmountable until the women found a way. Un-\\nmindful of the other vast duties they were en-\\ngaged in, they volunteered to make the cloth-\\ning, and thenceforth every Boer home was a\\ntailor s shop. President Kruger s daughters and", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0289.jp2"}, "290": {"fulltext": "272\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ngranddaughters, the Misses Eloff, who had been\\nforemost in many of the other charitable works,\\nundertook the management of the project, and\\nthey continued to preside over the labours of\\nseveral hundred women who worked in the High\\nCourt building in Pretoria until the British\\nforces entered the city. Thousands of suits of\\nclothing and overcoats were made and for-\\nwarded to the burghers in the field to protect\\nthem against the rigours of the South African\\nwinter s nights.\\nOne of the most conspicuous parts played in\\nthe war by the Boer women was that of urging\\ntheir husbands and sons to abbreviate their\\nleaves of absence and return to their comman-\\ndos. The mothers and wives of the burghers\\nof the republics gave many glorious examples of\\ntheir unselfishness and deep love of country, but\\nnone were of more material benefit than their\\nefforts to preserve the strength of the army in\\nthe field. When the burghers returned to their\\nhomes on furloughs of from five days to two\\nweeks the wives urged their immediate return,\\nand in many instances insisted that they should\\nrejoin their commandos forthwith, upon pain of\\nreceiving no food if they remained at home. It\\nwas one of the Boer s absolute necessities to have\\na furlough every two or three months, and unless\\nit was given to him by the officers he was more\\nthan likely to take it without the prescribed", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0290.jp2"}, "291": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR\\n273\\npermission. When burghers without such writ-\\nten permits reached their homes they were not\\nThe Misses Eloff.\\nGranddaughters of President Kruger.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0291.jp2"}, "292": {"fulltext": "274\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nreceived by their wives with the customary\\ncordiality, and the air of frigidity which encom-\\npassed them soon compelled them to return to\\nthe field. The Boer women despised a coward,\\nor a man who seemed to be shirking his duty to\\nhis country, and, not unlike their sisters in\\nlands of older civilization, they possessed the\\npower of expressing their disapprobation of\\nsuch acts. It was not uncommon for the women\\nto threaten to take their husbands posts of duty\\nif the men insisted upon remaining at home, and\\ninvariably the ruse was efficient in securing the\\nburghers early return.\\nDuring the war there were many instances\\nto prove that the Boer women of the end of the\\ncentury inherited the bravery and heroic forti-\\ntude of their ancestors, who fell victims to the\\nZulu assagais in the Natal Valley in 1838. The\\nBoer women were as anxious to take an active\\npart in the campaign as their grandmothers\\nwere at Weenen, and it was only in obedience\\nto the rules formulated by the officers that\\nAmazon corps were absent from the comman-\\ndos. Instances were not rare of women tres-\\npassing these regulations, and scores of Boer\\nwomen can claim the distinction of having taken\\npart in many bloody battles. Not a few yielded\\nup their life-blood on the altar of liberty, and\\nmany will carry the scars of bullet wounds to\\nthe grave.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0292.jp2"}, "293": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR\\n275\\nIn the early part of the campaign there was\\nno military rule which forbade women journey-\\ning to the front, and in consequence the laagers\\nGeneral and Mrs. Louis Botha.\\nenjoyed the presence of many of the wives and\\ndaughters of the burghers. Commandant-Gen-\\neral Joubert set an example to his men by\\n19", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0293.jp2"}, "294": {"fulltext": "276 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nhaving Mrs. Joubert continually with him on\\nhis campaigning trips, and the burghers were\\nnot slow in patterning after him. While the\\ngreater part of the army lay around besieged\\nLadysmith, large numbers of women were in\\nthe laagers, and they were continually busying\\nthemselves with the preparation of food for\\ntheir relatives and with the care of the sick and\\nwounded. Not infrequently did the women\\naccompany their husbands to the trenches along\\nthe Tugela front, and it was asserted, with every\\nevidence of veracity, that many of them used\\nthe rifles against the enemy with even more\\nardour and precision than the men. On Feb-\\nruary 28th, while the fighting around Pieter s\\nHill was at its height, the British forces cap-\\ntured a Boer woman of nineteen years who had\\nbeen fatally wounded. Before she died she\\nstated that she had been fighting from the same\\ntrench with her husband, and that he had been\\nkilled only a few minutes before a bullet struck\\nher.\\nWhile the Boer army was having its many\\nearly successes in Natal few of the women par-\\ntook in the actual warfare from choice or be-\\ncause they believed that it was necessary for\\nthem to fight. The majority of those who were\\nin the engagements happened to be with their\\nhusbands when the battles were begun and had\\nno opportunity of escaping. The burghers ob-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0294.jp2"}, "295": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR\\n277\\njected to the presence of women within the\\nfiring lines, and every effort was made to pre-\\nvent them from being in dangerous localities;\\nbut when it was impossible to transfer them to\\nplaces of safety during the heat of the battle,\\nthere was no alternative but to provide them\\nwith rifles and bandoliers so that they might\\nprotect themselves. The half hundred women\\nwho endured the horrors of the siege at Paarde-\\nberg with Cronje s small band of warriors chose\\nto remain with their husbands and brothers\\nwhen Lord Roberts offered to convey them\\nto places of safety but they were in no\\nwise an impediment to the burghers, for they\\nassisted in digging trenches and wielded the\\ncarbines as assiduously as the most energetic\\nmen.\\nOne of the women who received the Gov-\\nernment s sanction to join a commando was\\nMrs. Otto Krantz, the wife of a professional\\nhunter. Mrs. Krantz accompanied her husband\\nto Natal at the commencement of hostilities and\\nremained in the field during almost the entire\\ncampaign in that colony. In the battle of\\nElandslaagte, where some of the hardest hand-\\nto-hand fighting of the war occurred, this\\nAmazon was by the side of her husband in the\\nthick of the engagement, but escaped unscathed.\\nLater she took part in the battles along the\\nTugela, and, when affairs in the Free State ap-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0295.jp2"}, "296": {"fulltext": "278 THE BOERS IN WAR\\npeared to be threatening, she was one of the\\nfirst to go to the scene of action in that part of\\nthe country.\\nAmong the prisoners captured by the British\\nforces at Colesburg were three Boer women\\nwho wore men s clothing, but it was not until\\nafter they had been confined in the prison ship\\nat Cape Town for several weeks that their sex\\nwas discovered. A real little Boertje was\\nHelena Herbst Wagner, of Zeerust, who spent\\nfive months in the laagers and in the trenches\\nwithout her identity being revealed. Her hus-\\nband went to the field early in the war and left\\nher alone with a baby. The infant died in Jan-\\nuary, and the disconsolate widow donned her\\nhusband s clothing, obtained a rifle and bando-\\nlier, and went to the Natal front to search for\\nher soldier spouse. Failing to find him, she\\njoined the forces of Commandant Ben Viljoen\\nand faced bullets, bombs, and lyddite at Spion\\nKop, Pont Drift, and Pieter s Hills. During\\nthe retreat to Von Tonder s Nek the young\\nwoman learned that her husband lay seriously\\nwounded in the Johannesburg Hospital, and she\\ndeserted the army temporarily.\\nWhen Louis Botha became commandant\\ngeneral of the army he issued an order that\\nwomen should not be permitted to visit the\\nlaagers, and few if any took part in the engage-\\nments for some time thereafter. When the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0296.jp2"}, "297": {"fulltext": "BOER AYOMEN IN THE AVAR\\n279\\nforces of the enemy approached Pretoria the\\nwomen made heroic efforts to encourage the\\nburghers, and frequently went to the laagers to\\ncheer them to renewed resistance. Mrs. General\\nMrs. General Meyer preparing her husband s breakfast.\\nBotha and Mrs. General Me3^er were speciall}^\\nenergetic and effective in their efforts to instil\\nnew courage in the men, and during the war\\nthere was no scene which was more edifying\\nthan that of those patriotic Boer women riding", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0297.jp2"}, "298": {"fulltext": "28o THE BOERS IN WAR\\nabout the laagers and beseeching the burghers\\nnot to yield to despair.\\nOn the 15th of May more than a thousand\\nwomen assembled in the Government buildings\\nat Pretoria for the purpose of deciding upon a\\ncourse of action in the terrible crisis which con-\\nfronted the republic. It was the gravest assem-\\nblage that was ever gathered together in the\\ncity a veritable concourse of Spartan mothers.\\nThere was little speech, for the hearts of all\\nwere heavy, and tears were more plentiful than\\nwords, but the result of the meeting was the\\nbest testimonial of its value.\\nIt was determined to ask the Government to\\nsend to the front all the men who were em-\\nployed in the commissariat, the Red Cross,\\nschools, post and telegraph offices, and to fill\\nthe vacancies thus created with women. A\\nmemorial, signed by Mrs. H. S. Bosnian, Mrs.\\nGeneral Louis Botha, Mrs. F. Eloff, Mrs. P. M.\\nBotha, and Mrs. F. W. Reitz, was adopted for\\ntransmission to the Government, asking for per-\\nmission to make such changes in the commis-\\nsariat and other departments, and ending with\\nthese two significant clauses\\nI. A message of encouragement will be sent\\nto our burghers who are at the front, beseeching\\nthem to present a determined stand against the\\nenemy in the defence of our sacred cause, and\\npointing out to those who are losing heart the", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0298.jp2"}, "299": {"fulltext": "BOER WOMEN IN THE WAR 28 1\\nterrible consequences which will follow should\\nthey prove weak and wanting in courage at the\\npresent crisis in our affairs.\\n2. The women throughout the whole State\\nare requested to provide themselves with weap-\\nons, in the first instance to be employed in self-\\ndefence, and secondly so that they may be in a\\nposition to place themselves entirely at the dis-\\nposition of the Government.\\nThe last request was rather superfluous, in\\nview of the fact that the majority of the women\\nin the Transvaal were already provided with\\narms. There was hardly a Boer homestead\\nwhich was not supplied with enough rifles for\\nall the members of the family, and there were\\nbut few women who were not adepts in the use\\nof firearms. In Pretoria a woman s shooting\\nclub was organized at the outset of the war,\\nand among the best shots were the Misses\\nEloff, the President s granddaughters Mrs.\\nVan Alphen, the wife of the Postmaster Gen-\\neral and Mrs. Reitz, the wife of the State Sec-\\nretary. The object of the organization was to\\ntrain the members in the use of the rifle, so that\\nthey might defend the city against the enemy.\\nThe club members took great pride in the fact\\nthat Mrs. Paul Kruger was the president of the\\norganization, and it was mutually agreed that\\nthe aged woman should be constantly guarded\\nby them in the event of Pretoria being be-", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0299.jp2"}, "300": {"fulltext": "282 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nsieged. Happily, the city was not obliged to\\nexperience that horror, and the club members\\nwere spared the ordeal of protecting President\\nand Mrs. Kruger with their rifles as they had\\nvowed to do.\\nThe Boer women endured many discomforts,\\nsuffered many griefs, and bore many heartaches\\non account of the war and its varying fortunes,\\nbut throughout all they acted bravely. There\\nwere no wild outbursts of grief when fathers,\\nhusbands, brothers, or sons were killed in battle,\\nand no untoward exclamations of joy when one\\nof them earned distinction on the field. Re-\\nverses of the army were made the occasions for\\na renewed display of patriotism, or the signal\\nfor the sending of another relative to the field.\\nUnselfishness marked all the works of the woman\\nof the city and veld, and the welfare of the coun-\\ntry was her only ambition. She might have had\\nerroneous opinions concerning the justice of the\\nwar and the causes which were responsible for\\nit but she realized that the land for which her\\nmother and grandmother had wept and bled,\\nand for which all those whom she loved were\\nfighting and dying, was in distress, and she was\\npatriotic enough to offer herself for a sacrifice\\non her country s altar.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0300.jp2"}, "301": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XI\\nINCIDENTS OF THE WAR\\nIn every battle, and even in a day s life in\\nthe laagers, there were multitudes of interest-\\ning incidents as only such a war produces, and,\\nalthough Sherman s saying that war is hell\\nwas as true then as it ever was, there was always\\na plenitude of amusing spectacles and events\\nto lighten the burdens of the fighting burghers.\\nThere were the sad sides of warfare, as natu-\\nrally there would be, but to these the men in\\nthe armies soon became hardened, and only\\nthe amusing scenes made any lasting impres-\\nsion upon their minds. It was strange that\\nwhen a burgher saw one of his fellow-burgh-\\ners killed in a horrible manner, and witnessed\\nan amusing runaway, after the battle he should\\nrelate the details of the latter and say nothing\\nof the former, but such was usually the case.\\nMen came out of the bloody Spion Kop fight\\nand related amusing incidents of the struggle,\\nwhile they never touched upon the grave phases\\nuntil long afterward, when their fund of laugh-\\n283", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0301.jp2"}, "302": {"fulltext": "284 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nable experiences was exhausted. After the bat-\\ntle of Sannaspost the burghers would tell of\\nnothing but the amusing manner in which the\\ndrivers of the British transport wagons acted\\nwhen they found that they had fallen into the\\nhands of the Boers in the bed of the spruit, and\\nthe fun the burghers had in pursuing the fleeing\\ncavalrymen. At the end of almost every battle\\nthere was some conspicuous amusing incident\\nwhich was told and retold and laughed about\\nuntil a new and fresh story came to light to take\\nits place.\\nIn one of the days fighting at Magersfontein\\na number of youthful Boers, who were in their\\nfirst battle, allowed about one hundred High-\\nlanders to approach within a hundred yards\\nof the trench in which they were concealed,\\nand then sprang out and shouted Hands up\\nThe Highlanders were completely surprised,\\npromptly threw down their arms, and ad-\\nvanced with hands above their heads. One of\\nthe young Boers approached them, then called\\nhis friends, and, scratching his head, asked,\\nWhat shall we do with them? There was\\na brief consultation, and it was decided to al-\\nlow the Highlanders to return to their column.\\nWhen the young burghers arrived at the Boer\\nlaager with the captured rifles and bandoliers\\nGeneral Cronje asked them why they did not\\nbring the men. The youths looked at each", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0302.jp2"}, "303": {"fulltext": "INCIDENTS OF THE WAR\\n285\\nOther for a while, then one replied, rather\\nsheepishly, We did not know they were\\nwanted. In the same battle an old Boer had\\nhis first view of the quaintly dressed High-\\nlanders, and at a distance mistook them for a\\nherd of ostriches from a farm that was known\\nto be in the neighbourhood, refused to fire\\nupon them, and persuaded all the burghers in\\nhis and the neighbouring trenches that they\\nwere ostriches and not human beings.\\nDuring the second battle at Colenso a large\\nnumber of Boers swam across the river and\\ncaptured thirty or forty British soldiers who\\nhad lost the way and had taken refuge in a\\nsluit. An old takhaar among the Boers had\\ndiscarded almost all his clothing before entering\\nthe river and was rather an amusing spectacle\\nin shirt, bandolier, and rifle. One of the Brit-\\nish soldiers went up to the takhaar, looked at\\nhim from head to foot and, after saluting most\\nservilely, inquired, To what regiment do you\\nbelong, sir? The Boer returned the salute,\\nand, without smiling, replied, I am one of\\nRhodes s uncivilized Boers,* sir. In the same\\nfight an ammunition wagon, heavily laden and\\ncovered with a huge piece of duck, was in an\\nexposed position and attracted the fire of the\\nBritish artillery. General Meyer and a number\\nof burghers were near the wagon and were\\nwaiting for a lull in the bombardment, in order", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0303.jp2"}, "304": {"fulltext": "286 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nto take the vehicle to a place of safety. They\\ncounted thirty-five shells that fell around the\\nwagon without striking it, and then the firing\\nceased. Several men were sent forward to\\nmove the vehicle, and when they were within\\na few yards of it two Kafirs crept from under\\nthe duck covering, shook themselves, and walked\\naway as if nothing had interrupted their sleep.\\nIn the Pretoria commando there was a young\\nprofessional photographer named Reginald\\nSheppard who carried his camera and apparatus\\nwith him during the greater part of the cam-\\npaign, and took photographs whenever he had\\nan opportunity. On the morning of the Spion\\nKop fight, when the burghers were preparing\\nto make the attack on the enem}^, Mr. Sheppard\\ngathered all the burghers of the Carolina laager\\nand posed them for a photograph. He was on\\nthe point of exposing the plate when a shrapnel\\nshell exploded above the group, and every one\\nfled. The camera was left behind and all the\\nmen went into the battle. In the afternoon\\nwhen the engagement had ended, it was found\\nthat another shell had torn off one of the legs of\\nthe camera s tripod and that forty-three of the\\nmen who were in the group in the morning had\\nbeen killed or wounded. Before the same battle\\none of the Boer generals asked Mr. Sheppard\\nto photograph him, as he had had a premonition\\nof death and he desired that his family should", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0304.jp2"}, "305": {"fulltext": "INCIDENTS OF THE WAR\\n287\\nhave a good likeness of him. The general was\\nin the heat of the fight, but he was not killed.\\nWhile Ladysmith was being besieged by the\\nBoers there were many interesting incidents in\\nthe laagers of the burghers, even if there was\\nlittle of exciting interest. In the Staats Artillery\\nthere w^ere many young Boers who were con-\\nstantly inventing new forms of amusement for\\nthemselves and the older burghers, and some\\nof the games were as hazardous as they seemed\\nto be interesting to the participants.\\nThe Long Tom on Bulwana Hill was fired\\nonly when the burghers were in the mood, but\\noccasionally the artillery youths desired to\\namuse themselves and then they operated the\\ngun as rapidly as its mechanism would allow.\\nWhen the big gun had been discharged the\\nyoung Boers were wont to climb on the top of\\nthe sand bags behind which it was concealed\\nand watch for the explosion of the shell in\\nLadysmith. After each shot from the Boer gun\\nit was customary for the British to reply with\\none or more of their cannon and attempt to dis-\\nlodge Long Tom. After seeing the flash of\\nthe British guns the boy burghers on the sand\\nbags waited until they heard the report of the\\nexplosion, then called out, I spy as a warning\\nthat the shell would be coming along in two or\\nthree seconds, and quietly jumped down behind\\nthe bags while the missile passed over their", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0305.jp2"}, "306": {"fulltext": "288 THE BOERS IN WAR\\nheads. It was a dangerous game, and the old\\nburghers frequently warned them against play-\\ning it, but they continued it daily, and no one\\nwas ever injured.\\nThe men who operated the heliographs at\\nthe Tugela were a witty lot, and they frequently\\nheld long conversations with each other when\\nthere were no messages to be sent or received\\nby their respective officers. In February the\\nBoer operator signalled to the British operator\\non the other side of the river and asked When\\nis General BuUer coming over here for that\\nChristmas dinner? It is becoming cold and\\ntasteless. The good-natured Briton evaded\\nthe question, and asked the Boer concerning the\\ndate of Paul Kruger s coronation as King of\\nSouth Africa. The long-distance conversation\\ncontinued in the same vein, each operator try-\\ning to have amusement at the expense of the\\nother. What probably was the most mirth-\\nprovoking communication between the com-\\nbatants in the early part of the campaign was\\nthe letter which Colonel Baden-Powell sent to\\nGeneral Snyman, late in December, and the\\nreply to it. Colonel Baden-Powell, in his letter,\\nwhich was several thousand words in length,\\ntold his besieger that it was utter folly for the\\nBoers to continue fighting such a great power\\nas Great Britain, that the British army was in-\\nvincible, that the Boers were fighting for an", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0306.jp2"}, "307": {"fulltext": "INCIDENTS OF THE WAR 289\\nunjust cause, and that the British had the sym-\\npathy of the American nation. General Sny-\\nman made a brief reply, the gist of which was,\\nCome out and fight.\\nThe Earl of Rosslyn, who was captured by\\nthe Boers at the Moestershoek fight in the\\nFree State in April, was the author of a large\\nnumber of communications which were almost\\nas mirthful as Colonel Baden-Powell s effort.\\nWhen he was made a prisoner of war, Rosslyn\\nhad a diary filled with the most harrowing per-\\nsonal experiences ever penned, and it was chiefly\\non that evidence that General De Wet sent him\\nwith the other prisoners to Pretoria. The earl\\nprotested against being sent to Pretoria, assert-\\ning that he was a war correspondent and a non-\\ncombatant, and despatched most pitiful tele-\\ngrams to Presidents Kruger and Steyn, State\\nSecretary Reitz, and a host of other officials,\\ndemanding an instant release from custody. In\\nthe telegrams he stated that he was a peer of\\nthe realm that all doubts on that point could\\nbe dispelled by a reference to Burke s Peerage\\nthat he was not a fighting man that it would\\nbe disastrous to his reputation as a correspond-\\nent if he were not released in order that he\\nmight cable an exclusive account of the Moes-\\ntershoek battle to his newspaper and finally\\nended by demanding his instant release and safe\\nconduct to the British lines. The Boers installed", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0307.jp2"}, "308": {"fulltext": "290\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nthe earl in the officers prison, and printed his\\ntelegrams in the newspapers, with the result\\nthat Rosslyn was the most laughed-at man that\\nappeared in the Boer countries during the\\nwhole course of the war.\\nSeveral days before Commandant-General\\nJoubert died he related an amusing story of an\\nIrishman who was taken prisoner in one of the\\nNatal battles. The Irishman was slightly wound-\\ned in one of his hands, and it was decided to\\nsend him to the British lines together with all\\nthe other wounded prisoners, but he refused to\\nbe sent back. After he had protested strenu-\\nously to several other Boer officers, the soldier\\nwas taken before General Joubert, who pointed\\nout to him the advantages of being with his\\nown people and the discomforts of a military\\nprison. The Irishman Avould not waver in his\\ndetermination, and finally exclaimed I claim\\nmy rights as a prisoner of war, and refuse to\\nallow myself to be sent back. I have a wife and\\ntwo children in Ireland, and I know what is\\ngood for my health. The man was so obdu-\\nrate. General Joubert said, that he could do\\nnothing but send him to the Pretoria military\\nprison.\\nAn incident of an almost similar nature oc-\\ncurred at the battle of Sannaspost, where the\\nBoers captured almost two hundred wagons.\\nAmong the convoy was a Red Cross ambulance", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0308.jp2"}, "309": {"fulltext": "be\\na.\\no\\nOh\\n20", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0309.jp2"}, "310": {"fulltext": "292\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nwagon filled with rifles and a small quantity of\\nammunition. The Boers unloaded the wagon,\\nand then informed the physician in charge of it\\nthat he might proceed and rejoin the column to\\nwhich he had been attached. The physician\\ndeclined to move, and explained his action by\\nsaying that he had violated the laws of the\\ninternational Red Cross, and would therefore\\nconsider himself and his assistant prisoners of\\nwar. General Christian De Wet would not\\naccept them as prisoners, and trekked south-\\nward, leaving them behind to rejoin the British\\ncolumn several days afterward.\\nDuring the war it was continually charged\\nby both combatants that dum-dum bullets were\\nbeing used, and undoubtedly there was ample\\nfoundation for the charges. Both Boers and\\nBritish used that particular kind of expansive\\nbullet, notwithstanding all the denials that were\\nmade in newspapers and orations. After the\\nbattle of Pieter s Hills, on February 28th, Dr.\\nKrieger, General Meyer s staff physician, went\\ninto General Sir Charles Warren s camp for\\nthe purpose of exchanging wounded prisoners.\\nAfter the interchange of prisoners had been ac-\\ncomplished, General Warren produced a dum-\\ndum bullet which had been found on a dead\\nBoer s body, and, showing it to Dr. Krieger,\\nasked him why the Boers used the variety of\\ncartridge that was not sanctioned by the rules", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0310.jp2"}, "311": {"fulltext": "INCIDENTS OF THE WAR\\n293\\nof civilized warfare. Dr. Krieger took the car-\\ntridge in his hand, and after examining it, re-\\nturned it to Sir Charles with the remark that it\\nwas a British Lee-Metford dum-dum. General\\nWarren seemed to be greatly nonplussed when\\nseveral of his officers confirmed the physician s\\nstatement, and informed him that a large stock\\nof dum-dum cartridges had been captured by\\nthe Boers at Dundee. It is an undeniable fact\\nthat the Boers captured thousands of rounds of\\ndumdum cartridges which bore the broad\\narrow of the British army, and used them in\\nsubsequent battles. It was stated in Pretoria\\nthat the Boers had a small stock of dum-dum\\nammunition which was kept back from the\\nburghers at the front, at the request of Presi-\\ndent Kruger, who strongly opposed the use of\\nan expansive bullet in warfare. It was an easy\\nmatter, however, for the Boers to convert their\\nordinary Mauser cartridges into dum-dums by\\nsimply cutting off the point of the bullet, and\\nthis Avas occasionally done.\\nOne of the pluckiest men in the Boer army\\nwas Arthur Donnelly, a young Irish-American\\nfrom San Francisco, who served in the Pretoria\\ndetective force for several years, and went to\\nthe war in one of the commandos under General\\nCronje. At the battle of Koodesberg Donnelly\\nand Captain Higgins, of the Duke of Cornwall s\\nregiment, both lay behind ant heaps several", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0311.jp2"}, "312": {"fulltext": "294\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nhundred yards apart, and engaged in a duel\\nwith carbines for almost an hour. After Don-\\nnelly had fired seventeen shots Captain Higgins\\nwas fatally wounded by a bullet, and lifted his\\nhandkerchief in token of surrender. When the\\nyoung Irish-American reached him the officer\\nwas bleeding profusely, and started to say, You\\nwere a better man than I, but he died in Don-\\nnelly s arms before he could utter the last two\\nwords of the sentence. At Magersfontein Don-\\nnelly was in a perilous position between the two\\nforces, and realized that he could not escape\\nbeing captured by the British. He saw a num-\\nber of cavalrymen sweeping down upon him,\\nand started to run in an opposite direction. Be-\\nfore he had proceeded a long distance he stum-\\nbled across the corpse of a Red Cross physician,\\nwhich lay partly concealed under tall grass. In\\na moment Donnelly had exchanged his own\\npapers and credentials for those in the physician s\\npockets, and a minute later the cavalrymen were\\nupon him. He was sent to Cape Town and\\nconfined in the prison ship Manila, from which\\nhe and two other Boers attempted to escape on\\nNew Year s night. One of the men managed\\nto reach the water without being observed by\\nthe guards, and swam almost three miles to\\nshore, but Donnelly and the other prisoner did\\nnot succeed in their project. Several days later\\nhe was released on account of his Red Cross", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0312.jp2"}, "313": {"fulltext": "mt\\n03\\na\\no\\na\\n.2\\nm", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0313.jp2"}, "314": {"fulltext": "296\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\ncredentials, and was sent to the British front to\\nbe delivered to the Boer commander. He was\\ntaken out under a flag of truce by several un-\\narmed British officers, and several armed Boers\\nwent to receive him. While the transfer was\\nbeing made a British horseman, with an order\\nto the officers to hold the prisoner, dashed up\\nto the group and delivered his message. The\\nofficers attempted to take Donnelly back to\\ncamp with them, but he refused to go, and, tak-\\ning one of the Boer s rifles, ordered them to\\nreturn without him a command which they\\nobeyed with alacrity, in view of the fact that\\nall of them were unarmed, while the Boers had\\ncarbines.\\nWhen the British column under Colonel\\nBroadwood left the village of Thaba N Chu on\\nMarch 30th all the British inhabitants were in-\\nvited to accompany the force to Bloemfontein,\\nwhere they might have the protection of a\\nstronger part of the army. Among those who\\naccepted the invitation were four women and\\nfour children, ranging in ages from sixteen\\nmonths to fifteen years. When the column was\\nattacked by the Boers at Sannaspost the follow-\\ning morning the women and children were sent\\nby the Boers to a culvert in the incomplete rail-\\nway line which crossed the battlefield, and they\\nremained there during almost the entire engage-\\nment. They were in perfect safety, so far as", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0314.jp2"}, "315": {"fulltext": "INCIDENTS OF THE WAR\\n297\\nbeing actually out of the line of fire was con-\\ncerned, but bullets and shells swept over and\\nexploded near them, and they were in constant\\nterror of being killed. The nervous tension\\nwas so great and continued for such a long\\ntime that one of the children, a twelve-year-old\\ndaughter of Mrs. J. Shaw McKinlay, became in-\\nsane shortly after the battle was ended.\\nAn incident of the same fight was a duel be-\\ntween two captains of the opposing forces. In\\nthe early part of the engagement the burghers\\nand the soldiers were so close together that\\nmany hand-to-hand encounters took place, and\\nmany a casualty followed. Captain Scheppers,\\nof the Boer heliographers, desired to make a\\nprisoner ot a British captain and asked him\\nto surrender. The British officer said that he\\nwould not be captured alive, drew his sword,\\nand attempted to use it. The Boer grasped the\\nblade and wrenched the sword from the officer s\\nhand and knocked him off his horse. The\\nBriton fired several revolver shots at Scheppers\\nwhile the Boer was running a short distance for\\nhis carbine, but missed him. After Scheppers\\nhad secured his rifle the tAvo fired five or six\\nshots at each other at a range of about ten yards,\\nand with equal lack of skill missed. Finally,\\nScheppers hit the officer in the chest and laid\\nhim low. At the same time, near the same spot,\\ntwo Boers called upon a recruit in Roberts s", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0315.jp2"}, "316": {"fulltext": "298\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nhorse to surrender, but the young soldier was\\nso thoroughly frightened that he held his rifle\\nperpendicularly in front of him, and emptied\\nthe magazine toward the clouds.\\nWhile the siege of Ladysmith was in prog-\\nress, Piet Boueer, of the Pretoria commando,\\nmade a remarkable shot, which was considered\\nas the record during the Natal campaign. He\\nand several other Boers were standing on one\\nof the hills near the laager, when they ob-\\nserved three British soldiers emerging from one\\nof the small forts on the outskirts of the city.\\nThe distance was about fourteen hundred yards,\\nor almost one mile, but Boueer fired at the men,\\nand the one who was walking between the others\\nfell. The two fled to the fort, but returned to\\nthe spot a short time afterward, and the Boer\\nfired at them a second time. The bullet raised\\na small cloud of dust between the men, and they\\ndid not return until night for their companion,\\nwho had undoubtedly been killed by the first\\nshot. There were many other excellent marks-\\nmen in the Boer army whose ability was often\\ndemonstrated in the interim of battles. After\\n1897 shooting clubs were organized at Pretoria,\\nPotchefstroom, Krugersdorp, Klerksdorp, Jo-\\nhannesburg, and Heidelberg, and frequent con-\\ntests were held between the various organiza-\\ntions. In the last contest before the war E.\\nBlignaut, of Johannesburg, won the prize by", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0316.jp2"}, "317": {"fulltext": "INCIDENTS OF THE WAR\\n299\\nmaking one hundred and three out of a possible\\none hundred and five points, the weapon having\\nbeen a Mauser at a range of seven hundred\\nyards. These contests naturally developed many\\nfine marksmen, and in consequence it was not\\nconsidered an extraordinary feat for a man to\\nkill a running hare at five hundred yards. While\\nthe Boers were waiting for Lord Roberts s ad-\\nvance from Bloemfontein, Commandant Blig-\\nnaut, of the Transvaal, killed three running\\nspringbok at a range of more than seventeen\\nhundred yards a feat witnessed by a score of\\npersons.\\nThe Boers were not without their periods of\\ndepression during the war, but when these had\\npassed there were none who laughed more\\nheartily over their actions during those periods\\nthan they. The first deep gloom that the Boers\\nexperienced was after the three great defeats\\nat Paardeberg, Kimberley, and Lad3 Smith, and\\nthe minor reverses at Abraham s Kraal, Poplar\\nGrove, and Bloemfontein. It was amusing, yet\\npitiful, to see an army lose all control of itself,\\nand flee like wild animals before a forest fire.\\nAs soon as the fight at Poplar Grove was lost,\\nthe burghers mounted their horses and fled\\nnorthward. President Kruger and the oflficers\\ncould do nothing but follow them. They passed\\nthrough Bloemfontein and excited the popula-\\ntion there then, evading roads and despising", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0317.jp2"}, "318": {"fulltext": "300\\nTHE BOERS IN WAR\\nrailway transportation, rode straight across the\\nveld, and never drew rein until they reached\\nBrandfort, more than thirty miles from Poplar\\nGrove. Hundreds did not stop even at Brand-\\nfort, but continued over the veld until they\\nreached their homes in the north of the Free\\nState and in the Transvaal. In their alarm they\\ndestroyed all the railway bridges and tracks as\\nfar north as Smaldeel, sixty miles from Bloem-\\nfontein, and made their base at Kroonstad, al-\\nmost forty miles farther north. A week later a\\nsmall number of the more daring burghers sal-\\nlied toward Bloemfontein, and found that not\\na single British soldier was north of that city.\\nSo fearful were they of the British army before\\nthe discovery of their foolish flight, that two\\nthousand British cavalrymen could hav^e sent\\nthem all across the Vaal River.\\nTHE END", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0318.jp2"}, "319": {"fulltext": "ifes-\\nM aklutsi^\\nPakwe\\n/Rhodes\\nDrift\\nH\\n32\\no\\nfdrgenholjz c\\nff-/^ Zoutm\\nKop BMuberg^(.--^|A^^j^^. L_^^ Kop\\nleliki t o ;;;_:,\u00e2\u0080\u009ei,\u00e2\u0080\u009ej, _ r W-= Fitzgerald\\n^etoba^\\n^Monjebodi\\nhbane\\nZundd^Mt.]\\n^4\\ntf.\\n^t*^\\nit.*\\n}^;y ^p^\\n^^^oh\\nant\\nI Maraba\\n[Km.\\nKoogebomenA^ Ki||erspo\\\\t3 Pagriure-Rest pJX\\nXCfdenburg Komati p^ \\\\T\\\\^^.~\\nySmits^\\ndorp\\nf Vaalbpscnmntein (Roossen\\nFt|MbeS\\nlifant/\\nSi\\nJ s:\\nfliddelburgyi\\nw", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0319.jp2"}, "320": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0320.jp2"}, "321": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2098", "width": "2396", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0321.jp2"}, "322": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0322.jp2"}, "323": {"fulltext": "TWO TIMELY BOOKS.\\n^^The True Story of the Boers/^\\nOom Paul s People.\\nBy Howard C. Hillegas. With Illustrations. i zmo.\\nCloth, ^1.50.\\nGives precisely the information necessary to those who desire to follow\\nintelligently the progress of events at the present time. New York Com-\\nmercial Advertiser.\\nHas all the timeliness of an up-to-date newspaper article in fact, some\\nportions of it read almost like a cablegram from the Transvaal. New York\\nSunday World.\\nA book on the Boer troubles that is free from British prejudices and\\nmisrepresentations. It is the best book of the hour in its unbiased pres-\\nentation of the Boer side of the controversy. Chicago Tribune.\\nActual Africa or, The Coming Continent.\\nA Tour of Exploration. By Frank Vincent. With Map\\nand 104 full-page Illustrations. 8vo. Cloth, J55.00.\\nMr. Vincent s important and instructive book has a peculiar interest for\\nreaders at this time. The author presents vivid accounts of his visits to\\nDelagoa Bay, and to Durban, in Natal, whence he traveled to Newcastle,\\nCharlestown, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. Mr. Vincent gives most graphic\\naccounts of the life of the Boers, and the mining and other interests of the\\nTransvaal. His visit to the Transvaal was followed by a journey through\\nthe Orange Free State, where he visited the capital, Bloemfontein, and after-\\nward he made a careful study of the Kimberley diamond mines. His journey\\nsouthward and his stay in Cape Town furnished additional facilities for a\\ncomprehensive view of the present theater of action in Africa. The results\\nof this personal study of the territory now attracting so much attention in-\\nclude many characteristic illustrations.\\nThe completest guide-book to the Dark Continent ever published.\\nNew York Herald.\\nAPPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0323.jp2"}, "324": {"fulltext": "ALASKA AND THE KLONDIKE.\\nBY ANGELO HEILPRIN*\\nA Journey to the New Eldorado, With Hints to the Traveler\\nand Observations on the Physical History and Geology of the\\nGold Regions, the Condition of and Methods of Working the\\nKlondike Placers, and the Laws Governing and Regulating Min-\\ning in the Northwest Territory of Canada. By Angelo Heil-\\nPRiN, Professor of Geology at the Academy of Natural Sciences\\nof Philadelphia, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of Lon-\\ndon, Past- President of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia,\\netc. Fully illustrated from Photographs and with a new Map of\\nthe Gold Regions. i zmo. Cloth, ^1.75.\\nWill take and retain immediate rank as a contribution of essential value\\nnot only to the literature of travel, but to that of American commercial and\\npolitical development. Should be in the hands of every person interested\\neither in fact or in prospect in Alaska and the Klondike. Brooklyn Standard-\\nUnion.\\nFor the first time the new gold fields of the North have been dealt with\\nby a scientific man capable of weighing evidence. Chicago E vening Post.\\nPresents for the first time a plain, straightforward story of what he saw,\\nhow he saw it, the men and things he met, what the hardships were and how\\nhe overcame them. The book is fully illustrated. It is replete with valuable\\nhints and instruction, and students of the gold problem in Alaska ought to ap-\\npreciate it. The entire subject has been developed with extreme care and great\\nthoroughness. Boston Globe.\\nIt is among the practical books, everywhere bearing evidence of its relia-\\nbility. The story of the journey is told with enough of personal incidents and\\naccidents of travel to make every page interesting to the general reader, and it\\nwill be found of practical value to those intending to make the hard journey.\\nChicago Inter-Ocean.\\n**Mr. Heilprin observed Dawson with the eyes of a student of great scien\\ntific attainments, who had little in common with the crowd of elemental and\\nuncouth men gathered there, or with their life 5 and he noted many things\\nwhich they themselves probably accepted as matters of course, besides writing\\nan important scientific treatise. Boston Herald.\\n**It is noticeably fair-minded in its presentation of facts the work of a\\nclear-minded and well-trained observer. Neiv York Outlook.\\nThe first adequate presentation of the Klondike gold problem made by a\\ngeologist. Neiv Tork Mail and Express.\\nD. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0324.jp2"}, "325": {"fulltext": "THREE IMPORTANT BOOKS.\\nRecollections of the Civil Wan\\nBy Charles A. Dana. With Portrait and Index. Large\\ni2mo. Gilt top, uncut, $2.00.\\nThe book will rank among the trustworthy sources of knowledge of the\\ncivil war. Neiv York E vening Post.\\n**Mr. Dana s official position as Assistant Secretary of War while the re-\\nbellion was in progress gave him exceptional opportunities of observation which\\nhe was keen to take advantage of, while his rare gift of terse and vivid expres-\\nsion enabled him to record what he saw in a series of pen pictures that are little\\nless than instantaneous photographs. The feature par excellence of these\\nreminiscences is their interesting character. He tells you briefly but\\ngraphically what he saw, heard, or did himself. One gains a very real and\\npersonal knowledge of the war from these Recollections. Chicago Times-\\nHerald.\\nCannon and Camera.\\nSea and Land Battles of the Spanish-American War in\\nCuba, Camp Life, and the Return of the Soldiers. De-\\nscribed and illustrated by J. C. Hemment, War Artist at\\nthe Front. With over one hundred full-page pictures\\ntaken by the Author, and an Index. Large i2mo. Cloth,\\n$2.00.\\nAccurate as well as picturesque. Mr. Hemment has done his work\\nwell. In point of faithful realism there has thus far been nothing better in the\\nwhole war literature. Boston Journal.\\nPuerto Rico and its Resources.\\nA book for Travelers, Investors, and others, containing\\nFull Accounts of Natural Features and Resources, Prod-\\nucts, People, Opportunities for Business, etc. By Fred-\\nerick A. Ober, author of Camps in the Caribbees,\\n^Crusoe s Island, etc. With Map and Illustrations.\\ni2mo. Cloth, $1.50.\\nYou have brought together in a small space an immense amount of most\\nvaluable information, which it is very important to have within the reach of the\\nAmerican people at this time. Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge.\\nD. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0325.jp2"}, "326": {"fulltext": "A WORK OF GREAT VALUE.\\nThe International Geography.\\nBy Seventy Authors, including Right Hon. James\\nBryce, Sir W. M. Conway, Prof. W. M. Davis, Prof.\\nAngelo Heilprin, Prof. Fridtjof Nansen, Dr. J. Scott\\nKeltie, and F. C. Selous. With 488 Illustrations.\\nEdited by Hugh Robert Mill, D. Sc. 8vo. 1088\\npages. Cloth, $3.50.\\nCan unhesitatingly be given the first place among publications of\\nits kind in the English language. An inspection of the list of asso-\\nciate authors leads readily to the conclusion that no single volume in\\nrecent scientific literature embodies, in original contributions, the labor\\nof so many eminent specialists as this one. The book should find\\na place in every library, public or private, that contains an atlas or\\ngazetteer. The Nation.\\nThe attempt to present in one volume an authoritative modern\\nsummary of the whole of geography as fully as space would permit has\\nbeen admirably successful. New York Sun.\\nIn brief, it may be said to be both a reference book and a con-\\nnected geographical history of the modern world, something that any\\none can read with profit in addition to finding it of constant value in\\nhis library. Chicago Evening Post,\\nIn his entirely studious moments the geographer cherishes above\\nall things facts and accuracy. He must, therefore, value very highly\\na work like the International Geography. It should be precious alike\\nto the specialist and to the beginner. Small but adequate maps are\\nconstantly introduced, and there is, finally, a splendid index. New\\nYork Tribune.\\nSimply invaluable to students, teachers, and others in need of\\nsuch a book of reference. IVashington Times.\\nNot only as complete as the limits would allow, but is strictly\\nup to date. San Francisco Argonaut.\\nD. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0326.jp2"}, "327": {"fulltext": "MCMASTER^S FIFTH VOLUME.\\nHistory of the People of the United\\nStates.\\nBy Prof. John Bach McMaster. Vols. I, II, III,\\nIV, and V now ready. 8vo. Cloth, with Maps,\\nI2.50 per volume.\\nThe fifth volume covers the time of the administrations of\\nJohn Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, and describes the\\ndevelopment of the democratic spirit, the manifestations of new\\ninterest in social problems, and the various conditions and plans\\npresented between 1821 and 1830. Many of the subjects in-\\ncluded have necessitated years of first-hand investigations, and\\nare now treated adequately for the first time.\\nJohn Bach McMaster needs no introduction, but only a greeting.\\nThe appearance of this fifth volume is an event in American literature\\nsecond to none in importance this season. New York Ttfnes.\\nThis volume contains 576 pages, and every page is worth reading\\nThe author has ransacked a thousand new sources of information, and has\\nfound a wealth of new details throwing light upon all the private and pubhc\\nactivities of the American people of three quarters of a century ago.\\nChicago Tribune.\\nIn the fifth volume Professor McMaster has kept up to the high standard\\nhe set for himself in the previous numbers. It is hard to realize thoroughly\\nthe amount of detailed work necessary to produce these books, which con-\\ntain the best history of our country that has yet been pubhshed. Philadel-\\nphia Telegraph.\\nThe first installment of the history came as a pleasant surprise, and\\nthe later volumes have maintained a high standard in regard to research\\nand style of treatment. New York Critic.\\nA monumental work. Professor McMaster gives on every page\\nample evidence of exhaustive research for his facts. Rochester Herald.\\nThe reader can not fail to be impressed by the wealth of material out\\nof which the author has weighed and condensed and arranged his matter.\\nDetroit Free Press.\\nProfessor McMaster is our most popular historian. He never\\nwearies, even when dealing with subjects that would be most wearisome\\nunder clumsier handling. This fifth volume is the most triumphant evi-\\ndence of his art. New York Herald.\\nD. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0327.jp2"}, "328": {"fulltext": "THE LIBRARY OF USEFUL STORIES.\\nIllustrated* J6mo\u00c2\u00bb Cloth^ 40 cents per volume*\\nNOTT READY.\\nThe Story of the Alphabet. By Edward Clodd.\\nThe Story of Eclipses. By G. F. Chambers.\\nThe Story of the Living Machine. By h. w. Conn.\\nThe Story of the British Race. By John munro, c. e.\\nThe Story of Geographical Discovery. By Joseph\\nJacobs.\\nThe Story of the Cotton Plant. By f. Wilkinson, f.g.s.\\nThe Story of the Mind. By Prof. J. mark Baldwin.\\nThe Story of Photography. By Alfred t. Story.\\nThe Story of Life in the Seas. By Sidney j. hickson.\\nThe Story of Germ Life. By Prof. h. w. conn.\\nThe Story of the Earth s Atmosphere. By Doug-\\nlas Archibald.\\nThe Story of Extinct Civilizations of the East.\\nBy Robert Anderson, M. A., F. A. S.\\nThe Story of Electricity. By John munro, c. e.\\nThe Story of a Piece of Coal. By e. a. martin, f.g.s.\\nThe Story of the Solar System. By c. f. Chambers,\\nF. R. A. S.\\nThe Story of the Earth. By h. g. Seeley, f. r. s.\\nThe Story of the Plants. By grant Allen.\\nThe Story o^ P*- rHve Man. By Edward Clodd.\\nThe Story of the Stars. By G. F. Chambers, f. r. a. S.\\nothers in preparation.\\nD. APPLETON and company, new YORK.", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0328.jp2"}, "329": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0329.jp2"}, "330": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0330.jp2"}, "331": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4641", "width": "2844", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0331.jp2"}, "332": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4862", "width": "3116", "jp2-path": "boersinwarstoryo00hill_0332.jp2"}}