The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-09-19
DUTCH B0ERS.
LIFE IN A QUEER SOUTH ARR.
CAN COMMUNITY.

LIFE IN A QUEER SOUTH ARR.
CAN COMMUNITY.
Modes of Salutation-Accomplish-
ed Herbalists-Their Skilful
Observation-Disclosures
and Social Customs.
The traveller 7 speak of one who is
supposed to understand Boer speech and
hablts) arrives at farmhouse in, say,
the Orange Free State. A farmhouse
may have one field of forage and stone
kraal; otherwise the farm is open coun-
try. He will not off-saddle his horse
without receiving permission; this hav-
ing been asked for and granted, the
farmer leads him through the half doors
into the main apartment. There is
home made furniture, numerous pink
and white paper flowers, and painted on
the walls vases of fruit. The visitor will
proceed to shake hands, commencing
with the stout vrauw and ending with
the baby in arms. This is not the Eng.
lish 'hand.shake," but a resting of palm
within palm. The coffee which is
made from sunrise to sunsets then
brought in in bowls, tobacco pouches
are exchanged, and conversation, which
seldom varies, commences: The visitor
and the farmer answer or reply
pretty much as follows: 1.-THE weld is
green. The clouds are heavy there will
be thunderstorm tomorrow. I have a
very fine red horse running. Nachtmaat
(communion) will be next month. My
orauw has cold. The president is q
fine man. Japie De Villiers pronounced
Vile, and minus the prefix has had a
ram born with five heads. The English
are thieves" The hand-shaking cere-
mony is then repeated, the horse. fed and
rested, is brought round, the traveller
mounts, smacks his sjambock, shows off
his steed and proceeds on his journey.
The farmers have trained ponies to a
special pace called Cripple" and a
good "trippIer is always priced: With
this pace no porting" of the saddle is
required, and on a long journey the
trippler will arrive each night without
turning a hair, while the trotting horse,
his companion, may be done up. Dis
tauce is reckoned by time-six miles to
the hour. If an Englishman near the
hour of sunset asks Dutchman where
such village lies, he will be answered
by raised hand and "a little way over
that hill" You then ride ten miles and
sleep out in a thunderstorm, perhaps.
You reach the village the following mid
day. - -. .... ..,.~, s..
Superstition and fear of contagious
disease are great among this people.
The Dutch are accomplished herbal
lists, doubtless obtaining. their knowl-
edge from the Hottentots and Bushmen
they have herb brandies for colics, and
plants for sores. They are often the
PREY of quack doctors; the more as gen.
uine practitioners, who have to 60 long
distances, charge heavily. A Dutchman
is satisfied with the treatment so long as
his medical adviser brings to the house a
quart bottle of physic; if he presents
him with a small phial he doubts his
skill, and sends for another man. The
dead are buried on the farms, and over
them travelling masons erect mausoleums
of brick. Dutch women are enormous
in size, good cooks in their style,
gobble sweets and cakes all day and
take little exercise. But now and then
a Dutch wife and hsr daughters may be
seen kraaling the sheep at evening. ~
Feather beds are greatly priced by
this people; they generally carry their
goods with them. on journeys. Annu-
ally the farmhouse on the Glow. geld" is
shut up, and the sheep and cattle are
taken scores of miles up to the ''high
retd" for mountain pasture. Beside
some rushing stream the wagons are
camped, perhaps tents are pitched, and
domestic life goes On as usual Fowls
cluck among the wild grasses, and the
cows are MIXED beneath the shadows of
mighty mountains.
The general belief in the excellence OF
Boer shooting is Mo delusion. I was once
with a dutchman on a high mountain
road near the De Kaap; three bucks
leapt down the rocks of low kop.e by
the way; with Martini-Henry rifle he
brought down two out of the three.
Hunting at Loeuwe Pan Iion Pan),
Bechuanalsnd, Captain x. went out
early in the morning for springbok, which
move in thousands upon these yellow
prairies. 1t was my turn to cook, and
Boer (erstwhile freebooter), who squat
tered in miserable clay cabin near by,
came and sat by the fire. Captain X. re-
turned at four o'clock; he had shot no
buck, and was in a bad temper. l
pointed to the Dutchman. Captain x.
gave the Boer eight cartridges; the buck
would be ours, the balance of ammuni-
ton his. The Boer mounted his white
paarde. took our shooting nag Moses
with him, and rode off on to the weld,
In twenty minutes the man returned,
Moses Indignantly resigned under the
weight of two fine springbok. The Boer
had used only two cartridges; six re-
mained his property. His weapon was
Martini Henry carbine, on which he had
placed an ivory sight.
The people are excessively fond OF
music and dancing; concertina, har-
monium, and fiddle are their delight.
A withered Hottcntot dwarf will draw
q strain from the sole of IN old shoe
strung with sinew, and men and maid
ems will vigorously dance to it for hours.
The Beers have bad character for pill
fering. When the men and women enter
an up country store they are allowed to
carry off small goods like sweets or rib
bons, which they unconsciously pay for
in the bill. The farmers are not often
rich in money, their wool crops being
sometimes to the stores for
two seasons ahead.
The Beers are great religious formal