The Delta independent., 1889-02-12
rnE puren IN Arslcn.
BONE of the oueeraet Customs Of
tho Thrifty Beers.


The travelerQ speak, writes cofre-
spondent of the St James Gazette, of
the one whu is supposed to understand
Boer speech and habits) arrives at
farm house in, say, the Orange Free
State. A farm house may have one
field Of forage and stone kraal; other
wise the farm is open country. He will
not off saddle his horse without receiv-
ing permission; this having been asked
for and granted, the farmer leads him
through the half doors to the main
apartment. There is homemade fur
niture, numerous pink and white paper
flowers, and painted on the walls vases
of fruit like those seen depicted on the
London pavements. The visitor will
proceed to shake hands, commencing
with the stout vrauw and ending with
the baby in arms. This is not the En-
glish "handshake," but resting of
palm within palm. The coffee, which
is made from sunrise TO sunset, is then
brought III in bowls, tobacco pouches
are exchanged, and conversation, which
seldom varies commences. The visitor
and the farmer answer or reply pretty
much as follows: "The weld is green.
The clouds afe heavy; there will be a
thunderstorm tomorrow. l have a
very fine red horse running. Nacht-
maal (communion) will be next month.
My vrauw has cold. The president
is fine man. Japie de Villers (pro-
nounced Vilje, and minus the prefix
mas had a ram born with five heads.
The English are thieves The hand
shaking process is then repeated, the
norse, fed and rested, is brought round;
the traveller mounts, smacks his SIAM
book, shows off his steed and proceeds
on his journey.
Inc farmers have trained ponies to
special pace called cripple" and
good "trippler" 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 hair, while the trotting horse,
his companion, may be done up. Dis
tance 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 ia little way over
that hill" You then ride ten miles
and sleep out in a thunderstorm, per-
haps. You reach the village the fol-
lowing midday. Superstition and fear
Of contagious disease are great among
this people.
The Dutch are accomplished herba-
lists, doubtless obtaining the knowledge
Of the Hottentots and Bushme n; they
have herb brandies for colics and plants
for sores. They are often the prey of
quack doctors; the more as genuine
practitioners, who have to go long dis
tances, charge heavily. A Dutchmau
is satisfied with the treatmant so long
as his medical adviser brings to the
house a quart bottle of physic; if he
presents him with small vial 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 Dutch wife and her daugh-
ters may be seen kraalling the sheep at
evening. A Boer likes his wife's COM
pany, and will leave passengers by his
wagon stuck in the mud and half starv-
ed while he tracks off fifty miles with
another vehicle to pay a visit to the
vrauw. Feather beds are greatly
priced by this people; they generally
carry their beds with them on Jour-
neys.
The trekkings Of the Beers are re-
markabie. Annually the farm-hou Sc
OH the slow weld" is shut up, and the
sheep and cattle are taken scores OF
miles up to the "high veld'' for noun
tain 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
hOuHtdluS. lue SeueFdi Dellel III lne
excellence of Boer shooting is no delu-
sion.
The people are excessively fond of
music and dancing; concertina, har-
monium and fiddle are their delight. A
withered Hottentot dwarf will draw
strain from the sole of an old shoe
strung with sinew, and men and maid
ems will vigorously dance to it for
bours. For dancing there is no touch
ing the English Afrikander, and his
measures seem quite original. The Beers
have a bad character for pilfering.
When the men and the women enter an
up country store they are allowed to
carry off small goods like sweets or
ribbons, which they unconsciously pay
for in the bill. The farmers are not
often rich in money, their wool crops
being morgaged sometimes to the stores
for two seasons ahead. "Young bloods"
are independent and wild. A smart
curveting horse and hat with white os-
trich plume usually denote this species.
When Boer drinks he is an entire
fool. In order to keep firm hand over
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