Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-08-15
TIE DUTCH IN AERlcA.
Some of the Queer Customs of the Beers
in the Orange Free State.

/ IN the orange Free state.
The traveller q speak. writes cor
respondent of the ST. James Guzette. of
4 the one who is supposed to understand
/ Boer speech and habits) arrives at a
farmhouse in, say, the Orange Free
State. A farmhouse may have one
/ field of forage and stone kraal; other
wise the farm is open country. He viii
not off-saddle his horse without per-
mission. This having been asked for
and granted the farmer leads him
through the half-doors of the main
apartment. There is homemade
/ furniture. 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, COM
mencing with the stout yrauw and
ending with the baby in arms This
is not the English ''hand-shake," but
a resting of palm with palm. The
coffee, which is made from sunrise to
sunset, is then brought in in bowls,
tobacco pouches are exchanged, and
conversation, which seldom varies,
commences. The visitor and the farm
er answer or reply pretty much as fol-
lows: "The weld is green. The clouds
are heavy; there will be a thunder
storm tomorrow. / have a fine red
horse running. Nachtmaal (com-
munion) will be next month. My
vrauw has cold. The president is a
fine man. Japie de Villiers (pro-
nounced Vile, and minus the prefix
has had ram born with five heads.
| The English are thieves" The hand
shaking process is then repeated; the
horse, fed and rested, is brought
round; the traveller mounts. smacks his
sjambock, shows off his steed, and pro-
ceeds on his journey.
The farmers have trained ponies to
a special pace called a cripple" and
a good cripple is always priced.
With this pace no porting" of the
saddle is required and on a long
journey the tipplier will arrive each
night without turning a hair while the
trotting horse, his companion, may be
done up. Distance is reckoned by
time-six miles to the hour. If an
Englishman near the hour of sunset
asks Dutchman where such a village
lies he will be answered by a raised
hand and ga 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. Superstition and fear of con-
tagious diseases are great among this
people.
The Dutch are accomplished herba-
lists, doubtless obtaining the knowI-
edge of the Hottentots and Bushmen;
they have herb brandies for COLES and
plants for sores. Tney are often the
prey of quack doctors; the more as
genuine practitioners, who have to 90
long distances, charge heavily. A
Dutchman is satisfied with the treat
ment so long as his medical adviser
brings to the house quart bottle of
physic; if he presents him with a 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 daughters may be
seen kraaling the sheep at evening. A
Boer likes his wife's company, and
will leave passengers by his wagon
stuck in the mud and half-starved
while he tracks off fifty miles with an.
other vehicle to pay visit to the
vrauw. Feather beds are greatly
priced by this people; they generally
carry their beds with them on journeys.
! The trekkings of the Beers are re.
markable. Annually the farmhouse
on the slow veld'' is shut up and the
| sheep and cattle are taken scores OF
miles up to the s'hgh veld' for
mountain pasture. Beside some rush
ing stream the wagons are camped,
perhaps tents are pitched, and do,
nestle 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 shoot
ing is no delusion.
The people are excessively fond of
music and dancing; concertina, har-
monium, and fiddle are their delight.
A withered Hottentot dwarf will draw
a strain from the sole of an old shoe
string with sinew, and men and
maidens will vigorously dance to it for
hours. For dancing there is no touch
| my UuG AlIlhduutE. anu HIS
measures seem quite original. The
Beers have bad character for pilfer-
ing. When the men and the women
enter an up-country store they are al
lowed to carry of small goods like
sweets or ribbons, which they uncon-
sciously pay for in the bill. The farm
ers are not often rich in money, their
wool crops being mortgaged sometimes
to the stores for seasons ahead. Young
bloods' are independent and wild. A
smart curveting horse and hat with
white ostrich plume usually denote
this species. When a Boer drinks he
is an entire fool. In order to keep a
firm hand over the young men riding
transport, the elders of the Free State
recently passed bill prohibiting the
sale of liquor at wayside canteens, and
thereby lost large revenue. How
ever, there are smugglers.
The Beers are great religious formal
lists, and at certain times they and
their famies ride into the villages from
great distances to celebrate the
Nachtmaal (night meal communion),
their wagons loaded with produce
presents for the parsons. At this time
business is brisk and the streets are
like a fair. Yet, where natives and
land are concerned. the Beers con-
slant violation of the commandments
does not need pointing out. The
Beers are by no means modest, and
their family converse tiOnS are at times