The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-01-17

e he does not bear the slightest trace o
# the parvenu. Plain and undistln
guished in appearance, he combines tn
j advantages of prodgiouS lnemOr.
- with remarkable aptitude for reading
a his fellowmen.
!" The president lives in bomey styl'
: and receives no company. There il
; nothing to denote his house, which il
: not situated in the best part of Pre-
toir save a flagstaff and scntinc
lo,lpning about in style that wouC
make "A German drill sergeant tear his
q hair.
, Each morning about . O'Clock he
, NAV be seen driving to the govern
: ment offices. and in the afternoon, with
: pipe and coffee, he holds "A reception
on the "stoop." Here he is daily seen
with "A heterogeneous assemblage OF
visitors-men with grievance, appli-
cants for posts, wouldbc concessions
aires. and Beers who seek his advice
on family troubles The incapacity of
British representatives and commits
sioners TO comprehend this patriarchial
form Of procedure caused the outbreak
of 1881. They rode rough shod over
these customs. When the Beers have,
or think they have, a grievance, some
elders are deputed to visit "Oom
Paul as the president is usually
called. President Kruger listens to all
that they have to say. has long talk
with them, argues the point, hammers
in his own convictions with his own
reasons and perhaps a few texts of
scripture, and then the elders go back,
explain to their constituents that they
now see it all clearly, and that they
must be all satisfied for the present.
The Beers arc trained irregular
troops from their birth. 4 lad is first
| taught to ride calf, and then horse.
| At !; certain age he has Il rifle given
| to him. and two cartridges at a time.
After few exhibitions. he must not
return empty handed, even if he only
brings in bird, or punishment en-
sues. He hunts on horseback at
fierce gallop, and when the game is
overtaken, filings himself from the
saddle and aims and fires as quick as
, lightning. In this way they become
marksmcn of deadly precision which
the British regulars at Maiuba Hill
and Laings Ford and later Jamesons
men know full well.
A Boer III Il fight stands behind his
horse. if in tho open, like a Dragon
only the dragon is taught late in life.
and the Boer and horse have grown up
together and are one. In a campaign
he only requires some dried meat
"biltong,' attached to his saddle and
trifle of spirits and water. His rifle
and cartridges are secured around his
body: his horse will live on the grass
of the veldt. Thus he is fully equipped
and baggage and commissariat unrc /
quired and unknown.
Whether in future years he will main |
tain his wonderful proficiency as il /
marksman, now that tho big game is /
almost cxterminated, is question. /
The government sells good Martinii /
rifles, made in Germany, to its citizens /
at cost, and target practice IL encour-
aged by prizes given in frequent com
petitions. /
In stature the Boer is tall and stout.
Living III one of the most healthy
and invigoratng of climates, he
possesses, as a rule, a splendid consti'
tuition and a capacity for much more
work than he cares to undertake. His
ordinary spare and meagre diet has
any tendency to the tradi
tional Dutch rotundity.
The Beers seldom laugh, and have
no gaiety. They know neither the
pleasures of music, literature, nor
even the table. They dre fond of
shooting, and, as has been said. are
perhaps the finest shots in the world.
No people have ever made the wagon
such home or driven it with such
skill. They possess all the virtues of ,
home life, and are sober and thrifty. :
drinking perhaps less alcohol and
more tobacco than any other |
people The have Il character for in
as many a lone and weary ]
traveller or prospector who has sought {
I shelter at the houses declares But G
he Boer wished to be left alone: his t
Early tricks were made for solitude as 9
we'll as freedom. Other people and {
,ther faces are steadily suppanting O
Tim in his republic: his habits of I
etirement will prove his ctfacement 2
md his want of education will consign +
lin to Oblivion unless he tricks still .
urther on beyond the burning karroo h
nto the unknown regions of the Fam Il
'ezi ig
The history of the Great Trek, or /,
Migration into the Transvaal, if it b
yer comes to be written. will furnish s
ne of the most inspiring of epicF. ii
'hese despised and slow moving Dutch A
armers, armed with only hintlock Il
uns, after suffering cruel reverses aud "
be bloodiest treachcry, met and con Il
uered the whole Zulu army. then at ell
he height of its strength and military h
isciplinc. Fewer than $50 Beers sue o,
essfully resisted 1900 of the fiercest So
,ulu warriors. At the close of that IL
unday morning battle fought upon al
december I6, 1888. 5000 Zulus lay "
cad round the Dutch laager; the G
Iream flowing by, ever since called m
le Blood river, ran crimson and the G.
over of Dingaan and his nation was n
u years broken. te
One battle was fought in laager SO
gainst Moselikatse's Matabele hordes. Is
here were but 40 grown Dutchmcn in n
10 camp, but the women and even HI
lc children president Kruger, then
boy. was, | believe, among the num- va
err served in the defense, loading the on
ne smooth bore guns as fast as they ~
ere emptied, and the Beers finally he
ent off their savage enemy with great ~,
SIS. After this reinforcements n,
inc in and small bands of mounted h.
rmCrs attacked the Matabele in their
vn kraals.
la
The annual dinner and ladies' night 10
the Vermont Veterans aSSOciattnl ~