The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-13
THE TRANSVAAL BOER
HIS TRAITS, PRESENT CHARACTER
AND PAST ACHIEVEMENTS.
Brave. Faithful and Patient, He and
His Brethren Form Band OF He
roes-Their Long Struggles.


with truth that they know anything
OF the Dutch farmer? Not one man in
hundred. They will sneer at him, laugh at
his cultural tongue and his heavy, uncouth
ways, rail at his government. but as for
taking the trouble to acquire his language
and find out something of the inner heart OF
the man they will not do it-in their fever
ism search for fortune they have not the
time.
And yet this farmer OF the wilderness.
rough and uncouth and often surly and sus-
picious as he Is, has a great and stirring
history behind him in South Africa, of
which he Is and has right to be proud. He
and his have struggled. and trekked, and
.warred, and been massacred, and have suf-
| fered in blood and purse and pastoral
| wealth these go years past. doubt wheth-
er even an equal number of English peas
ants. farmers. soldiers and settlers, if they
had been planted at the Cape In 1862 as the
early Dutch were, you'd have emerged
from the long struggle so little spoiled, and
| having lost so little Of their national char
! acteristics.
| The Dutch Afrikanders are still of pure
European blood, they still cling with the
simplest and sublimest faith to the literal
| teaching Of their Bible, still cherish with
deep anection their wives AMI families.
still go about their herding and hunting
ana trekking in the old. slow. unconquer-
| able logged spirit of their ancestors still
| turn their faces north, and as their pastures
grow small and crowded. trek for new lands
with nndimmed hope and vigor. For my
| part, whenever shake hands with one OF
these great, slow-moving, heavy-fisted
Beers l forget his uncouth ways. his oddi-
ties. his lack of the thin veneer of modern
culture, and think to myself this man,
despite his unpronising exterior is one of
a band of heroes who have made great
and interesting history, who have endured
manifold sufferings whose bones litter the
silent ve.dt in every distant nook and cor
ner of South Africa, and who are, upon the
whole, as line race of pioneers as the
world has seen. They have their faults and
weaknesses, those people, but what nation
1t should always be remembered that the
south African Boer became subject to Great
britain by no fault or wish of his own.
He was never conquered in the true sense
or the word; We held the Cape in 1895 for a
few years by arrangement with the Stad-
holder, the Prince OF Orange, then a fugi-
tive in ENGLAND from the armies Of the
French republic. Capetown was finally
captured by force in 1906. but the back
country farmers knew little or nothing of
abolition of slavery Very in Cape Colony in 1885 ISIS
without adequate compensation to the farm
ers who owned slaves, ruined large num-
bers or them, and drove them in the Bit
terest spirit of indignation to seek new
homes beyond the reach of British gov
eminent and British laws, In the Great
|
quilted Cape Colony, selling their farms
for anything they would fetch in a forced
market and. with their families bestowed
around them crossed the Orange river and
sought new homes and pastures. The pres
ent republic of the Transvaal and Orange
Free State owe their origin to this move
ment.
THEIR SUFFERINGS.
The history of the Great Trek, If 1t ever
comes to be written, will furnish one of the
most inspiring Of epics. These despised
and slow-moving Dutch farmers. armed
with only fiintlock guns. after suffering
cruel reverses and the bloodiest treachery
met and conquered the whole Zulu army
then at the height of its strength and
military discipline. Fewer than $50 Beers
successfully resisted twelve thousand OF
the iercest Zulu warriors. At the close OF
that Sunday morning battle, fought upor
Dec. 16, 1888, three thousand Zulus lay dead
round the Dutch lager; the stream flowing
. by, ever since called the Blood river, raT
.. his nation was for years broken. To thi:
hour the Transvaal Dutch annually NEE
to celebrate 'Dingaan's day." and return
humble thanks for their browning mercy
, that wonderful victory over the Zulu host.
In their warfare with the Zulus, in tn,
country now called Natal, the Dutch farmer
| used that plan of battle-laagering thei
. wagons In square formation-which has beel
found ever since an invaluable aid agains
| the OverpOWerlng numbers or savage tribes
Only SO lately as in the Matabele war thi
old Boer method was adopted: and by its u.s.
aided OF course; immensely by Maxim l,
| their brilliant victories, and DESTROYED tn
long and cruel Matabele tyranny.
' About this same period-lsS6- S1-anothe
) portion OF the Great Trek made its way In
! to the present territory of the Orange Ere
I State, and thence, crossing the vaal. sue
: ceeded. after some bloody and lisastIou
: reverses. In driving MoselilSatse father o
= Lobengula) beyond the Linpopo into TIL
y country now ca.'ed Matabeiel1ni. Nose
likatse was then the most iedoub,c1 nativ
t most all pure-bred Zulus. WHO had mi
: grated from Zululand with him IN body
t highly trained as Chaka's AMI Dingaan =
finest warriors. Yet the Trek Beers van
auished Moselikatse as they had vanquishe
Dingaan, and took possession of that TAI
I and rich country now called Transvaal
One battle was fought IN laage- agans
; Moselikatse's Matatcle. horles There wcr
but forty grown DutchTel in the can,y
but the women and even the children tl'~es
I ident Kruger, then boy: was. ] believe
: among the number) served in the defense
loading the long smooth-bore guns as fas
as they were emptied. and the Beers fnall
beat of their savage enemy with great los
After this fight reinforcements came in an
small bands of mounted farmers attacke
the Matabele IN !he.r own kraalS
In the last OF these daring campaigns /;
Beers followed up and fell upon Moselikats
in person on the Marco river. Moselikats
commanded no fewer than 10000 of his fines
soldiers. Fierce as they were however, the
= lacked horses and guns, and found then
y selves no match for the mounted Dutc
: farmers. all fine game shots. and all i'm
bued with an invincible determine ton. FC
!, more than a week the Beers, with nothin
: but biltong (sun-dried game meat to ca
and no bed but the bare veldt. harried an
. harassed the Matabele hosts. Again an
2 again the Matabele tried TO entrap the
: active opponents, to bring them 10 clos
: quarters. when their stabbing assega
= might be brought into play. But the mount
ed men always evaded them. and at length
!, after losing large numbers OF his warrior
! | Moselikatse gave I'd the contest retreate
= beyond the Limpopo. and left the who
!. had long held by the sheer terror of h
name and arms. to the ''Voor-Trekkert.
;, We English. in a miserably mismanage
!, war, and after shameful peace, have ha
= | our bad moments with the Transvaal Boer
= | But now that time has somewhat aSsuage
: | the bitter memories OF Majuba Hill, tho.
: | of US who know and appreciate the sterlir
: | qualities OF the Boer characteristic stu
I. | born determination, the simple yet sublin
. faith, the deep love OF IONS land" as the
. | call the country OF their aioption-cann,
!, | DENY to these rude farmers their need
- praise.
J. For years after the battles with the Zu
N and Matabele tribes the Beers as a bod
e settled themselves quietly in the Orans
" Free State and Transvaal. peopling II
'e country, growing their crops. and amassir
u great fiocks and herds.
e The more adventurous spirits among the
n the elephant hunters-went annually I'M