The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-11
THE LAND or THE BOER.
Charnctcrlstics and Life Of the Na-
roo Farmer.

characteristics and Life Of the Na-
roo Farmer.
Cape Town Correspondence Of the London
Mail.
The Great Karoo. the dry, healthy pla-
teau which Olive Schrelner in a moment
of happy inspiration once described as the
future sanatorium of the world, is little
world in itself. Wedged between the COM
parative civilization Of the southern sec
ton Of the western province and the lat
day-day Golconda Of Kimberley, and
bounded on the east by the land peopled
by the descendants of the English set
tiers of 1870 the Karoo has developed char
acterstics peculiarly its own.
1t is the breeding ground of all that is
bigoted in the political system of the coun-
try, and all that is retrogressive in the
commercial side Of the South African ma
ture.
Physically, the land presents the APP
pearance of utter desolation. Nature
shows nowhere a sharper contrast than
that which presents itself to the visitor
on passing through the Hex river railway
pass on his journey northward. No long
er does the eye rest upon smiling valleys
or catch the CLINT of the trout-stocked
5lItdll uditAuS III ltit piiEnl HQhllSnls III
place of the vine-clad slopes, the orange
groves, and the peach orchards he beholds
the veld-an expanse of country bounded
only by the horizon utterly barren of trees
and clothed only by stunted, dust-laden
bushes resembling gorse. The bushes
grow between the stones in tufts like the
wool upon a Hottentots Uranium The
scene is one of depressing loneliness
A region of emptiness, bowling and drear.
There is not a redeemlng feature In the
landscape. To paraphrase a South Afri-
can commonplace, the birds have no song,
the flowers are without smell, the rivers
are almost wholly devoid of water, and,
alas. the women possess not beauty.
But stay! The weld has one redeeminE
feature. 1t is great sheep country. Six
teen millions of the ovine species browse
upon its dwarfed heritage. But nature
draws the line at this number. Periodi-
cal droughts and the ravages of scab keer
down the ovine population, and thus in
sure the Boer handsome price for his
slaughtered stock.
The effect of environment upon the hui
man race is stri1ingly illustrated in Cape
Colony. In the lower reaches of the West
ern Province the wine and brandy farmer
presents the appearance of a prosperous
publican; eastward the cattle farmer
takes after the manner of his fat beeves
the dweler in this barren, inhospitable
Karoo bears the stamp of a man engaged
in constant struggle against heavy odds
There is little of the wild Boer about him
he is too near civilization for that. As
a rule the Karoo farmer Is a slender
wiry man, with a skin resembling crinkled
parchment, clad in a shabby suit, a blush
coat, corduroy trousers, and a low
crowned bnly-cock encircled by a band oil
the eternal black Grape. He drives poor
mules and rides in a springless cart.
The Sehaap-boer Anglice: sheep farmer,
save the fortunate Individual who chances
to be in touch with the railway or with
some up-country village, lives the life Of
a half-barharian. His homestead, unles.
he be very wealthy, and married to wo.
man who was educated in Cape Town
usually consists of a low. rambling tene-
ment of sun-dried brick, with a mud floor
II the homestead be located in the neigh
borhood of spring, a few green trees OF
weeping willows grace the front exterior
but the planting Of trees necessitates
some little work. and the average sheer
farmer holds manual Ia Dor of any kind in
supreme contempt. His habits are un-
speakable. Personal cleanliness Is a lost
art; but this is ascribed to the scarcity
of water and the consequent inability Ia
obtain a daily bath. He has a habit OF
gathering all his family-grown-up sons
and daughters and sometimes his sons and
daughters-in-law-in the same bedroom
with him; but this is accounted for by
the fact that the nights are cold on the
high plateau and that the bedrooms have
no fireplaces. The sleeping Boer lacks
not wakeful company. The beated travel
er who accepted the hospitality of a bed
might be excused the impression that he
had stumbled across a Coptic monastery.
Living away in the weld the Boer has
little need Of advanced education. Able
to read his Bible, and to spell out his Sc
diion-preaching newspaper, and to scrawl
his name upon n ballot paper. he consid-
ers himself perfectly equipped in an edu-
cational sense. All else of learning he re-
CARDS as superfuous and Unnecessary The
length OF the school life Of the average
Boer child Is six months. The[f )vern-
ment reports show that in soms .itricts
70 per cent Of the white (Boerlf Zen Of
school age never attend scho4 Ahe an
swer to this-actually given in the Cape
parliament this very season--is that the
father teaches his son TO read, and the
minister prepares him for church member
ship BY the way. the chief qualifications
for membership In the Dutch Reformed
church are the ability 20 read the Bible
and sign his name. Happily. In the better
TODD families the daughters are better
taught, some being sent to the seminaries
at cape Town. In THIS circumstance Hes
the hope for the regeneration for the Ka-
roo, for women do not, as a rule. put their
pianos on the mud floors Of RECONSTRUCTED
dwellings.
The Boer had ample time for contem-
plation. Seated on his stoep Ga raised
platform IN front Of his house, with his
abomlnably filthy sheepkraal but very
few yards away he has leisure TO turn
over IN his roomy mind one or two ques-
tons OF great national Interest. His fav-
orte study Is natural history. He sees
his scabby sheep rubbing themselves
against the dung-brick walls Of the kraal.
and he continually revolves IN his mind
this mighty problem: Does the insect
cause the scab, or does the scab produce
the insect2
CHANGING 10 call upon a farmer so en-
gagged / asked him ar he ever solved the
problem OF the origin OF the scab2 lie re-
piled that he was aware that scab was an
insect, and that the insect was caused by
scab He was convinced that scab simply
"came." Asked whether he knew Of any
other insect bred from nothing. he In
stanccd heas. lie had. he said. known n
house TO be thoroughly cleansed, but with
In two days II was fun OF fieas again.
This n the type Of man which possesses
n very large portion or the surface OF the
Cape Colony II would be uncharltable
ard unfair 10 atipmatlzo all Hana Ia...