The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-11-25
THE 7RANSVAAL EXODUS.
Incredible Brutality by the Beers To-
ward DefenseIess Victims.

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ward DefenseIess Victims.
But there are worse things than steal
ing gold. BY their treatment of rail
way passengers to Cape Town. Delagoa
Bay. and Natal, and especially by their
inhumanity to women and children, the
Beers have lighted the fires Of far
hotter Indignation than any mere theft
OF bullion could enkindle. That may
be forgotten; these are memories that
Will live and probably be avenged 1t
was only Boer duplitity that rendered
1t necessary to crowd 100 men, women,
and children into open cattle trucks. II
the Pretoria Executive had not made
the explicit promise that permits would
be given to all who desired to remain,
and then, of course, broken the promise
when war seemed imminent, that ugly
rush had never taken place. Through
light and dark for eight and forty hours
and amid thunder-storms and heavy
rain, without food or drink. and IN
many cases in cramped positions, the
weary journey was made, and with
suffering that can hardly be told. That
suffering the Beers did all they dared
to aggravate They hurled obscene
abuse at women and children threw
showers of gravel and stone, threaten
ed to shoot them, thrust their rifles into
the carriage windows and discharged
them Immediately over the travellers
heads. In one case an official of the
rank of field cornet polluted our lang
uage by yelling out to the passengers
his burning desire "to shoot everything
that speaks English
1t was not one solitary convoy, but
trainload after trainload that was thus
treated The trains coming to Natal
were shunted into sidings to make way
for others carrying burghers to the
front. In this wise the journey was pro-
onged for as much as twenty-four
hours beyond the ordinary time. Hun
dreds had not provided for this emery
ency. Usually refreshments can be
| bought at nearly every station. Now
the burghers and their officials refused
permission to obtain either food or
drink. There were children that had
| been without anything to quench their
thirst for twenty hours and passengers
/ joined the mothers entreaties for leave
| to get them a glass of water, but the
heartless Beers repulsed them with
brutal barbarity. Here and there these
general displays of Boer chivalry and
humanity We're varied by special Incl
dents. One compartment of a train
from johannesburg was occupied by
women and children, an Englishman,
and two zarps alias policem The
men became engaged in conversation on
the crisis The Briton did not conceal
his sympathies, when suddenly one Of
the zarps put to him set of imperti-
nent questions, which he declined to
answer. Instantly the carp drew his re-
volver, leveled it at the Englishman's
head, and threatened to shoot him dead
on the spot if he did not reply. Hav-
ing no choice, he made some answer.
What he said the women were to much
alarmed to gather, but Immediately
the zarps handcuffed him, tied his knees
together. and flung him on the floor Of
the carriage Nothing was heard to hint
any criminal charge against the victim
of this violence, who finally was bundl-
ed into an empty cattle truck at the
next siding and left to the tender mere
les of the Beers
In another instance a British burgher, |
trying to escape, was similarly treated |
and thrown into a galvanized truck, |
with promise that he should be shot |
at Sandspruit. The terror of these pro-
ceedings had their effect. Two or three /
premature confinements took place, in |
conditions where neither privacy nor
decency was possible; one baby died on |
the train, and was buried near an out
of-tne-way siding. and a little girl of !
five succumbed on the platform at |
Ladysmitil to the prolonged exposure,
want Of food, and fright. I prefer to
minimize rather than to exaggerate, |
this dismal recital. Happily humanity
is not the sole possession of any race. |
AT one stopping place station master, |
most likely Hollander pleaded that
the train might be allowed to proceed, |
but the field eornet disdained such
weakness: "Laat MULE vrek van
honger," G4et them starve,) he replied.
A Boer. in another instance, saw poor
woman shivering with cold,
and threw his waterproof over her
shoulders, and was rewarded with
cheers by the other passengers. We
will remember that good Samaritan.
don't like Tyaard Kruger; he did dis
tinctly try to engineer the bogus johann
nesburg conspiracy; but the son of the
President had one good item to place
to the right side of his account. He
was clearly ashamed Of the conduct of
the burghers on the train by which he
travelled to the border, and sent a mes
sage along the carriages warming the
to lie low, for he feared the
armed men might be guilty Of violence.
The monition was well meant, though
It did not amount to much. One of the
station masters at Johannesburg has
done all he could in the interest of the
women and children, and when Mr..
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