The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1899-12-23
Che Boer Soldier
BY POULTNEY BIGELOW.

, Boer republic. But from the Boer point
Of view the behavior of the English
government was caDricious, II not
shifty.
In 1885 Dutch and English had
fought SDlendidly side by side In the
Cape Colony against an invasion OF
$4,000 blacks, who had been for some
time occupied in stealing cattle and
! destroying farmhouses- The amount
of damage done has been officially as
sesEed at 1900, 600, intended to cover
the loss of 456 farm houses completely
destroyed, $50 others partially des-
troyed, sixty big farm wagons. des-
troyed. The stolen property included
about 5000 horses, 10000 cattle, Jnd
10000 sheep. The Beers fought brave
ly, suffered great hardsips, and earned
the gratitude of every colOnlSt at the
Cape, and notably that of the governor,
Sir Benjamin durham, who mad
called them out. They had been
promised compensation Tor their
losses during the war, and hooked aC
least for grateful acknowledgment IN
Downing street The result, however,
was surprise for every one, from
the governor down. Downing street
scolded them for fighting against
the blacks-indeed, it was very evident
that missionaries and not soldiers were
in power at Westminster. TINS, along
with the ruin of their property through
the sudden abolition of slavery, brought
to the side of the Beers large por-
tion of the wavering population, who
were made to feel that while the black
man could secure any favor through
Exeter Hall, there was not even COM
mon justice for a Boer. The eighty
years which have elapsed between the
battle of Waterloo and the Jameson
raid have been years in which a large
portion of the Beers have handled the
rifle as freely as we handle the pen.
They have fought their way through
black tribes outnumbering them ten to
end. Some of their expeditions have
been massacred, but the rest have not
been discouraged. Even today the rec
reation of Beers who live in town is 10
go for a days rife shooting, If pos
sible after game, if not, then at a tar
get. Every Boer from the chief JUS
tice down, knows how to cook in the
open and organize a bivouac. 1t is safe
to say that even today the average cit
izen of the Transvaal is ready at a mo-
ment's notice to take the field fully
armed and equipped for at least three
days.
The chief enemy of the Boer today is
not England, but his own ignorance.
The Boer under the English flag en-
joys more liberty than in the Trans
vaal, yet so ignorant are the burghers
of loom Paul." that they persit in pic
turing Englishmen as tyrants, deslr-
Gus of overthrowing their freedom. NO
where in English circles have l beard
more violent abuse of President Kru-
gers retrograde policy than in Preto-
ria from the mouths of his own burgh@
ers-but these particular men happen
ed to have travelled and observed for
themselves that it is England which
stands for freedom in things colonial,
and that no such tyranny would be toll
Grated in Germany as disgraces the So
called republic of South Africa. But 1T
is our business to look at the Beers from
their own side and thus to understand
the grievances they entertain, in order
that after the war the breach may be
healed-let us hope forever. Today the
government of Pretoria has not merely
revived the evil spirit of protectionism,
but has added TO it's those features OF
special privilege and monopoly which
were a scandal in the reign of Louis
XIV. The education of youth has been
for political reasons hampered almost
as stupidity as in Poland. Young Boers
can no longer get a good education at
Pretoria, but must go to a naighboring
colony for this purpose. Of late years
the Kruger government has er1ulated
the spirit of Pobiedonostsef in seeking
to exterminate the language and the in
stitutions which appeared u be hostile
to the government. Instead % recruit
ing the official ranks from their brother
Beers in adjoining colonies they have
confessed to an almost Chinese lack of
capacity by drawing young clerks dl-
rectly from Rotterdam, and exhibiting
feVerish haste to isolate themselves
from the great onward movement of the
white race in South Africa. All thissI
believe to be bad for the Beers them
selves, and therefore, in common with
their most intelligent citizens, hail the
day when Krugerism shall have be-
come in South Africa as impOtent as
the Mormon government in Utah.
AS to the war as political necessity,
at this moment it is not for me to ex-
press an opinion. But this much I may
say. that the whole world has an inter
est in it's speedy close and above all. in
its conduct, so that it may leave be-
hind the least possible race animosity.
Time works wonders in these matters.
fer many cf Us present. who can recall
the hatred between Americans during
the great civil war now witness their
descendants fighting side by side for q
un>Sd country. Beers and BritOns have
stood shoulder to Shoulder in their
wars with native tribes. and I. for one.
expect to see the day when we shall
hear from the Cape to the Zambesi only
one tongue know only one union of
free states, and see but one uniform I'M
der which shall beatloyal hearts de-
scended from the men who now face
each other in anger.