Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-04-06
Fighting BY the Side of
Their Husbands.
MANY WERE SHOT DOWN
Some Are Held by the British as
Prisoners OF War But This Does
Not Deter the Boer Women. From
Going to the Front. . =

New York, April GA correspondent
of the World. writing from Pretoria,
March L, says: The world knows no
finer example of heroism than that ex-
hibited by IA women IN one of the five
lays fighting our Spion Hop. A
strictly family party of Beers, IA men
and their wives. We're entrerfched In one
position and held it with amazing
bravery against a small force Of British.
For a long time the mem fought inces-
sanity and kept their wives busy reload
ing their rifles.
Finally so British soldiers, with fixed
bayonets. charged on the entrenchment.
AS they came closer the Boer men crept
over the e~arthworks. and while the wo-
men began shooting, tried with the butts
of their rifles to hammer back the Brit
ish. Before their wives eyes every one
Of the IA Beers were killed, bayoneted or
shot.
The IA women. so quickly widowed,
never thought of surrender. but fought
most ~valiantly and coolly for half an
hour. The British surrounded them, but
not one of the ii survived TO mourn her
husband.
Two days later, when the British forces
retired across the Tugela, % corpses-14
men and IA women-we found within a
radius of 100 feet. Now there is a big
long mound where rests the bodies of as
brave a band as ever fought for free
| dom.
Scores of women have Deer in every
commanders lager I have visited, n
| only one has been without her rifle and
! bandotiers-Mrs. Joubert. wife of the
| ooi ~, n ~ -nbiof 1f tho IQnaV Fnran
| But their bravery does not rob these wo-
men of any womanly qualities-love, ten
derness, gentleness, pity.
Mol far from the Pretoria laager I
found a young Boer woman under the
canopy Of one of the big trekking wag-
ons. Her tears were falling SO copiously
that they moistened her dress waist. She
was about 10 years old, comedy. fairly
well dressed. It is nothing strang to see
a Boer woman weeping. There is mot one
but has either father or brother or many
relatives in the graves. But this ones
grief was so extreme that ! stopped and
found she spoke English exceptionally
we'll. She told me her sister had been
killed by a sharpshooter the day before.
She was my twin sister and we never
passed a day apart" she said, between
her sobs. cit breaks my heart to think
that she lies over there under the
ground
lux W 81 AAoa VI Sbi II
with a line Of stones around and over it,
a short distance away.
She told me. too, her father. five broth
ers and innumerable relatives were fight
ing.
'Ouch!" she exclaimed, as her arm
suddenly twitched. Then I saw a small
hole in the right sleeve of her dress above
the elbow.
Have you been wounded?" asked.
ooh, yes she replied rather languidly.
"a bullet grazed me and occasionally it
pains me very much"
Then this girl of 10 years explained,
rather alphabetically hat her father COM
PEELED her to remain in the wagon until
the wound was healed.
IF it were not for him." she said, II
would not be here crying. I'd be down in
yonder trench where 1 ought to be-"
The men suffer extremely from home
sickness when the women are absent. for
in peace they are rarely separated more
than a few hours.
And nc finer, more inspiring exemplif1-
cation of patriotism can be found on God
fOotstol tina a BOer woman by her hus-
bands side. a rifle in her hand and well
filled bandoliers over her shoulder.
All but n of the women whom I have
seen wore black or brown dresses. One
was in man. apparel. but the Beers tell
me the women often put on their hus-
bands clothing when their own becomes
worn. In the early days of the campaign
the British captured three Boer women
in mems clothing. and they are still held
as prisoners of war. on the war ships at
SimOnstOWn, near CapetoWn but they
have been supplied with proper clothing.
Whether they fought or not, whether
they cured inconsistencies or not, it would
be hard to keep these warrior women
from the front. They were the first to in.
sist that the Transvaal should resist
, England. Now they are sharing the bur
den and expect to share the glory. For ev-
cry BOer, man or woman, old or young
firmly believes that the two republics
will ultimately triumph. The relief Of
Kimberley and Ladysmith are regarded
not as defeats. but rather as victories
inasmuch as the Boer forces, which have
been lying almost idle aroun the cities
can now be taken where there is real
fighting.