The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-22
WOMEN DURING A SIEGE
INTERESTING BITS FROM KIMBER-
LEY SURGEONS DIARY.
Cowardly Beers Fired Shells Among
Residences-Safety i'm "Dug-
outs- and Diamond Mines.


Here is a good story or kimberley re1u-
Jew, who has just returned to his home
and neighbors in the diamond capital
VEIL he said, you had tough time
here. in Kimberley. dink amt it?"
Eyes, we had an awful time" said his
friend, especially after the hundred pound
shells began flying around
"vell," said the refujew, I've had der
rible time in Cape Town also. We didn't
haf no bomb-shells, but de cooking at de
hotels vos fearful
And that brings me once again to the
subject of the siege of this place and to
the fact that have been asked from Lon
don If will not tell what the women did
during that fearful ordeal
THE women are not getting their share
of news of particular interest to them
selves" says my correspondent.
All! ! don't know about that They are
the sisters and mothers of our soldier boys.
and some of the news must have come to
the homes of England with more interest
than anything 1 can write and a more
awful shock than the average bursting
shell effected here in Kimberley.
The leading surgeon here, DR.. e. Oliver
Ashe, from London, has allowed me to
read his diary of the siege. and from II
have made a few notes of what the women
did.
The doctor has been urged to publish his
diary in book form, and If he does it will
prove both fascinating and valuable in a
supsrlative degree. l shall not hurt it by
dipping a teaspoon once into his great
bucketful of curious notes and comments
In the first place, the women stayed at
home while a very great number of the
men were in the various volunteer forces
manning the forts. living in camps, Skin
mishing with the enemy-busy at soldier
ing. They were not bombarded as much
as the women in the town were, but even
II they had been 1T would not have been
so bad for them, because it takes half the
'cussedness" out of danger to be fighting
the fellows who are trying to kill you.
BOER INHUMANITY.
When we come to making the terms of
settlement with these inhuman Beers
every woman in England must remember
danger from shells than their husbands.
1t was because the Beers purposely shelled
the houses. knowing that only women and
children were in them. The Boer COM
mandant was quoted in a Free State paper
as saying that he was putting his shells
right in the middle of the town" on pur-
pose.
That was done in defiance of the Geneva
convention, but the Beers regard that
agreement the Tammany Hall political
thief looked upon the Constitution of his
State. When he was arranging a job to
enrich his friends, and some one suggested
that he was violating the Constitution, he
said: "Arrah, phwat is a little thing like
the Constitution to come between friends?"
10 of tIn
cially constructed to resist one-hundred-
pound shells. What sort they are may be
inferred from this dialogue, which took
place in one last week. Two women were
talking and one proposed something which
the other considered preposterous.
Il say" she exclaimed, do you think 1
am sardine because. L live in a tin
house?"
The houses even of the more solid sort
offered such slender defense against shells
that hundreds of households prepared what
were called splinter proofs in their yards
and gardens. These were little chambers
or caves followed out of the earth. Some
were as good as brains could devise and
money could obtain. They were very deep,
and were rooted over with gigantic beams,
steel plates, earth. and then another layer
of steel and earth or sandbags over all.
The one in the grounds of the dwelling of
Mr.. Gardner +. Williams, general manager
OF the DE Beers Company, is well hoored,
contains rugs and wall-hangings is cleo
trically lighted and ventilated by electric
fans. As the ladies of Mr.. Williamss fam
lily were away, the servants benefited by
shelter proof at the Sanatorium, where
Mr.. Rhodes lived is equally we'll built and
appointed. l do not know that he ever
made use of il.
RHODES NOT COWARDLY.
There was no question of his courage"
says DR.. Ashe, who goes on to state that
every day the Matchmaker rode far out
on the veldt toward the Boer lines, always
wearing white flannel trousers. which made
him as conspicuous as an electric light on
dark night. BY the way, there were bar
riers at the ends of most of the streets,
and there was an order that no one might
ride past one of these without being
searched. Mr.. Rhodes was stopped one
day by guard, who was determined to
search him. Mr.. Rhodes fumed and raved,
but the guard was obdurate. Then Mr..
Rhodes produced written leave to pass
without being searched. He had only been
trying the guard.
But, to return to the shelter-proofs.
were," says DR.. Ashe in his absorbing
diary. They were often without ventila-
tion and were more dangerous than even
Boer shells. Yet to these ran many women
Cand men, too, you may be surel when the
shells were flying. In these lived many
invalids and children and nursing mothers,
and in one woman stayed from
Wednesday morning until a Friday even
ing.
Different women behaved differently "As
rule, think they showed more pluck
than the men, leading citizen said to
me.
Two women were sitting on different
stoops on different days. In each case
she'll fell near by and exploded In the
street One-an English woman-looked on
rather amused than otherwise and went
out and gathered the pieces to give away
as mementoes. The other-a Dutch woman
died of fright.
main street side by side A shell came
killed one and did not touch her companion
Dr. Ashe tells of a lady who walked or
rode out with her husband every day,
shells or no shells. Plenty suffered dread
full deaths. Plenty enjoyed amazingly mar
row escapes mainly while at their daily
work In their homes. One young lady hid
in shell-proof pit until 1t was time to
dress for dinner, and then went to her
room and was killed. That is precisely how
death came to George Labram, the me-
chanical wizard who made a big gun for
the town. Another shell fell under a bed
on which baby was sleeping but 1t did
not explode. Another fell under a bed on
which lay a Hindoo mother with her new
ly-born child This shell did explode and
set fire to the bed, but mother and child
escaped injury
Again, a shell came to the breakfast table
of the family of volunteer who was on
duty on the towns border. 1t burst and