The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1900-04-12
SLAUGHTER OF BOER WOMEN.
British Show no Pity to Weaker Sex.
But Slay RemOrselessly.


New York, April GA correspond
ent to the New York World writing
from Pretoria, March l, says:
"The world knows no finer example
of heroism than exhibited by four
teen women on one OF the five days
fighting around Spion's kop. A
strictly family party of Beers, four
teen men and their wives were in
trenched in one position and held it
with amazing bravery against force
of British. For long time the men
fought necessarily and kept their
wives busy reloading their rifles.
Finally 90 British soldiers, with
fixed bayonets, charged on the in
trenchment. AS they came closer,
closer, the Boer men crept over the
earthworks and while the women be-
gan shooting, tried with the butts of
their guns to hammer back the Brit
ish. Before their wives eyes every
one of the fourteen men were killed,
bayonetted or shot.
The fourteen women so quickly
widowed, never thought of surrender
ing, but fought valiantly and coolly
for half an hour The British sur
rounded them. Not one of the four
teen survived to mourn her hus-
band.
Two days later, when the British
forces retired across the Tugela, %
corpses, IA men and IA women, were
found within a radius of 100 feet.
Now there is a big, long gmound where
rest the bodies of as brave a band as
ever fought for freedom.
Scores of women have been in every
commando's laager / have visited,
and only one has been without her rife
and bandoliers-Mrs Joubert, wife
of the cOmmandant general OF the
Transvaal forces. But their bravery
does not rob these women of any
womanly qualities-love, tenderness,
gentleness, pity.
Not far from the Pretoria laager /
found a young Boer woman under
the canopy OF one of the big trekking
wagons. Her tears were falling so
copiously that they moistened her
dress waist. She was about 10 years
old, comely. fairly well dressed.
1t is nothing strange to see a Boer
woman weeping; there is not one but
has lost a father or brother or many
relatives in the war. But this ones
grief .wrs so extreme that | stopped
and found she spoke English eXcep-
tionally we'll She told me her sister
had been killed by sharp shooter
the day before.
She was my twin sister and We
never passed a day apart" she said
between her sobs. 1T breaks my
heart to think that she lies over there
under the ground She pointed to
mound OF fresh earth with line of
stones around and over it a short
distance away.
She told me. too. her father, five
brothers and innumerable relatives
were fighting,
.sOuch." she exclaimed, as her arm,
suddenly twitched Then | saw a
small hole in the right sleeve of her
dress lust above the elbow.
Have you been wounded?' p |
asked
80, yes" she replied. rather Ian
guidly "A bullet grazed me, and
occasionally it pains me very much :"
Then this girl of 19years explained,
rather apologet1cally. that her father
compelled her to remain in the wagon
until the wound was healed.
If il were not for him. she said
4 should not be here CRYING. I'd be
down in yonder trench, whereI ought
| to be
| The men suffer extremely from
homesickness when the women are
absent, for in peace they are rarely
separated more than a few hours.
And no finer. more inspiring eXem-
plifcation of patriotism can be found
on Gods footstool than a Boer wo-
man by her husbands side, a rifle in
her hands and well filed bandoliers
over her shoulders.