The suburban citizen., 1900-01-20
LIFE OF BOER TREKKERS.
REGARDED AS oUTcAsTs BY THE
TRANsVAAL 5URcHERs.


''The Trek Boer is living ex.
ample of the truth of the colonial
saying that 'monotony does not harm
a man with no brains, says Or
mond Lodge, in the Field. The life
led by these people is hideous in its
never-ending sameness. The families
do not mingle together, and there is
none of q that offhand sociability
which is such feature of the Trans
vaal and Free State Beers. During
nv stay in Damaraland came across
scores of trekker families. On one
occasion one OF these family groups,
consisting of a father, mother, two
sons and daughter, camped near the
wayside store where l was staying.
Their mode of life was as follows: At
dsybreak the family would disengage
themselves from the wagon, and the
Kafir boy would come from his roost
under this conveyance and drive the
stock away to feed. The old man
would then take up his position on a
stool in the lee of the wagon, and
would rest there hour after hour,
looking straight ahead of him. The
two sons would lie on the grass, pipe
in mouth, gazing up at the sky, but
never exchanging word; and the old
vrouw would sit near by on another
stool, also busily engaged in doing
nothing, the only one of the family
who ever worked being the daughter,
who attended to the washing and
cooking arrangements. Such a life
as this would very soon turn an or
binary man into a hopeless lunatic;
but these people thrived on it.
''The Trek Beers, though they be-
long to the same race as the Transvaal
and Free State Beers, have held
themselves apart from these others
for q considerable period; but there is
no doubt that the present diff
Guilty will be the means of their unit
ing together again, and, for time, at
any rate, burying old grievances in
their mutual hatred of the common
enemy. The Trek Beers are not con-
spicuous by their numbers, and merit
interest more from their personal
habits and peculiarities than anything
else. My first experience of Trek
Boer was during trip made into
| Damaralaud. had off.saddled one
day by stream to rest the horse
when troop of about dozen cattle
and a couple of hundred sheep ap-
peared coming toward me over the
brow of the hill. These were shortly
followed by wagon driven by a tall,
white-bearded, old man, who walked
alongside the oxen and urged them
on. The outfit arrived at the drift,
the wagon was outspanned, and the
inmates, consisting of an old woman,
four or five young women and several
children, alighted.
81 have at times seen patrol tents
made to hold two men provide shelter
for seven or eight, but never saw
such a clear case of overcrowding as
this before, and / was watching them
dismount, one after another, wonder
ing whether there were any more to
follow, when the old man came over
and shook hands with me. / drew
out handful OF tobacco and we sat
down together. He was travelling for
the sake OF his cattle and sheep, he
told me; he lived wherever he might
be when the sun went down. oh,
I said, then you are one OF the
trekkers? Yes he said, Il have al
ways been a trekker.' His father
came up from Cape Colony during
the Great Trek, and had not settled
down as most of the others had done
He thought it was no use, he added,
because as soon as he became com.
fortably settled he knew that the
English Government would come
along and drive them further inland
and he himself had followed in his
fathers footsteps. I looked at him
as he said this, but there was nc
suspicion of sarcasm in his face.
presently the old vrouw, who haG
been seated on q footstool watching
the girls make the fire, called out tha
the coffee was ready, and L went ovel
with the old man and shook hands
with the ladies' They were dressed
in the most outrageous attempts al
female apparel that / had ever seen
aud their feet and heads were bare
One of the girls, about nineteen year.
old, was dressed in a mans corduroy
coat aud short skirt of what had origi
nally been some white material; sh,
had cut of the arms OF the coat, pre-
sumably to give freer movement, and
taken altogether, presented an un
usual sight. This young lady, aftel
J looking at me searchingly for few
; moments, asked me where my wife
was. I told her had none. oh
J you liarl she replied, quito genially
} but the old Yrouw now turned hei
! head and said: BE quietr much il
the same tone with which one ad
! dresses a disobedient dog, and tn,
, girl, to my great relief, subsided.
''I sat down, and tho old vrouv
poured me out a basin of coffee, ant
we got into conversation. My host in,
formed me that he had left Bechuana
land when Sir Charles Warren's ex
pedition went into the country, ant
, had to come to Damaraland with man,
others. Bechuanaland was a fine
. | ooun ntru for tba trakkara ba aai6 IN q