The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-04-07
BRAVERY OF BOER WOMEN.
Fighting side by Side with Father
and Husband, They Take Active
Part on the Fighting Line.

Fighting side by side with Father
and Husband, They Take Active
Part on the Fighting Line.
NEW YORK, April Ga correspondent
of the World. writing from Pretoria,
March 1, says:
1.-THE world knows no finer example of
heroism than that exhibited by fourteen
women on one of the five days fighting
around Spion kop. A strictly family
party of Beers. fourteen men and their
wives, were intrenched In one position
and held II with amazing bravery against
a small force OF British. For a long
time the men fought necessarily and
kept their wives busy reloading their
rifles.
FINALLY nifty British soldiers with fix
ed bayonets charged on the intrenchment.
AS they came closer the Boer men crept
over the earthworks and, while the wo-
men began shooting, tried with the butts
Of their rifles to hammer back the Brit
ish. Before their wives every one of the
fourteen Beers were killed. bayoneted or
shot.
THE fourteen women, so quickly wild
owed, never thought of surrenderng, but
fought most valiantly and coolly for half
an hour. The British surrounded them,
and not one Of the fourteen survived to
mourn her husband
1.-TWO days later when the British
forces retired across the Tugela twenty
eight corpses. fourteen men and fourteen
women. were 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 freedom.
Scores of women have been In every
commanders lager l have visited and
only one has been without her rifle 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.
mot far from the Pretoria lager |
found a young Boer woman under the
canopy OF one OF the big trekkng wag-
ons, Her tears were falling so coplously
that they moistened her dress waist She
was about 10 years old. cqmely and fairly
well dressed.
1T II nothing strange TO see Boer
woman weeping; there is not one but has
either n father or brother or many rela-
tives In the war. But this ones grief
was so extreme that stopped and found
she spoke English exceptionally well. She
told me her sister had been killed by
sharpshooter 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 10 mound of fresh earth
with line OF stones around and over IT,
n short distance away.
she told me, too, her father, Ave
brothers and innumerable relatives were
nghtng.
"'ouchr' she exclaimed, as her arm
suddenly twitched. Then saw a small
hole in the right sleeve of her dress above
tho elbow,
Have you been wounded9 I asked.
"'oh. yes" she replied. rather languid-
iy A bullet graHed me and occasionally
Il pains me-
rather apologetically, that her father
compelled her to remain In the wagon
until the wound was healed.
III II were not for him, she said Il
should not be here crying. ia be down
In Wonder trench where | ought to be
"The men suffer extremely from home
sickness when the women are absent. for
in peace they are rarely separated more
than n few hours.
And 40 fner moro inspiring exempli-
ncation Of patriotism can be found on
Gods footstool than Boer woman by
her husbands side a rife In her hands
and well-nlled bani0liers over her shout
der
An hut ono % the women whom have
seen wore black or brown dresses one
was In mans apparel but .tho Beers toll
rue the women often pat ON their hus-
bands clothing when their own becomes
worn.
In the early days ~ the campaign the
British captured three Boer women in
mems clothing. and they are stul held as
prisoners Of war on the wRrahlps. but
they have been supplied with proper
clothing.
whether they fought or not. whether
they cured "Reminiscences or moi. &c would
be hard 20 keep these warrior wo,neu
from the front They were the first 60
inSis, that the Transvaal should rrsiat
England. Nov they are sharing the
burden ana expect Ca share enc glory
For every Beer man or woman old or
young firmly believes that tho republics
will ultimately triumph Tho RELIEF az
Kimberley and tAdyemUh aro nat re-
garacd as defeats boat rather as Via
tories, iuasmGch as she Barr forces
which have been lying .lmss, illo around
the cities can noW bc taken where there
Is real aghtiug