The age-herald., 1900-08-13
Something Like Reconstruction
 Days in United States
THE MEN ARE STILL SULLEN
Women of the Transeaal Have Hatred for Englishmen As Cruel As the Grave-Some Touching
 Incidents Related

Correspondence of the Associated Press.
 London, August 12-While events in South Africa no longer move with their former rapidity and the closing scenes Of the war may lack the theatrical effects which characterized their opening, the correspondents still find much of interest to chronicle in the constantly changing scene.
 The spectacle is much like that of the early reconstruction days" in the United States during the latter sixties, when the tales of personal valor had given way to those of heroic devotion to a waning cause.
 '"rhe men are still sullen, the women are still drumlie and sour," writes John Stu art, of the Morning Post, describing the Transvaal women about Krugersdorp "As I have often remarked, these women hate us with a hatred as cruel as the grave.
 Send me a wounded Englishman, wrote young woman of the place to her lover outside Ladysmith for I want to we tch him die'
 That was a common request found iu letters from all over the country, mostly dated from Krugersdorp And now Tom my Atkins pervades Krugersdorp and ad- dresses the young women who had such AAhA hopCo TUT hlIu III language WHICH Mary Jane, of Chelsea, would think facetious. He means neither unkindness nor incivility. Only these poor women are not in frame of mind to understand his large friendly heart
 T am afraid that Mary Jane of Chelsea would be little annoyed if she could see his simple overtures of peace. They are very frank, but here they are very futile
 Akin to Nobility
 "But I am going to tell you a story which shows there is something akin to nobility in this passionate hatred of the women. On Monday night, long after the town had surrendered, Transvaal flag was floating over one house occupied by MT. Phanc Rock, who is a brother of the gen. eral who was wounded to the death at Elandslagaate. A trooper saw the flag and hauled it down. Next morning Mrs. Rock, an impudent feminine obstinacy had an- other hoisted. An officer ordered its re- moval. She called him into her sitting room and railed at him at considerable length
 "Oh," she cried, you can take away our flags, and you can take away our inde- pendence but you cannot take away our spirit" Thereupon she opened tinkling cottage plano and played the "Transvaal Volksed," singing the words in voice that shook with rage.
 Pretty tune,' said the officer, what is 1t; play it again, please" But she only shook her fist in his face. She was speech less, poor, wild woman If she had been English or American, she would have found Whittier to put the pathos of the scene into jngng verse for the school books.
 ''The builders of new South Africa have a hard and difficult soil to work on, and nothing can be gained by hiding or ignoring the fact. Already an ex-commandant is foreteling a fresh outbreak Of rebellion within two years. And many men who have given up arms promise us another round in the race war at the first European com plication
 Wait they say, till we see England with her hands full and you will find the whole country af1ame.' For this reason plead for examples. We should not be sat- isfied as we are too often satisfied in our easy going way with the surrender of an old fashioned rife and twenty or even fifty rounds of ammunition.
 There were enough MauserS in the Transvaal at the beginning of the war to supply every Boer in South Africa twice over. Our returns will soon prove that we have not received anything like half the number originally distributed"