Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-03-01
BOER WOMEN.
A Criticism of Them Not at All
Friendly

Mrs. Roy Devereux, described as The
author of Side Lights on South Africa,
contributes to the New York World a
paper in which she draws anything but
t1attering picture Of the women OF
Dom Paul's land" LAS far" she says,
"aS one continent is from anOther-as
far as temperament, tradition and edu-
from each-just so wide is the great
gulf which divides the boer woman
from the WOmanhOOd Of modern Eng
land and America. Both, indeed, be-
long to the sex of it's mother and that
eternal, inevitable fact constitutes the
only similarity between them. Re-
garded from this standpoint, the pres
ent war is, one might say, the express
sion of the difference between the
Englishman and the bOer, but even
that vast divergence is small compared
with the chasm which all the influences
of civilization have created between
the women of these two nations Each
century, even every decade, has
grown with mans growth, kept pace
with his footprints. Not so with the
boer maiden, wife and mother. Time
has passed over her instead of taking
her by the hand She still remains as
she was in the beginning, as we were
! in the primitive age of the worlds his
tory-the mere female, in the lowest.
the most elemental sense alone. the
other half of man
Mrs. Kruger, though the first lady in
the Transvaal, has been so lacking IN
culture and refinement as to have II
children, has never read any book but
the Bible, and could not sign her own
name to save her life"-a fact scarce
ly to be wondered at, considering how
fully her time has been occupied in
increasing the population of the re-
public. Another Indictment brought by
Mrs. Devereux against the TransyaaI
women is that they are not good look
ing. The fatal gift of beauty rarely if
ever falls to the lot of the feminine
boer.' Yet is her lot not all unhappy.
considered from the ordinary femin-
inc standpoint, even according 20 Mrs.
DevereuXS admission, for il seems
that she rarely or never fails to secure
a husband. For the beers are much
given to marrying and giving in mar
riage, and if a man remains unwed af-
ter thirty he becomes almost an obiec;
of suspicion to his fellows" a condi-
ton of affairs which would be hailed
with delight by the feminine popula-
ton, did it exist among more civilized
communities and this announcement
Mrs. DevereuX will tend to pro-
duce favorable sentiment on the part
| of most ladies toward the MARRYING
Transvaalers
| Mrs. Devereux points out however
that the element of romance does not
enter into consideration in Transvaal
courtships, for the beers are a nracti-
cal people, in whom contact with gold
mining has developed an inordinate AT.
lection for the precious metal The
daughter OF an official who has en-
riched himself by despoiIing the
despised outlander has no lack of
suitors, nor she who exhibits those
qualities that would make an ideal GEN
eral servant. If the first is not avail
able the second is certain to be To
marry for love is to the Transvaaler
simply a pernicious habit characteris-
tic of the Rooinek, which, being inter
preted, is the Englishman." AN inor-
dinate affection for the precious met
all is, of course, peculiar to boer
suitors. Cultured Englishmen and