Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-06
BOER WOMEN IN THE RANKS
FOURTEEN OF THEM FOUND DEAD
N ONE TRENCH.
They Had Been shot and Bayonet-
ed by the Briti>h-Sad story
of the War.

The New York Worlds special correspond
ent at Pretoria sends the following, under
date of March /: The British have opposed
TO them the bravest Anazons that ever the
sun Shone on.
At least 1890 Roer women are now with
the troops investing Ladysmith.
These women are not nurses nor cooks
save when necessity demands-nor camp
followers They are female soldiers.
brave their fathers and husbands and
brothers.
CThe Beer troops that invested Iladysmith
are now opposing Lord Roberts at Bloem-
fontein. The women are doubtless with the
BoersD
The world knows no finer example of
aeroism than that exhibited by fourteen
Women on one of the five days fighting
around SpOns Kop, the second Majuba. y
strictly family party Of Beers. fourteen men
and their wives. were intrenched in one po-
sition and held it with amazing bravery
against small force of British. For long
time the men fought necessarily and kept
their wives busy reloading their rifles.
Finally fifty British soldiers. with fixed
bayonets. charged on the intrenchment. As
they came closer, closer. the Boer men
crept over the earthwOrks, and. while the
women began shooting, tried with the butts
of their rifles to hammer back the British.
Before their wives eyes every one of the
fourteen Beers was killed-bayoneted
shot.
The fourteen women. so quickly widowed.
never thought of surrender. but fought
most yaliantIy and coolly for half an hour.
The British surrounded them; not of
the fourteen survived 10 mourn her hlls
band.
Two days later when the British forces
retired across the Tugela- twenty-eight
corpses. fourteen men. fourteen women.
were found within radius of 100 feet. Now
there is a big, long mound where rest the
bodies of as brave band ever fought
for freedom.
Scores of Women in Every IIaaEer.
Scores of women have been in every COM
mandOs laager l have visited. and only
one has been without her rife and bando-
liers-Mrs. JOubert wife of the command
ant 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 lager 1 found
young Boer woman under the canopy of
one of the big trekking wagons. Her tears
were falling so copiously that they mois-
tened her dress waist. She was about nine
teen years old, comedy, fairly wall dressed.
II is nothing strange to see a Boer woman
weeping: there is not but has lost a
father or brother or many relatives in the
war. But this ones grief was so extreme
that l stopped. and found she spoke Eng
lish 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 to a mound of fresh earth with a
lin of stones around and over it, a short
distance away.
She told me. too her father five brothers
and fnnumerable relatives were fighting
ouch! she exclaimed. her arm sud
denly twitched- Then | saw a small hole
IN the right sleeve of her dress just above
the elbow.
Have you been wounded?' I asked.
oh. yes. she replied. rather languidly
a bullet grazed me. and occasionally it
pains me very much
Then the girl of nineteen years explained
rather alphabetically. thai her father COM
p@lled her to remain in the wagon untlI the
wound was healed
IF 1T were not for him. she said Il
should not be here crying. Id be down in
yonder trench where ought to be-
Bride and GrOOm's Honeymoon at War
Try 20 imagine bride and groom going
to war on their honeymoon. Yet 1 have
seen them do so. When l left Pretoria
for the front friend introduced me TO a
young Boer couple who were going on the
same train. l thought my friend was iok-
ing when he said they We're going to fight
wife had Mauser rifles and each wore three
band"HerS. two over the shoulders. one
around the waist
As W. sped toward Iadysmith the Boer
and his wife chatted gaiy and unObrr1I-
Slvely displayed the greatest affection for
each other l made up nv mind the woman
was going as far a. the army officials
would permit and then bid her husband
good-hy.
When the train reached the end of the
Nm, IN Il snort distance north of Ladysmith
sisted in taking two horses from the last
car on tho train and. after Gaping lightly
|" the saddle. rode away toward ont. of the
laagerS in the distance She. sat on ba,
h"r~- As well as her husband. and the rife
that was Slung over her shoulder probably
"lH - much execution afterward as that
OF him who rode beside her
Several days later | was walking Slowly
SehlHd owe of the trenches occupied nv Tho
soldiers from the Pretoria district some
on. hailed me. Hello. Mr.. Yankee There
IN the truck Were nv friends Of the train |
4ArE "~r" having cup of coffee. and IN
Vit-ti me TO join them
can't offer you any sugar" apoIopized
NM Boer. because there isn't any in The
country. and I will not guarantee that the
coffee is not roasted corn but YOU cant
expect Injurious luncheon in war times
you know" -'
In the course of an hours converse fion |
they told me- most ingenuousIy thar thev
mad been married only a week and maj
ti.ey We're campaigning on their bridal tour
saw ''i
Remember that the Boer woman inherits |
bravery from her grandmother; that a |
uthitul o. women helped to repeI th.
h'rdeS Of Zulus fifty years ago Besides |
lnv presence OF the women in the laagers |
sick iio'He
The men suffer extremely from homo |
SICKNESS Wht'n the women are absent. for |
IN peace they are rarely separated more
IMAM a lew hours. Even when the men 90 |
trekking their wives 60 with them.
h""r Women in Mems Clothing |
And 10 finer. more inspirfting exemplifi- |
cation "f patriotism can be found ON Gods
f"otsto"l than BOer woman by her hus-
bands side. a rife in her hands and we'll |
hllcd bandolters over her shoulders
All but one of the women whom 7 have