The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-08-13
WRATH OF THE WOMEN.
Ii Il Very Bitter I'm the Transvaal-
Work of Reconstruction.

LONDON, Aug. Awhile events i'm South
Africa no longer move with their former
rapidity, and the closing scenes of the war
may lack the theatrical effect which char
acterized their opening the correspondents
still find much of interest to chronicle in
the constantly changing scene. The spec
tacle Is much like that of the early re
construction days i'm the United States
during the latter SOS, when the tales of
personal valor had given way 10 those of
heroic devotion to a waning cause.
1.-The men are still sulen, the women are
still druml:e and sour" writes John Stuart.
OF the Morning Post, describing the Trans
vaal women about Krugersdorp. LAS l
have often before remarked. these women
hate us with hatred as cruel as the
grave.
"'Send me a wounded Englishman,' wrote
a young woman OF the place to her lover
outside Ladysmith, for 1 want to watch
him die
THAT was common request found in
letters from all over the country, mostly
dated from Krugersdorp. And now Tommy
Atkins pervades Krugersdorp and ad-
dresses the young women VINO had such
kind hopes for him in language which
Mary Jane, of Chelsea, would think face
tious He means neither unkindness nor
incivility Only these poor women are not
in a frame of mind to understand his large,
friendly heart.
81 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.
But / am going to tell you a story which
shows that there is something akin to no
bility in this passionate hatred of the
women. On Monday night long after the
town had surrendered, Transvaal flag
was fiosted over one house occupied by
Mr.. Phanc Kock, who is brother of the
general who was wounded TO the death at
Elandslaagte. A trooper saw the flag ana
hauled 1t down. Next morning Mrs. Kock,
in impudent feminine obstinacy, had an
other hoisted. An officer ordered its re-
moval. She called him into her sitting
room and rallied at him at considerable
length.
"'Ah, she cried, you can take away our
flags, and you can take away our indie
pendence, but you cannot take away our
spirit. Thereupon she opened a tinkling
cottage piano and played the Transvaal
'Volkslied, singing the words In voice
that shook with rage
" Pretty tune, said the officer; what is
il? Play 1t 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
a Whittier to put the pathos OF the scene
into jingling verse for the school books.
"The builders of the 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-com-
mandant is foretelllng a fresh outbreak of
rebellion within two years And many men
who have given up arms promise US an
other round In the race war at the first
European complication.
"'Wait,' they say, till We see England
| with her hands full, and you will find the
whole country afiame' For this reason 1
plead for examples. We should not be sat
sfied, as we are too often satisfied in our
easygoing way, with the surrender of an
old-fashioned rife and twenty or even fifty
rounds of ammunition. There were enough
Mausers i'm 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 distrib-
| uted."