The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-03-13
THE BoER WOMEN ! q ! !.
They share tho Perils Of Their Hns-

They Share the Perils OF Their Hus-
bands, Brothers and Sons.
None but the elderly women among the
.TransvaaI Beers can remembex. the great
trek of 1886, when their IA hers ana
erandf Tiers abandoned the homes they
had made In Natal and toiled up the
passes to the lofty plateau where Vhey
founded their republic. Those days were
more trying than any the sTransvaai awo-S
men ever saw until the present war be-
Gan They were still living In their tent
va IONS when those terrible wars with
the NIatabele branch of the Zulu traoe
began, and no women could snow S1noie
wonderful spirit and constancy 1nan
those wives and mothers of the Boer
nioneers in the midst OF appalling dan
gers and hardships, which did not end
until the a1atabeles had been driven
north of the Crocodile River Not a rev
of those women, and their ch1idren Will
them, persisted by the assegais OF saw
ages: but not one of them would 4nave
dreamed of returning to the peacelul
homes and gardens in Natal which they
had left behind The British had pro-
claimed that country their own, -tnelr
coionists were pouring in, and the 6oers
would die before they would come asal1tn
under British rule.
The wives and mothers or the SoauieiS
who now confront the British are the ue-
scendants of those Stout-hea1teu W i l ~,
who loaded the guns of their husoanos
and b,ys while savaSes rushed upon the
brush heaps that were the sole protec-
ton around their laagers. Perhaps mo
women in the world have chanSeo SO III
tic in two generations. Inc women "
the Boer farmsteads now are just WHAT
their grandma Tiers were when the Mata-5
rrI,t hair
still their only book; they still prefer d
a,tiet. sedentary life and the simple du-f
ties OF their modest homes. and tneyg
have scarcely risen in any respect apose
the plane OF intellectual cultivation Wnicn
their grandma Tiers occupied; ana thsy
are like their gra ndmothers: too, III .ne
courage constancv and sublime deVotloH
with which they are facing the aWtui
trials of another crucial period IN tue
history Of their people
A report sent by the French Consui
at Pretoria to his government lhouSE
brief. is perhaps the best statement yet
received Of the part the.:Women OF tne
Beers are taking in the present war. ne
saws they are doing everythins.itn ca,
to aid the soldiers in the field lnoeeo
hundreds Of them are in the field ana
form the majority of the working force
in the ambulance and hospital service.
In their denunciation of the British they
arc far more bitter and outspoken cnan
the men themselves, but IN their n1lsSio ~
of mercy they know no enemies. AZ
the wounded British soldiers VINO Idse
fallen into their hands have been treateu2
as hrothers and friends. The Boer
nurses extend to them the same cal 1870 ...se
thew give to their own stricken soldAeIs.
We all know that dispatches from tue
british Army have often referred 10 tne
kind treatment received by their wound.
ed who are prisoners in the Boer caiips's
THE French Consul adds that the "o-
men throughout the two repuDilcs eA
erted a. powerful influence IN klhotiits
enthusiastic support for the W.lr "aie.,
it became certain that the connect GUY
-. 10 -averted. They sent many OF
their sons into the commands or militia
oreaniza tons, even though the stripInss
had not quite reached the age Of sixteen
rben thew are liable to military duty.
Ono day a crowd at the railroad Station
in Pretoria was cheering a conlmahuo
that was going to join Jouberts army
around Ladysmith.' a mother LIE stie
throng saw her young son Win d gun
over his shoulder and wearing d, ca
ridge belt, just as he was ehteiiits
she followed him to his seat, anu
,.,-ine- her hand ON his shoulder, SAID.
NV bow. why did you not tell me OF
this?''
vas wrong. but I could not bear to DID
Won eood-bye. You were to be told JUST
MS soon as we left. You see, mo lnef,
it was my duty to go sooner or la.er'
and I thought the sooner the o ,.
Forgive me if have done Wrohs-
..You are right, my son." the mother
replied. cit is your duty to go and am
willing you should go, though thougnt
# might be better to wait few months:
Co, YOU have my blessing, but you shouiu
have told me- She kissed him fare"eil
and thers was a smile on her face as
she left the car, though tears $1,000 IN
her eyes. .,
EVERYWHERE the movement OF troops III
tie iBoer States, as they have starteo
for the lighting lines, has been tr1 .u-
mai procession In all the towns and
hamlets the women cannot do enough for
the soldiers. They have marched with
all the commands to the railroad sta-
tions. They visit all the camps before
the start to the front; bringing baskets OF
food warm from the ovens and DIS OF
handiworle, such as tha housewives
many of our soldiers carried IN rae ClVii
War, containing mending material aic
implements compactly packed, and other
things that may somewhat alleviate the
discomforts Of soldier life. The women or
Bloemfontein, who. perhaps, are to-day
expecting the speedy investment OF thelr
beautiful little town by the British army,
are said to have been especially enthusl-s
astic in cheering on the soldiers, doing
everything in their power for their COM
fort, and filling the ranks as full as pos
sible. AS long as the cominandos are
within reach delegations Of women from
many towns are with them, helping In
the conlmissary department, sewing and
bringing fresh food from home for the
companies in which their interest Is es-
pecially conferred. Other delegations or
committees of women have been per-
m;tted to go from Pretoria to Bloernfon-.
tein, almost to the fighting lines. in charge
of recruits or the hospital service, and of
the distribution of many supplies. Ely
every means within their power the wo-z
men of the two Republics are working
night and day to promote the interests
of their cause, and If their GOOD, honest
hatred Of tha enemy might sap his
strength and paralyze his arms there
would certainly be no fight left in the
British ranks The following extract
from a letter written by an educated
woman at Pretoria, about a month after