The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-23
a HEROINE OF THE TRANsvAAL
The Ride of II Bocr Woman with II
Mc-sn.e 10 CrOuic.

The BOer woman who carried the news
to Cronje is in San Francisco.
She is here in the garb Of a widow, tor
in the PARKWAY trenches her husband ieli
| while lighting the British, and died in The
arm Of the brave little wife.
She is as pretty ard dainty as a girl-for
| this heroine Of the Trausvaal is scarcely
out of her teens-as ever proved herself
/ loyal to 4 losing cause. And she i as
, no. during the terrible siege pTeCed ng
! CrCuje's surrender. rode like a whirlwind
over the veldt for thirty consecutive hours
and gave the alarm to the great general
that resulted in the retreat OF his de.i5tei
| army.
Her name is alice Van Aarrdt
She is i'll and under medical care. b.
cause of the severe physical and mental
strain which she has endured.
The following is her story:
! Ever since | can remember, we have an
! t!cipated the coming OF the English When
/ | was ten years old my father gave me a
rife for birthday present and toll me IN t
/ when l could fire from the porch a the
back door and hit snake in the sun on
the top Of a kopie near which our house
I stood, l might go 10 visit my aunt a The
Hague and attend school there.
II did not take me long to despatch my
| snake in the sun on the kopje. l went to
! The Hague with my mother and sister.
/ Ny mother had been a lady-in-w waiting to
/ the qeen mother. and We girls we're very
! often at the palace to play with Her Lit
/ tie Majesty, WilheImina. We were at In
/ terlachen when we first heard that war
/ was certain. We were all together incog-
! nito-the queen, her mother, my sister,
/ and my husband. ! had been married only
/ a few months, and was happy. One morn
1 ing telegram was handed to M husband.
/ He requested permission of the Queen to
/ 20 and send a reply. AS soon as l could
/ | hurried away and into the hotel, and
| found my husband throwing some things
| in a great hurry into n travelling bag.
II am going, too / said, for 1t was
| suddenly made perfectly clear to me
| without my being told, that Pet was 60
| ing home. and that the war bad begun.
We went directly to Pretoria, AMI my
! husband offered his services to President
! Kruger for any duty that might ye as
! signed to him. The President answered:
II there were ten Of you | could easier
| place you. but you must go TO Cronie.'
/ staid a few days IN Pretoria, and then
went to my home on farm. on the border
between Cape Colony and TIE Orange Free
State There l found parties of our people
continually passing to the nearest camp.
and l kept my KafIirs busy making the
| breakfast bread for them that we Beers like
with our coffee
After a while our soldiers moved on, and
most OF the farms were deserted. was
very lonely. One Sunday morning l heard
singing from a long distance The Kaffirs
have begun early thought, but all at
once it came to me that the singing was
not that OF Kafirs.
1t was the British.
l dressed in the shortest possible time,
| and hurrying in the sun to the top Of the
hill on which the house stands. and which
cut off the view, looked upon a sight that
terrified me.
The whole landscape seemed moving.
1t was the British Army in brown uni
forms so nearly the color OF the stones and
earth that l could scarcely distinguish
which was which. They came so fast that
they were around me in a few minutes,
swarming over the place and throwing
down their equipment as if they intended
TO stay. The kitchen was filled with them
when ! went back, and crowd around the
open door was laughing at what those in
side were doing. / went up and found they
were frightening the lives out of three of
the maids. whom they were compelling to
dance and sing God Save the Queen"
They will not bother you long madam
the officer said. I'VE only rest five hours
and then will be on the march again. and
they VIII not be so lively by tomorrow
morning. for they marched all last night
too
All the while one thought kept repeating
itself over and over in my brain: How can
! get them word?
I could see that the British were intend
ing surprise, and there were such a lot
of them that 1 trembled for my people,
whose strength In numbers I knew to be
inferior.
The soldiers took everything they could
make into an awning TO keep of the sun,
for there is very little shade except around
the house and they spread cut my blan-
kets and bed covers and rugs, even my
dress skirts, on sticks or rifles, so as to
form little tents.
In half an hour every soldier seemed
asleep and there was absolute silence. Only
one guard was in my way and he walked
lazily up and down IL the sun.
l carried him out 4 pitcher Of iced
milk and told him l wanted to get some
eggs from the milkhouse to make drink
for the officer. who seemed done out He
appeared satisfied, and I went back TO
the house and told an old Kafir who pre-
tended TO be half blind that he must
manage somehow to get my saddle to the
milkhouse.
My horse was in the paddock and
could have whistled her 10 me but did not
dare. lest it give the alarm. so I broke
an egg and held Il IN my hand like sugar !
and she came trottiug Up. l whispered to
her that she must be stnl and get away
from these British and we would go to
my husband We did not seem to have |
been missed, and soon We were away from
the soldiers.
rode all day. and after dark came to a |
group of huts where Kafirs live, and rest |
cd there. The old black woman rubbed me |
and tool; the ache away and gave me slim, |
ulauts, so in a little while I was riding |
again, and rode all night. l was so worI |
out that when l got near Froja, a tiny |
place near which our oUtposts were, ] |
could scarcely speak and could only cry. |
did make them understand though, and |
they took the message to the general.
It was the middle Of the afternoon, and |
in an hour or so he sent word for me TO |
come to him, and I went, though | had TO |
be carried He asked me 4 lot Of ques- |
tons and told him everything. When he |
found I had nothing more to tell he took |
me by the arm, and. with assistance. led |
me to Madame Cronje, and told her to look |
after me.
Ny husband was on the kopje sniplng, |
HIS LIFE SAVED