The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-03-31
}OERS FED BY AMERICA.
HEIR cOMMlSSARIES FAIRLY BURST.
ING WITH OUR FOOD PRODUCTS:

ING WITH OUR FOOD PRODUCTS.
imbattled Farmers of South Africa Ann
ply Provisioned For Long Siege
Their Staff of Life is Indian Corn-How
the National Dish is Prepared.
Exporters in New York City who
make specially of the South African
rade are doing great deal of think.
ng at the present time over the prob
EN- that is greatly perplexing the
British Government-that is, the ex-
ent to which the Beers are prepared,
IS far as food supplies are concerned,
% Withstand the protracted siege that
seems likely TO ensue on the British
advance. These exporters appear to
believe that the Beers are re markably
veil provisioned, and that any. at
;empt to starve them out is hardly
likely to succeed soon.
The extent of American trade with
,he Transvaal, especially in the mat
Ter of cereals and foodstuffs, according
20 the statement of one versed in the
,tstistics of international trade, was
something of which the American peo-
pie had no just conception. 1t was
added that the Beers and South Alri-
cans generally, although nomin ally
farmers. raise very little of their own
'ood, but are fed almost entirely by
foreign nations. AS to canned meats
and jerked beef-or, as the Beers
themselves call it, bill-tong-practi-
,ally all of the immense quantity con-
.umed in South Africa is supplied by
American firms, shipping through the
port of New York.
"The British Government has shown
a remarkable lack Of foresight" re-
marked one of the largest local food
exporters to South Africa, Gin forming
just estimate of the preparedness of
the Beers for war, and the work OF the
intelligence department in gaining any
accurate information concerning their
military supplies is only one aspect of
the case. AS matter of fact, the
Beers have not only been laying up an
almost inexhaustible supply of powder
and cartridges, but an abundant sup
ply Of food as we'll. If the British sue.
ceed in getting as far as Pretoria or
johannesburg and attempt to lay siege
to the cities, they will discover that
the inhabitants will suffer little from
the lack of food; that their granaries
are fairly bursting with: the products
of American and Australian farms; and
that in all the other food-staples Of war
time, such as canned beef, the Dutch
are plentifully provided.
''r base these conclusions upon the
examination of my own books. My
firm sends great quantities of flour
and canned goods to South Africa
every year, and especially to Delagoa
Bay, Port Natal, Durham, East Lon
don, and Port Elizabeth, which are
the chief ports of entry to the Trans
vaal and the Orange Free State. +
have never known the South African
trade to be so brisk as it has been
during the past year, and especially
the past few months.
''It was perfectly apparent that the
Transvaalers were ordering a great
desL more stuff than they could readily
consume; and the trade in that direc-
ton has for some time been looked
upon as abnormal.
"Take the case of -four exports, for
example. Floua, under the most
favorable circumstances, can hardly
be preserved over a year, but in spite
of that fact the Afrikanders have been
Increasing their orders during the
past few months in most surprising
way. In the year 1899, according to
my figure, some 300, 900 sacks of -four
wcre sent from New York to Delagoa
Bay, and about 400, 1000 sacks to the
other South African ports-a large
amount of which also finds it's way
,nlo The Iransvaal. |
"This amount is about twice the
normal annual trade in -four. The
largest flour shipments ever known
were sent in April and May, which
are not ordinarily busy months in the
South African trade. I know one
firm that sent SO, 900 sacks q month in
the spring of the present year, and
the shipments of other New York con-
Germs were equally large.
"Other commodities than flour,
however, have been sent in vast
to South Africa during the
past few months. One of the choicest
aelicacies to the Boer palate is the
ssreal know as samp. Samp is
cracked corn, degerminated. tits al
most the staff of life with the Beers,
and is also largely used by the aborig.
ues. The Beers boil it into sort
oorridge and bake it with pork-after
he fashion of American pork and
oeans. Shipload after shipload of
his, to them, indispensable article
las been sent to Delagoa Bay during
he past few months, and you can
make up your mind that it is coming
n handy at the present time. Canned
,eef is also a favorite article of diet
With the people of the Transvaal, and
thousands of cases of this have been
ent by American packers.
'Those who have visited South
Africa recently will have no occasion
o ask where this is stored away. All I
yer the Republic are scattered i'm {
nanse sl not iron atnpnhouono and r ! .