Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-06-07

| northwest and some parts of our own
| west. 1t was a country of rolling hills,
| bare of tree growth excepting where
| here and there a settler had planted
1 little grove of the Australian blue gum
| around his cabin. But these houses
were widely scattered. The real dyed
| in the wool Boer wants his house some
| where where he cannot see the smoke
from his neighbours chimney. Small
herds of grazing sheep and cattle were
common enough, usually attended by
a native herder. Now and then we
could see one Of the huge wagons, gi-
gantic affairs drawn by six yoke of OK
en-, of some Boer family on the move.
The railway is well laid, well ballast
ed, and the slated houses were of the
neatest and cleanest, with yards and
| surroundings kept in the best of order.
But my special interest was in the
people. There were no throngs Of
them, but each station had its little
bunch of loafers TO see the train come
in" At some of the stations men
boarded the train who We're evidently
on their way to 1.-THE front" The Boer,
except the police and an artillery or
ganization, wears no uniform. He
everyday life. His cartridge belt, usu-
ally worn across the shoulder, and his
rifle are almost the only sign of his sol
diering. Some wear a striped ribbon,
red, white, blue and green, the Boer
colors, around the hat, some wear q
metal badge fastened upon the hat
rim, but the majority, so far as appear
ance goes, might as well be going out
- 70 Oh
at Englishmen. SLOUGH hated, rough
ly dressed and usually heavily bewhis-
kered gentlemen shook hands with
friends and sometimes kissed a family |
group which had come to see them off. |
There was nothing of violent emotion, |
little or nothing Of enthusiasm. In this |
respect also the man might as well
have been going on a hunting trip as
going to war. But think it was rath- !
er 4 racial stolidity than any absence
of real feeling.
On the way in had some opportuni- |
ty for conversations with various peo- |
pie, native burghers and sympathizing |
uitlanders. Many Englishmen talk a |
lot of nonsense about the Beers, and, /
equally, many Beers talk lot of nom
sense about the English. Yet all these
people are quite honest in their indi
vidual opinions. Perhaps all are partly !
right and all very decidedly wrong. |
The real trouble lies partly in igno-
rance and partly in 4 lack of effort |
to understand the people of other races
and tongues. Many of the Beers evil
IDENTITY feel very strong and some
very bitter toward the English.
Among the considerable number with
whom 1 talked lack of good faith was
an open charge. One, an uitlander, n
Hungarian by birth, a man of clear
intelligence and good social position,
spoke of Il long petition with 21,000
in which prayer was made
to the English queen for aid and re-
dress for uitlanderS' grievances against
the Beers. The document bore his own
but, he asserted, he had
never signed such a petition. He had
signed, he told me. as had many of his
neighbOrs, a petition for 4 tramway to
pass his house. His claim was that
the signatures to the tramway petition
had been attached to the political petit
ton to the queen.
have not as yet fallen in with any
from America or from Eng
land. Many of the English have gone
away; some have been deported. But
of those whom / have met who come
from continental Europe none has
had special complaint to make of Ell
Their Boer people or Boer government.
There was no claim that either was
perfect or even superior, but it was
held that there was no special ground
for reasonable complaint against the
life under the flag of the South African
republic. The charge that it was all a
capitalists war was very frequently
made, and Cecil Rhodes was evidently
regarded as a side partner to his satan
ic majesty. l met and had long talk
with one gentleman who was evidently
Of the better and more progressive
class. He claSsed himself as n born
Boer, 4 native burgher. He seemed n
man of large property interests and
was evidently concerned in public af- ]
fairs. He had known Cecil Rhodes
from his very beginning in South Az
RIGA. He was one of those mine own
ers in Kimberley who, in the early
days, refused to sell out TO the COM
pany which Rhodes wished to form.
a year the big syndicate was
and all were squeezed out who {
would not go into it. Ny acquaintance {
was among the squeezed and had new
Pr got over his hatred toward the pro-
noter of the big enterprise. / am get /
ting TO think it quite probable that I
some new stories are yet to be told re- I
yarding the war in South Africa, and it I
nay be that the worst thing that Eng
and can do for herself will be to win
he fight. .
Our train reached Pretoria at Z p. NJ, Z
and am stalled. for the time, in a ;
wholly comfortable hotel-in fact, I
more homelike establishment than any 8
'ther of my experience since 1 left the :
states. !
Exposition Rates In Paris.