The Irish standard., 1900-07-21
THE BOYS FROM CHICAGO
Who Left for South Africa to Help
the Beers.

Richard Harding Davis, in the New
York Herald, has kind words to say of
the 1rish-American boys of the ambu-
lance corps whom he met in South AT
RIGA. He says in part:
There was a large crowd at Middel-
burg, and, as it was Good Friday, every
one had been to church and was in his
or her best bravery. The people
chccred the Chicago boys, and Captain
O'Connor brought out the flag and
waved it over them
The Landdrost made a speech. an
eager and earnest speech, full OF fight
and courage, and the Americans cheer
ed him and the South African Republic
Many more Beers boarded the train
here. and while the speechmalling was
going forward entered the carriages
and sat at the windows saying farewell
to the women and children who had
come in with them from the farms, and
leaning out to hold their hands. The
Bocr women wore deep black alpaca
lrocks and black sunbonnets, and under
the cover OF these were weeping. They
made contrast to the white starched
dresses and bright colors of the other
women and little girls of Middeburg
who were giving flowers and the Trans
vaal ribbon to the American volunteers.
The men from "'cross two seas" re-
ccivcd this simple welcome modestly
and bccomingly.
| have travelled with many soldiers on
trains and transports and on the march,
with our own regulars. with Tom
miles, volunteers and soldiers of foreign
lands, but l never saw men behave bet
ter than did the Chicago contingent
The temptations which bcset them by
the wayside were many. They had been
six weeks at sea, and that, apart from
the fact that they were going ito the
'front.' through friendly country, with
retrcsllment bars at every station, was
sufficient excuse for ovcr-rejoicing
But. on the contrary, the men conducted
themselves as we'll as the best disci-
plncd troops in the world, and were
then, as they were later in Pretoria as
well-behaved and sclf-respectng as |
am sure they will prove to be brave.
There was no band to play for them ut
Middelburg, SO just before the train
moved on the Landdrost gathered the
Beers and the women and girls to-
gether and-sang hymn to them.
The women's voices were thin and in
adequate, and the big, broad-chcsted
hcavily-bearded men disregarded the
tune scandalously, but the spirit of the
act was true The words were in Dutch,
but the refrain was: God Keep You
Well That much we could under
stand. 1t was all they had to offer. A
brass band would have meant nothing
but noise. but the tribute of good wishes
from the women, and little girls, and old
men touched the American boys deeply.
They stood in close order, with their
campaign hats off and heads bent. Be-
yond them were the group OF women in
black, who were bidding goodbye to
their sons and praying for their return
from the front.
And that was what the Boer women
and little girls e-doing as we'll in a
foreign language for the Americans, be-
cause they~had come to fight for them,
because they were going straight to the
front, perhaps to die for them, because
their own women folks were far away,
some 10000 miles away, and were not
able to wish them Godspeed.
And SO it happened that on Good Fri
day last the Boer women of the Trans
vaal were praying for the sons of the
women OF the city OF Chicago, of Cook
county, in the state of Illinois.