Waterbury Democrat., 1901-06-15
THE B0ERS IN CEYLON
Prisoners of Great Britain Enjoy
 Themselves in Captivity.
Have Good Food and Participate ir Pastimes of the English SoI- dfers - Scenes and Incf-
 dents of Interest.

dents of Interest.
 If a criterion may be taken by the condition of Boer life in the laagers of Ceylon, it is comparatively good i, thing to be military prisoner of the British government.
 Nursed in a lap of modified luxury, the 5000 trappers of the veldt on the island are so well satisfied with their surroundings as not to desire a change until South Africa touches normal once more, says the London Express
 The captives are as healthy and fit a crowd as ever stepped upon Brit ish possession, and transport rides at anchor in Colombo bay bereft ot any justification for her existence there as hospital ship.
 The Boers are accommodated in iron huts in two camps, each of which is inclosed by a liberal radius of barbed wire fencing, through which # the muzzles of a Maxim or two pro- trude as sort of dumb sermon on law and order. The area is large, and the prisoners have abundant ex- ~ercise room. They are fond of chat ting with their guards, and call them Tommy with easy familiarity, just as they used to do across the river trenches at Fourteen Streams, for the Boer has quiet admiration for the British private, and in his days or much ease follows his example in many things, including sport.
 The hot eastern days are begulled with nonexertive recreation, and in the cool tennis, cricket and football form a self-appointed curriculum of athletic pastime-
 It is particularly interesting to no- flee how much the prisoners have taken to the purely British game of football. At the beginning they were content to watch the Seeker men of the garrison dribble, or to applaud the dexterous handling of the oval. Then they joined in, and progressed to a primitive game of their own. They have long since ceased to bor- row the Worcestershire regiments ball; they have dozen of their own, and pit the Transvaalers against the Free Staters, or the doppers of the back veIdt against the Johannes burgers"
 rThe. sually start the play, and IsaS < be guard while the burghe-s Ept the int.-caeies ok combination.
 The appetite of the captives is ab- normal, and the influx of so many big eaters has actually upset the local markets and brought about a rise in the price of provender. Even the Gloucester sentry envies the Boer his supplies, and is daily heard to hold forth upon the iniquities of a commissariat which provides com forting extras for the captives which find no. place. in. the regulars dietary. But Tommy grnmbles good-humored- ly, and would share his ration any day with hungry Boer, just because he is the same brave, tough, tender, lion-hearted Atkins beloved of all who know his sterling qualities in the field.
 Commandants Krantz and Olivier and nearly all the officers live on pa- role outside the camps. Many of them reside at the Queens hotel, Randi, including number of French men, who hold aloof from their for mer comrades-at-arms.
 Others, including a percentage of burghers who can afford it, live in the bungalows of Trincomah street, and, save that they report daily to the chief of police, enjoy the privi- 1eges of a leisured resident or visitor.
 Numbers of the men had carried cameras on commando, and the Co lombo apothecaries have been busy developing plates and films in great numbers.
 vrouw Krantz, the wife of the commandant, is proud of having car ried rifle on commando with her husband. Guests at the Queens ho- tel often hear the good lady recount her bag of rooineks. There is not a suspicion of animus shown against the British. The captives are grate- ful for good quarters and liberal treatment.
 Many Boers are voluntarily em- ployed on the foreshore works at Colombo at wage, and one at least has been installed into the ease ot comfortable government billet This fellow means to stay, and has sent for his vrouw.
 Such is burgher life in the laagers of Ceylon, where there is a philo- sophie calm and an absence of worry about war. The veldtborn look about them with well fed and leisured in- difference, and some say that when they cross the Vaal again there will be a big trek north to alien terri tory.
 Helping Him.
 MT. ard-Well-er-yes. since you ask me, was thinking of con- sulting a fortune teller.
 Miss CoY-To find out whom Hou