The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-21
BoERs AND CHRISTIAN BLACKS
Missionary's Account of Atrocities
Committed on PasIltos

A Missionary's Account of Atrocities
Committed on Basutos.
All who know anything of Boer meth
DDS with missions must feel that the
good and generous people who desire to
uphold the Orange Free State in its in
dependence should know to what man
ner of people it is proposed to hand
over the destinies of the natives. You
have heard the testimony of two Eng
fish missionaries and German; now
for that of Frenchman. One of the
Protestant Basuto missionaries thus
relates an episode of the long conflict
| between the Basutos and the Beers of
the Orange Free State In the early six
ties, before the British annexation Of
Basutoland
"On our station we had been six
months without news in consequence Of
the war. At last I de termined to push
to the next station to see IL there were
any letters from Europe. No sooner
had T arrived there than I fell danger
ously i'll. With great difficulty, travel
ing by night hiding by day, my per-
sonal servant managed to convey let
ter from my host to my wife, telling
liGl i YVES OGllCFSQ W Ut uyllE. ~ was
dark when she received my letter, and
she instantly ordered the servants to
bring her horse.
"You cannot, you must not so to
him. they all cried. Tire Beers are
shooting every black at sight and the
Basutos are shooting every white per-
son at sight; we dare not go with you,
and you cannot 60 alone
MY wife replied: I am going to my
husband, alone IL need be. I will not
ask you to risk your lives, and without
waiting even to change her dress she
saddled the horse with her own hands
and started. An hour or so later she
was rejoined by three Of the native SER
would escort her
After six nights hard riding she
reached the station, where I lay sick,
and nursed me back to life. About
fortnight later the Christian Basutos,
of whom even then there We're many,
assembled at the station from every
part Of the country for their quarterly
communion. accompanied by their
wives and children.
lowing to the war they, like us, had
to travel by night and hide in the day;
thus the communion was celebrated at
midnight on Sunday. In spite of these
precautions the Beers got wind of it.
Next morning, about six o'clock, our
servant appeared at the door Of my
hut, ashen gray. The Beers! the Bo-
ers" he cried. We are all dead men,
1.-THE station referred to here lies in
the hollow Of crescent shaped kopje;
precipitous in the center, the horns
eloping gently to the level of the plain
The sky line was black with Beers
who were pouring down the horns of
the crescent and filling the village.
struggled on through a perfect storm
bullets pr'ovidentially not one of them
wounded me. The ground was covered |
with men, women and children dead or
dying. The Beers were firing in
through the doors of the huts.
II found my way to the commandment,
a personal acquaintance of mine, ana |
besought him to stop the firing.
1.-THE commandant replied that he |
could not take cognizance Of that cir |
cumstance; the Basutos must be exter-
minated, and they must do it when and |
where they could. Seeing my entreat- |
les were unavailing I determined to |
save the lives of my own people, if pos
sible / said. If you care nothing for |
these poor Christians, you care a little
for me. You see how i'll I am. I can
not reach my own station without the |
help of my servants. Give me a safe |
conduct for these three men, He an
swered, You ask a great thing Of me.
do not think can grant it, I still
urged my plea.
The commandment was touched at
last seeing l was almost fainting; he
asked their names, and wrote out a
pass for them, saying, however, If they
are seen by any of my people they will