There has been a good deal of speculation as to why the Boers are such
experts with the rifle, but that is easily and naturally explained. In
the first place, they know their own country, and that is a decided
advantage where bare veldt is concerned. An Englishman on the same
ground would make mistakes, and probably sight his rifle at 200 yards;
but the Boer puts his up to 500 yards and kills his game, whilst the
Englishman, with his imperfect knowledge of the country, misses it.
When the Dutch first settled in South Africa, they were compelled
either to shoot their dinner or go without. So they began straight
away by shooting their dinner--and they have been able to shoot it
ever since. In warfare, too, they know exactly how to proceed. They
know that it is policy to shoot the Englishmen and save their own
skins. So they get behind large stones and shoot the Englishmen. They
know, further, that the best guarantee of success is to wait
patiently. They know nothing about military discipline, and they don't
want to know anything about it. According to their idea, this is how
the crack British regiments proceed: They march up in a body--close
order--and when they come within range of the Boers the commanding
officer gives the following commands: 'Halt! Attention! Present!
Fire!' And by the time the commanding officer has given the word
'Fire!' the Boers, comfortably stationed behind stones, have shot
those regiments down! There is, perhaps, some truth in this.
But the Boer, after all, believes in peace. It suits him better to be
on his farm, with a pipe in his mouth, and Kaffirs to do all the work,
while he walks around his acres and finds fault. They stick to their
country, and they fight for their country; but they don't like
fighting much. I came across one particular Boer who had been at
Majuba, and who was perfectly clear in his own mind that he did not
care much about it; and he did not entertain favourably the idea of
further warfare. He explained that he quietly got behind the customary
stone, and shot round the corners. During the time he was thus amusing
himself, the stone was struck by fifteen English bullets, and he did
not calculate on waiting to see what effect number sixteen would have,
so he left that stone. The Boers are always very reticent where the
number of their killed is concerned. In English circles it is
jocularly asserted that only one Boer was killed at Majuba, and all
the other Boers went into mourning for him. It is not known, and never
will be known, how many were killed at Krugersdorp by Jameson's men.
There is one thing, however, which goes to prove that a good number
must have succumbed on that occasion. It is rumoured that the Boers do
not want any more fighting with men who shoot as straight as those
comprising Jameson's Horse.
[Illustration: MAJUBA HILL.]
Defence in the Transvaal and Orange Free State is provided for
principally by the burghers, who are liable to be called upon for
active service between the ages of eighteen and sixty. The mounted
police force in both Republics is comparatively small, and the
permanent corps of artillery in each case is also small. The Boers do
not, as a matter of fact, repose much confidence in artillery at any
time, and they regard the mounted police force as valuable only in
time of peace. The burghers themselves comprise the entire force. In
the Free State alone there are 17,000 burghers liable to be called up
on commando at a moment's notice.
The country is divided into districts, and each district is under the
charge of a Commandant and a Field-cornet. The duty of the latter is
to warn the burghers on receipt of instructions from his Chief, and he
may also call a meeting of burghers in his district should any crisis
of a serious nature be imminent. On the whole, the Field-cornet's life
is not a happy one; and although he has numerous opportunities of
making himself objectionable and disagreeable, he usually prefers to
perform his onerous duties in a humble and unassuming spirit. In times
of peace those duties are few. In the first place, he must satisfy
himself that all the burghers in his district are in possession of
rifles and ammunition; and in the second place, he must call the
burghers together once a year for inspection. The good old times are
now over when a score of burghers could with impunity produce one and
the same rifle. In those days it was customary for burghers to appear
for inspection when convenient to themselves, and in these
circumstances it was not a difficult matter to borrow your neighbour's
rifle and present it as your own. But this little game was found out,
and an order was at once issued to the effect that all burghers must
assemble at one particular hour. The weapons used are of different
kinds, but they must all be breech-loaders. Every burgher must
likewise be in possession of thirty rounds of ammunition, and in time
of war the Government supply unlimited ammunition. Should the burghers
be called out to action, they must supply themselves with provisions
to last fourteen days. This might be difficult to carry out, but the
explanation is simple. The provisions consist solely of biltong--that
is, dried meat, generally venison. The sustenance contained in even an
inch of this is such that the fourteen days' provision amounts to but
little in bulk. It is said that if a Boer has a rifle, ammunition, and
a piece of biltong in his pocket, he will fight till further orders.
It is surprising how quickly the burgher forces can be levied. This
was made very apparent when Dr. Jameson marched into the country on
December 29, 1895. It is also well known that news travels quickly,
even in the outlying districts, and in this respect the Boers appear
to be quite as remarkable as the Kaffirs.
All this military discipline might seem to be only good in itself,
were it not for the fact that the Boers still retain their reputation
for being good shots. Even the young men are not behind their fathers
in the masterly manipulation of their rifles; in fact, while a large
number of Englishmen are reputed to be born with silver spoons in
their mouths, the birth-right of every Boer is undoubtedly the rifle.
Both in the Transvaal and Free State there exists a healthy spirit of
rivalry between Englishman and Boer in the shooting line. Competitions
are very frequently arranged; it is to the credit of the colonial
Englishman that he can give a good account of himself, and at the same
time hold his own against any Boer. This is fortunate, because the
Boer always respects a man who can record as many bull's-eyes as
himself, no matter what his nationality may be. The great opportunity
the Boer had of giving vent to his contempt for the English was when
the latter appeared on the battlefield in compact regiments, and
afforded the best possible target for shooting at from behind the now
proverbial stone.
In these times of universal political difficulties it may be
interesting to survey the position of the Orange Free State now that
war has actually broken out with Great Britain. There is a patriotism
lurking in the breast of the Boer which would indicate that his great
aim was the overthrow of the hated Englishman. It would not be
advisable to quote the opinion the generality of Boers have of the
poor Englishman; needless to say it is strong, emphatic,
comprehensive, and by no means complimentary. Obviously the origin of
such opinion concentrates in the fact that the Englishman is too
persevering in other people's countries, and, moreover, shows an
aptitude for developing the said countries which, in the opinion of
the Boer, is altogether too progressive. It is, of course, a pity that
the Englishman cannot accommodate himself to the antiquated ideas of
the Boer, because if he could, he would probably exonerate himself in
the Dutch eyes, and at the same time find himself away back in the
eighteenth century. But in this advanced age he is too much for the
Boer, and this is probably the explanation of the existing friction.
The Orange Free State has all along evinced a helping-hand where
Transvaal broils have occurred. This is not surprising, considering
that the Free State is governed by a Volksraad wholly in sympathy with
the mighty Oom Paul. In the time of President Brand things were
slightly different, although even his Volksraad held him in check and
exercised its own influence. But President Brand had sense enough to
see that participation in Transvaal difficulties could in no way
benefit the Free State, and, in fact, that interference was not
desirable or advisable. When the previous Boer War broke out, he
intimated that no commandeering would be enforced in the Free State,
but that those burghers who chose to engage in warfare might do so. He
would take no active steps until the independence of the Free State
was endangered.
His successor in office, President Reitz, was not credited with
anything in particular, but it was understood that should the
Volksraad decide to co-operate with the Transvaal in any instance, he
would willingly give his consent. This was confirmed when Dr.
Jameson's entrance into the Transvaal was made known. Three
districts of the Free State were promptly commandeered, and burghers
swarmed to the border.
[Illustration: A BOER ENCAMPMENT]
About the same time President Reitz vacated his office, and President
Steyn is now at the head of affairs. President Steyn has now
conclusively shown his sympathy with the Transvaal, and his occasional
interviews with Oom Paul were presumably for the purpose of ratifying
the compact from time to time. This is confirmed by the fact that the
Volksraad some considerable time ago proclaimed that, when hostilities
broke out in the Transvaal, the burghers were to hold themselves in
readiness to proceed to the border. This was not merely with the
object of protecting the border, but to render assistance to those
across the border, and now they have joined their neighbours in
invading Natal.
The feeling amongst Englishmen in the Free State was, of course,
strong, but Englishmen are not considered in the matter at all. If
they are burghers of the State, they must perforce conform to the
laws thereof, and fight to the death even against their own relations.
If they refuse to go to the front, it is not certain what would
happen.
There is another aspect of the question, and a serious one, too. When
the Free State burghers were called to the border, and war was
actually declared, they feared that they would return to their homes
only to find that their wives and children had been murdered, their
cattle stolen, and their property burnt to the ground. This new and
terrible danger came from Basutoland. The Basutos have a grudge
against the Boers, and they were only waiting an opportunity to wipe
out that grudge for ever. They are a warlike race, they are well
supplied with arms, and their horsemanship is notorious. They like the
Englishman, but they look upon the Boer as something to wipe off the
face of the earth. Of course, their discrimination between English and
Dutch when the time comes for them to take action, if it ever does
come, will not save the Englishmen in the Free State.
The Basuto question may not have escaped the notice of the Volksraad
in their anxiety to assist their brethren in the Transvaal, but their
action would seem to indicate that it had. Had they been wise, they
would have left their sister country to settle its own affairs, and
have looked nearer home for something to do; but this view, although
now too late, may already have engaged their attention.
Apart from the Government of the country, it may be interesting to
reflect upon the opinions of the burghers themselves, i.e., the Dutch
burghers. The majority of the young men originally favoured the action
of the Volksraad. They had not tasted war; they had only heard about
it; and their contempt for the English race generally suggested a
trial. Their enthusiasm was undoubtedly great, and the idea of lending
a helping-hand to another country evidently fascinated them. But their
elders have now come to look upon interference as bad policy, and they
dread the possibility of handing over their possessions to the wily
Basuto. The feelings of the Free State Boers towards their English
friends were scarcely so vindictive as in the Transvaal, but perhaps
that is because there are no gold mines in the Free State.